Posts from — November 2007

Actus Interiors of Japan has a fantastic new collection which was a collaboration with established Italian furniture design company Molteni & C. But what was so exciting for me was when I found out that the person responsible for many of the artistic choices was one of my favorite designers, Patricia Urquiola.
The entire geometric collection is great but my favorite are the Glove Chairs pictured directly below!

Glove Dining Chair: $900 – $1,700

Clip Bed: $6,500
Clip Table: $1,600

Reversi: $2,200

Morna: $6,600

Leaf dining table: $4,100
Lean dining chair: $1,000

The entire collection can be viewed HERE!

I think these site-specific advertisements for Amnesty International, titled “not here but now” are magnificent and very telling. We so often watch the news and hear about horrific incidents happening all around the world, but then somehow dismiss them as if they were just a movie. However, these advertisements are effective because they invade our territory and place those horrific incidents in a context that we associate with. Absolutely stunning! Creative Director Pius Walker was responsible for series of 11 different advertisements, which won the 2007 Cannes Lions golden award.

UK-based W2 came up with this ingenious idea for a set of mugs. They licenced the PANTONE trademark and created a mug for 10 different colors; a gift perfect for any graphic designer friends you may have! A new shipment has just arrived so they are fully stocked in preparation for Christmas. Unfortunately, they only ship within the UK… bummer. The set of 10 (and 1 free) go for £72.00 while each individual mug retails for £8 each. You can order HERE.

I FELL IN LOVE with this gorgeous hotel; the Hotel Particulier Montmartre. It is tucked away down a long dirt path and surrounded by a garden. Sounds like an oasis doesn’t it? Well it looks like one too! Having opened recently in June of 2007, the hotel has 5 stylishly distinct suites to offer, each designed by a different designer or artist.

The main entrance to the hotel

“Tree with Ears” designed by Pierre Fichefeux, a young illustrator and art director.

“The Vegetal Room” was designed by acclaimed artist Martine Aballéa, who works in Paris.

“Curtain of hair” by artist and photographer Natacha Lesueur

“Poems and hats” by creative consultant Olivier Saillard

NEW YORK

10/27/2007-11/20/2007: Performa 07

Performa 07 is New York’s 2nd biennial exhibition devoted solely to performance art. Although the show is about halfway through its run that is not important because you still have this week and a little bit of next to enjoy happenings that are all about “now.” Check out their calendar to see what’s going on today!

 Time: depends | Location: depends | Charge: depends

TOKYO

11/4/2007-1/14/2008:  Nordic Modernism

As you may have probably noticed, Scandinavian design is huge in Japan right now. Here is another event for all those Nordic enthusiasts. “Nordic Modernism” looks at design from Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark from the perspective of 3 elements; tradition, functionality and expression.

11:00 – 19:00 | Tokyo Opera City | 1000 yen

images courtesy Taku Satoh | click to enlarge

Graphic designer Taku Satoh, not only curated this exhibition, he also designed the logo, the graphics, the catalog, the posters and the actual exhibition space! Talk about a one-stop-shop.

Simply titled “water,” the show, which runs through January 14, 2008, attempts to rethink the notion of the environment around us, reinterpreting design through the concept of water. The show features works by photographer Yasuhiro Ishimoto, graphic designer Kenya Hara, the design/engineer team Metaphor, and much more.

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT director and graphic designer Taku Satoh will “curate” the exhibition. Mr. Satoh has put together a team of experts from a wide variety of fields including anthropology, photography, lighting design, and design engineering. The water project is a result of extensive research and is comprised not only by an exhibition, but is also an attempt to engage the five senses by creating different points of reference between design and water. The latter will be in the form of publications, websites, talk shows, and workshops.

IN CONJUNCTION WITH 100% design, gallery 21_21 hosted an exquisite exhibition simply titled “water.” Curated by designer Taku Satoh, water attempts to rethink the notion of the environment around us, reinterpreting design through the concept of water.  You can read more about the show here!

PHOTOS: Tamotsu Fujii

Photo courtesy of Casa Brutus

THE SPANISH EMBASSY in Tokyo put an a magnificent exhibition titiled “Spain Playtime – Fresh Air in Spanish Design.” HERE is a link to the website. The show was curated by Ana Mir and Emili Padrós from Emiliana Design Studio and centered around a common theme, playtime, which showcased numerous designs with a playful twist. Some of my favorite designers participated, namely Jaime Hayon!

  
 
 
(Below: Photo courtesy of Casa BRUTUS)

AS PROMISED VIA a previous post, I will be posting many pictures this week (and maybe into next week!) of the best of the best of 100% Design – Tokyo. Today I would like to introduce Nosigner. This artist chooses not to be referred to by name. It goes along with his philosophy, which is to design the invisible…

But invisible or not, he made a huge splash at the exhibition. Here are some of his works.

Pokkari Light made from real feathers

Spring Rain made from harusame (literally ‘spring rain’) noodles. I can’t believe how he transformed such an everyday food to look so luxurious. Stunning!

TubeTube is so adorable. I’ve seen many good-looking toothbrush/holders but I think this one tops them all!

BASED OUT OF BROOKLYN, Sef Pinney and Mike Angio from Elucid Design have created this great collection of furniture. Shown below are a few pieces from their “Redpoint Collection.” The design team emphasizes sustainable, eco-friendly products that have low embodied energy. Embodied Energy refers to the energy used to prepare materials before they can be fashioned into a product. For example, in this case nontoxic finishes are applied to wood that is all from domestic forests. Time to add that one to your design dictionary!

——————————————————————–

————————————————————-

Also something to note… Elucid Design is going to be in the 6th annual BKLYN DESIGNS, a showcase of up and coming furniture designers based out of New York. The show is set for May 9 – 11, 2008!