Hey Portland people, it’s that time again. The Summer Quarterly is here and we couldn’t have done it without help. While we rounded up awesome stuff for summer, cool creatives from all over sent in sweet selfies with their tools and gear, and we can’t wait to share their style!
Drop by the new and beginning-to-be-improved Hand-Eye Supply garage at 714 NW Glisan, pick up a free people-populated poster and we’ll announce the winners of our All Geared Up photo contest! Then eat some unbeatable treats from Pacific Pie co., and rub elbows with the great minds of the HES set. Come tell us about your projects and dreams while we dig on grooves from DJs The Beatles and Tobias, spinning “your uncle’s records” and weird classics from multiple decades.
Come for the poster, tunes and food, stay for the incomparable company!
As a professional organizer, I’ve helped people organize their homes and offices—and their cars. One challenge drivers have is finding a good place to keep things like smart phones and sunglasses close at hand. (Hopefully, no one is texting while driving, but there are other reasons to keep a smart phone nearby; I need mine to hear my turn-by-turn driving instructions.)
Here’s one solution to that challenge: The StickyPad from HandStands is one of several non-adhesive, non-magnetic pads that goes on a dashboard. There’s an interesting balance here—the pad should be sticky enough to hold items even when the car is taking a sharp curve or coming to a sudden stop, but not so sticky that it’s hard to remove items when the end-user wants to. And here’s one drawback: Unless the end-user moves the pad around, the part of the dashboard covered by the pad won’t fade uniformly with the rest.
An alternative dashboard design is the “grass mat” that came with the Renault Twingo II. It seems like a cool idea—but at least one reviewer, Ivo Kroone, said the grass mat was better in theory than in practice. Kroone found it “annoying trying to fish small objects out from amongst the stalks.” And it seems that larger items didn’t fit well, since Kroone left them just “sitting on top.” The positioning behind the steering wheel was also problematic for Kroone.
Another way to keep things close at hand is to make use of the sun visor. We’ve praised the Cocoon Grid-It products before, but the sun visor organizer is worth some additional attention. The Grid-It can hold a wide range of items; the one complaint I’ve seen is that the Velcro straps are not long enough to go around a large sun visor.
Sun visors have other potential uses, too. The Visor Notes from Vertically Driven provides a white board for any information a user wants to see or note, when stopped. There’s a holder for the dry erase pen, and the cap of the pen holds an eraser. This product uses clips to attach to the visor, rather than the straps that many visor-mounted products use—and unlike many other products, it flips up so the vanity mirror is still accessible.
Henri Desgrange was a celebrated sports journalist, decorated cyclist and the first organizer of the Tour de France. He is known to many as the godfather of urban cycling and is, in fact, a defining source of…
For my Vancouver friends, there’s a special pop-up shop opening on August 1:
West End General Store Popup is a business partnership between Oollo Tea and Forest & Waves. The store front is presented by Production Road, a studio + shop in the West End of Vancouver. The concept is to open a hybrid shop of a tea house in a surfing beach shack in the Pacific Northwest.
Oollo Tea will present farm direct whole leaf teas and cold brewed teas. Partnering with local food entrepreneurs, an Oollo Tea infused dessert collection of ice cream, chocolate, cheesecake and macaroon will also be available!
Outdoor inspired retail products from Forest & Waves: backpacks, surfboard bags, beach bags, books, cards, prints, and apparel. Also, Forest & Waves will be presenting a collaborated apparel line with Caravan Beach Shop in Tofino, BC.
Lastly, the shop will also feature the new exclusive Lemonni products. Well-designed items from paper goods to home textiles like tea towels and pillows.
West End General Store Popup will be open from August 1 to September 14, 2014 at Production Road, 990 Nicola Street, Vancouver.
That there is Lucid Design‘s “Kit Bike,” which, like an IKEA shelving unit, can be assembled and disassembled into 21 parts for ease of transport. I didn’t mind Paolo de Giusti’s asymmetrical concept bike and I can appreciate the over-the-top hipster chic of Van Hulsteijns, but this is exactly the kind of thing that the general public will eat up with nary a thought about whether it would actually work. After all, it turned up in a couple of reputable design blogs, one of which notes that:
The bike frame is made from hollow aluminum tubes that twist together and can be secured with a key. Since the frame attaches only on one side of the wheels, the bike can be assembled and disassembled while it leans against a wall. When it’s not in use, the parts and wheels can each be stowed in sections in a custom-designed bag.
Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, that’s because it is.
Don’t get me wrong—I personally would love to have a bicycle that I could snap together like a tent (a well-designed one, of course), but then again, I don’t know if I would trust the contraption to hold up on the road. I’m no engineer, but the very thought of applying torque to that rear wheel—note that the hub is connected only at a single, non-driveside dropout—makes me feel like I’m breaking something. Meanwhile, if the grossly oversimplified componentry and lack of brakes can be written off, the fact that the drivetrain is on the wrong side suggests that the Bangalore, India-based firm lacks a basic understanding of a bicycle in itself.
