A cult figure among designers, relatively unknown amongst the general public Joe Colombo is without doubt one of the most important designers of the 20th century. The Vitra Design Museum exhibition “Joe Colombo – Design and the invention of the future” is the first international retrospective of the man, his work and his influence. From April 3rd until the end of June the exhibition is on display at the Grassi Museum here in Leipzig and, as one would expect from an official Vitra partner,
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In a recent article wired magazine presented their own take on the evolution of office furnishing. From the introduction of the vast, cattle-shed like offices that characterised early office design through the cubicles and "virtual offices" of the 1980s and 90s and onwards the text makes one thing clear: Too many office workers have suffered through bad office design concepts. But one needn't work from home in order to benefit from the advantages of a convivial and stimulating office
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The snow is back in Leipzig and so whereas the weekend was spent enjoying the warm spring air - the evenings are now being spent enjoying the warm living room and a good book. And so it's just as well we were recently at Leipzig book fair. Among the seemingly endless piles of new historical novels, travel guides - each, naturally, with the best insider tips - and Harry Potter wannabes there was also a few title that appealed to us. "Project Vitra" from Rolf Fehlbaum und Cornel Windlin for
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smow prides itself on only dealing in new, officially licensed products from internationally renowned producers such as Vitra, Kartell, USM Haller and Moormann, amongst others. As an internationally active retailer, smow, however, also has a regular supply of shop display items and exhibition articles which cannot be sold as "new": For just as a car that has travelled more than 40 kilometres can't be sold as new, so a chair that has been sat on more the twice also can't be sold as new. And
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Passenger Terminal Expo is Europe’s largest airport terminal exhibition. And while such is always good to know, why are we at (smow)blog telling you. Because it is a opportune moment once again demonstrate that designer furniture and furniture by top designers can be found everywhere. Even in an airport – an environment that is normally considered as a design desert. Among the exhibitors at Passenger terminal expo is smow partner Vitra. For over 40 years Vitra have been developing and
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Fernando the Fish, Talulah the Toucan, Elihu the Elephant and Omar the Owl – four irresistibly cheeky chronological creatures born in 1965 from the imagination of master clock designer George Nelson. The “Zoo Timers” from Vitra not only brighten up any room, but make learning telling the time playful and enjoyable. George Nelson studied architecture and mad his name in furniture design, but was also a highly talented graphic designer. His “Zoo Timer” wall clocks at first attract your
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At smow we have a particular soft spot for Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and so it is especially pleasing that we can recommend an exhibition of their work currently on display at Grand Hornu in the Belgian region of Hainaut, close to the border with France. Grand Hornu is 19th century mining complex which has been creatively restored and today serves as a centre for culture, tourism and technology - and so it is particularly appropriate that it is playing host to "Etapes" and exhibition
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Last week the (smow)team made their annual pilgrimage to the CeBIT communications and IT trade fair in Hannover – not as exhibitor but as curious visitors and passionate techies. And while we looked for ways to improve our on-line service and to offer even more features, we found our attention being continually attracted – and occasionally astounded – by the furniture behind and around the stands. And over the course of the visit we had plenty of time and opportunity to draw up a list of our
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Within the next 48 hours all christmas presents must be bought. Or else it’s back to writing vouchers for your nearest and dearest. And so before it’s all too late a few final gift ideas from smow. In particular we present here the Eiermann desk, the miniature chairs from Vitra and the La Bohème "Vases" from Kartell. Or in other words Christmas gifts for workaholics, designer furniture afficienados and aesthetes... Number 1: "Desk perfection" Designer Egon Eiermann was a perfectionist who
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Although there are still nine whole days until Christmas, it may still be an idea to organise one or the other gift. And so in the second part of our series on gift ideas we "present" here some more wonders of designer furniture that cannot fail to impress: The elephant stool, a paper basket and some exquisite cushions. Number 1: "The Christmas Elephant" The Eames Elephant simply belongs in every children's bedroom. Through its's irresistable form this imaginative and practical children's
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The shortlist for the Brit Insurance Design of the Year Award 2009 have been announced; and among the high caliber field one finds designers and producers listed by smow. German designer Konstantin Grcic has been shortlisted for his MYTO chair for Italian producer PLANK, the Italian siblings Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for their Steelwood Family for Magis and Arik Levey for his Workit, work station for Vitra. In addition the graphic designers Cornel Windlin, Rebecca Stephany, Marco Müller
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The first snow of the years has fallen, the Christmas window displays are finished and the nervous hunt for the “perfect” Christmas gift is well underway. And so sometimes the best decision is simply to relax in front of the Internet and choose extravagant, amusing or simply, simple gifts for your nearest and dearest. In a small pre-Christmas series we the smow blog team will present a few ideas and treasures from the (smow)catalogue, which will hopefully ease you search and bring a smile to
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Panton Chair Classic (Vitra) Among the chairs on offer from smow are two versions of the Panton chair: The „classic“ version from 1959 for 899 Euro and the newer Panton chair version from 1999 for 198 Euro. The classic 1959 version is still produced according to designer Verner Pantons original vision; every chair from one casting. The 1999 model is an affordable, mass market model based on Verner Pantons original design Which of course raises the question: Which stool is the original? Both,
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On our search for the future of office furniture smow spent last week at the Orgatec office furniture trade fair in Cologne. Under the motto „Better Office Greater Success“ 673 companies from 39 countries presented their concepts for the office of the future. If we are honest we have been to better trade fairs, and one noticed the absence of important industry giants such as USM Haller. That said the show was not without it's moments. Among the bravest exhibits was the new
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