Yes & No

When developing these pieces the designers tried to explore the legibility limits of type. The overall disposition of the individual blocks comes from..

Fuori Bench

Bench manufactured in solid beech wood with feet in calibrated steel and microtexturized lacqued.

Swarm by Mike and Maaike

San Francisco designers Mike and Maaike have created a space divider comprising overlapping grids of batons. (more…)

Black Forest by Outofstock for Ligne Roset

A table with interlocking branch-like legs by design collective Outofstock has been put into production by French brand Ligne Roset. (more…)

Small-space ingenuity: The Sigmafocus hide-a-cue

The French company Focus has designed a truly beautiful barbecue grill that folds into the wall:

From pg. 120 of the focus catalog, the Sigmafocus:

Finally — an alternative to the unattractive contraptions on capricious wheels that have cluttered up our gardens and decks for so long. The Sigmafocus and the Diagofocus [another product Focus offers] prove that aesthetics and ergonomics aren’t confined to interior design. It can be used with either wood or charcoal and comes equipped with a stainless steel grill and a range of barbecue tools. The quality and thickness of the steel used guarantees the longevity of the barbecue, which meets the EN 1860-1 standard.

Sigmafocus
This wall barbecue for gardens and balconies folds up, so that when closed it takes up limited space.

Attractive in both open and closed positions, it offers a range of cooking heights. It is easy to fix to any-wall (there are only two fixation points).

The generous ash pan allows the barbecue to be used a number of times without having to empty it out. The disc that attaches to the wall protects the wall from smoke.

Specifications:

I couldn’t find a price or shipping details, but the full contact information for the company is in the back of the online catalog and on the company website. I cannot tell you how amazing I think this grill is, especially for someone like me with the world’s tiniest backyard. Genius!

(via NotCot)


NYC Design Week 2010 Guide

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The only thing more overwhelming than
ICFF
itself is trying to decide which of the many offsite happenings to hit up throughout the city. To help navigate through it all over the coming days, we pared our picks down to 10 must-sees.

If you need a break from all the design, we also recommend making a few detours to some of our new favorite destinations for drinking, eating and shopping.

Opened in February,
Opening Ceremony’s
second NYC store, designed by up-and-coming architecture firm Leong Leong, houses an edited selection of their inventory in a thoroughly modern space mixing touches of surrealism, functional vertical storage solutions, cork flooring, and fixtures made by set designers for an elegant concept that “divides the store into two distinct environments: masculine vs. feminine, raw vs. finished, warm vs. cool.”

Head to Williamsburg to experience the unparalleled coffee that
Blue Bottle
makes at their first location outside of SF.

If you’re checking out events on Sunday in Noho, Double Crown recently introduced their Nonya dinners, a delicious $35 prix fixe that’s well worth the price.

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Straightforward: New Finnish Design

The Finns show what they’ve got in
this content-rich show
celebrating the best and brightest design from their country. Spanning a range of disciplines—from fashion to a new Aalto University—the exhibit, pop-up shop and lounge has a lot to sink your teeth into. Of the many objects, we love Pentagon Design’s 22-77° lamp, which unfurls and retracts according to the temperature of its LED lights. Paspas’ Boxbox rug also wins innovation points, stitching together and re-working Anatolian vintage rugs based on customers’ specs. Through 17 May; Chelsea Market 410 West 16th Street

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Public: Design Ride Manhattan

The
new Dutch-inspired bike brand
by Design Within Reach founder Rob Forbes marries classic good looks with urban-oriented design for two accessible models that we’re currently sweating. Join them on a ride through from Javits to a reception at
Tretorn
‘s downtown store, where you can test drive one to see what all the fuss is about. 16 May at 5:30 pm; Javits Center

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New Useless Machines

The suspended “useless machines” of Italian futurist and graphic artist Bruno Munari are reimagined in an exhibit of hanging mobiles organized by Sight Unseen. Works by the likes of Tobias Wong, Mary Meyer and Confetti System dangle above shoppers at Noho boutiques Oak and Rogan. Through 18 May; 330 Bowery

