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posted yesterday by DesignAddict.
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In her latest book, Judith Gura, a specialist in the history of
interiors and furnishings explains the important movements (Bauhaus,
Postmodernism, High Tech, and Green Design), forms, and furnishings from
the 1950s to the present.
Design After Modernism captures the
range of influences that have spurred new ideas in design and
illustrates many of the most characteristic and most innovative objects
in this diverse mix.
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With the first decade of the twenty-first century behind us, it is
time to reassess the concept of "modern," a term that dates to the
Middle Ages, when it signified current or recent events. Not until the
eighteenth century did it become a stylistic term; more recently it has
generally referred to the aesthetic that evolved from the Bauhaus and
flourished in the mid-twentieth century. Though proclaiming freedom from
the limitations of style, it became as formulaic as most of its
predecessors, as Modern architecture and furnishings conformed to
prescribed specifications: geometric forms, industrially fabricated,
unadorned, and studiously ahistorical.

Curiosity Kitchen, Alexander Pelikan (Netherlands) 2010 Annie, Reestore (United Kingdom) 2001 Repurposed shopping cart
Those guidelines are no longer relevant. As Midcentury Modernism has
receded into history, Modernism has been redefined, reenergized, and in
the process transformed. Today it embraces a cornucopia of design in an
almost limitless range of materials: design studios are laboratories for
experimentation; design concepts can be as important as finished
objects; and furniture has crossed barriers to become a new art form.
Tools and technologies never before possible have provided new
approaches to decoration, and may incorporate influences from the past.
The design profession has broadened its horizons; interiors and
furniture are being created by architects, interior designers, furniture
makers, industrial designers, artisans, artists, and even fashion
designers.

Nomos Dining Table, Norman Foster (United Kingdom) 1989 Lounge Chair, Fabio Lenci (Italy) 1970
Design After Modernism offers an overview of developments in design over
the past four decades-some evolutionary, some expected, and some
extraordinary. It identifies the diverse influences that have generated
new directions in design and illustrates many of the most
characteristic, most noteworthy, and most innovative objects in this
rich and variegated mix. All are representative of their time, and many
of the earlier designs have already gained iconic status. Of the more
recent ones, whether or not they will be admired in decades to come is
something that only time will tell.

Hanging Lamp, Model SP1, Verner Panton (Denmark) 1969 Sushi III Chair, Fernando and Humberto Campana (Brazil) 2002
Book: Design After Modernism: Furniture and Interiors 1970-2010 Author : Judith Gura Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
tags: furniture, lighting, glass, books, plastic, wood
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posted on January 26 by DesignAddict.
For the third year, Muuto hosted the annual design competition for Nordic design students. This year’s Muuto Talent Award has received more than 400 contributions by design students. This year’s winner is David Geckeler and his Nerd Chair.

David Geckeler: “It’s an honor and achievement for a young designer like me to win a design award like this. The Nerd chair is my attempt to develop a current and personal attitude towards Danish design and Muuto as a leading contemporary design company seems to be a perfect match for the chair’s design”
David created his Nerd chair while studying at the Danish Design School in Copenhagen as part of a project exploring Danish ways of designing objects. The intuitive yet innovative design and some interesting Scandinavian references were among the jury’s primary reasons for picking Nerd.
In the fall of 2011, students of more than 20 design schools in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland were invited to participate in Muuto’s annual design contest Muuto Talent Award. Hundreds of students decided to submit their best designs within furniture, lighting and accessories.

2nd prize: Caroline Olsson, Akershus University, Norway - Bambi Table

3rd prize: Marte Straalberg, Bergen National Academy of the Arts, Norway - Sprinkle Lamp
tags: furniture, awards, project, lighting, wood
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posted on January 3 by DesignAddict.
The Belgian company Behave was founded recently by Marie Querton and Amélie de Borchgrave. For some of their creations, Marie and Amélie worked with Marc Hotermans, a well-recognised expert in 20th century furniture.
The idea of Behave was born in a simple and intuitive way: to reinvent "vintage" in more sober and more contemporary lines. "We started from a simple observation: vintage furniture pieces often have that extra touch of charm but can be very difficult to find and are often at high prices. In addition their condition is sometimes disastrous! Thus the idea of Behave! Furniture with a pure design, reinterpreting classics from the Fifties, but with a contemporary feel, which allows them a perfect integration in today's interiors."



be happy This box is one of the central pieces of the collection. Its sober and elegant line emphasizes all the force of the materials used: oak, aluminium, steel and formica. It was designed with the collaboration of Marc Hotermans. It is manufactured in Belgium in a workshop, which confers it a unique and environmentally friendly character.

be cool Sobriety of the details and smoothness of the lines characterize this shelf in walnut and ash.


be fun This sideboard clearly inspired from the Fifties, can also be suspended on the wall.

be smart This desk in birch has its top covered with a lino. Its simplicity gives it its character. It was entirely conceived by Marc Hotermans.

be easy This piece of furniture can be used either as a bench or as a coffee table.
tags: furniture, new products, wood
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posted on November 14 by DesignAddict.
The exhibition 'Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design' explores the rich interplay of art and design in all craft media that exploded across the United States during the postwar era.

