Reliability and Solidity. For the journalists at German management magazine brand eins these are the two main virtues a company needs in times of global recession; and in this context their March edition includes a report over USM Haller. The Swiss-based company is globally known for its “System USM Haller” modular furniture, an endlessly extendable furniture system based around the USM Haller chrome-plated brass ball. A ball that is considered so iconic it is even included in the MoMA New
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The evenings are getting longer and the rain is a little warmer: Spring is unquestionably approaching. And with the rising sap many an idle thought will undoubtedly turn to romance and the city of all hopeless romantics, Paris. And for those of you planning making a short trip to the French capital this spring we at the (smow)blog would like to recommend a couple of exhibitions that could appeal. Until March 16th the Centre Pompidou is showing an exhibition from the British/Israeli designer
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The bed “Siebenschläfer” from the Moormann (Design: Christoffer Martens, 2007) is beloved for the simplicity with which it can be constructed. The individual frame elements needing only to be slotted into one another. However, what happens when the carpentry firm responsible for cutting the parts holds the plans back to front? – Then one gets an unplanned innovation, albeit one that causes several “Am I being stupid?” moments for smow customers. Those who are quick of the mark, however, can
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One of the brightest stars in the glittering world of star architects celebrates today his 80th Birthday. Born in Toronto as the son of Jewish migrants, Frank Gehry moved as 17 year old to America and earned his keep working as a lorry driver and airplane washer before studying architecture in Los Angeles and urban planning at Harvard. He first attracted a wider public as he “renovated” his house in Santa Monica. His neighbors “went bananas” after Gehry transformed an old, conservative
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The dollop of cream atop the perfect office is a practical, aesthetic and user friendly trolley. In general an office trolley fulfills several roles: As a convenient depository for heavy folders or a pile of uncompleted jobs or occasionally as a bar trolley. smow currently offers five different trolleys, that in addition to providing work-based mobility can also be used as side tables and/or mobile bars: Gastone from Kartell (Design: Antonio Citterio & Oliver Löw) Gastone is an elegant
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Success for Konstantin Grcic. The 43 year old German was today announced as "Category Winner: Furniture" at the Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2009 and now goes forward to the grand final. “It is tough creating a design classic, but the MYTO might just have achieved this through its rigorous experimentation and research, resulting in the technically very difficult outcome of a cantilevered plastic chair.” So commented the judges of the 2009 Brit Insurance Design of the Year award their
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During the 2009 consumer goods trade fair Ambiente in Frankfurt the 33rd “Plagiarius” Awards were presented. Organized by the society “Aktion Plagiarius” the award is a negative prize for to those producers and retailers who trade in copies and imitations of designer products and specialist machinery. A gnome with a golden nose – the award symbolizes the exorbitant profits made by the counterfeiters and trade mark pirates at the expense of the rights owners. With the action the organizers
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At the Tokyo Design Week the German furniture producer Thonet presented their classic cantilever chair in a new light. In co-operation with the Japanese retailer Muji, Thonet - the self-styled “world’s oldest furniture brand” - presented a new interpretation of the classic Bugholzstühle (chairs created from wood formed through the application of steam to aid the bending and shaping. The process was developed by Michael Thonet. The official Thonet translation of Bugholz is "bentwood",
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For the first time in over 20 years London is hosting a retrospective of the work of Swiss architect and designer Le Corbusier. Without question Le Corbusier was one of the most important figures of 20th century architecture and through his five point plan for modern architecture he influenced more than one generation of architects; including Geoffry Chamberlin, Joe Powell and Christoph Bon designers of the Barbican Centre in London. Without question the most important expression of
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For those of you either living near or planning being in the vicinity of Weil am Rhein, the George Nelson exhibition in the Vitra Design Museum runs until 01.03.2009. The exhibition presents not only his famous, humorous designs but also explains Nelson's theoretical approach and presents a selection of his furniture designs, architectural models, clock and graphic designs. The retrospective is part of Vitra’s celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of George Nelson's birth. After studying
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Six years ago Nils Holger Moormann, designer and furniture producer, started a process against Ikea - accusing the Swedish company of ,how shall we put it, „borrowing“ one of his companies designs. Despite the pessimism of colleagues and industry insiders, Moormann won at every trial and Ikea were eventually obliged to remove the offending article from sale. The process may have cost Moormann lots of effort and resources, but it also won him a lot of recognition in the industry for his
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Foster series from helit Norman Foster is not only a lord of the realm and one the worlds most in demand architects, but also one of the leading modern industrial designers. With his agency Foster + Partners, he has completed important architectural projects in six continents including the Vivaldi Tower in Amsterdam, Stansted Airport in England and the Elephant House at Copenhagen Zoo. However, Lord Foster has also turned his attention to smaller-scale object, including a range of desk
