"One sits more comfortably on a colour that one likes" declares Verner Panton in his 1997 book Lidt om Farver/Notes on Colour.1 A succinct expression of an understanding of colour as more than just a decorative element, and one of many reflections on the function and relevance of colour beyond the merely decorative which, in a myriad guises, pervade the history of furniture and product design. And contrasting, if at times complementary, reflections, pun intended, we will consider in the
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In centuries past traditions were something that were established slowly, often becoming such long after those who had began them, who had understood their origins, meaning and function in contemporary society, had shuffled off this mortal coil; in our contemporary world traditions arrive over night, no-one having the patience to wait, no-one wanting to miss out on anything. In which sense, celebrating in 2019 its second edition, our traditional 3daysofdesign Copenhagen #embassytour. As
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It is almost certainly more by chance than design, but in the week that Verner Panton would have celebrated his 88th birthday the Vitra Design Museum Gallery opened an exhibition devoted to his inimitable Visiona 2 exhibition from 1970. Presented as part of the warm up to the forthcoming "Panorama" exhibition from and by Konstantin Grcic, "Visiona 1970: Revisiting the Future" explores the background to and realisation of the Visiona 2 showcase, including an accessible, usable, sitonable
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On his 2009 album "Waxing Gibbous" Falkirk balladeer Malcolm Middleton included the song "Red Travellin' Socks" a jaunty - if for us touch too obvious - ode to his love/hate relationship with, well his Red Travellin' Socks. Wearing his socks he's reminded of the freedom of the open road that is currently helping him fulfilling his primitive desires - until such time as the romantic myth of the endless highways explodes and he begins to long for home. The red socks symbolising his frustration
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If purple is the second colour of mourning; then citrus colours are unquestionably the second colour(s) of Christmas. Be it the orange of an orange, the lemon of a lemon or the dark lime of a Vitra Panton Chair. Launched by Vitra in July as a special summer 2011 edition the Dark Lime Panton Chair was released as a strictly limited edition piece. And the (smow)warehouse is down to the last few examples...... And just like mince pies - when they're gone. They're gone! Unlike mince pies
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Back in the summer we ran a highly entertaining "Summertime in Dark Lime" Panton Chair Cocktail competition. The judging was certainly highly entertaining. The winner was Italian designer Alessandro Barison aka abitudinicreative Chatting with Alessandro after his cocktail “Spritz Upgrade” was selected the winner, we discovered that while he was a student at the Scuola Italiana Design (SID) he had taken part in a workshop cum competition that involved redesigning - or better put - extending
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Last August we made an ill-fated trip to Copenhagen and CODE 10. A trip that caused us to ponder the question if Danish furniture design is still relevant. To help us explore this point a little further we decided to speak to two young Danish designers and ask them for their views and opinions on the current state of furniture design in Denmark. Monique Engelund and Jonas Pedersen both studied architecture in Aarhus, graduating with a degree in furniture design. And no they didn't change
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The winner the Dark Lime Vitra Panton Chair Summer Cocktail Competition is Alessandro Barison. Congratulations !!! His "Spritz Upgrade" - essentially a classic Spritz with sparkling water and orange juice - or a Bucks Fizz with Aperol as one jury member commented - was the unanimous victor. The principle reason given being that the addition of the orange juice and water lightened the drink, or at least the perception of the drink, making it a wonderful accompaniment to a hot summers
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London based design studio Barber Osgerby stands as a testament to the fact that high quality work will always win through, with or without the media status "star designer" While its fair to say that many of their contemporaries have been placed on international glossy magazine pedestals, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby have remained largely in the shadows, quietly producing consistently high quality work for both international producers and private customers. That is however slowly changing
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Until July 31st we are giving readers the chance to win a limited edition Dark Lime Panton Chair. In effect we are swapping a Dark Lime Panton Chair for a summer cocktail/mixed drink recipe. The best wins! In order to give you some ideas and inspiration we have asked several Vitra VIPs for their favourite recipe. Today Vitra Chief Design Officer Eckart Maise shares his Caipirinha recipe He obvioulsy can't win - but he can share a recipe!!! As the man who commissioned works such as Tip Ton
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Summer. Sun. Cocktails. In order to allow you to enjoy this combination to the full (smow) are giving away a Dark Lime Panton Chair. To be in with chance of winning a limited edition summer 2011 version of Verner Panton's classic cantilever chair, simply tell us your favourite summer cocktail or mixed drink recipe; alcoholic or non-alcoholic. The only rule is that it must contain a slice of lime! And be perfect for a long summers evening in a Vitra Panton Chair! The competition is open
