The metal reigns at LDF
The use of ultra-versatile copper is on the rise, whether inspired by the 204 copper petals forming this year’s Olympic torch by Thomas Heatherwick, the promise of the metal’s unique patina upon years of use or its ever-increasing street value. The reason for copper’s distinct resurgence is undoubtedly as…
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Two design-savvy sites team up for the ultimate DIY decorating tool
When British website Mydeco arrived stateside last year with their 3D room planning tool, we were impressed with the user-friendly interior design program that allowed you to choose from a host of home furnishings. Their interactive tool proved so clever, it’s now serving as the foundation for Design Within Reach‘s latest online offering.
DWR’s collection of designers like Herman MIller, Knoll and Cassina fill your virtual living room, bedroom or kitchen with the simple click of the mouse. Like Mydeco’s original site, you can upload your own floorplan, or choose from a model, to really design according to your room requirements. Then, you can choose wall colors, floor coverings and where to place doors and windows before finally selecting your furniture. When finished, just save your work and two hours later the program will generate a realistic photo of your room that you can print, take to the brick-and-mortar for reference or share on Facebook or Twitter.
If you’re looking for an easier way to shop, as you add and remove furniture to your layout, the program keeps an updated shopping list. Completed designs are stored online for your reference, as well as inspiration guides for other users. Launching today, the
DWR and MyDeco tool is available online for anyone to use, and will also be in over 45 stores throughout North America.
Candles take new shape in a fantastical glass series from a budding Swedish designer
Creator of the incredible teapot Wood You Like A Cup Of Tea?, Jakob Solgren’s newest design keeps to his playful wit while taking on new form in a commission for Swedish glass manufacturer Kosta Boda. The “Hills” candlestick holders symbolize to Solgren an escapism inspired by cartoons and real life, saying “To me, Hills is the place where the rainbow never disappears.”
To the viewer the design is almost edible, a perfect example of color informing shape. The candlestick holder is blown in graft forms before having its surface sand-blasted, which takes the piece away from the sharpness and shine normally associated with glass. The softness is further enhanced through a bubblegum color palette of pink, green yellow and blue, which are sprayed inside the piece.
A young and cerebral designer, Solgren has a gentle and persuasive touch to his work which is very appealing on all levels. “Hills” candlestick holders will sell from Kosta Boda spring 2011 for 899 SEK each.
A beautifully basic reinvention of a fluorescent bulb
by Barnaby Slater
Striking the fine balance between sculpture and practical lighting, ITP alum and studio CW&T designer Taylor Levy continues to play with form and function with her new Circle Hook Light. Like her successful 8 Light ASCII Display Terminal, Circle Light Hook reinvents a simple concept through methodical construction.
The fixture re-imagines the ubiquitous but often inconspicuous circular fluorescent bulb, primarily installed in ceiling fixtures in kitchens and bathrooms. Where they typically tend to be especially hard to reach and annoying to maintain, CW&T bring this frustrating bulb out into the open with their ingeniously elementary design.
Custom spring loaded electronic connections trigger the light, all that’s required is simply hooking the bulb onto the fixture to turn it on then unhooking and rotating it to turn it off. Milled out of solid brass with a polished finish, the Circle Hook Light has looks tantamount to its easy-to-use design.
Bunnies and black magic in a bi-coastal illustrator’s new line of home furnishings
While brands making up stories is nothing new, it’s increasingly more common to see products like W/Heart, which founder Jacqueline Bos conceived around the very idea of “things that have a story behind them, things that you can see the care put into making them.” While the collection of textile housewares builds on the past five years that Bos has worked as a printmaker, she’s no stranger to the commercial world, having worked clients as varied as independent fashion designers AIRA to MySpace, for which she designed the recently-launched new theme.
Bos has also found success by selling her print work through Urban Outfitters’ collaborative print shop with Society6, and a recent illustration of hers for M. Ward’s album The Transfiguration of Vincent ended up in Uppercase Magazine. “I heard he lives in Portland now,” said Bos, who splits her time between the City of Roses and Brooklyn. “Matt! If you’re reading this, you should totally come over for coffee, drawing and music time.”
Anchoring W/Heart’s laid-back sensibility, the napkins, pillow cases and stuffed animals shows the same rigorous attention to detail as her print work. Bos prints each item by hand with water-based inks on organic cotton, hand-sewing each so as not to waste any fabric. While the craftsmanship of each piece is unmistakable, Bos admits that producing W/Heart is pretty hard work. “I haven’t decided yet about a follow-up collection. This ended up being a much larger undertaking than I had initially anticipated.”
