MAT CULT

All-Canadian. I love this stuff.

From the site's 'About':

"MatCult is an abbreviation of the term 'MATerial CULTure'. It is a line of designed objects by Jonathan Sabine and produced by manufacturers in and around Toronto, Canada. These objects are intended to explore primitivity/technological sophistication and materiality/conceptuality within the context of furniture and product design.

All the objects in the line are designed around local manufacturing capabilities. In this way Mat/Cult/ is an accurate, if limited, portrayal of the current character of Canadian design and manufacturing"

I've had my eye on Sabine's pieces for some time, and was mega pleased to see him in this month's Wallpaper, highlighting art/design/food&drink culture in Canada (as well as in the US, France, Scandinavia, etc- amazing issue).

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xo.s

CRANBROOK ACADEMY OF ART

'An American House '08', William Massie (created at Cranbrook and on a recent cover of DWELL)

The Grounds

I first touched on Cranbrook Academy of Art when I posted the work of Keetra Dean Dixon and have again been reminded of the brilliance coming out of that school after coming across the work of 'Innate Gestures', the alias of the school's student 3d design collective.  I'm going to post them more specifically next, but wanted to highlight some of the school's more recent creations.

Cranbrook is a Grad school located about 15 minutes outside of Detroit, MI, (in Bloomfield Hills) which means it's in my hood; I've been lucky enough to tour the school a number of times with my instructors at CCS. Admissions only accepts a limit of ten or so PER DEPARTMENT every year, which means the school has approximately 100 students at any given time.  Each grad is given their own studio space and work with artists in residence- rather than more traditional 'instructors'- to bring to life whatever is in them to create.

The work that I've seen come out of this school is exceptionally clever and remarkably simple, likely owing to the campus; students are required to live on the expansive grounds in 1930s arts and crafts cottage culture.  It's like an art retreat, secluded and surrounded by giant trees. You'd think that grad students in design would do their best work in the cultural centers of major cities, but Cranbrook kids are laid back bookish craftspeople that thrive on nature and wide open space.  Smart.

Ayami Watanabe, 'Bricks', 2005

Matt Monroe, 'Electric Orange Living Room', 2008. 

(I saw this one at last year's grad show; it's interactive and asks the participant to shovel cheetos out of the pail and onto a conveyor belt. The delicious snacks are then shredded and shot into the air inside the tiny living room, collecting inches to feet of orange dust on the droning television and small sofa)

Audrey Russel, 'Large Cat', 2005

Alumni? The Saarinens, Ray and Charles Eames, Florence Knoll, Jack Lenor Larson, Duane Hanson and Hani Rashid.

Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen

Eames chair created at Cranbrook

$igh. How I'd love to go to Grad school at Cranbrook Academy of Art.  Lottery first.

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xo.s

DESIGNBOOM DESIGN MART 2009

'Nervous System' jewelry (Jessica Rosenkrantz and Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, USA)

'Polaroid Mirror' (Colin O'Dowd, Ireland/UK)

'Imperfect' Ceramics ('Studiomake' David and Im Schaefer, USA)

'Crayon Rings' (Timothy Liles, USA)

Bowtie and Bag Collections ('Skinny Vinny' Vincent Lai, USA)

Ceramics ('Cul de Sac Design', Laura McKibbon, Canada)

Cups ('The.', Mihoko Ouchi and Sherwood Forlee, USA)

'Punch Mugs' (Karich Design, JC Karich, France/Chile)

'Inner Message' Rings (Jungyun Yoon, Korea)

'Speak-er' Speakers ('the.')

'Anti Theft' Lunch Bag ('the.')

During the ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York (may 16-19), designboom held its fifth annual 'Design Mart'.

I was there for last year's and it was the best part of the fair (that and the Umbra and Moooi exhibits).

From designboom:

"for the fifth time in New York, designboom provided an unprecedented opportunity to meet the young avant-garde and become familiar with their work. Visitors were able to buy design souvenirs and limited edition pieces directly from the designers themselves"

If I remember correctly, nothing at the mart costs more than $100. Here are some of my favourites!

xo.s

SUPERMARKET

SUPERMARKET is an online store brought to you by the fine folks at brooklyn-based 'supercorp'... it's an online store and blog where designers sell their 'stuffs' for very reasonable prices.  many of these talents are making their items by hand, at home, so help support them!

i'll be selling some things soon so wait for the word.... i'll need the support too :)

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xo.s

CHEER UP, MURRAY

the usual winter depression has hit, full-on.

these make me smile :)

HELLA JONGERIUS

I'm feeling lazy and swamped with homework, but really want to post!  

So, i'll quote:

"Designer Hella Jongerius (1963) has become known for the special way she fuses industry and craft, high and low tech, tradition and the contemporary.  After graduating Eindhoven Design Academy in 1993 she started her own company, Jongeriuslab, through which she produces her own projects and those for clients such as Maharam (New York), Royal Tichelaar Makkum (the Netherlands), Vitra (Basel), and IKEA (Sweden).

Her work has been shown at museums and galleries such as the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum (New York), MoMA (New York), the Design Museum (London), Galerie KREO (Paris) and Moss Gallery (New York)." (www.jongeriuslab.com)

I have been following her since she first did work for Droog, likely ten years ago now, and has been an inspiration for me ever since.  Have a look at her site, and if you're into IKEA you'll likely recognize a series of vases she created for them......

'Embroidered Tablecloth', 2000

'Shippo Plates', 2007

'Backpack Stool', 2007

'Backpack Sofa', 2007

'Animal Bowls', 2004

'Props', 2007

'Ikea Wall Tapestry', 2009

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