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For all those looking to make their summer balcony even more exclusive, Vitra are currently offering the Panton Chair in a one-off summer 2011 Dark Lime edition. The offer is strictly limited on a first-come-first-serve basis, and only available online. That said, the dark lime Panton Chair costs the same as all other colours! An "exclusive" product at no extra cost. So to say. As with all Vitra Panton Chairs the „Summertime in dark lime" special edition is constructed from a special UV
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One of the most famous - and arguably professionally relevant - phases in Verner Panton's life was his journeys through Europe. Following his graduation from Copenhagen Art school Verner Panton gave up his position with Arne Jaobsen, converted his VW bus to a basic mobile studio and set off on a series of tours throughout Europe during which he made contact with numerous designers and producers. While its probably fair to say that this experience alone didn't shape his future work - the
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Ida Engholm, forskningslektor ved Dansk Center for Designforskning er kurator for den akutuelle Pantonudstilling på den danske ambassade i Berlin. Forud for åbningen talte vi med Ida Engholm om Verner Pantons karriere og indflydelse, og om Verner Panton ville have taget digital design til sig. (smow)blog: Det indlysende første spørgsmål er, hvor starter man når man skal kuratere en udstilling om en designer som Verner Panton? Ida Engholm: Udgangspunktet for denne udstilling var en ung tysk
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I 1962 mødtes Verner Panton og Marianne Pherson Oertenheim under en ferie på Tenerife, og to år senere blev parret gift i Basel. Udover at være Verner Pantons kone, var Marianne Panton også hans de facto-direktør, og hun arbejdede tæt sammen med sin mand i alle aspekter af hans arbejde. Forud for udstillingen på den danske ambassade talte vi med Marianne Panton om Verner Pantons arbejde, og om hvad der i sin tid havde indflydelse på dette - og om hvordan hun blev den første fotomodel for
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PANTON in the wonderful Felleshus, Berlin This past Friday the Danish Embassy in Berlin opened an exhibition devoted to the work of Verner Panton - from his early works up to his influence of today's young Danish designers. The first exhibition of Verner Panton's work in Germany for 10 years, PANTON is largely based around the collection of André Barss - a young Berlin Panton collector. A few years ago André was at an exhibition, saw a Panton Chair - and was so irritated by the fact that he
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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
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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
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It may not be the most universally recognised example of either Charles Eames' nor Eero Saarinen's canon however their 1940 "Conversation Chair" is without doubt one of the more important examples of 20th century furniture design. Designed for the New York Museum of Modern Art's "Organic Design in Home Furnishings" competition the Conversation Chair was a concept piece and Eames' and Saarinen's first attempt at moulding synthetics. At that time however the technology lagged somewhat behind
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Although in the course of his career Verner Panton worked with numerous designer furniture producers, his name is undoubtedly most closely associated with Vitra. Not least because of his seminal Panton Chair. The exhibition "Panton by Vitra" at Wasserschloss Klaffenbach in Chemnitz offers visitors an insight into the life and work of one of the most important and influential post-war European designers. While still a student Verner Panton worked in Arne Jacobsen's Copenhagen office and
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On Saturday 20.03.2010 the latest Vitra Design Museum exhibition "The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction" officially opens. An exhibition very much after our own hearts. "The Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction" explores the logic that "it is in the nature of human beings to seek the simplest solution" Although admittedly this is a logic that - despite its logic - all too many designers somehow manage to ignore, there are thankfully enough examples of good,
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As many of you will be aware, the construction of the VitraHaus was not without it's controversy. For all the decision to paint the outer walls black. We at (smow)blog can however exclusively reveal that other options were considered. And below we publish exclusive pictures of the rejected colour schemes. Berlin based, Dutch designer Hella Jongerius has created the Vitra Colour Laboratory to help encourage VitraHaus visitors to be more imaginative and creative in their use of colour. One
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There is little doubt as to who the most popular furniture producers with the exhibitors here in Köln are.... Vitra and Kartell. Two producers whom the Messe Köln sadly can't attract to the show in their own right. And that despite the fact that all the snack bars here in Köln Messe use Maarten van Severen's genial .03 On the stands here however we've seen, for example, Panton Chairs being used to augment otherwise tasteless bedroom suites and the classic Vitra DSR by Charles and Ray Eames
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From experience we can confirm that photographing furniture is not the easiest job in the world. And getting a picture that captures the spirit and functionality of the object is a true art. And so we were all the more impressed when we stumbled across a series of photos of Vitra miniatures by Dutch photographer Bart van Bussel. All we know about Bart is that he is a photographer, lives in Amsterdam and has more facebook friends than we do. But we do know quite a lot about the chairs he has
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