Fläpps is a modular shelving system without rules! It’s designed to give the user creative freedom to create their own style, even in small spaces. Each module is a stand-alone shelf that can be combined with others. A unique wall mounting mechanism effortlessly permits up to 5 vertically stacked shelves. Unfolded, it offers endless storage applications from the office to the kitchen and nearly disappears into the surrounding wall when not in use!
Dezeen promotion: UK design show designjunction will bring together showrooms across central London to form the West End Design Quarter during this year’s London Design Festival.
The West End Design Quarter will showcase some of the city’s top design shops and fashion boutiques in districts including Marylebone and Mayfair, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road, Fitzrovia and Regent Street, and Covent Garden and Soho.
Returning to London Design Festival from 13 to 21 September, this second edition will host in-store events, talks, exhibitions, plus discounts on new household products and fashion.
Over 60 participating stores around the district will offer special discounts for Visa cardholders from 1 to 30 September.
Printed and online maps with full event details and locations will be available during the festival.
West End Design Quarter is organised by designjunction, which will showcase more than 180 international design, retail and innovation brands over four floors of The Sorting Office on New Oxford Street in London.
Now in its second year, The West End Design Quarter, presented by designjunction2014, unites four vibrant quarters of central London – Marylebone and Mayfair, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road, Fitzrovia and Regent Street and Covent Garden and Soho – which will become London’s newest design destination during the London Design Festival.
The West End Design Quarter will encompass the finest design stores and fashion houses across London’s iconic West End, aiming to connect the visitors who flock to the city for the annual London Design Festival. Celebrating the best design in the heart of Central London, visitors can expect exclusive shopping promotions, see one-off in-store events, workshops, talks and temporary exhibitions throughout the week.
Amongst the world-famous theatres, restaurants, bars and hotels lies the highest concentration of flagship stores and showrooms in the world all within walking distance and with excellent transport links.
The West End Design Quarter provides an opportunity to purchase the very latest design from an unrivalled international portfolio of home products and fashion items from dedicated brand showrooms, niche design boutiques, and larger department stores.
Chair by Toshiyuki Kita for Ligne Roset
Visa Shopping Promotion
As part of the West End Design Quarter, designjunction2014 in partnership with Visa presents the Visa Shopping Promotion which will run from 1 – 30 September.
Within the shopping quarter all Visa cardholders can take advantage of promotional discounts across a select number of stores for the month of September, with some offers extending until early November. More than 30 stores form part of the shopping promotion with designjunction2014’s own retail outlet at the very centre, presenting another 30 design-led pop-up stores to offer a truly unique shopping experience.
All shops and showrooms will be listed within a dedicated printed map of the area with two planned routes across the West End. Follow the retail trail highlighting shopping offers at key stores or take in the sites and architectural landmarks on the recommended trade route, highlighting exciting showroom installations
Participating brands
Another Country, The Conran Shop, designjunction, Do shop, Domus, Forza, Heal’s, Hastens, Ideaworks, John Lewis, Material Lab, Ligne Roset, Republic of Fritz Hansen, Tracey Neuls, OMK, Jake Spade, United Nude, Magma, Skandium with more brands to be announced in the next few weeks.
About Designjunction
Designjunction has firmly established itself as the leading destination for contemporary interior design and culture, held annually during the London Design Festival and Salone del Mobile, Milan. Known for its uncompromising selection of leading global brands, designjunction is at the forefront of delivering cutting-edge design within an expertly curated space.
In 2013, designjunction featured more than 150 world-class international brands set against the industrial backdrop of a 1960’s Sorting Office in the heart of central London. The five day exhibition attracted more than 21,000 visitors through the door, expanding to seven times the size of its original format in 2011.
In April 2014 designjunction launched the fourth edition of EDIT by designjunction, Milan, a curated offering of the flagship London show. Transforming a historic 18th century building in the heart of Milan’s fashion district, the show attracted over 10,000 visitors over five days.
Movie:Pritzker Prize-winning architect Toyo Ito tells Dezeen that, while his buildings vary in material and style, the key to all of them is their close relationship with the people that inhabit them.
White U in Tokyo by Toyo Ito, 1976. Copyright: Koji Taki
“A lot of architecture looks more beautiful without human inhabitants,” Ito says in this movie filmed in Milan. “But I have always intended to design architecture to look more beautiful with humans present.”
Tama Art University Library in T0kyo by Toyo Ito, 2007. Copyright: Ishiguro Photographic Institute
He adds: “When I think about architecture, I think of it as a piece of clothing that must be wrapped around human beings.”
Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture in Imbari, 2011. Copyright: Daici Ano
Ito says that many of the forms he uses in his buildings are taken from the natural world.
“I have always wanted to reduce the gap between architecture and nature,” he says. “I don’t want people to live removed from nature. I want people to live and work amongst nature as much as possible.”