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Sculpted: Exploring the Nature of the Artful Object

The building blocks of human-made objects—stone, wood, clay and glass—are spotlighted in Designlush‘s “Sculpted: Exploring the Nature of the Artful Object.” For its first year, the show features the organically shaped, hand-blown glassworks of Esque Studio. Through 21 May; 200 Lexington Avenue

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Areaware

Known for its evocatively simple, American approach to design, Noho’s Areaware celebrates five years producing housewares and everyday objects. To commemorate, Areaware presents favorite and new pieces by David Weeks, Ross Menuez and other design luminaries. While you’re there, don’t miss Roll & Hill as it debuts its catalog of modern lighting fixtures. Through 18 May; 45 Great Jones Street

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NoHo Next

StyleFactory and Wabnitz Editions team up for “Noho Next,” which showcases nine of the who’s who in emerging design. Talents include Uruhu, whose Coney Island line of furnishings reclaims wood from the amusement park itself. Spaniards Xavier Manosa of Apparatu and Alex Trochut create puffy jacket-inspired vases, and Washington, DC’s Johah Takagi ups the ante in flat-pack furniture with elegant birch shelving. Through 18 May; 350 Bowery

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Secret Garden

The Future Perfect‘s Manhattan location hosts Secret Garden, a new mushroom-inspired collaboration between ICFF veteran Lindsey Adelman and glass artist Nancy Callan. Through 14 June; 55 Great Jones Street

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Sounds Like

Designer Joey Roth ‘s Ceramic Speakers take the stage at Sounds Like , an exhibit at DDCLab showcasing the nine designers and five musicians tasked with reinterpreting porcelain amps. Through 18 May; 427 W 14th Street

MatterMade Collection Number One

Contemporary design store Matter celebrates MatterMade Collection Number One, a 20-plus collection of works from designers Paul Loebach, Jonathan Nesci, Stephen Burks and more. Through 18 May; 405 Broome Street

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Think Before You Write

Riverkeeper and The Standard Hotel launch the DBA 98, the world’s first 98% biodegradable, alongside Think Before You Write—a project featuring creative contributions from a cavalcade of 98 artists, designers, writers and other notable figures. From downtown art darling Dan Colen to controversy-baiting literary legend Salman Rushdie and actress Lorraine Bracco, DBA’s seemingly uncoordinated selection of contributors speaks to the universal need for a pen that doesn’t pollute. Pick it up from the shop at the Cooper-Hewitt; 2 East 91st Street


Object Hunt

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As design’s savviest scour the streets of New York City this weekend in search of the best in global design, they may also spot white sticker silhouettes of iconic objects. Called Object Hunt, the city-wide initiative comes from a group of design sites (yours truly included) who teamed up to make and distribute the stickers, awarding one lucky person who twitters a picture with the hash tag #objecthunt with a two-night stay at The Standard L.A., a Dwell on Design home tour, and an Eero Aarnio toy puppy. Multiple entries are welcome but each entry must be for a different found sticker and the contest runs through 18 May 2010. And, for one more twitterer who finds and tweets one of our bugs, we’ll hook them up with a shiny new iPad enclosed in one of the custom cases we made with Speck.

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We’ll be tweeting clues all weekend long, along with our fellow organizers, a roster that includes Notcot (who spearheaded the whole thing), Sub-Studio, Apartment Therapy, Design Milk, Moco Loco, The World’s Best Ever, and Design Glut. Make it easy on yourself by following the Object Hunt list.

See all the official details at Object Hunt. Good luck and happy hunting!

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Vault by Laurens Manders

Eindhoven designer Laurens Manders has created this lumpy safe for stashing possessions with sentimental value. (more…)

Wafle Chair

The Waffle chairs are made for more than sitting on alone.The chairs can produce their own pillows two by baking soft warm waffles or wafle chaped pil..

Drawer Kitchen by Gitta Gschwendtner

London designer Gitta Gschwendtner presented a kitchen island comprising a pile of drawers and a sink at the Wallpaper* Handmade exhibition in Milan last month. (more…)