Hasta La Ideas

pimg alt=”uncommongoods_comp.jpg” src=”http://www.core77.com/blog/images/uncommongoods_comp.jpg” width=”468″ height=”595″ class=”mt-image-none” style=”” //p

pa href=”http://www.uncommongoods.com/yougoods/”UncommonGoods/a, in honor of National Inventors Month, is looking for the next “Uncommon Inventor or Designer.” Here’s the pitch:/p

pBlockquoteThe third of our YouGoods product design challenges, this contest is looking for a product with a spark of inventive genius, a flash of innovation and something that makes us say, “Aha! Why didn’t we think of that?” Oh, and did we mention there’s a $1,500 prize and a chance to showcase your design at World Maker Faire in NYC?/p

pGuidelines for submitting an entry: br /
Must have a clear idea of the end product. Entrant may provide photos, design specs or videos to share a full concept of their idea. /p

pTell a good story. Judges want to know: How did you choose materials? What design options did you consider before you developed your final submission? What did you learn in the process of designing your product? Who is this product for and why? What need or problem does it address? /p

pJudges will give more points to products that are unique, eco-friendly, and economical to produce. Judges may give more points to designs that have taken production and manufacturing into account./p

pThe winning design will be picked by a team of judges along with the help and input of our online community. UncommonGoods Facebook fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite designs, so make sure you join us on a href=”http://www.facebook.com/uniquegifts”Facebook!/a Download the entry form at a href=”http://www.uncommongoods.com/yougoods”www.uncommongoods.com/yougoods/a, and send us your product idea before August 23./blockquote/p

pGood luck inventors! (and designers:)/pa href=”http://www.core77.com/blog/events/uncommongoods_looks_for_inventors_and_designers_17156.asp”(more…)/a
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Alessi’s exhibit looks to the future of design by taking hints from the past

When Munich’s Die Neue Sammlung museum asked Alessi to plot the future of design, the Italian design lab, along with curator Alessandro Mendini, realized that their future lies in the simplicity of the past. The resulting exhibit, “Objects and Projects – Alessi: History and Future of an Italian Design Factory” explores the concept with a collection of their iconic greatest hits, a look at their present-day successes, and a forward-thinking series of 12 prototypes and reissues (nine of which are already slated to go into production).

Below we highlight a few of our favorite of the products—both those that channel their meticulous design roots and re-conceived classics from the ’30s and ’60s.

A Tempo

Taking a graphical look at wire, Pauline Deltour’s “A Tempo” range includes two fruit bowls, a dish rack and a trash bin that express “a breath of fresh hope and newness.” The contemporary collection heralds Alessi’s beginning with its packing—a simple sheet of paper wrapped around each object.

Memories From The Future

A re-release of classic Alessi models, the “Memories From The Future” range represents a time (roughly 1920s-40s) that founder Carlo Alessi called “pre-design.” As he further explains, these products differ from contemporary design projects because they were “heavily influenced by almost obsessive attention to function, proper manufacturing methods and production costs.” Designed by Alessi and the Ufficio Tecnico Alessi, the products span tea pots to liquor flasks.

Miriorama

Meaning “endless visions,” the Gruppo T-designed Miriorama collection uses kinetic objects for a beautiful combinion of art and design. The works, a “state of thought” rather than just physical objects, were originally produced in editions of only ten pieces in 1960. Alessi is re-releasing the series, but in a limited edition of 99 pieces.

“The show” runs through 19 September 2010.

Remember The Printed Blog? It was all the talk all over the place at the start of last year. A newspaper that was composed of blog posts and online photography, assembled into a weekly free paper. Only launched in a few select cities, we saw a couple of issues and were impressed. Although very well designed and fun to read, it never quit seemed to catch on, and by July of 2009, it had folded. But now it looks like they’re preparing to try again. The good folks at our sister blog, Fishbowl LA, best jobs in media.

There’s a really nice quality to his shots, have a look after the jump.

