Filed under: producer, product | Tags: children, Contemporary Design, Design, designer, designers, development, dutch design, holland, lighting, My Reading Light, myhouseismycastle, Philips, product, products
Every now and again we read such self-gratifying rubbish from designers about why they design and what for them the role of design is that one really has to step back and ask why they waste their talent.
Yes design is art, but it in comparison to painting or sculpting it is an art that can genuinely help us all live more comfortable and rewarding lives.
We’ll not name the guilty paryt on this occasion, but rather show here how the project “My Reading Light” from Dutch multi-national conglomerate Philips shows what can be achieved.
Now, we’re not going to pretend for a minute that we believe the images of poor and needy schoolchildren in underprivileged regions moved the executives at Philips so that they felt the need to do something for the needy.
It’s clearly all about profit here.
But our interest is the design.
Reminiscent of a magnifying glass our granny used to have, “My Reading Light” is a rechargeable, solar powered reading light. The advantages are clear, allowing as it does users to individually read and work independent of electricity supply and location.
The design is thoughtful and attractive and Philips know that if it can be shown to be effective and is readily accepted then development organisations will buy thousands if not millions of units.
The designers at Philips have once again achieved a small technological breakthrough, those who chances in life are hindered by the infrastructure on which they rely have a possibility to get on, philips boosts its profits and the environment can breath just a touch easier.
OK no multi-millionaire designer receives another fat cheque.
But that is not what it is all about.
Lecture over… new design follows.
My Reading Light by Philips ...
... in action
Filed under: product, retailer | Tags: computer, Contemporary Design, Design, designer, designer furniture, designers, furniture, Home, home office, household, KokuZ, mousepad, office furniture, product, products, wood, Wood Mouse Pad
It’s not really furniture … but it is really good.
Sadly we can’t find any real information on it, other than it is made from 200 years old elm and is available from geekstuff4u.com
Love the idea, love the design, love the slope, just love really
KokuZ Wood Mouse Pad. Aint cheap but….
KokuZ Wood Mouse Pad
...great
Filed under: designer, producer, product | Tags: bench, Chair, Contemporary Design, Design, designer, designer furniture, designers, dutch design, furniture, garden, garden furniture, Home, household, interior, interior design, interiors, myhouseismycastle, Nils Holger Moormann, product, products, Rogier Martens, Weltevree, Wheelbench, wood, wooden furniture
Much as we love well considered, functional furniture – we must also admit to a weakness for the ingeniously daft.
Pieces such as the Bookinist or Easy Reader by Nils Holger Moormann, for example, always inspire us to take the rest of the day off and just enjoy life.
Wheelbench by Dutch designer Rogier Martens passes into just such a category.
What could be more simple, more fun and yet remain a genuine design work.
Wheelbench by Rogier Martens for Weltevree wont change the world. But will make it just a little brighter.
Wheelbench by Rogier Martens for Weltevree ...
... just great
Filed under: designer, producer, product | Tags: american design, Contemporary Design, Design, designer, designer furniture, designers, Eric Pfeiffer, furniture, Home, household, Iglooplay, interior, interiors, Offi, plywood, product, Scando Table, table, wood, wooden furniture
Now we admit it is very rare that we post a product here without being convinced of its value.
And indeed looking through the files we can’t find any published posts where we express doubt over the quality of a product.
Lots of drafts – but no posts.
But that said we feel confident with the leap into unknown waters that stands before us.
Scando Table by San Fransisco based Eric Pfeiffer for Offi intriques us.
A lot.
We like the fact the opening is nice and wide.
We like the fact that the table is low.
We like the fact that you can place your laptop on it and work while sitting on the floor.
We like the newspaper/magazine rack at the end.
We like the fact that you can place your laptop on it and work while sitting on the floor, with you books/notes in the newspaper/magazine rack at the end.
But what we really like is the thought that it reminds us of the childrens furniture from iglooplay; just for adults.
As we say, we like, an awful – but if it’s worth recommending … we remain far from convinced.
Something in the back of our minds nags us, we’re not 100 sure why…but for some reason we just find it difficult to accept as something we would actually buy.
We”ll investigate further … but just in case it does turn out to be something truly wonderful, we thought we’d better mention it.
Scando Table by Eric Pfeiffer for Offi. Quite possibly genius.
Scano Table by Eric Pfeiffer for Offi
It's got us stumped...
Filed under: designer, product | Tags: Chair, Contemporary Design, Design, designer, designer furniture, designers, furniture, Home, household, interior, interior design, interiors, kitchen, office furniture, product, products, table, wooden furniture
You think you’ve seen it all … and then someone designs a chair that has a second chair inside it.
Stacking chairs don’t get any simpler.
Mexico City based industrial designer Alberto Villarreal has quite frankly blown our conception of temporary seating.
And we are so thankful
Until now it was a case of the chairs go on top of one another.
With his Inside Out chair Alberto Villarreal has quite simply placed a second chair inside the first.
Genius.
Now while, obviously, this is no solution for large public venues where hundreds of chairs are needed in irregular frequencies… it is a wonderful solution for a small office, a home office or indeed a kitchen, where occasionally extra chairs are needed but one doesn’t really have the space for such.
The range also includes table, which is quite possibly, even more brilliant.
Inside out by Zanic Design. Genius.
Inside Out Chair by Zanic Designs
Inside Out Table by Zanic Design ... possibly even better than the chair...
(Thanks to apartment therapy for the tip)
Filed under: designer, product | Tags: Chair, Contemporary Design, Design, designer, designer furniture, designers, furniture, Home, household, interior, interior design, interiors, myhouseismycastle, product, products, stool, wood, Wood Shaving Furniture, wooden furniture, Yoav Avinoam
Thanks to core77 for this tip.
