Utilizing color in design can be a challenge, but Corita Rose, a young home furnishings company from England has got it down to a tee.  I found this company at the ICFF, which was a real smash this time around.  What caught my eye in the last row of the fair, was this brightest-of-bright couch that you see above. 

Obviously inspired by the colorful palette and motifs of Mexico, this line of home furnishings is a breath of fresh air and a bit of eye candy.  I love, love, LOVE these patterns and colors! 

I spoke to the designer at the show and he was as delightful as his couch, which he said he flew over on the plane with… not!  But he also showed me the coverage that his young company has gotten on blogs like ours and it was a book full.  He was more then happy to provide me with a press disc so I could write this article up. Here are a few more of their products.  I am sure we will see more of Corita Rose in the near future.

I admire a company that is comitted to design and produces just a few great pieces… following your dreams is the key to success.

With all the minimalist design we see around us it was refreshing to come across Ayala Sarfaty of Aqua Creations who makes art that is illuminating sculpture.

Offered in magnificent shapes and natural fibers like silk, mohair and wrapped with a unique polymer skin.

Don’t you wish you could have this in your home?

Aqua Creations that has an exclusive line of lighting fixtures of monumental proportions for home or public spaces. Designer Ayala Serfaty and photographer Albi Serfaty founded Aqua Creations Design Studios in 1994. The studio is headquartered in Tel Aviv and has two additional flagship showrooms in New York and Shanghai.

Their lighting designs as well as furniture are displayed in museums in New York , Paris and hotel lobbies around the world.

This one happens to be an underwater restaurant in Iarael’s port city:Eilat. It is 20 feet below sea level featuring sea anemone bar stools, jellyfish lights suspended from the ceiling, coral reef tables and even shadow plays of schools of fish swimming next to the real fish outside the restaurant.

I just love these creations. These are some of the descriptive words that come to mind: illusory, luminous, amorphous, primal, soothing, stunning,…

Her organic lamps and lampshades seem to have been swept in from the sea. I suppose their name – Aqua meaning water describes it well.

To see more of their extraordinary work go to Youtube and/or their website.

Great minds think alike, to see another Tchochkes post on Ayala’s work click here.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the opening exhibition of the Design Museum Holon titled: The State of Things – Design and the 21st Century. An international exhibit that featured current objects and the practice, consumption and cultural impact of contemporary design. They were grouped into various categories. Factors that shaped the selection process were: the materials used, the concepts conveyed and the intended uses.

There were eight categories in the exhibit. But I’ll touch on the things that caught my eye. The object above is a Water clock by Kouichi Okamoto.

Now what time would you say it is?

An example of the Design Lab, the One Shot stool designed by Patrick Jouin for MGX, Belgium in 2006. This category deals with prototypes and uses for new materials such as carbon fiber which provide incredible lightness as well as strength.

And here you see it closed like an umbrella – fabulous.

Above you see Joris Laarman’s ornate Wirepod. (Sorry about the photo quality. It was shot through a glass display case) This is an example of Super Beauty – an ordinary outlet for electronic appliance, its sinus curves and decorative nature make a normally hidden and unattractive object beautiful and intentionally showy. It reminds me of old wrought iron banister spindles.

Gareth Neal’s Anne table’s legs are very interesting. The striations mixed with solid areas give the legs a wobbly appearance. Some trompe l’oeil n’est pas?

The Social Anxiety category addresses issues that every country in the world is affected by:  one or more of a range of problems including terrorism, environmental issues, natural disasters, disease, famine, and failing economies. Many designers are reflecting the perceived and very real experience of inhabiting an increasingly dangerous world. Here is an example of this category: the inflatable Evacuation Dress by Yael Mer of Raw-Edges.

The Global Warming carpet by NEL Colectivo, Mexico City.

And just to give you some scale.

The Riot Table Lamp by Janne Kyttanen takes a very pessimistic view of the future showing bombs, airplanes, barbed wire and other symbols of war.