Falling Blue, Harvey Littleton, 1969, Photo: Ed Watkins - Scrap Chair, J.B. Blunk, 1968, Photo: Leslie Williamson
Crafting Modernism covers a 25-year period that begins with the craftsman-designers of the 1940s and 1950s, and concludes in 1969.

Neckpiece, Betty Cooke, 1959, Photo: Eva Heyd - Pin, Ronald Senungetuk, 1969, Photo: John Bigelow Taylor
In the period immediately after World War II, characterized by mass production, the handmade object offered a humanizing counterpoint to the machine aesthetic. The exhibition looks at the connections between craft and the design world, through the work of textile designer Dorothy Liebes, furniture maker George Nakashima, silversmith Jack Prip, sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi, among others. Also examined are designers who incorporated craft techniques or aesthetics into more wide-scale production, such as Edith Heath and Ray and Charles Eames.

Form, Ka Kwong Hui, 1968, Photo: Ed Watkins - Chest-table, Wharton Esherick, 1969, Photo: Ed Watkins
The exhibition follows the growth and transformation of American life through the turbulent period of the 1960s. As craft programs developed and expanded in university art departments across the United States, artists such as Peter Voulkos and Lenore Tawney increasingly began to consider the sculptural and aesthetic qualities of their materials, previously reserved for functional objects. This development paralleled an increasing openness in the art world to new expressions and alternative media demonstrated in the works of artists such as Claire Falkenstein and Alexander Calder.

Wine Rack, Arthur Espenet Carpenter, 1968, Photo: David Behl - Small table, George Nakashima, 1960, Photo: Thomas Little
As craft entered the public realm through museum exhibitions and publications, it added to the ongoing political and social dialogue in American art and life, serving as a representative of a counter-culture lifestyle. Artists in the exhibition include iconic figures such as Wendell Castle, Jack Lenor Larsen, and Sheila Hicks, as well as lesser-known artists from around the country now recognized as highly influential within their fields, including furniture-maker John Kapel, jeweler Ernest Ziegfeld, Asian Americans Ka Kwong Hui and Margaret Choy, and Native Americans Ron Senungetuk and Lloyd Kiva New.

Mosaic Table, Lee Krasner, 1947, Photo ©Pollock-Krasner Foundation/Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York - Vase, Rudolf Staffel, 1968, Photo: Ed Watkins
Exhibition: Crafting Modernism: Midcentury American Art and Design
Museum of Art & Design, New York, NY From October 12, 2011 to January 15, 2012
and at
Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York () From February 26 to May 20, 2012
tags: jewelry, furniture, glass, exhibitions, ceramic, wood
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posted on October 18 by DesignAddict.
The City of Charleroi (Belgium), initiated "Label Charleroi" an encounter between companies from the city and Belgian designers.
So far, six collaborations were successful and the result is shown in an exhibition called « Quand Charleroi pointe la technique » hosted by the Museum of Glass on the site of a former coal mine "Le Bois du Cazier".
Caterpillar, the well-known construction company for civil engineering machines, applied its techniques of cutting and bending metal to build a very versatile lamp designed by Sylvain Busine + ADA. This lamp can be placed in a multitude of positions that allow it to be used as a desk lamp, a table lamp, an ambiant lamp, or even a book-end lamp. It can also be hung on the wall to free the space of a desk or become a bed side table lamp, small shelf, etc.. The wooden lighting module clings to any edge of the lamp with two small but very strong magnets.


Following the inspiration of designer Damien Gernay, Plastiservice, a company working with plastics, has crushed and melted vinyl records to create a new material to be manufactured as a vase for the occasion.



During its collaboration with Trans'Form, a work training company specialised in the repair of appliances, ADA (Atelier Design Addict) focused on residual waste materials and turned them into useful objects. The lamps are build from washing machine and dishwasher parts. The candleholders are made from different types of gas burners.


Amazed by the possibility to "print" transparent 3D objects, Raphaël Charles, product designer, designed a bonbonniere that Sirris, an accredited collective center in thechnological industry, achieved through the stereolithography technique.

