It is very apposite that the Grassi Museum for Applied Arts Leipzig is currently hosting a special presentation dedicated to the designer Rudolf Horn: for here began the story of one of Rudolf Horn's more interesting projects, the somewhat unfortunately named Conferstar club chair. And yes it does look like Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Chair. It's supposed to. In 1962 Rudolf Horn was sitting in his office in Leipzig and was, by his own admission, fed up. And so decided to visit the Grassi
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In the past we have, admittedly, been "somewhat" harsh on Chemnitz. Unfairly so considered some. Many. "C'mon! Chemnitz isn't all that bad!!!!" being the general response. And so we decide to investigate a little more closely, to peer behind our prejudices and explore contemporary creativity in Chemnitz. Beginning with snowboard manufacturer silbærg. Initiated in the context of a research project at the Chemnitz Technical University silbærg snowboards make use of so-called Anisotropic Layer
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In our post from the excellent exhibition Croatian Holiday at Vienna Design Week 2012 we questioned the curators assertion that through incorporating contemporary designers into a nation's tourist industry one could help that nation promote a contemporary national identity abroad. Our scepticism wasn't levied at the employment of designers in, for example, creating furniture for hotels, the interior design of tourist attractions or promotional material, but much more about employing designers
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As previously noted in these pages the (hi)story of modernism is largely one of successful male/female partnerships, the most famous questionably being Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich or Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand in the main period of inter-war European modernism and Charles and Ray Eames in context of the post-war American adaptation. Yet it is also a (hi)story with only very few identifiable female leads. From the examples above Lilly Reich, Charlotte Perriand and Ray
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"Plastic was equivalent with America for us. Only Bakelite came from Europe. Right? But after the war, everything plastic came to Italy from the States. Purely commercial stuff, but every year a new material came on the market", recalled Italian architect and designer Anna Castelli Ferrieri in a 1997 interview, "We wanted to try out what all can be made with these new materials"1 And try she did. With an élan that resulted in an enviable portfolio of products that have not only become
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Over the years we have regularly highlighted the fact that buying cheap copies of established furniture design classics is not only an economically and socially questionable strategy, but is also potentially dangerous. Just how potentially dangerous being very neatly illustrated in a recent test undertaken by our colleagues at (smow) Australia. As noted previously, (smow) Australia are not direct, blood, relatives but more second cousins through marriage; we are however bound by a shared
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As we noted in our post from the recent Burg Giebichenstein Halle summer exhibition, the institution is currently one of the more interesting design schools in Germany. That it is is largely on account of the conscientious work done and reputation established during the days of divided Germany, and the way that work has subsequently been carried on through into the unified days. One of the most interesting, if not influential, members of the Burg Giebichenstein staff during the DDR days was
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24 hours after Hella Jongerius crossed our paths at the Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin Rundgang 2014, and 48 hours after finding ourselves in the same corridor as Axel Kufus at the Universität der Künste Berlin Rundgang 2014, Stephan Schulz cycled past us as we walked to the 2014 summer exhibition at Burg Giebichenstein Halle. Its just the way we rock. Sorry....... As we've noted before Halle should be Vienna. It's certainly a much more attractive, imposing and interesting city than its
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Some 24 hours after finding ourselves in the same corridor as Axel Kufus at the Universität der Künste 2014 Rundgang our paths crossed that of Hella Jongerius at the Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin Rundgang. It’s just how it is in Berlin…… And as with the UdK Rundgang, in terms of product/industrial the 2014 show at Weißensee was/is, in our opinion, somewhat smaller than in previous editions, did/does however present a highly entertaining review of the past years work and so neatly explains
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One of the highlights for us of the student summer semester showcase season is always the annual Rundgang at the Universität der Künste, UdK, Berlin. And while the Product/Industrial Design presentation at the 2014 Rundgang is/was somewhat smaller than usual, it was/is still the expected, and entertaining, mix of the theoretical, the conceptual and the practical. In addition to the chance to once again experience projects such as Clair Obscur, a project which can of course also be viewed as
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As is becoming customary Design Miami Basel 2014 provided the backdrop for the presentation of the Swiss Design Award. And an exhibition of all nominated projects. Inaugurated in 1918 the Swiss Design Award is organised by the Swiss Federal Culture Agency - the Bundesamt für Kultur - and seeks to reward and recognise particularly outstanding contemporary design by both Swiss designers and Swiss based international designers. The 2014 edition attracted 252 entries for the four competition
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On the evening of Thursday July 10th the annual Bauhaus University Weimar "Summaery" student showcase exhibition opened for its 2014 edition. In terms of product design, and without meaning to be disingenuous, it wasn't the strongest Summaery we've ever been to. There were however a few projects that allowed us to leave without the feeling of having completely wasted our train fares. And so, and in no particular order..... WOob by Lisa Kästner (Realised in context of the class: MACHEN? -