Jerusalem based design student Yoav Avinoam has produced a series of wooden furniture from resin and wood shavings – which is just the best way to use up all those wood shavings that arise from preparing the legs.
We just think they’re great.
Best is probably just to enjoy the photos…..
Wood shaving furniture
... the range...
Wood shaving furniture, production...
...production...
...production...
...production...
and the finished product
thanks to core77 for the photos.
Filed under: designer, product | Tags: children, childrens furniture, Contemporary Design, copenhagen, danish design, Design, designer, designer furniture, designers, furniture, Guus Oosterbaan, Home, household, interior, interior design, interiors, myhouseismycastle, product, products, Robox, storage
On a grey, cold morning that reminds us that we are fast approaching autumn, there is little more pleasant than discovering a wonderful new “product”.
We sadly can’t call it a product as it is not yet in production … but we are sure that will change.
Robox by Copenhagen based designer Guus Ossterbaan is in essence nothing more than a multi-box storage system for children.
The wonderful about Robox, however, is the decor on the outside – and the excellently conceived wall storage solution.
Firstly the design. When we were much, much younger we once made a Father Christmas out of boxes which proudly stood five foot high in our lounge.
Robox is a similar concept, except that the boxes can be used for storing things. In the current form the outer image is a robot – hence the name – we can however well imagine that series production will involve a wonderful range of various designs.
Not least because of the wall storage concept.
The shelving system allow the 9 boxes in the set to be stored such that the shelves become invisible allowing the boxes to become part of the room decoration.
Robots are good.
But so are plants. Vines. People. Animals. Etc.
We’re impressed and we’re fairly certain that it’s only a matter of time before a producer agrees with us.
Robox by Guus Oosterbaan. Fantastic.
Robox by Guus Oosterbaan ...
... storage ...
..and room decoration. Robox by guus Oosterbaan
Filed under: designer, product | Tags: Contemporary Design, Design, designer, designer furniture, designers, furniture, Home, household, interior design, interiors, Ju Young Kim, Korea, Korean design, Lamp, Lasen, lighting, myhouseismycastle, office furniture, product, products
We are often reminded of the old urban myth about NASA and their research for a pen that works in space. After investing millions of dollars and getting nowhere they eventually asked their Russian colleagues how they managed to make notes in space.
“We use a pencil” came the reply.
One doesn’t always need to develop new technology.
The nudge that brought us to this tale was delivered by designspotter’s post about the lamp Lasen by Korean designer Ju Young Kim.
Using the most elementary of kinetic technology – clockwork – Kim has created a lamp that turns itself off.
Much in the same vain as the “Time to Light” lamps by Jaspre Hou that we featured the other week.
The beauty of Ju Young Kim’s design however is that not only the classic lamp form, but the fact that the shade is the spring and closes as the light dims … meaning you can physically follow and respond to the light level.
Which is just fantastic.
Ju Young Kim will be presenting Lasen and other design as part of the NorthMagi design collective at the London Design festival.
If your going be sure to check them out.
Lasen by Ju Young Kim - unwound and on....
LAsen by Ju Young Kim ... closed and off
Filed under: designer, product | Tags: Charles and Ray Eames, Design, furniture, designer furniture, product, designers, designer, Chair, interior design, interiors, household, american design, Waltz Lounge, MisoSoupDesign, OFS, lounge chair
Waltz Lounge is a wonderful new creation by New York based design studio MisoSoupDesign.
The idea is obscenely simple – it’s a Lounge Chair and an Ottoman, and the Ottoman is stored under the Lounge Chair.
Great.
Honestly, just great.
That that it looks great – so somewhere between a classic Eames Lounge Chair and a Bansko Boo by Apparat Design – is an advantage, and if it is as comfortable as it appears to be.
Hurrah.
The only slight problem is that according to MisoSoupDesign the Waltz Lounge is available through OFS – though OFS make no mention of them.
We hope that OFS appreciate what they’ve got and rectify the situation quickly…
Waltz Lounge by MisoSoupDesign. Fantastic!
Sales strategy by OFS. Rubbish!
Walz Lounge by MisoSoupDesign for OFS
Great!!
More pictures in Flickr.
Filed under: designer | Tags: Charles and Ray Eames, Design, amsterdam, product, products, designers, designer, Chair, interior, interior design, interiors, Consumers Rest, Stiletto, art, shopping trolley, consumerism, utrecht, holland. dutch, skipping
For those of us of a certain age “Double Dutch” is an entertaining, if somewhat puzzling song by Malcolm Maclaren.
And by puzzling we mean, what did he think he was doing?
And while, as far as we are aware, the international coffee mafia haven’t as yet misused the phrase to describe a new type of latte macchiato with a hint of Gouda.
Double Dutch would also, if you ask us, be a better name for “Dutch Design Double” the design exhibition taking place in Amsterdam and Utrecht from 4th September until 11th October.
Sadly, the full programme is not yet publically available – and so at this juncture we can’t say that much.
However, it was an absolute joy to see Stiletto’s “Consumers Rest” will be on display at the Centraal Museum Utrecht as part of Utrecht Manifest 2009.
If ever there was a design that was crying out to go into series production it is “Consumers Rest“
Brilliant parody, brilliant commentary, brilliant design.
This whole post was just an excuse to show this photo … but then, knowing that, what is the point of this blog.
And indeed existence….
We bet stiletto knows. And we’re certain it’s not skipping….
Consumers Rest by Stiletto
..wonderful...
