Hasta La Ideas

All images and captions from Sight Unseen. The clock on the wall is an antique, from the ’20s.

I have always loved the intimacy of artists and everyday people opening up their unstyled homes and studios to prying eyes. With the popularity of sites like TheSelby and publications like Apartamento this doesnt feel like an especially fresh phenomenon but it never ceases to thrill me when I get a sneak peak into the details of lived-in spaces. The ladies over at Sight Unseen recently published a great look at Renny Ramakers’ (Co-founder and Director of Droog) Amsterdam abode. I love how travel souvenirs and found objects sit side-by-side with icons of design. Check out the jump for some of my favorites and see the rest of the gallery here!

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I could describe GRO Design‘s Kaleidscope Watch, but I’d rather just (kaleidoscope?) watch this video instead…

Amazing. Still just a concept, unfortunately…

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Yesterday, April 28th, marked the opening of “L’Art de L’Automobile. Chefs-D’Œuvre de la Collection Ralph Lauren“—The Art of the Automobile: Masterpieces from the Collection of Ralph Lauren—at Paris’ Les Arts Décoratifs.

Really amazing stuff:

Among the major car collections in the world, there is one that stands out more than any other as synonymous with excellence: that of iconic American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. A selection of the most prestigious sports cars from the 1930s to present day is on view for the first time in Europe at Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs. seventeen outstanding cars, chosen by curator Rodolphe Rapetti, and put on display by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, outline the main phases of European automobile history. With this collection, Ralph Lauren shows that the automobile is a major art form created by the industry’s biggest names: Bugatti, Alfa Romeo, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and of course, Ferrari, the high point of this unique collection.

Brace yourself…

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Photo by Cemal Okten

We posted a quick snap of Sam Hecht’s “Branca Chair” when it was selected for the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year, and now here’s an in-depth look at how the tree-inspired “Branca” is made. Like some of our favorite manufacturing vids, it shows humans and machines working together in perfect harmony.

The audio’s a bit muddy and uneven, but the vid itself is great:

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Years ago at the New York Auto Show I wandered into now-defunct Mercury’s exhibit area, where their Mercury Marauder concept car was on display. I thought the name was weird, given Mercury’s blue-haired client base; my then-girlfriend quipped they might as well have called it the Mercury Violator.

Product names often have little to do with their intended purpose, but that hasn’t stopped Philippe Starck from naming his latest chair the Lou Read. It’s partly a play on words—Starck met musician Lou Reed at Paris’ Royal Monceau Hotel years ago, and the rooms of that hotel will now feature the chair—and partly wistful aspirations of how the chair will be used: Says Starck, “This project is a reminder that it is far better to spend time in conversation or reading activities than in front of the TV or computer.”

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