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Back in November the winners of the 2013 German Federal Ecodesign Award - the Bundespreis Ecodesign - were announced at a slightly less than glittering ceremony in Berlin. In February 2014 an exhibition featuring the 12 winners and further 19 nominated projects opened in Ludwigsburg. Following a brief stop at the designforum in Vienna the Bundespreis Ecodesign 2013 exhibition is currently being presented at the headquarters of the Umweltbundesamt - the German Federal Environment Agency - in
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By way of a final addendum to our "5 New Design Exhibitions for July 2014" post, the Design museum Gent are currently hosting an exhibition devoted to one of the true masters of 20th century design, Finn Juhl. A designer who, as regular readers will be aware, we yield ground to no man to in our admiration for. Born in Frederiksberg, Denmark in 1912 Finn Juhl studied architecture at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Following his graduation in 1934 Finn Juhl took up a
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As if to help underscore the assertion in our "5 New Design Exhibitions for July 2014" Post that July and August tend to be quiet months in terms of design and architecture exhibitions because near everyone is on holiday, Berlin's Direktorenhaus Gallery have titled their 2014 summer exhibition "Summer Break VA". The VA being shorthand for "various artists". "We're not here" they seem to be saying, "but if we were here, these are the sort of delights you could enjoy" Established in 2010
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In our post on the Pulpo Galerie in Lörrach we noted that "you don’t get your products shown in the VitraHaus just because you happen to have the correct postcode……." Being local doesn't count. Isn't an advantage. Your work must be good. And as if to prove our point...... Jason Miller's postcode is New York 11232 and his Modo chandelier for Roll and Hill can be found in the VitraHaus. Lars Beller Fjetland's postcode is 5032 Bergen and his Re-Turned birds for Discipline can be found in the
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Back in the day all ten projects nominated for the DMY Award were presented in a post-festival exhibition in the Bauhaus Archiv Berlin. An exhibition that for us always made perfect sense, mixing as it did experimental, conceptual works by contemporary designers with the conceptual, experimental spirit of Bauhaus. That however was then. And the cooperation sadly ended a couple of years ago. If we're honest we find it a real shame that that is no longer the case, not least for the designers.
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Since June 14th 2014 the Basel metropolitan region has been one contemporary design institution richer: the Pulpo Galerie in Lörrach. Run by the contemporary lighting and accessory manufacturer Pulpo in the Pulpo HQ, the Pulpo Galerie is part Pulpo Galerie, part Pulpo showroom, part Pulpo office, part Pulpo newsagent, part informal Pulpo Café. But principally Pulpo Galerie. The inaugural exhibition, Space, presents recent works by painter Daniel Richter, sculptor Tobias Rehberger and the
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While the art world is awash with anecdotes of cleaners disposing of installations having confused them for rubbish, we're not aware of any works of designer furniture having suffered a similar fate. At Design Miami Basel 2014 however Milan based Erastudio Apartment-Gallery made a very good effort to initiate just such a première with their presentation of a 1950s bedroom ensemble by Ettore Sottsass: piled ungraciously, almost out of hand, in the corner of their stand the bed, chest of
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Those of you who followed our sadly demised Posterous account - Why Twitter? Why? - will recall our joy at seeing the Bravais Desk by Canadian born, Rotterdam based designer Dana Cannam at the "Thoughts of Home" showcase during Dutch Design Week 2011. A wonderfully charismatic product Bravais impressed/impresses with its obvious functionality and effortlessly reduced form. Equally as effortlessly reduced is the modular tableware system "All of a Piece" developed by Dana Cannam in cooperation
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At DMY Berlin 2014 fifteen students from the Fachhochschule Potsdam are presenting the results of the seminar "formHOLZ" Run under the supervision of Professor Hermann Weizenegger formHOLZ explored new possibilities with moulded, formed and otherwise shaped wood and the exhibition at DMY Berlin presents a series of prototypes which demonstrate new possibilities with one of the oldest, and most researched, materials/processes in industrial product design. And ably demonstrates that regardless
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One doesn't have to understand why designers or design institutions do the things they do. You don't always have to be able to follow the logic. Sometimes all you need to do is sit back and enjoy the ride. Such an occasion, at least for us, is the project Lost & Found by Vitra from the Bratislava based design platform Flowers for Slovakia. Essentially the project asked 15 young Slovakian designers to combine forlorn items of traditional Slovakian folk furniture with elements from the Vitra
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As older readers will be aware one of our all-time favourite products is the table family Tints by Jason Miller. Although officially inspired by aviator sunglasses what initially attracted us to Tints, and still holds our famously fluctuant attention, is their unmissable reference to candy. They look like big boiled sweets suspended in a maple frame. Our fascination with the Tint tables isn't however the reason for writing about the lamp Godis by Lund University student Nestor Campos. Even
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"I want to create models for a different society, for a way of producing and living differently", announces Enzo Mari in one of several quotes presented in the exhibition "Who is Mari? at KPM Berlin World. A wonderful example of what can be achieved can currently be explored at DMY Berlin in context of the Berlin based organisation CUCULA. Established in 2013 CUCULA is, as the organisation's full name implies, a craft and design company run by refugees. Or at least all going to plan it
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