GVK, a company in the steel sector, and Atelier Blink, an interior and product design office, focused on the development of steel production in different countries in 1910, 1960 and 2010. They present the results of their research as a "three-dimensional mapping."

A chocolate bar in the shape of a tire called "Royal United" is the result of the meeting between the technical work of ceramist Hugo Meert and Belgian chocolate factory Bruyerre.

Exhibition: Label Charleroi From October 1 to November 27 2011 Musée du Verre - Site du Bois du Cazier - Marcinelle - Belgium
tags: food, sustainable, project, lighting, exhibitions, ceramic, plastic, new products, wood
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posted on October 13 by DesignAddict.

What happens when you take 10 designers based in London and you leave them for one week inside an empty furniture factory in the Dutch countryside?
Dutch furniture manufacturer Arco recently organised a workshop with the designers of the London Okay Studio. This was a logical continuation of the Arco 12 project, which took place in 2005 to celebrate the company’s 100 year anniversary. At the time, 12 young Dutch designers were asked to respond to the company’s collection with a design of their own. A number of the results were later included in the Arco furniture range, including the famous Slim Table, designed by Bertjan Pot. It was an extremely successful project, which made a significant contribution to Arco’s development. This is why the company actively keeps in touch with new generations of designers.
 After his degree at the Royal College of Art in London, Arco’s new creative director Jorre van Ast (born in 1980) was part of Okay Studio himself for a number of years. "Okay Studio is a collective that shares a studio in an old piano factory in North East London. It’s a creative hotbed, where a number of collaborative presentations were brought to life. Even though the designers work independently, as a group they really bring out the best in each other. They are all former fellow students, and setting up this workshop with them was a logical step for me. Of course, I’m in an exceptional position, since I am a member of the group and also work for Arco," says Jorre.

Ten Okay Studio designers were challenged to create something out of wood that is completely different from the products in the existing collection - so not tables, cupboards or chairs - taking Arco’s production facilities into account. The group got together in Winterswijk for two long weekends to develop ideas and then execute them in Arco’s furniture factory.

Jorre: "These days were fun, and, above all, productive. Our craftsmen and women were also very enthusiastic about helping us out. Everyone had to work very hard, but the atmosphere was excellent and we ended up with fourteen new designs."

The participants were: Tomás Alonso Oscar Narud Mathias Hahn Peter Marigold Shay Alkalay & Yael Mer Andrew Haythornthwaite Shai Akram Hiroko Shiratori Eelko Moorer Jorre van Ast
tags: furniture, workshop, project, wood
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posted on September 15 by DesignAddict.
'Korea Design' is an exhibition showcasing the best in contemporary Korean furniture, lighting, product and textile design through the work of fifteen companies and designers.

Stool for Child by Kyunglae KIM The Stool for Child is designed using natural materials. The legs are made of natural oak or hard maple with a seat in sustainable anti-bacterial coconut foam.
In the past, Korean design has too often been associated with electronic goods, TV's, mobile phones and other ephemeral consumer products, but is now starting to gain international recognition for a booming design and craft sector.

Lion Penseur lamp by i-Clue Design The Lion Penseur lamp was designed as an accent light to provide light against a wall or ceiling. This type of indirect lighting tends to be hidden away out of sight, but the Lion Penseur is specifically designed to turn the lighting fixture into a design statement. Lion Penseur is made of leather.
The exhibition, which includes product, furniture, lighting and textile design, gives insight into what Korean design means today. Whilst countries like Sweden, Spain, Italy etc have well established design scenes of global repute, other countries, like Korea, are proving to have vibrant creative industries that are starting to reach international audiences.

Crack Bowl Pendant Lamp by Jaemin KWON Jaemin Kwon was trained as a fine artist. His Crack Bowl Pendant Lamp uses unprocessed elm which is dried and split, showing off the natural characteristics of the wood.
Looking through the work of these different companies, one can identify a number of common themes, the most prevalent of which is the driving force that design isn't just about aesthetics, it's about a desire to re-evaluate the role it plays in our lives and to create products that are sustainable, skilful, beautiful and individual.

Tension Bentwood Chair by Dohoon KIM The Tension Bentwood Chair is made using wood's inherent tension and features a series of curvilinear shapes. Made of ash, the chair is available in three different designs, including a side chair, wing chair or with a wide back as shown above.

Ta-rae Lighting by Design Virus Ta-rae Lighting is inspired by the spool of threads on industrial sewing machines.The lamps can be clustered in groups to create a bold statement.

