Hasta La Ideas

Designer Nicole Messina mashes up materials for jewelry with a playful edge

Designer Nicole Messina combines unconventional materials to create edgy accessories with a whimsical twist. Inspired by frequent childhood trips to hardware stores with her father, Messina became fascinated with reinventing industrial materials into fashion pieces for her line, Industrial Candy.

Messina’s collection “Hardcore Candy” features chains, screws and bolts, all of which she pairs with rubber neon elements. The more subdued, neutral-hued “Nature’s Candy” collection pairs materials like leather and suede with oxidized and distressed hardware. The concept for her most recent collection, “Adventure Candy,” derives from what she calls “materials you would find while on an outdoor adventure such as hiking rope, paracord, bungee cords and even fishing hooks and lures—the entire collection is screaming out for attention.”

Messina recently collaborated on a collection with eco-conscious designer and fellow Parsons graduate Laura Siegel. The line has an earthier feel than Messina’s individual work, comprising naturally dyed rope and string, as well as handcrafted and distressed copper bells made by artisans in India. Messina explains that Siegel’s “free form aesthetic and use of natural materials is something I understand and appreciate. It was also an aesthetic I don’t usually explore in my own collections so I thought it was a great opportunity to challenge myself as a jewelry designer.”

The collection offers artful braided bracelets, bangles and necklaces for which Messina explored various braiding and layering techniques to create “depth and interest.” All of Messina’s pieces, including the collaboration with Siegel, as well as any custom color requests, can be purchased through her website “Industrial Candy“.

A view of Monumenta 2012 at the Grand Palais in Paris. (Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier)

Just when you thought that illy couldn’t out-dazzle its collaboration with Anish Kapoor, the espresso purveyor has teamed with Daniel Buren. The latest addition to illy’s “Artist Cups” series was created in conjunction with Buren’s Monumenta installation, “Excentrique(s),” which recently turned the Grand Palais into a kind of rainbow-kaleidoscope. Tasked with creating a site-specific work for the 14,500-square-foot nave of the Paris building (and following in the footsteps of previous Monumenta artists including Richard Serra and Christian Boltanski), the French artist was initially stumped. “The breakthrough came when I finally realized that this iron and glass architecture was based on the circle and the main tool used to design the building was a compass,” said Buren in an interview with Marc Sanchez, artistic director of Monumenta. “The most important thing for me was the confrontation between a device placed quite low down—a sort of ceiling made of hundreds of clear, colored circles—and the great height of the nave of the Grand Palais. I expected this extreme tension to emphasise not the hugeness of the building but its volume, left as empty as possible. As if to give shape to the air circulating in it.” The exhibition closed last month, but the colorful circles live on as saucers in illy’s Daniel Buren espresso cups. The beautifully packaged set of four, now available in illy’s online store, combines the Monumenta circles’ blue, yellow, orange, and green (chosen because they were the only available hues for colored film that was stretched over specially made circular steel frames) with Buren’s signature stripes, in black and white.
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An interactive digital woodland at London’s Tate Modern

Having won the hearts of music fans and artists alike with the wonderful co-creative spirit of “The Johnny Cash Project” and their digitally groundbreaking video for Arcade Fire, “The Wilderness Downtown,” Chris Milk and Aaron Koblin (head of the Data Arts Team at the Google Creative Lab) have joined forces again for a new project called
“This Exquisite Forest.”

Drawing on the overwhelming response they received in the frame-by-frame drawings that created their Johnny Cash video, Milk and Koblin are now broadening the scope of their creative partnership by offering a digital game of consequences to the global online community. This project takes the form of a new web platform where people can evolve each other’s drawings frame-by-frame into new animations.

The title of the project is inspired by the Surrealists’ game of consequences, called “The Exquisite Corpse.” Suitably, this week’s project launch was hosted by Tate Modern in London, in a gallery filled with 20th-century masterpieces. A large interactive screen in an annex of the gallery allowed visitors to navigate “This Exquisite Forest” with a handheld laser device, which, when pointed at the wall, triggered new animations to spring forth from the branches and leaves of the trees.

The initial seeds of the project have been sown by eight artists chosen from the Tate’s own collection. Dryden Goodwin, Olafur Eliasson, Bill Woodrow, Mark Titchner, Julian Opie, Raqib Shaw and Miroslaw Balka have all contributed work, creating an archive of drawings that the public can then appropriate and change according to their own taste. People from around the world can add their drawings online, while London locals can do so in person at the Tate Modern, where a bank of interactive screens are available for visitors to make their creative contributions to the project.

We spoke to Aaron Koblin about having his work in such a prestigious museum and how the project has grown and changed with the involvement of his collaborator, Chris Milk.

