bottoms up

friday night design showroom cite threw an opening party for dutch designer lucas maassen.  maassen's work challenges the concept of a chair by using technology and materials not typically used in furniture design. the collection can be seen in soho through october.

back to the future

i'm back!  and so is the interiors trend book from imm cologne's panel of trend forecasting experts including designer patricia urquiola.  above is a taste of the 4 trend categories they are seeing;  re-balancing, emotional austerity, surprising empathy and transforming perspectives. the full book will be launching soon!

if you do nothing else

for the love of design, check out tom dixon's website.  he has the cooooolest new product videos on his homepage!  hit refresh to see them all....there's at least 4 different ones and my favorite features his peg chairs.  above are 2 products dixon is set to launch at the london design festival in september, the peg coat stand and scoop chair.

home grown

milwaukee based furniture design duo misewell showed pieces from their collection at design within reach last night.  the brothers, who won the best new designers award at the international contemporary furniture fair in 2009, showed some new additions to their collection including a bar stool and lamp.  also featured were some early cardboard prototypes to show the design process.  a job well done!

the life and times

if you live in the hood you should check out the super cool rummage sale the girls of 3000 pierce st are having this saturday!

pieces of what

uli budde showed his "reading table" at berlin's dmy international design festival.  the minimal side table features a wrap to hold all of your favorite magazines.  on uli's website he shows production photos of the self-manufactured tables.  via minimalissimo

hotel, motel, holiday inn

"come up to my room" is a rad project that the gladstone hotel in toronto hosts to coincide with toronto design week.  the hotel chooses artists and designers from a variety of backgrounds to create installations that are site specific within the rooms and public spaces of the hotel. the hotel also boasts 37 artist designed rooms, as well as, art galleries and art events.  the next annual show is in the end of january 2011.  hope to see you there!

on to the next one

i am looking forward to attending neocon next week where i hope to meet some of my favorite design bloggers!!  furniture company vitra, shown at milan design week above, will be hosting "bloggers jungle" at the chicago show next week. blogs contemporist, design milk and otto-otto are some of my favorites and i hope to meet them there!  you can also check out what else i and other designers are looking forward to at neocon here.

pump up the jam

idea international, a japanese company, showed some really cute stuff at icff during new york design week. i especially loved the yu'ento speaker for iPhone and the mini icon clock.

don't stop til you get enough

elodie blanchard presented some new works for her company elasticCo at icff this year. i have blogged about her awesome google pillows before and now she has added hand screened google posters of the top ten google searches of 2009 to her list of products. based out of brooklyn, elasticCo also makes some beautiful custom window coverings. it was a pleasure to meet her and hear her story. check out her etsy shop here.

switch it up

wow. i was definitely taken aback when i learned who the designer of the careem chair for council is. freaking karim rashid. unbelievable. i would have never thought that the man who thinks in pastel, candy colored blobjects could produce something like this. very interesting. i think its great and shows a bit of diversity in the designer. council is a california based design and manufacturing company and has worked with some really big names. i love the work shown this year at icff.

fresh

blu dot, a midwestern company, won best body of work this year at the international contemporary furniture fair. they introduced a sweet new table lamp called rook. you can get it for $199 from the blu dot catalog.

over the rainbow

here are a few more shots from the kartell showroom party during new york design week 2010. the space is tall and they have made great use of it, showing color merchandised furniture from floor to ceiling.

enjoy it

whatswhat collective from stockholm showed some rad mixed media lighting at new york design week 2010. the pendant lighting's shape could be adjusted by pulling on its drawstring. this is the group's first project together and i'm sure we are about to see more. check out their very cool website here.

up in here

bernhardt design, a furniture company with american roots, presented some fantastic work at icff 2010 and they just all happened to be in my favorite colors. the swiveling pillar chair by brad ascalon was my favorite. also shown were curio table and corvo chair. the booth was spacious and allowed attendees a spot to rest and take it all in.

lean with it

icff studio and bernhardt design choose up and coming designers to present prototypes at icff in hopes of finding a potential manufacturer. one of my favorites this year was montgomery design's floor lamp. i love the extreme clean look with a hidden lighting element.

men in black

black is back. kartell threw a "welcome black" party on monday night during new york design week. featured was philippe starck's newest for kartell, the ghost buster chest of drawers, as well as his mr impossible chairs and bloom lighting by ferruccio laviani. watch out for the black trend. its in full force!

all lit up

spanish company lzf showed off some really nice handmade lighting at icff 2010. i especially loved the tilt floor lamp and the air table lamp.

concrete jungle

on saturday night during new york design week 2010, i checked out areaware's store for their 5th anniversary. the new york based manufacturer is one of the biggest young american designer cheerleaders out there. confetti system provided some cool decorations and areaware gave out canvas bags stuffed with info and a silicone key keychain by harry allen