In contrast to this light fixture:

The Hanabi Light is an example of the New Essentialism category: a range of aesthetically simple objects that call attention to their materials or function without the distraction of ornament or complicated functioning. Nendo’s Hanabi light made of a shape-changing metal that expands when heated is one example.

It opens and closes seemingly ambivalent to its environment. It reminded me of a Venus Flytrap.

One visit is not enough.

The The State of Things – Design and the 21st Century exhibit runs from March 4th through May 15th, 2010 at the Design Museum Holon, Israel

All images and text copyright Judy Weiss. All rights reserved.

]]> http://www.tchochkes.com/wordpress/the-objects-of-designers/feed/ 3 http://www.tchochkes.com/wordpress/ru-ready-for-this-chair/ http://www.tchochkes.com/wordpress/ru-ready-for-this-chair/#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 04:30:36 +0000 Judy Weiss http://www.tchochkes.com/wordpress/?p=14698

image from trendhunter

Last month was Stockholm Design Week. Although I wasn’t actually there (yet). I did spot a really clever chair on Dezeen.

image by dezeen

At the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2010, industrial designer  Shane Schneck exhibited a stack-able wooden chair for the Danish company Hay.

image @designboom

Its neat design feature is that it can be hung from the edge of a table from its seat,  making cleaning that much easier.

image from trendhunter

Its strength comes from cross laminating layers of wood in the seat. This allows for structural support, lightweight and durability. And unlike conventional chairs it doesn’t have front legs so that not only can it be cantilevered from a table but also easily stacked on top of each other.

the making image by fredrik carlson

the making image by fredrik carlson

The name RU was taken from the kangaroo. The unique stance and extended legs are reminiscent of  “ru”.

I think its both functional and cool.

At almost the moment it was introduced in 1994, the Herman Miller Aeron Chair became the “It” chair for the office. All the cool kids at the cool offices had them, and hotels began touting the Aeron’s presence in rooms as one of many luxury amenities. And for good reason: it really was luxurious. But not in a gilded object sort of luxurious, but a luxury for the body itself. Everything about the Aeron chair, from the way it conforms to different body shapes and evenly distributes weight, to its fully adjustable nature and PostureFit technology, made it the must-have office chair. It also looked totally cool.

They were also totally expensive for an office chair. Especially a home office chair. Occasionally we would have the “we should get Aeron chairs” conversation, which usually ended with, “Or we could pay off my car!” However, unbeknown to me, my husband had been researching more affordable avenues for Aeron chairs, and finally discovered what I’d like to refer to as The Mothership—the world of Home Office Solutions; specifically, one of its spin-off sites, preownedHMchairs.com. The Mothership is chock full of all sorts of goodness from Knoll, Kartell, Vitra, Steelcase, etc., and at great prices. The pre-owned HM site, however, offered refurbished Aeron chairs at even lower prices.

I was really skeptical of the refurbished thing, which could mean anything from simply being returned to maybe being a Frankenstein chair. But it turns out The Mothership is the largest authorized reseller of HM chairs (and therefore not shady), and when companies sell or trade in their older chairs, the pre-owned site replaces parts like the armrests and casters (and sends you an extra set), and tunes up anything that needs tuning up, selling them at a major discount, 12-year HM warranty, no tax, and free shipping.

So since the Tax Fairy came, we ordered them last week and they arrived on Friday. The chairs look and feel brand new, and there’s not a scratch or dent anywhere on them. They’re insanely comfortable, especially after years of really crappy chairs with no support, and that makes my sad back so happy. Plus we saved a lot of money. Kudos to the husband for his research, and for sticking to our vow to “never pay retail.”

More on chairs from Tchochkes here.

The Amish community is a quiet breed located in various states throughout the USA but this winter they are making some noise by marketing a heating device that has everyone buzzing.  The Amish Stove is all the rage and comes in many styles.  Most talked about as a secondary heating source and a decorative addition to home spaces that need that extra push of hot air when the north wind blows. 

