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The Caterpillar Trestle by Kawamura-Ganjavian is a table trestle consisting of a bundle of legs that seem to be set in perpetual motion. It can also be used as an informal stool. The Caterpillar series of benches and tables elaborates on the notion of lightness and redundancy.
This post could also be called the incomparable value of niche designs!
We all know that globalization is leading to standardized outdoor spaces as it has indoors. Fortunately pockets of resistance are still going strong (including Design Milk!) A few days ago, I spent a reassuring and amusing afternoon chatting the French über-chic garden designer Xavier Loup. He trained in the US and is as passionate about plants as he is about outdoor decor. Underlying everything, he says, one senses a true passion for craftsmen and certainly a complete lack of interest for cheap or shoddy designs.
He just opened a superb show room in Belgium. There one can find cherry-picked designs with high production value. He was kind enough to share some of his finds and I fell in love with these fiberglass designs. Not only are they superb but they also double up as occasional seats. Brilliant unexpected outdoor additions, they are also stunning indoor features.
Capo d’Opera’s newest project are ironic hanging storage units that resemble men’s clothing — a tribute to tailoring. The cabinets showcase five different fabrics from Oxford and Madras to Argyle, which represent shirts hand-knit sweaters. The bond that holds the cabinet together is either a zipper or buttons.
New York-based design studio MyDesign Group has recently completed a metal collection for Nambé. The main design in the collection is the Scoop Server, a really fun “chip & dip” bowl where the dip bowl seems to hover effortlessly over the larger serving bowl.
Wei Young, head of MyDesign, explains the inspiration for this piece:
The inspiration for the Scoop Chip and Dip came from the sweeping, fluid motion one performs when scooping an actual chip into dip. The captured movement lead way to the curvaceous lines and spherical silhouettes of the piece. The Scoop was designed to immediately convey it’s function while being inviting and alluring to the user. The two bowls seamlessly blended together creating the distinctive profile. Simple yet complex in form, the shape of this object would be highly difficult to produced in one solid piece using typical molding processes and techniques. The Scoop lends itself perfectly to Nambé’s signature hand crafted alloy and intelligent manufacturing processes. I wanted to created an object that reflects the energy of our modern era, and be classic in form to last into generations to come. Aesthetically original in form and function, the Scoop is for entertaining as much as it is for conversation.
Nambé let us know that the Scoop Server will be available at the end of August.
Aly is a company that lets you customize your light switches with your own images, or you can choose a design from their extensive library. They even have a graffiti category. They even offer light switches embellished with Swarovski crystals.
UK-based design firm Studio Public recently completed a client project in a coastal getaway for an overworked city couple. They were looking for a tranquil escape from their hectic working life — a mixture of luxury and personality.
The neutral palette was inspired by the coastal location and the stunning sea views — soft hues of cream, white, and blue tones infuse the space with calm. In the bathroom, a larger glass sheet divides the tub and shower complete with a beautiful sea horizon that was digitally printed on the glass surface. There are also LEDs hidden in the floor for visibility at night.
Timeline is a new collection from contemporary kitchen manufacturer Aster Cucine in collaboration with New York-based design studio workshop/apd. The new line is inspired by craftsmanship and artistry of the past, embracing both a vintage and contemporary style.
Plug this sleek baby into your smartphone for ease of use when talking and accessing apps at the same time, as well as to minimize contact with cellular radiation (if you believe that it is harmful). It’s a win-win.
Designed by David Turpin for Native Union.
Belgian designer Quentin de Coster has completed a new project called Indiscipline. I love that these are porcelain but look flexible.
Since we didn’t have a Deconstruction article in June, we’re giving you two in July! The first was Beplushave’s Arquette lamp. This one comes from David Keller created a pair of stools called Axum and Lalibella for his studies at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem under professor Yaacov Kauffman. He’s sent us pictures of the design and build process for a colorful Deconstruction.
Near the place I live there is an “absorption center for new immigrants.” Immigrants spend their first years in this place after coming from all around the world before they are acclimatized in their new country. In the center near my home there lives a few hundreds of immigrants from Ethiopia. They have lived there for almost 25 years. Their “acclimatization” takes time, and it seems to me that they have developed — during those years — a dual, Israeli-Ethiopian culture. Their houses, clothes, Friday markets and social habits are both modern and ancient, third world and Western at the same time. This research was the foundation for my design.
