toy box

Union 18: making beautiful out of unwanted

This is my second post for Opportunity Green Conference. On this post I introduced RAW from Union 18, carpets handmade entirely from manufacturing waste. I really appreciate objects made of recycled/discarded materials that not only function well but also carry aesthetic beauties.  I have been carrying Harvey's black seat belt bag for last 4 years and love our darjeeling dining table made of reclaimed old Indian railroad ties. I think this carpet might be very much on my wish list...

Thinking/Designing Out of the Box

I'm doing some research for content for my class next week and visited one of my favorite blogs: The Medici Effect.  I was looking for interesting stories about Innovation - who, what, where, why and how.  Frans Johansson, Author of the Medici Effect, talks about "Intersections" and has a collection of "Intriguing Combinations". 

It was there that I found this video and Frans' well written description of how this video and innovative thinking really illustrates one of the main ideas in The Medici Effect:  If you apply existing concepts in fields where they haven’t been used before it dramatically increases your chances of being innovative.

Credit for the video and concept goes to Front Design, a design firm located in Stockholm, Sweden.

Second Nature

We have been looking forward to visiting this exhibit Second Nature while in Tokyo at 21_21 Design Sight.

The main exhibit was chairs and artworks made of synthetic crystals. Some of them are still in making inside of the special aquarium in which plays Beethoven in order to let the crystal form naturally based on the music note.

The crystal chair inside of the aquarium felt like it was an organic creature breathing like a living mermaid. It was like a baby inside of the mother’s womb who are growing slowly listening to the his mom singing Beethoven.

And because of the surreal cloud like installation inside of the exhibit space, it makes visitors feel as if they are inside of this aquarium of nothingness just like how the crystal chair is…being reborn.

I wish I could have taken better pictures. They had pretty strict rule of “no photography”. This was the one I was able to score using my iPhone.

How would yours look like?

Limited Edition Designer Dolls designed by London based Olivia Lee. Designer Doll capturing designers' style, attitude and design sense. How would yours look like? via Core77

Design Statement (in vinyl sticker)

Picked up at IDSA conference in San Francisco (Nov. 07)

Patterned environments

We've noticed recent updates in design with lots of patterns. Water cut patterns, patterns made out of alphabets, patterns creating spaces... Here are some of our pics.
Water cut carpet designed by selina rose. Clean and precise edges make the image of patterns look very sharp. via: DesignSponge
Laser cut Uppercase scarf by Little Factory. It's interesting to see such a familiar shapes creating a pattern. You almost don't see the alphabets unless someone shares the secret with you.
Parametre from 3Form. Beautiful repetitive patterns creating a ambiance shade. via: Apartment Therapy

MERLETTI< inter >LACE

Sci-arc is my second home after Art Center. So when I saw this video of MERLETTI< inter >LACE, I couldn't help to feel connected. Beautiful space created by a designer Elena Manferdini. 

Attention to detail

While we work in Milwaukee, we are lucky enough to commute through the building designed by Santiago Calatrava at Milwaukee Art Museum. Quadracci Pavilion is beautiful from many directions... but this is my favorite. You see how the roof line matches with the lake's horizon and the pattern on the roof almost looks like the ripples on the water? Three words... Attention to detail...

Muji: Chronotebook

Heard the rumor that this Muji Award 02 Judge's Prize winner "Chronotebook" is coming to market! Each page comes with analog clock graphic) so user can intuitively put the schedule of the day. I've been using iCalendar so don't necessary need another schedule book... but this calendar makes time management fun. Would love to get hold of one.

Braun vs. Apple!?

The Future of Apple is in 1960s Braun has intriguing side-by-side images of Braun design and Apple products. They do look like... don't they?