Sean’s a Toronto native and OCAD grad. Plenty more to see on his site, I particularly like this next one…

New exhibition space Křehký Gallery has opened inside a former ham factory in Prague.

The inaugural show, entitled Heroes, focusses on personal quests and includes work by Ron Arad, Tomás Alonso, Doshi Levien and Jamie Hayon.

Curated by Jana Zielinski and Jiří Macek, the exhibition was designed by Czech designer Maxim Velčovský.

Watch our movie about Křehký founders Jana Zielinski and Jiří Macek »

The exhibition continues until 24 September.

The following information is from Křehký Gallery:

Heroes

The first exhibition that opens the gallery is Heroes. It is about things that have the power to turn us into heroes exactly as we wish.

Gardeners search for natural harmony with the world; collectors guard the memory; old stories push things forward; preachers present ideals and final definitions; poets roam the universe so that we learn to dream as well; hunters follow their instincts; explorers quest and find new dimensions to our existence; bandits question its essence in the same way as the essence of definitions is found. Gardeners, collectors, preachers, poets, hunters, explorers, and bandits – heroes who we bear inside in order to become real.

The original Křehký installation and emblem was designed by Maxim Velčovský.

“Karl Marx may have had it exactly backwards. He argued that classes are defined by their means of production, but it could be true that in the information age at least, classes are defined by their means of consumption. We become the curators of our own property.”
-David Brooks

Heroes exhibition
July 14 – September 24, 2010
Wed – Fri 14.00 – 18.00

Concept and selection of objects: Jana Zielinski, Jiří Macek
Exhibition architecture: Maxim Velčovský
Graphic design: Martina Černá / Imagery

Designers represented at the Heroes exhibition: Ron Arad, Tomás Alonso, Doshi and Levien, Alfredo Häberli, Jamie Hayon, Finn Juhl, Kompott – Kristyan Kowalski, Tomáš Král, Enzo Mari, Olgoj Chorchoj, Jiří Pelcl, Raw Edges, Patrick Rampelotto, Mann Sigh, Bořek Šípek, Klára Šumová, Maxim Velčovský, Marcel Wanders.

About the gallery:

A new gallery opens in Prague Holešovice tomorrow. The Křehký Gallery presents a very personal view of contemporary design, the home, and the world of objects by means of exhibitions and its own collection of objects. The curatorial selection by Jana Zielinski and Jiří Macek includes primarily limited editions, designer originals, experimental projects, prototypes, and lot-produced objects in an exclusive representation that brings originality, character, and uniqueness into our environment. Thus, the Křehký limited edition gives Czech and foreign designers an opportunity and a free hand to implement their projects, which express the perception of the world of objects by the designers themselves thanks to an unrestricted creative process and implementation. This process, on the other hand, signifies a huge experience for the individual manufacturers, who in most cases must cope with the demands of high quality and technology that are not applied in standard production.

The gallery was established on the basis of the successful Křehký exhibition project from 2007, which presented the most powerful moments from the field of contemporary Czech glass and porcelain design in a very emotional selection. The exhibition and the first designer pieces from the Křehký collection were originally presented as part of a Designblok ’07 event in the form of an imaginary spherical landscape (designed by Maxim Velčovský). The Křehký Collection won the Editors Award at the ICFF trade fair in New York; the Křehký by Designblok Prague was nominated for the Grand Prix at 100% Design Tokyo. Later, the Křehký collection represented the Czech Republic at many different locations all over the world.

The gallery occupies 250 m2 in the M-factory building of the former Prague ham factory at Osadní 35. The sensitive revitalization of the annex was designed by Olgoj Chorchoj.

Designers of Křehký limited editions: Nastassia Alejnikava, Alfredo Häberli, Olgoj Chorchoj, Jiří Pelcl, Bořek Šípek, Klára Šumová, Maxim Velčovský

Brands represented: Artek / Finland (furniture, lights); Driade / Italy (interior accessories); Moooi / Holland (interior accessories); One Collection / Denmark (furniture)

See also:

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Křehký movie	Maxim Velčovský for Lobmeyr	Maxim Velčovský for Mint