Sendai Mediatheque building by Toyo Ito, 2001. Copyright: Miyagi Prefecture Sightseeing Section
Three of Ito’s most high-profile buildings – Sendai Mediatheque, Mikimoto Ginza and Tod’s Omotesando – each try to recreate the experience of being in a forest, he says.
Mikimoto building in Ginza by Toyo Ito Associates and Taisei Design Pae, 2005
“For the Sendai Mediatheque building I used many tree trunk-like tubes,” he explains. “The Mikimoto building is commercial architecture, so we couldn’t design the interior.”
“But we could affect how light entered. Light enters the building as if it is falling through trees. This natural element is what links the two buildings.”
Tod’s Omotesando building by Toyo Ito, 2004. Copyright: Nacasa & Partners
He continues: “Tod’s Omotesando building has a much more obvious tree-like structure. I decided to surround the space completely with a tree-like structure to create the feeling of being in nature.”
Sendai Mediatheque building by Toyo Ito, 2001. Copyright: Miyagi Prefecture Sightseeing Section
While his appropriation of nature can lead to some striking forms, Ito says his focus is always on the human inhabitants.
Mikimoto building in Ginza by Toyo Ito Associates and Taisei Design Pae, 2005
“Both my Sendai Mediatheque and Mikimoto Ginza buildings have very strong concepts behind their structures,” he says. “But that is not really important. It is more about how the structure can create a space for human beings.”
When you think about it, the basic forms of quintessential articles of furniture—I’m talking desks, chairs, couches, stools, work lamps and pendant fixtures—largely consist of variations on a theme. As such, furniture designers innovate through the details from new manufacturing methods and materials to integrating functionality that speaks to our mobile, tech-enhanced lifestyles. This much is apparent in seing the honorees for the Furniture & Lighting category of the 2014 Core77 Design Awards. While the selections from Jury Captain Naihan Li and her Beijing-based jury team may look familiar at first glance, closer inspection reveals that each one is customized to fit a certain lifestyle-driven need.
Professional Winner: Gesture, by Steelcase Design and Glen Oliver Loew
As more and more of us spend more and more time basking in the warm glow of a screen, so too do we spend more time in our office chairs. With these digital tendencies in mind, Glen Oliver Loew designed Gesture for Steelcase (with help from its internal design team). The jury appreciated the chair’s origin as a research project: “This project began as a global study on human body gesture and resulted in a stylish chair that will not only carry you comfortably in a work environment, but support you in every move you make while seated. Furniture design can be as advanced as any new technology we use today and an advance in office chair design has the potential to benefit thousands as our lifestyles evolve. By providing a more dynamic support to the body, this chair attempts to encourage movement while we interact with the handheld digital devices we love.”
Student Winner: SOAK Charging Side Table, by Youmin Vincent Kim
Recently graduated from the Youmin Vincent Kim‘s SOAK charging station redefines the humble side table as a ‘platform’ for mobile devices. Furthermore, the Art Center College of Design student cleverly managed to tuck the power supply for the induction charging surface into its very construction: “The leg emerging from the wall to accommodate the main power plug is an artistic solution to the inelegance of wired products. Our daily need to repeatedly charge our digital devices can now be achieved casually by leaving them on a side table—a thoughtful and functional object design that surprises you by the advanced technology embodied within a playful yet elegant form.”
Professional Runner Up: Lightwing, by Jean Marie Massaud
Lightwing brings a new level of interaction to the way we illuminate our spaces while remaining relatively inconspicuous. Designed by Jean Marie Massaud for Foscarini, the lamp features adjustable screens, allowing the user to cast a glow wherever it’s most needed. The jury noted the artistic aesthetic of the lamp: “Minimalist and elegant, this is a delicate and fluid lighting design. The history of elegance can only be enhanced by new technology, which is the case here where a clever magnetic sphere provides fluid, multi-directional movement as the light transforms from an ambient light to a reading lamp. It utilizes a new LED lighting system and technically advanced industrial production to make a bold and artistic statement in its form and in the interactive nature of the motion the lamp achieves.”
Student Runner Up: Dynamik Standing Desk, by Brian Pughe and Conor Brown
Virginia Tech’s Brian Pughe and Conor Brown have developed an interesting take on a contemporary trend with the Dynamik Standing Desk. Made from steel and wood, the desk has a sleek appeal for users of all stripes, but it’s the the strap of felt that serves as a knee rest that wowed the jury: “Clever usage of something as economical as a belt makes this desk design more than a place to lay your books. It is a simple yet effective solution to rest in public space, allowing one to fully engage with others even if the interaction will last longer than your legs can hold out. This standing desk also gives new function to an existing furniture type with minimum alteration.
Life’s tough enough for a teenage kid in high school, but when you’ve got a moon for a head, it’s even more difficult. Making his debut appearance in Joey Moonhead and the Music Machine from graphic design haven Nobrow Press, protagonist Joey…
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