Name: Eva Marguerre Alma mater: 2004-2010 Product design/Exhibition design Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe Internships: 2005 Luigi Colani, Karlsruhe 2006 Magazine "Brigitte", Living Section, Hamburg 2008 Designbüro Stefan Diez, Munich Products: Tagträume Nido MOA (smow)blog: Why Product Design? Eva Marguerre: That all started relatively early. For example, as a child I was interested in furniture and interiors and used to steal my mother’s magazines and cut out the things I liked.
read more
" .... says Erwin Perzy III. He is the third generation of family snow globe makers. His grandfather invented the snow globe" The grandson of the man who invented the snow globe! As we read the Vienna Design Week programme introduction to "Wunderliche Kugelkammer" by Julia Landsiedl @ Erwin Perzys Original Wiener Schneekugeln we knew that there was no way we could miss it. The grandson of the man who invented the snow globe!! Somewhat amusingly we did then very nearly forget to go, thanks
read more
Timely to the end of our rantings against the current state of Danish design - the Danish Design Centre in Copenhagen recently hosted the Danish Design Prize awards 2010/11 In his introduction the Danish Design Centre CEO Christian Scherfig asks " ... what is good design in the 21st century ?" The DDCs answer is 11 prize winners from 17 nominations in 4 categories. Whereas most would have also been good design in the 20th century, and a couple even in the 19th, all of the featured designs
read more
The first station on the 2010 Vienna Design Week Passionswege was "Reichtum. Wasser + Glas" by Berlin designer Mark Braun and the Viennese crystal producer J & L Lobmeyr. Established in 1863 J & L Lobmeyr were one of the key players in the Wiener Werkstätte movement and so also in the development of Art Deco, working with designers such as Josef Hoffman, Adolf Loos or Carl Witzmann. In addition J & L Lobmeyr are one of the true stalwarts of the Passionswege series and participate every year.
read more
Although trained as a sculpture Henning Koppel is probably best remembered for his work as a silversmith; be it designing jewelry, cutlery services or other table and household wares. Henning Koppel also designed lamps, and Pandul have now re-issued his 1972 creation Bubi. Originally produced in brass by Louis Poulsen, the 2010 Pandul re-issue comes in chrome, an aesthetic nod towards Koppel's mastery with silver. What we particularly like about Bubi is that you can use it as a pendant
read more
Ask most people to name a Danish furniture designer and they will probably reply Verner Panton or Arne Jacobsen. Ask them to name a Swedish furniture designer and the answer will probably have four letters - three of which are vowels. Flat pack furniture is in itself no bad thing, but it is a little bit sad when a country that has so much furniture design talent to offer, is represented in the public consciousness by a universal brand. Sweden are the partner country at this year's Vienna
read more
We didn't make it to SaloneSatellite at this years Milan furniture fair. We we're, somewhat ironically, to busy getting wound up at the fact that Milan is now so big and expensive it's all but impossible to find anything. Fortunately Thomas Geisler from the Vienna Design Week organising team doesn't let such things annoy him and did go to SaloneSatellite. Where he saw Antoinette Bader and her LacesLamp. With whom he spoke. Who then applied for a space on the Carte Blanche programme at
read more
For reasons that have always escaped us Finn Juhl remains one of the forgotten men of Danish design. Or maybe we just move in the wrong circles. Either way we were delighted when last year Onecollection re-issued Finn Juhl's 1951 "Baker Sofa" and are even more pleased that they have now re-introduced the matching Cocktail coffee table. Because it is just delightful. In addition Onecollection have also re-issued a Finn Juhl desk, Nyhavn; so-called because Juhl used such desks in his office
read more
Owner/Designer: Rui Alves Established: 2001 Location: Paços de Ferreira, Portugal Products: Hold on Sample MIU Fiss family Welcome to the Jungle Avô (smow)blog: Why did you decide for a career in industrial design? Rui Alves: It was more or less a natural decision; I grew up, and indeed am still, surrounded by family members who work with wood. And so I’ve always been surrounded by materials and tools and thinking about making things with my fathers and grandfathers tools. In addition
read more
We don't want to take anything away from Erik Wester's work; but it's saying something when one of the best new products we found at CORE 10 was from a Norwegian who studied in London and now lives and works in Amsterdam. Standing Task Light by Erik Wester In principle the idea isn't new. One of the major problems with lighting, and in particular with standard lamps, is achieving a useful, directable illumination. Your granny's standard lamp shone downwards - the light emitted was perhaps
read more
As already stated our visit to Copenhagen and CORE 10 was without question one of our more disappointing trips. Largely because of the complete lack of imagination, innovation or indeed quality that we found. It's certainly a phenomenon in all walks of life. What do you mean? Well, at one point, you've got it, then you lose it. And it's gone forever. All walks of life. Georgie Best, for example, had it, lost it. Or David Bowie or Danish design. Danish design. Some of their modern stuff's
read more
Owners/Designers: Alexander Stamminger and Nik Back Established: 2007 Location: Blaufelden, Baden-Württemberg Products: Luca lean Luca stand Ten Line Turn Superemma (smow)blog: Let’s start at the very beginning, where did you meet? maigrau: We both studied Industrial design at the Kunstakademie in Stuttgart, and we have known each other since the first semester – so since 2003 - and we completed our studies in 2008. (smow)blog: And immediately formed maigrau… maigrau: … exactly. In
read more
