When I was in school, this thing would have prevented many a ridiculous spat - like when my roommate claimed the jam my parents gave me was hers. I'll still never understand that one.
The Flatshare Fridge is one of nine finalists out of more than 600 entries from 49 countries in the Electrolux Design Lab 2008 competition. For creator Stefan Buchberger, a design student at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, the idea grew out of a semester-long theme about keeping personal space clean and tidy. “I decided to create Flatshare fridge because there is nothing more disgusting than a dirty fridge in a shared flat,” he says. “At the time, I was living in such a flat!”
The fridge consists of a base station and up to four stackable modules. The modules allow each individual user to have his or her own refrigerator space and can be customized with various colorful skins as well as with add-ons like a bottle opener or a whiteboard. Handles on the sides of the modules make them easy to transport. “If you move to new flat, you can just transport your module like a suitcase and hook it up to the base station in your new flat,” Buchberger explains.
I love this collection of topographic tableware! The china set adds a playful twist by identifying your eating habits: each line represents a different food level i.e. modest, moderate, greedy. Who knows, it might actually help control portion sizes. All in all, Topoware is a brilliant concept!
About: Topoware is a tableware collection that questions the landscape of dining. Taking inspiration from the recent popularity of geography as a media of communication (with Google maps) and more specifically with topographic maps, which define heights of a landscape two dimensionally, Topoware in turn, "outlines" the dining experience.
Made up of cups, plates, bowls, placemats and a tablecloth, the collection explores the visual and social landscape of dining by using outlines and descriptions to describe, question and push our eating experience, making it really feel like a journey.
When I was a little kid, every time my grandfather would come to visit me he would buy me a balsa wood airplane. I loved everything about them, from putting them together to getting to watch them fly, and eventually breaking them to pieces through a series of intense crash landings. As fond as my memories of those planes are, I can tell you none of them looked as good as these colorwings. These beauties are 20" long and have a 6.5" wingspan and under perfect conditions can fly as far as 300 yards. According to A+R "These planes are much, much more fun than anything we experienced growing up!". We'll see about that.
Looking for a little somethin' somethin' to brighten your walls? Consider one of these posters from Blue Art Studio. Created by the same Joel Pirela of Blue Ant Studio fame, these posters would look great in any modern home. Already have all the artwork you need at home? Buy a few for your office and bring a little inspiration into the daily grind.
Modern Posters from Blue Art Studio: $35
I saw these Chikuno cubes a while back and thought that they were one of the coolest things I had seen in a long time. Amazing design for what is usually an everyday product. Each 2" cube is made from Bamboo charcoal and has a micro honeycomb structure that gives it a surface area equivalent to four football fields. It acts as a natural deodorant sucking up nasty smells from small spaces like refrigerators or closets. I'd love to have one in my fridge just because it looks so good.
Has anyone actually bought one of these? I'd love to hear some feedback.
Chalk this one up in the trendy column. The new Tissue Box from Essey brings back the award-winning crumple of its predecessor, Bin Bin. Designed by the same John Brauer, Tissue takes its queue from the contents within. Bauer says about the object: "The idea came to me when I passed a tissue box in Japan and noticed the crumpled paper sticking out. In that particular case, the box cover did not reflect the content. I wanted to have balance between the cover and content to give the product a relevant identity." I want to know, did this tissue box passing commence before or after the creation of Bin Bin? Just curious!
Tissue Box available from Unica Home: $30
Every once in a while I come across a furniture design that is so simple and brilliant that all I can think is "Why didn't I think of that?". The Urban Lounge is one of those pieces. It was designed by Scott Collins who is apparently a seamster, carpenter, musician and designer all in one. He has done some great work, but I think that this is one of his best pieces. This is his first in what will be a whole series of outdoor furniture. It doesn't sound like anyone is producing this piece yet, but someone definitely should. via
When I first ran across Tracy Melton's Tree Ring paintings, I was instantly drawn to their beautiful colors and, of course, unusual 'canvases'. The wood comes from dead Elm trees which Tracy cuts down himself with a chainsaw. The pieces are then sanded and clear coated three times to accentuate the wood. Using acrylic, Tracy then paints the bold, colored rings, followed by another clear coat. Each painting is hollowed out from behind for easy hanging and signed and dated by the artist. Available in sets of 3.
Can you just imagine an entire wall covered with these?? What a conversation piece THAT would be! Definitely gives me some ideas...
Eric Pfeiffer is one of my favorite designers. He always manages to design attractive and functional objects that aren't exorbitantly priced. The pricing on these lamps has just gotten a little bit better. The cupstack, vee and zig zag lamps are all hand blown and have a wonderful simple geometric styling. I noticed that over at Design Public they are on sale for $79 each (regular $99). Each lamp sits approximately one foot tall and when turned on has a nice soft glow. These little lamps could be just the thing to add the finishing touch to your room. Available at Design Public for $79.