We’re standing in Tate Modern surrounded by Giacometti, Dubuffet and many other amazing artists—how does it feel to have your work in here?

I’m thrilled, this space is amazing. It’s a bit intimidating actually, but it’s a beautiful and wonderful space to be in. We’ve put so much time and effort into putting this project together, so it’s a bit surreal to be standing here and see it finalized and ready for people to do whatever it is that they do with it. It’s an exciting moment. Tomorrow we’ll open up the website and see what people do.

How did this project come to be in Tate Modern? Was the project always destined for this place?

Chris and I worked on a project called “The Johnny Cash Project” a couple of years ago, and in that project we saw people really wanting to express themselves more and take it further. So we thought we should build something that empowers them to explore their creative potential together. And that’s what this project is.

When Jane Burton (Tate Media Creative Director) reached out to us shortly afterwards and asked what we could do together with the Tate, then we knew this was a great opportunity to let people express and explore in a totally different way. To see what happens when you use the internet to allow them to connect in a way that I don’t think people have in the past. Random strangers exploring ideas in a really visual way.

Is this the first time you guys have collaborated on a physical installation as well as a digital platform?

I guess it is. I have unofficially been involved in some of Chris’s physical installations in the past. I’ve been helping behind the scenes, but this is our first physical collaboration.

How has the creative process been different on this project compared to “The Johnny Cash Project” or the “The Wilderness Downtown?”

This project is more complex in a lot of ways. It’s very open ended so people can really do all kinds of things with it. And it also has this physical component as well as the interactivity. It’s a bit like YouTube combined with Google Docs combined with a social network—it has a lot of aspects to it. So it’s been a different way of thinking and a much bigger experiment.

How has your creative relationship with Chris evolved over the time you’ve been working together?

I think we’ve only gotten better at communicating. There’s very little held back. Which sometimes is brutally honest, but also very valuable and it makes the iteration process very quick. We can openly discuss things and come to conclusions pretty quickly.

Are you always working at a distance from each other or do you get to be the same space sometimes?

Since we’re both in California it’s not too bad. Sometimes Chris drops into San Francisco for the day, or vice versa. We’re in the same time zone so video conferencing is really easy. It’s definitely a less traditional process where we’re not in the same room that often.

How does your role at Google play into your collaborations with Chris? Are they separate endeavours or one in the same?

It’s been an interesting fusion. I think working at Google has been great. They are amazing people with great resources. I’ve been able to use that opportunity to create some pretty exciting art projects. We’ve just been having a lot of fun really. There’s so much cool technology and so many interesting uses for it. So we really experiment with the potential of the web and see if we can’t push these technologies to their limits in weird ways to see what happens. So it’s a pretty dream job, for a nerd who’s into art.

The American car brand partners with the Basketball Men’s National Team

Advertorial content:

Two American icons come together with the Jeep brand’s official partnership with USA Basketball. As a focal point of this partnership, the Jeep brand introduced its special edition model, the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Altitude featuring a new, more powerful V6 engine and customized interior and exterior design cues.

Unified in their drive for excellence, the Jeep brand joins USA Basketball in rallying the “Power Within” as the National Teams endeavor to realize their dream. “The Jeep brand embodies the American spirit,” states Chris Paul, campaign spokesman and member of the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s National Team. Paul appears in a partnership behind-the-scenes video series as well as a TV spot featuring the music of hip-hop artist, Common, giving voice to “a legendary vehicle supporting a legendary team.”

Launching the start of the exhibition season, the USA Basketball Men’s National Team hits the road on 5 July with the opening of training camp in Las Vegas. To celebrate the tour, the Jeep brand teamed up with acclaimed designer Jeff Staple to create the Believe Collection, featuring custom items (some limited to 25 pieces each), including an exclusive, handmade basketball by Leather Head and a basketball duffel bag designed by 3×1, handcrafted from American selvedge denim.

3×1 also contributes a custom scarf that tops off a classic look along with the collection’s vintage inspired, limited edition Ft. Knox sunglasses by Knockaround. Combining timeless appeal with the latest in technology, the collection also includes custom editions of sleek Aviator Headphones by Skullcandy, custom protective iPad and iPhone cases from Uncommon and a Big Jambox, a hi-fi portable wireless speaker by Jawbone. Built NY contributes the Cargo Travel Organizer, a must-have case for keeping cords together while on the go.

Each item captures the USA Basketball’s team pride with the iconic American flag logo and “When We all Believe” tag line that is designed to commemorate the belief we all have in a common goal as we support our team. Visit Jeep to enter to win a shot at the entire Jeep for USA Basketball Believe Collection.