Amish Stove With White Mantel

A good friend of mine sells stoves and he says that the only Amish thing about the one that you see here is the woodwork and that the actual heating element is made in China.  I have seen versions of the electric stove in Home depot, Lowes and smaller home stores.  At first I hated the concept, but now that I have seen it working in a few homes I can honestly say that it is a good source of alternative heat. 

Stone Mantel Stove

There are variations on the theme as seen here with the stone mantel above and below.  

But the most popular (and Amish) by far is the natural and stained wood versions like the one shown below.  This stove is on wheels so you can place it where it is needed most, pretty nifty. 

All stoves featured here are from electricfireplacesdirect.com.

I met and fell in love with the butcher block many years ago in my then boyfriend’s kitchen (now he’s my husband and I have the block in my home).  No, I didn’t marry him for his butcher block if that’s what you’re thinking.  The diversity of this product has proven itself three homes later, it is the focal point in my kitchen.

My Butcher Block

My new obsession is re-doing my counter tops in butcher block which I have found to be possible after researching the matter.  The butcher block shown above is a Boos block, a manufacturer that has been in business since 1887.  This quality item is worth its weight in gold.  I can do a counter top in the size that I need for under $1,000.00 with Boos.

There are many products big and small that allow a shopper to incorporate the look.  Here are a few of my finds.  Most of the products shown here can be found at thebutcherblocktop .com .

Decorative Multi Wood Cutting Board

Butcher Block Island

Another Simplified Pattern on Top

Office Counter Top Butcher Block

My new counter tops will look something like this but nicer!

Rustic furniture comes in handy when a home craves a touch of relaxed style. I came across a set of twig furniture this weekend while on a visit to Cold Spring N.Y., a small town that sits along the Hudson River.  This settee and chair were a perfect match for the covered porch that I found them on.

Here’s a close up of each peice.  They are actually charming in their own right.  This set was a bit weathered but it only added to their charm.

White Birch Twig Bench

White Birch Twig Chair

This find lead me on to search for more interesting twig products.  I love the red bentwood rocker shown here.  Although it is a bit more pastoral when the furniture is not painted, adding paint bumps this product up a notch.

The rustic rocker shown here has a country feel that the painted rocker does not. 

Wow, this bed is over-the-top twig!  I love the way the bedding and floor cover ties in the green color scheme.

Twig Bench Vienna Woodworks

This bench is a combination of finished and natural wood.  The combination makes sense from a comfort angle, I would hate to catch my stockings on a piece of bark…  Believe it or not, twig furniture is green and if you really want to get into the groove you can make your own. 

In July I wrote about Sod Yarok (Green Secret), an inspiring florist store in Givatayim that creates the most amazing flower arrangements and also has great vases and some beautiful furniture too. I walked past there the other day and noticed that almost everything had changed, so I thought you may appreciate an update. I don’t know much about flowers but these are Chrysanthemums, which are about as difficult to spell as they are to pronounce. They were in simple white baskets which was lovely!

They always have amazing window displays, I love the crisp white ceramics and then the earthy unglazed square pots below, gives an earthy, wintery feeling. Those green squashes are also so pretty.

The window display does a great job in luring you in…

I just love the colors in this store…

These are tomatoes believe it or not

Here’s a plant that was being potted as I took photos:

A store I highly recommend visiting. It’s at 22 Weitzman Street in Givatayim

Eva Guillet and Aruna Ratnayake have been working together in Studio Lo since 2003. Their most recent creation is the PANO chair.

‘PANO’ chair, counters plated filmed, water-jet cutting, assembly by tenon and mortise.
The shape of the PANO chair is almost entirely conditioned by a double system of constraints: the optimization of the matter, the absence of screws and bolts. Its assemblage, without adhesive, is based on the principles of lever, assembly in force and warped surface. The «share-cut» makes it possible to obtain two decorative elements for a cut.’