Hanji-plastic Chair by Design Taiho SHIN The Hanji-plastic Chair is made of 'Hanji' paper, a traditional Korean paper made from mulberry tree fibres that have a lifespan of over 1000 years. As the co-founder of Design Studio Maezm, he collaborated with artisans to produce this new material to replace toxic plastics in furniture manufacturing. The paper gives the chair its structure while a carbon fibre surface gives it its 'skin'.

Antler Stool by Minho LEE The Antler Stool is part of the Antler Series, a range of furniture that explores the habits we display in everyday life, like throwing a jacket on the back of a chair. Each work in the series combines two functions in one product.
Exhibition 'Korea Design' From September 22 to 25 2011 100% Design - London - Stand B60
tags: furniture, sustainable, project, exhibitions, leather, wood
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posted on August 25 by DesignAddict.
Russian designer Vladislav Zhukovets created 'Stool' for the Perm Furniture Competition and became the winner in one of the categories.

The stool is made from natural wood with the upper part unpainted. The idea is very simple: to create beautiful, warm and ecological objects which are good-looking, nice to touch and comfortable to sit on.

Jury's comments:
“A very very nice spirit and I really appreciate the honesty and warmth in these simple designs which could have excellent commercial success.” Ross Lovegrove
“I am ready to buy such stool right now. Harmonious, modern, harmless subject with obvious function and the application scenario. Beauty!” Vadim Kibardin

Via designeast.eu
tags: furniture, awards, competitions, wood
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posted on July 26 by DesignAddict.
The Czech Center New York presents a selection of artifacts from the Home Art collection in Prague.

Svícen – Klecící žena kov Tulipány kov
Home Art is a phenomenon that arose in the second half of the 20th century in communist Czechoslovakia. Home Art was made by people with no art education and with ambition not reaching beyond the intent of creating a piece of art simply for their and their family’s joy. These artifacts decorated the interiors of Communist era housing projects, countryside cottages, offices and workrooms, pubs and military dormitories. Artistry, craftsmanship, and a peculiar design inspiration is much in evidence as one tours this collection which serves as a kind of document of the personal and widely felt response to the social and economic constraints of that era.

Dekorace chemlon Hodiny prekližka, drevo, budík
Home Art, especially at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s, complemented the “atomic style”, for which the name “Brussels style“ is used in Czechoslovakia after the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, where Czech designs won 27 gold medals.

Svícen kov Ferda Mravenec kov
While bursts of Czech Home Art activity can be seen in the mid 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, the 1960s was the time when it reached its peak. By the fall of the communist regime in 1989, this modern folklore has more or less disappeared.

Cert kov Palmy kov
What these Home Art pieces may lack in formal aesthetic, they more than make up for in sheer creativity and whimsy, and it is in this light as artifacts that they are best appreciated as they represent important historical and social evidence belonging to a bygone era.

Pantofle chemlon Prostírání chemlon
Exhibition Home Art At the Czech Center New York From June 16 to September 15 2011
tags: accessories, shoes, rugs, fabric, sculpture, exhibitions, timepieces, wood
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posted on June 9 by DesignAddict.

'Container' is a modular sideboard system by Belgian designer Alain Gilles for Italian manufacturer Casamania. As if a regular sideboard had been split into different elements, different “containers”. It is really a research on deconstruction and reconstruction. As if a 'standard' sideboard with its different storage functionalities had been split into various elements just to be reconstructed in a different, uneven manner.

A research on the architecture of a piece in order to bring forward its construction logic. In a way, a 'landing dock', the base, and a few “containers” that can be set one on top of the other... hens its name.
The work on the structure is further highlighted by the association of different materials and finishes applied to each structural element.

By playing with different types of finishes and settings several furniture pieces with their own personalities and functions can easily be created form the same original elements. Thus, it will either be seen as more a sideboard, dresser, media storage cabinet or television stand and find its way into different rooms of the house

tags: furniture, Alain Gilles, new products, wood designers: Alain Gilles
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posted on May 10 by DesignAddict.
The 'Rocker' rocking horse designed by Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien is a great addition to the new collection of children’s furniture from Richard Lampert.

This plastic hourglass-shaped body rests simply on two wooden runners, providing hours of rocking fun, and, at the same time, producing a wonderful design object.

Many things of interest to young children are not figurative but simply everyday objects that are not intended for play! Children find their own imaginative purpose for any object already in the home. This observation prompted Doshi Levien to create a 'Rocker' that is like a found object, an improvised ride.
Doshi Levien is a London based design office, established in 2000.
tags: furniture, toys, kids, plastic, new products, wood
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