ACTIVE FURNITURE BY FERRAN LAJARA

From www.ferranlajara.com

"'Active Furniture' is a collection of 3 objects which try to keep users physically active by creating new relationships (object-user-user-object). These relationships are not unidirectional anymore- relationships in which users are the ones who demand from the object and the object obeys. The pieces of furniture in this collection... force users to perform a physical action in order to make them function... keeping users active"

The lamp only turns on when vertical and must be held up at all times in order to keep it lit; the desk has the drawers on the opposite side of where the user sits, forcing him or her to get up to get things out; and the hanger is placed several meters above the floor so that one has to literally climb the mounted fixtures (much like those of indoor wall climbing) in order to reach the hanging coat! 

fun.

click click

xo.s

KWANGHO LEE

I first saw Kwangho Lee's work in an article about the Toronto Gladstone Hotel's annual 'Come Up to My Room' Exhibition, and have been following him ever since.  He has some very uniquely crafted furniture as well, chiseled by hand out of blocks of foam, but his lighting series is without a doubt his best work.  Each piece is (knotted? woven?) by hand, so no two are the same.  Wild.

From his site:

"In my work, I talk about two things: one is about the search for possible changes and new meanings in the most ordinary objects of our daily lives.  I believe that many of the mundane objects have boundless capabilities of transforming into something else; second is to always express the symphony of design and craft.  My projects never undergo machinery process.  Therefore only small quantities are 'crafted' from my hands"

click click

xo.s

LIFEGOODS

from ID magazine:

"The nurse, the optician, and the art student (Sophie Depery, Olivier Burgisser, and Singal Moesch) met at the University of Art and Design in Lausanne in 2003 and pledged to work together as a trio once they'd graduated.  They kept their word, and their sudio, Lifegoods, has since been turning out eclectic designs that rarely sacrifice the surreal for the merely practical.  

Burgisser credits the groups members' disparate backgrounds with bringing "complementary competence" to their work"

A nurse and an optician.  Whatever it is that they bring to the table, it works.  Some of the best design firms in the world- such as IDEO- employ social workers, biologists, chemists, engineers, etc. in order to bring insight that might never have been otherwise explored.  

bedside lamp

'serie' storage

'serie' storage

'wifi desk' (meant for public spaces)

'table basse'

'eclosion stool'

bedside table

click click

MOOOI

My favourite manufacturing/design company.  Hands down.  I was at the ICFF in New York last May and couldn't tear myself away from their exhibit.  When it comes to furniture and lighting design, Moooi is perfection.

Their pieces are sculpture.  Conceptually unique but still very marketable, and so grand. Beauty.

from their site:

"Since April 2001, Moooi has inspired and seduced the world with sparkling and innovative designs within the interior industry.  The founders Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers decided to change the already existing brand Wanders Wonders into Moooi (meaning beautiful in their native language, Dutch) with one extra 'o' because it is extra beautiful.  Besides the designs of Wanders, Moooi also has other designs from both national and internationally recognized designers, such as Jurgen Bay, Bertjan Pot, Jasper Morrison, Ross Lovegrove, Studio Job, Front, and many more"

The wing chair at the bottom is even set on fire as part of the production process!

click click

EDOUARD LAMARAUD

Edouard, only 30 years old won a red dot award last year for his 'ariane' lighting series, and does freelance design for clients such as ligne roset, oliban, and mat&jewski.  He has been working with Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec (the genius brothers) since 2006.

Dang.  And not bad looking, either. ;)

'trompe l'oeil' ring

'festive kitchen'

'ariane' lights

'shadow lamp'

click click

xo.s

CRITERIA

CRITERIA

@ the Averill and Bernard Leviton, A+D Gallery, Chicago

Jan 15- Feb 28, 2009

From designboom:

"The exhibition 'Criteria' explores the ethics and politics that embody contemporary notions of sustainability, through a variety of media that gathers artworks and unconventional design approaches.  It examines the utopia behind efforts to modify and push the capitalist consumption patterns as well as adress the current contradictions between industrial and natural landscapes"

From top:

'IV Pot Plant' by Vitamin, 2008

'Tap'd NY' by Craig Zucker, 2008

'Best before' by Riccochet sudio, 2008 (fine bone china)

'Ikarus' by Aylin Kayser and Christian Metzner (the wax lamp I showed from a few days ago, for which I couldn't find an owner!  It melts when used, encouraging energy efficiency)

click click

UP AGAINST THE WALL

These pieces are so chill.  We all know how copacetic we look, leaning against the wall, without a care.  'Yeah, i'll hold your books', 'yeah, i'll light your room'..... so easygoing, no?

The wall is more or less used as a part of the design, the support structure.  I love it.

;) ha.  

I'll do my best to find the owners of these pieces, as i've had the images for awhile and didn't think to properly archive them.  bad blog form, i know.  but I promise to redeem myself.  Stay tuned.

DEFORMED TUBE LIGHT, Pernilla Jansson

A very cool neon tube light designed by Pernilla Jansson.

I love anything that would be as at home in an art gallery as a design showroom.  The best design is so sculptural and thought-provoking that it could easily be considered conceptual art.  The 'sagginess' of it is brilliant because we're most used to seeing neon lights in rigid bars or forced into lettering for signage, but this one looks as though you could pick it up and have it sink between your fingers.  They seem to be melting..... !

click click

CASTOR

Castor Design

I just found this site after reading up on this Toronto group in I.D magazine.  I'm working on a similar project for my senior thesis!

Brilliant work. 

http://www.castordesign.ca