Partnering with USA Basketball to pave “the road to victory,” the Jeep brand upholds achievement and distinguishes itself as a leader in capability. Check out the Jeep High Altitude content series as it features interviews with profiles of influential designers, digital entrepreneurs and adventurers demonstrating the latest in edge, power and innovation.

The renowned French designer creates an affordable luggage line inspired by musical structure and rhythm

Founded back in 1946, FPM-Fabbrica Pelletterie Milano is a leather goods brand that has come back in recent years with new captivating projects, with the mission to work “in the name of movement”. With the aim to connect with the world of design, the brand has released collaborations with worldwide renowned figures such as Stefano Giovannoni, Marc Sadler and Marcel Wanders.

FPM’s latest collaboration involves French archistar and designer Jean-Marie Massaud, also known for his previous works with B&B Italia, Axor Hansgrohe, Dior, Poltrana Frau
, Foscarini, Lancôme
and Renault
.

For FPM he has designed a collection of luggage called Globe, due for release in September 2012. The suitcases come in four sizes and are made of 100% pure polycarbonate. The shapes are a synthesis of function and aesthetics, where the technical solutions serve also as visual marks. We had the chance to meet Massaud for an exclusive interview and a preview of the Globe line.

Could you introduce us to Globe?

This project is a collection of luggage for every kind of situation: it’s lightweight, solid, resistant, efficient, high level in terms of quality and looks. We tried to reduce instead of adding elements, both functionally and visually. As a result it looks like the archetypal professional luggage for photography equipment and electronic devices, but redefined for common use. However, in order to enjoy it you don’t need to carry complicated electronics or optical products. The shape is just a parallelepiped with smooth edges, with the addition of some ribs (two horizontal and two vertical) that give a bit of structure to the luggage.

How did you define the concept?

The request from FPM was to have no design, no fashion references, no special attention to fancy colors. That’s why we chose a dark blue that is very close to black, a deep and intense khaki (to stay away from a strong military feel but to give a neat sense of efficiency), a red which recalls Chinese lacquer and a very light and warm grey. There’s also a special edition in white, just because we like white.

FPM wanted to make an affordable product: it’s the less expensive of the collection but not because we sacrificed on quality. For this same reason we also searched for a permanent basic item, meant to stay in the collection for a long time. It didn’t have to look trendy or fashionable—on the contrary, the focus was a simple shape and a large volume, so that we could invest more in the study of details and mechanical fittings. We didn’t want to have a simple basic article without allure or identity, but something meant to be long-lasting as a collection and—from the consumers’ point of view—able to stand the patina of time.

How was the design process developed?

We have designed every single part of the suitcase in the constant quest of efficiency and lightness. We strengthened the structure of the wheels to protect and make them super strong with reinforced plastic and glass fiber. The zipper and the stitches are clearly visible to show how good they are. It’s a strong piece of luggage—efficient and robust—and it has to look like it.

How is the project going to evolve?

We are planning a constant advancement of the project with new materials and innovative production processes, like different fibers for the shell and vacuum-formed neoprene on the inside. This is just a starting point—that’s why we have thought of a very efficient and gimmick-free volume, where the function is the first thing you can read.

At first glance, the surface could recall a sort of monochrome Mondrian painting.
In the future development of the project we foresee adding some pockets, to be placed in the central area defined by ribs. They could be used to place magazines and other flat items, and every customer will have the chance to choose the color, so the suitcase will actually look like an abstract painting. Customization is a clear request from the market—it could be spontaneous (like with souvenir stickers) but we are willing to let people choose some elements of their suitcase.

In this project and in other designs you made sure there’s always a rhythm, a sort of visual melody. Do you have any creative relationship with music?

The first piece I did for an Italian company was the Inout
sofa for Cappellini. When the press saw it they wrote it was “minimalistic and organic”. I thought, “I never care about style, I focus on content. I strive to find a symbolic approach in terms of shape, able to express what’s inside.” I was a little upset with this interpretation, but then I realized this is how my work could be read.

In general I don’t like soft lines and shapes, but at the same time I don’t like a Cartesian way of thinking, where it’s nature against culture. I’m happy when I find a sensual and natural contour, that could be originated by mechanic needs but at the same time could be considered as the link between what’s hidden inside and what is visible outside, between meaning and structure. A simple parallelepiped with smooth edges is boring, unless you read smoothness as a quality. I like to create this kind of dialogue, and in music it’s the same.

I’m not a big connoisseur of contemporary music, but I have studied piano and classical music. In music you need structure and rhythm—if you have complete freedom you get lost but if you only have beat, then it’s boring, the sound becomes artificial and rigid. The combination of these tensions, both in music and design, shouldn’t be a compromise but a constant dialogue.