For one of Denmark's most celebrated designers Verner Panton spent considerably little time in Denmark; and many most of his celebrated works were realised abroad. That said Copenhagen is full of reminders of Verner Panton, his life, his work and his passions. And so during our brief visit to the Danish capital we took the opportunity to meet up with one his Vitra Panton Chairs for a guided tour of Verner Panton's Copenhagen. Our tour began, as did Panton's association with Copenhagen, at
read more
The motivation for the (smow)chair began with Chairless by Alejandro Aravena for Vitra. Although a truly delightful product we were somewhat irritated by the fact that the design for Chairless wasn't that, well, "chairless" : rather replaces the tensions within a chair with the tensions in the users body. The user becoming the chair and consequently limited in their movement while using Chairless. But because the "chairless" concept so impressed us we decided to take the opportunity
read more
On the last Sunday of the school summer holidays over 35 production companies in and around Kassel stage an annual collective "Open Day" - Blauer Sonntag. The name may be an extremely complex and over ambitious pun - the idea is however much more agreeable and this year we took the opportunity to visit Thonet in Frankenberg(Eder). For not only was Blauer Sonntag the first "official" event for the new Thonet Wohnshowroom, but visitors also had the rare opportunity to observe the Thonet wood
read more
August 20th marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Finnish architect/designer Eero Saarinen. Eero Saarinen had - in all probability - very little career choice other than that of architect: Not only was his father Eliel Saarinen one of Finland's most celebrated architects, but two of his uncles followed the same profession. In addition his mother, Loja Gesellius Saarinen, was a sculptress and textile designer. Eero Saarinen spent his first 13 years in his birthplace, Kirkkonummi on the
read more
August 6th marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Italian architect, designer and Kartell co-founder Anna Castelli Ferrieri. Despite initial flirtations with modernism, including a trip to Paris to visit Le Corbusier, the young Anna Castelli Ferrieri was drawn ever more to the Italian neo-rationalism - especially that practiced by Franco Albini. And although Kartell products may not be physically reminiscent of the work of Albini, the ethos behind the company and its approach to
read more
Fritz Haller against Egon Eiermann. While ahead of the 2010 (smow) designer furniture world cup final many bemoaned the decision of both Switzerland and Germany to play safe with their more technical formations; the match itself was one for connoisseurs. Certainly a Nils Holger Moormann for Germany or a Susi and Ueli Berger for Switzerland could have brought a little more imagination and colour to the match. But what the two old masters lacked in flamboyancy they more than compensated for
read more
Ten years ago Berlin/Leipzig based design studio Delphin Design developed the S 360 conference and auditorium chair for Thonet. In 2006 followed the slimmer S 260, which not only featured a folding version but much more importantly could be interlocked with the S 360, thus allowing users the opportunity to expand their seating options without having to replace their complete stock. And now Delphin Design and Thonet have launched the S 160. We presume the S 60 will be available in 2016
read more
Name: Stephan Schulz Born: Schwerin, 1983 Alma mater: 2003-2009 Industrial Design, Burg Giebichenstein, Halle 2007-2008 Erasmus studies at the Design Academy Eindhoven Internships: 2008 Bellini Design Studio, Milan Products: Stellvertreter for Nils Holger Moormann, Aschau im Chiemgau Concrete bowl series "frisch ausgeschalt" for Betoniu, Leipzig (smow)blog: Why Industrial Design? Stephan Schulz: It sort of just developed. I've always built things and experimented with different
read more
The second semi-final of the 2010 (smow) designer furniture World Cup was for many design critics the most interesting match of the competition Charles and Ray Eames against Egon Eiermann. Not only because of the international stature of the two design teams; nor because of the important role that both played in the development of industrial and furniture design in their home nations. The critical interest was much more if - and when yes to what extent - Egon Eiermann's approach would mirror
read moreThe first semi-final of the 2010 (smow) designer furniture World Cup pitted not only two generations against each other but two approaches to design: Fritz Haller the classically trained Swiss linealist and Tom Dixon the warehouse party welder turned doyen of contemporary English design. As ever Fritz Haller began with his universally acclaimed System USM Haller formation. The international success of Haller's USM Haller system is largely due to its deceptive flexibility: It looks rigid and
read more"The 7000 system was created to offer Thonet a shelf system that you can use for home use or office use" With the launch of the 7000 system by Munich based f/p design Thonet expanded their product pallet to include modular shelving. It's a bit like a burger chain starting to offer salad; theoretically there's no reason why they shouldn't, you just never thought they would. On the occasion of the product launch at the 2010 Milan design week, we spoke to the designers Fritz Frenkler and Anette
read moreTo close the group phases of the 2010 (smow) designer furniture world cup one of the most anticipated contests: Charles and Ray Eames against Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. With everything to play for the Bouroullec brothers opened with an adventurous Slow Chair for Vitra before producing a wonderful Alcove Sofa. Neither attempt was quite good enough to break through a solid Eames defence; although were good enough to keep Charles and Ray Eames on the back foot and so prevent them making any
read more