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The chairs in the so-called "Aluminium Group" from Vitra are highly versatile and are just as applicable for use in an office environment as in waiting rooms and in private houses. The designs and original construction originate from Ray und Charles Eames (further details on the designer pair can be found in a previous (smow)blog post). The principle optical charm of the Aluminium Group is the simple, transparent design of the chairs that doesn’t try to conceal the frame, rather
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Attractive, practical and child friendly furniture is rare; the new furniture series from Lampert is a welcome exception - not least because the furniture grows with the children. The Egon Eiermann children's desk can be set to a height of 550m (for 5 year olds) and then raised as the child grows. Also the Children's Chair Turtle is height adjustable – being suitable for users between 1,10 and 1,60 m. As companion piece to the desk and chair Lampert also produce the mobile storage container
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There are a range of Bauhaus classics that on account of their form, history or there functionality are universally known and admired. To this group belongs the so-called „Bauhaus Lamp“ from Wilhelm Wagenfeld. The “Bauhaus Lamp”,officially known as WG 25 GL , is protected by copyright and may only be produced by TECNOLUMEN® smow naturally only offer the copyrighted and from Prof. Wagenfeld authorised edition. Wilhelm Wagenfeld designed the „Bauhaus Lamp“ during his time at Bauhaus in Weimar
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It may be a few months old, but as relevant as ever: The International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film. During the festival in November 2008 smow sponsored, in conjunction with Vitra, the Industry Lounge. Within the festival hub – the Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig – industry visitors, VIps and the media were offered a quiet and relaxed atmosphere in which to hold business meetings, hold – or overhear discussions – or simply to relax and unwind. The Industry Lounge
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For the creative bosses at Vitra the days of the large unified office space are numbered. Not only are the working conditions in such environments not ideal for productivity, but much more each employee and every visitor has a feeling of surveillance, exploitation and treadmill. A more inspiring and positive atmosphere, however, promise Vitra from their playfully named "Net 'n' Nest" concept. Here the connection between individual work and rest areas and the possibilities of communicative
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At the imm in Cologne the German producer "Richard Lampert" once again proved that they can produce more than just the classic, timeless Eiermann Table. With a prototype of “Landed” by Eric Degenhardt the Stuttgart based company almost completed a leap into architecture. Almost. For while in models and sketches one could easily confuse Degenhardt’s creation with a concept building; close up one realizes that it is in fact an exceptional piece of furniture design. “Landed” with its multiple
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Winter in Europe and while the weather outside is at it’s less attractive, it’s good to know that at home one has a functioning, stable and unobtrusive coat hanger. For as long as coats have existed, top designers, and those who aspire to such, have tested their art on the challenge of creating the perfect construction on which to hang said coat. A hook is a hook you think, think again, Knax from loca, is characterised by its unostentatious, functional design. The hooks sit within the
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Despite appearances to the contrary „Balloon“ is not the dreaded medicine ball that many of you may remember from your school days. Balloon is not intended for lifting or throwing; rather, is a comfortable and back friendly seat from the company Sellando. Balloon is constructed from 3mm thick cow leather, tanned and treated according to traditional methods and subsequently hand stitched. Designed by Hartle Bros. “Balloon” has a circumference of 56 cm, nostalgic printing and a lace-up fly.
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In 1927 at the opening of the Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart, the Dutch architect and designer designer Mart Stam presented his cantilever chair; a design which went on to became globally known as the „S 43“ from Thonet. The feeling of sitting on an “elastic column of air” (Marcel Breuer) has always fascinated producers, designers and customers alike; and with its missing back legs, sparing use of material and minimalistic form the S 43 still fits wonderfully into any home or office. Mart
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Ray and Charles Eames could happily be described as „multi-talents“. The American designer pair created functional furniture with a global appeal, shot avant-gard films, designed childrens toys and were responsible for the Eames House and Entenza House in Los Angeles. Charles Eames (1907-1978) studied architecture at the Washington University in St.Louis before a scholarship and subsequent teaching position at the Cranbook Academy of Art brought him to Michigan where he met the painter, and
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Design awards. They’re funny things. Sometimes one has the feeling that behind every tree and round every corner a design award is lurking. And while you can have too much of a good thing, awards ceremonies are in principle positive in that they help present a platform to a lot of designers whose work would otherwise go unnoticed outwith specialist circles One of the oldest and most prestigious design awards is the Good Design Award presented by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of
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The Christmas period was cold, but not white… The snow seemingly holding off until January or February before paying us a visit. And so why not prepare now: A new addition to the smow range is the S 333 sledge from Thonet. Designed by Holger Lange the S 333 takes it inspiration form the classic Thonet cantilever style - yet is much better suited for thundering down snow covered slopes than an S 43 classic. Created from two stainless steel runners and a durable synthetic seat the S 333 is
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