Lisa Solomon repurposes paint chips

January 18, 2007

The controversy on Lisa Solomon's pieces involving point sewing on paint chips isn't about them being witty or pretty or charming (which they all are) - it's about the price, which is $400 USD each. Some at design*sponge thought this was nuts and some said, what price beauty? Solomon herself appeared to point out that she is a professional artist with a studio to pay for - and also that professional galleries wouldn't let her charge the $100-$200 she actually wanted to. I grew up an artist so I know what she means; price is complex and perverse and maddening. When all one really wants is to give everybody something nice it's hard to factor money into that in a sensible way. If you want enough you have to charge too much or you won't get any. And then you get too much, and it gets distracting. And then you sit in your office with your MacBook and your Maine Coon and wonder why you don't quit your job so you can finish your novel. I feel for you, Lisa. [GT]

Lisa Solomon [via design*sponge]

The Contour Crafting appliance that makes your home

January 18, 2007

Going one step beyond designing a house for your virtual reality avatar to live in, Contour Crafting lets you develop a virtual version of your house, then hire a robot to build the shell in 24 hours. It uses a lot of ceramics, which not only will reduce problems with offgassing and termites and dust mites, but let you feel like you're living in a giant, pleasantly-warmed teapot. (If living in giant teapot is your thing; realistically it'd let you have any kind of house you want without worrying about the construction guys snickering that you want the loo covered with swarovski crystals or your bed stuck to the ceiling.) [GT]

Contour Crafting [via Treehugger]

Twist Coatrack: single material elegance

January 17, 2007

Simple and sculptural, the Twist Coatrack is still sturdy and able to hold a pile of coats and hats in a minimum of space. Designed by Burtscher and Bertollini, it's also satisfaction guaranteed and comes in at $278 USD. [GT]

Twist Coatrack [via Better Living Through Design]

The green welly brigade

January 15, 2007

There are over 50 groups of plastics, each with hundreds of different varieties, and knowing how to dispose of them ecologically can be daunting. But the good news is that all types can be recycled, and few have made this point more strongly and creatively than Smile Plastics, whose recycled plastic sheets are being turned by designers into stylish, everyday objects as well as stunning works of art.

Neues Licht uses glass fibers instead of LEDs

January 15, 2007

The UFO Neues Licht pendant lamp provides a floating wheel of illumination with a bright white stripe not unlike the spaceship it's named for. Instead of using compact bulbs or even LEDs, though, it has the lighting system built right into the lamp, having light forming and broadcasting from the glass fibers comprising the spokes. Beautiful, but beyond beautiful, it introduces a new way of thinking about how we're going to light objects in the future. [GT]

UFO Neues Licht [via Cocolico]

Bamboo Countertop - sustainable and harder than maple

January 15, 2007

Now instead of stone (expensive to ship and requiring special technique to install) you can have formeldahyde-free countertops in form of bamboo sheets from Totally Bamboo. 16% harder than maple and growing like - like grass, which it is - bamboo countertop sheets are available in 4' and 8' and four different grains. The vertical grain looks remarkably like a standard hardwood but is much more sustainable as well as lighter to ship. Also available for backsplash decoration. [GT]

Totally Bamboo countertops and backsplashes [via Trendir]

Bic Ballpoint Pen Chandelier

January 15, 2007

Involving hundreds of cheap, disposable Bic pens and arranging them in four layers, the En Pieza Volvik lamp is an interesting statement about both modern values and modern chic. Inevitably commenters complain that they "could do that myself" (to which the counter is: but you didn't!) but the point is more that it can lead to design choices that can be executed without recourse to rare and expensive materials. (Plus, uh, you never need to look for a pen again.) Available in transparent and opaque orange. $1000 USD each, in a limited edition of 30. [GT]

En Pieza Volvik lamp [via Inhabitat]

Call for proposals for six art gardens in Quebec City

January 14, 2007

Quebec City's 400th anniversary occurs in 2008, and part of the celebration involves six Contemporary Ephemeral Gardens. Each garden will be designed by a living artist, to be established in the heart of the festivities, and to live only so long as the celebration does, from June 10 to September 28, 2008. Each garden should address the three major themes of the festival:

Where the river narrows;
Your history, my history, our history ;
and Sowing the seeds of culture.

[GT]

A Call For Creation Of Contemporary Ephemeral Gardens [via Land+Living]

Sven Table Lamp - stylish energy saving

January 11, 2007

The Sven table lamp by Lucesco is stylish as well as energy saving. I love the retro feel and the attention-to-detail; like the rotary switch in the base with its red LED that glows to help you to find it in the dark.

Powered by 40 energy-efficient white LEDs, the Sven lamp uses only 22 watts of power and delivers the light of a 60 to 75 watt bulb in traditional lamps. The design keeps the LEDs cool and prolongs their life to around 50,000 hours.

[Via Apartment Therapy]

Cocoa husk mat traps outdoor gunk

January 10, 2007

When cocoa beans are skinned to be turned into chocolate, the husks left behind can be made into extremely high-quality boot mats. Instead of using plastic bristles, Musson Vinyl Back Cocoa Mats (not so green as we'd like because they do have vinyl backs) have husk fibers set in rubber which provide excellent brushing action to skive off and trap all your outdoor gunge. Available in custom sizes. Would love to see this concept combined with backing made from the same material as the PVC-free PrAna Eco Mat. [GT]

Musson Vinyl Back Cocoa Mats

The Jungle Book 2 grows on itself

January 10, 2007

While the insides of The Jungle Book 2 are readable in the conventional sense, the cover is embedded with seeds, and after it's activated it starts sprouting grass. The longer it goes on, the more care it requires (but the more beautiful it gets) and the more difficult the book itself is to read (but if they can't get through it in a few weeks they're probably reading The Information and could use a cool green brain-rest anyhow). [GT]

The Jungle Book 2

Tree House Fridge

January 8, 2007

I love this Treehouse fridge concept; although it is a little space-hungry relative to the usual monolithic fridge, it does offer some interesting opportunities to make use of unusually shaped spaces, plus, properly designed, it would allow one to simply insert extra cold storage as necessary. The engineering would be tricky - making things cold is a job and a half - but it's a wonderful take on new ways of looking at an appliance that's become stratified. [GT]

Treehouse fridge [via BornRich]

Recycled Aluminum 20-06 Chair

January 4, 2007

At $400 USD each it's hard to say how many times you'll need to stack the Foster + Partners Recycled Aluminum 20-06 chair ten high, but you can if you like. 15% lighter than the original 10-06 Navy chair, it also makes new minimalist-chic function out of a resource-intensive material. Aluminum, like gold, is too valuable to leave in one shape too long! [GT]

Foster + Partners Recycled Aluminum 20-06 chair [via Inhabitat

Charade Stainless Steel 800x800 LED Shower

January 3, 2007

Loaded with hundreds of needle jets and twenty gleaming LEDs, the Charade oversized LED shower head by Fornara & Maulini uses high pressure and low-energy light to create a completely decadent bathing experience. Mirror-shiny, the finish and nozzles are also designed for easy care. Who says you can't have flash and substance? [GT]

Charade oversized LED shower head by Fornara & Maulini [via Trendir]

Solar Tube Skylights

December 29, 2006

That you don't have room for a window where the light happens to be is no excuse for not getting natural light. With the Solatube, you essentially periscope light through a zigzag, highly-polished metal tube, to emit as a beam of sunny goodness wherever you like. Natural light, being what our eyes were designed to appreciate, makes everything look better and makes you happier, and if you can buy happiness in a non-drug form, well, you'll be a man, my son. [GT]

Solatube [via Inhabitat]