Joseph Eichler may be one of the most well known Mid-Century Modern residential architects developers. In the 50's and 60's he was fortunate enough to design and build whole neighborhoods in California. I must admit when it comes to Eichler I'm pretty ignorant, but I'm looking to change that. Next month for my Fiesta Movement mission I'll be heading to California for a weekend to look at Eichler homes, and hopefully take some good pictures and video. Before I go I need your help!
What are some good websites to learn more about Eichler?
If I could only go to one neighborhood, which one should it be?
Saw these chairs and HAD to share. Weaving Wood is part of the Nest furniture series from designer Rush Pleansuk of Thailand. Made from a combination of Teak and Ash, these chairs employ the talents of skilled craftsmen in a small workshop in Bangkok. Truly something to behold. Can you imagine the funky marks this must leave behind after a while, though? A small price to pay, really.
Check out the rest of Rush's impressive portfolio here.
Automoblox have been around for a couple of years now, and have won plenty of design awards. Our two year old is a huge car fan and we recently picked up our first automoblox for him to play with. I was a little concerned it would be a bit over his head, but besides the one lost wheel it has been a huge success. I've been extremely impressed with it as well. Great attention to detail, good quality and an affordable price. They have several new styles with some more aggressive styling and complete with front splitter, side skirts, rear diffusers and BBS styled wheels. All that extra style for the same great price.
EQ3 is one of those sleeper brands. No one ever seems to really talk about their products, but they continue to make clean, affordable, modern pieces. One of their latest offerings is this glass JOUR Bowl with a funky orange bird-in-the-nest design. The white glass provides a nice contrast to the orange and the slightly squared shape ads some good visual interest. Unfortunately it's so new that they don't even list the size of it. Whether it's thimble sized or bathtub sized, pricing starts at $12.
Moduture is an up-and-coming furniture design line headed by the talented husband and wife duo Brady and Charlotte Wilkinson. Charlotte will be unveiling her new collection at this week's CA Boom Design Show, June 26 - 28. Though the collection is small (only three pieces so far), it is loaded with options: a bookcase with movable slats, a coffee table that transforms into a puzzle table, and a stackable cabinet with interchangeable covers! All her pieces are beautiful and have a certain timelessness that I think will appeal to a lot of different modern design lovers. If you're in California this weekend, be sure to stop by and check out Moduture in person. As an added bonus, Charlotte is offering a discount code for CA Boom tickets: enter code "MOD" to receive $4 off your ticket price.All photos by Jessica Peterson
Last month Capree mentioned that Dror had a whole collection coming to Target. It's officially online now, and they have some great items in the collection. My favorite though hands down is the Stick Table Lamp. Sitting 15" tall this little lamp would make a perfect affordable modern desk lamp for your favorite little corner. The white shade is made of plastic and can house up to a 40 watt bulb while the metal base keeps it well grounded.
I love the simple and elegant look of Katarina Andersson's Rondo series. These stoneware vessels can be mixed and matched, ready and willing to dispense sugar, salt + pepper, and even oil and vinegar. With their affordable prices, it's easy to get the whole set in each color!
Available in white or black sand-glazed stoneware.
While we have been having our fair share of rainy weather lately, I am hopeful that eventually the sun will come out. When it does, it's picnic time! This great Urbana Picnic set designed by Wolf Udo Wagner for Simplicitas has everything you need for a meal on the go. Each set contains five plates, five cups, and five "multi-tableware" which is the crazy looking triangle spoon/fork/knife thing. They all stack together to make nice compact set that will cover all your essentials.
If any of you are lucky enough to actually possess an original Enid Seeney/Ridgway Homemaker Plate, I envy you. You can find them sometimes on Ebay or sites likePreloved. There are plenty of plastic reproductions floating around as well. If you're looking for the real deal, be sure to check the back for the official Ridgway/Homemaker mark. This series was originally produced in England, so most plates you'll find will be for sale out of the UK.
About: The Homemaker range of tableware was mass produced by Ridgway Potteries Ltd, of Stoke-on-Trent, especially for the Woolworths chain of retail stores. Enid Seeley’s design of 1956-7 depicted other design classics of the period: an armchair designed by Robin Day, a sofa by Sigvard Bernadotte and a sideboard resembling one by Bernard Russell. The range had a long production run, between 1958 and 1970, and is now seen as a 1950s design classic.
There is an old MCM wall clock in the SJO airport that I always sit under while I am waiting for my flight. I've thought about how I could make something similar out clock parts, but never really figured out a good way to do it. It looks like all the hard work has been done for me. This DIY Wall Clock kit from Radius Design includes the clock hands and the dots for you to arrange however you want. This is no puny clock either, the big hand measures 18 inches long and the small hand is almost 16 inches. Made of aluminum and stainless steel.