W/Heart sells online, with prices spanning $35 to $60. For Bos’ illustrations and other works, check out her website and Etsy shop.
Small batch HDTVs from a company subverting the mass-production model
If there’s such a thing as an artisanal television brand, NuVision is it. The makers of high-caliber flatscreens steer clear of mass production, preferring instead to individually source their materials and limit their quantity in favor of maintaining the finest quality. I’ve been testing the Superslim55 for the last few months and have been really impressed with the contrast, color quality and overall visual performance.
Their manufacturing process is akin to that of assembling a hand-crafted watch. NuVision chooses software complementary to the hardware components carefully culled from a variety of high-end suppliers and painstakingly calibrates both grayscale and color using a Tristimulus Colorimeter. Proprietary “videophile” algorithms lead to seamless motion and natural general performance, and an automatically adjusted LCD backlight according to the onscreen imagery lends itself to an incredible sense of depth. Not only do slimmer-than-super-slim profiles allow NuVision televisions to blend neatly into their surroundings, but the recently introduced U Color Service provides users the option of selecting the TV’s bezel color, matchable to any paint, swatch, or shade in the Pantone scale.
NuVision televisions also represent the best in green technology. The use of LED means that their TVs require 40% less power than comparable CCFL models and are both mercury and lead-free, but NuVision takes eco-friendly a step further by using only recyclable materials in their products, removing and recycling the televisions at the end of their life-spans. A two-year in-home warranty guarantees unparalleled service with the purchase of any NuVision HDTV.
The full line of NuVision electronics sell on their site. They are meant to be procured through high-end audio-visual specialists and as such, the set-up can be a little complicated for the sub-technophile, but the picture quality is well worth the effort.
A clever map substituting typography for topography
Ingeniously charting Anglophone countries with city names written in their correct geographical location, Bold & Noble‘s striking maps are a typographic puzzle that stimulate the eye as well as the mind. The U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand and a detailed London are each transcribed, with various font weights drawing attention to the major destinations.
Hand-pulled and screen-printed on a medium weight 100% recycled card, each map is crafted using hand-mixed inks white print on contrasting Duck Egg Blue or Sheer Slate backgrounds.
Created by Hertfordshire-based design duo Bold & Noble, each type maps sell online for £38 and will arrive with a free special edition print through 24 December 2010.
Modernist two-story homes for fish friends
Unless you go custom, aquariums rarely do much to elevate the humble fish’s status anywhere close to that of furry four-legged friends. Swedish designer Karl-Oskar Ankarberg has taken on the plight of the fish, designing an attractive split-level home called the Archiquarium.
Ankarberg makes the upper level of his “modern living for trendy goldfish” out of white Corian with black Corian for the ground floor, resulting in exceptionally-crafted aquatic digs suitable in almost any home or office.
Both the upper and lower levels have panoramic windows so the fish can be viewed as they travel around, swimming freely between the floors. Two more windows at the rear and side of the tank, along with a big skylight installed in the lower level offer optimum viewing pleasure.
Unveiled at Stockholm’s Hem 2010 (Home Fair), Archiquarium is in production and will soon be available for purchase.
The sleek presentation of Bang & Olufsen‘s BeoVision 10 shows that there’s plenty of room for making the modern television more refined, powerful and sophisticated. The LCD panel looks more like a decorative piece melding with interiors—a lesson in the Danish aesthetic. Designed by the native Englishman David Lewis in his Copenhagen studio, the curved edge of his design lends an effect of the BeoVision being almost embedded in the wall.
Well-thought out integration of LED light technology and structure, placing loudspeakers below the screen and LED lights throughout, achieves not just the chic super-slim appearance but also saves power. Encasing the TV in glass with anti-reflection coating, accented by high-gloss aluminum on the front and rear, enhances the surface. Optimum sound comes from a two-way stereo loudspeaker system that relies on a center bass port system for quality.
The cover (magnetically interchangable) comes in black, white, silver, dark grey, blue and orange for integration with any decor scheme. Retailing for $7,675, pick it up from Bang & Olufsen stores.
An interlinking metal cabinet system designed by Alessandro Zambelli, Stack debuted as part of Seletti‘s “Augmented Reality” exhibit at Superstudio during the recent Milan Design Week.
The Stack system offers three sizes as a base, and eight smaller stackable pieces, each with a different function. Inspired by old warehouses and retro metallic containers, the modular structure combines lockers, office drawers, lab cabinets and industrial closets for a cohesive collection of storage solutions. An unusual palette of subtle colors plays an important role in recalling an iconic past and familiar memories, while various shapes and styles mesh for an endless series of personal and unique combinations.
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