As you all know for us design must not only have a function: everything must have a purpose and reason. And so it follows that cutting down a perfectly healthy tree and letting it stand in the corner of our flat for a couple of weeks before throwing it away, just isn't an option for us. Which is why the (smow) Christmas Tree is made from Algue by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. Although intended as a room divider, Algue is versatile enough to perform a range of functions - including that of a
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If Christmas is a time for family, then Christmas is also surely a time to buy your gifts from a family business. Currently being run by the 5th generation, Thonet have not only been responsible for the introduction and development of bent wood and steel tube furniture - two of the most important genres in the history of furniture design - but continue to support and develop young designers and so may just also discover the next big genre..... Thonet S 333 by Holger Lange Back in February
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The Vitra stand at Orgatec 2010 was dominated by the work of two design studios: Antonio Citterio and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. In addition to presenting new variations of their Alcove Sofa and Playns workstation, Vitra also unveiled the Bouroullec's new Communal Cells modular partition/interior architecture system and their High Meeting Table Apart from discussing the brothers forthcoming yacht project, we also talked about, the new Vitra products, what the Bouroullec's own office looks
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Although he was not showing any new products at Orgatec 2010 Alberto Meda used the show to catch up a little on what other designers were up to. And when we caught up with Alberto Meda on the Vitra stand we learned something wonderful: Alberto Meda uses the same office chair as the (smow)blog crew... (smow)blog: Unless we've missed something you aren't showing anything at Orgatec 2010? Alberto Meda: No, but I am working on a new product with Vitra, but that is not yet ready and so I am
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Although the public face of Vitra is unquestionably their "Home Collection", for decades the backbone of the company has been their office furniture division. Consequently a central feature of Vitra's daily work involves developing new approaches to office design and attempting to predict what will be important for office workers in the coming years. In 1991 Vitra commissioned the designers Michele de Lucchi, Ettore Sottsass and Andrea Branzi to develop some plans for future office design.
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What would Christmas be without hats? Father Christmas, his elves, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dave Hill.... Even the shepherds and wise men. All bemillinered. And so what could be a more festive gift than a hat rack and/or hooks. Hut Ab by Konstantin Grcic for Moormann Hut Ab is both German for "Hats Off" and a genial space saving coat and hat rack by Konstatin Grcic. When not in use Hut Ab can be folded flat and stored. When in use, Hut Ab offers numerous options for hanging and holding
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Last Saturday - 13.11.2010 for the sake of all Internet archaeologists who find this post in 120 years - Museum Boijmans in Rotterdam opened the first Hella Jongerius retrospective in her native Holland. And we weren't there. It was a regrettable, but unavoidable, situation. Fortunately our global network is almost as large as that of the American secret service and so we were able to send a few friends on our behalf. An interactive exhibition, Misfit not only features works by Hella
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For thousands of men worldwide November ceased to exist in 2003. Since then its all September, October, Movember. Movember? - MOustache / noVEMBER. By the organisers own admission the idea started as an alcohol induced attempt to re-introduce the moustache - and yes the initiators are Australian - and has now evolved into a global event to raise money and awareness for and about prostate cancer. In 2009 some 255,755 men spent Movember cultivating their top lip and in doing so raised some
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(smow)chair All this looking at, talking about and writing about other people's design, has left us yearning to get on with completing our own furniture project: (smow)chair. As already stated, the basic form and idea were developed in the (smow)warehouse here in Leipzig. The hard work was then done at the Vitra Design Museum Cardboard Furniture Workshop in Weil am Rhein. In conjunction with every exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum a programme of events is organised that aims to expand
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Amongst the plethora of new products launched by Vitra at Orgatec 2010 in Cologne was HAL, a new shell chair series by British designer Jasper Morrison. Over a cup of tea we spoke to Jasper Morrison about HAL, Vitra - and what his own office looks like. (smow)blog: Your presenting your new shell chair series HAL here at Orgatec, how long was the development phase? Jasper Morrison: About three years, with a lot of effort going into the form of the shell and the performance of the shell.
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On the opening day of Orgatec we managed to grab a quick 10 minutes in an Alcove Sofa with Erwan Bouroullec. Aside from not showing us what was in his sketch book, Erwan told us about one of the brother's forthcoming projects. A sail boat. Yeah, yeah we thought, the cheeky Breton is having a bit of fun with the naive (smow)blog crew. A sail boat! However, and despite our doubts, we're professionals and so we sought independent verification. The problem with the secretive world of
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At the 2010 Marianne Brandt Contest, Halle based designer Caspar Huckfeldt won the (smow)/Vitra Special Prize for his "Damensattel" In essence a removable plastic saddle that attaches to the crossbar, Damensattel allows a bike passenger to carried sitting side saddle. Think of the scene with "I'm singing in the rain" from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and you've got the idea. In selecting Damensattel the Vitra judges praised the design as being "a real charmer" that draws people
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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
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Although the Marianne Brandt Contest is on the surface about Marianne Brandt, the awards ceremony in Chemnitz on Friday stood very much under a different star. "Chemnitz - Stadt der Moderne"/ "Chemnitz - The Modernist City" Every single official speech rammed home the message; "Chemnitz - Stadt der Moderne" being repeated ad nauseum ad infinitum in the hope that if one said it often enough it may just come true. "I want a pony !" "I want a pony !" "I want a pony !" "I want a pony !" "I want
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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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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
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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
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A recurrent theme, not only here in the (smow)blog but also in general throughout the (smow) global network is the subject of illegal copies of design classics. Or better put when is a design classic a design classic? At the HGB Leipzig Rundgang in February we were confronted with an unexpected and somewhat unusual interpretation of the question in the form of "Eames Lounge Chair" by George Brückmann. And were immediately hooked. And not only we were impressed by Brückmanns work, In
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The other week we briefly swapped our designer chairs for designer jeans, our crazy student sideboards for crazy student hats and and our designer bookcases for designer handbags: It was Berlin Fashion Week. The short busman's holiday in the German capital was principally concerned with a new, and still relatively secret, project but we also wanted to take the opportunity to compare and contrast the designer furniture and designer clothes industries. Sure they are both about brands, star
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On several occasions in the past month we have repeatedly seen a similar scene. A scene that has made us cry. Lovely houses, truly wonderful, carefully considered constructions in idyllic locations - and then in the garden, furniture that the owners have obviously bought, possibly as an after thought, from their local garden centre. Just looking at some of the chairs made our upper thighs go numb from discomfort. And as for that recliner yesterday in Berlin!!!! People, gardens are there to
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Having decided on our concept, all we had to do was ensure that the structure had enough stability. And although we knew that stability was going to be a problem, it always is with cardboard, we had seriously underestimated just how difficult it was going to be to incorporate stability into our plan without compromising weight, volume or indeed the very fabric of our concept. It took about four minutes before our carefully considered sketches were consigned to the bin. 3D reality and 2D
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Parallel to its exhibitions the Vitra Design Museum organises workshops designed not only to accompany the exhibitions but much more to expand on them and so offer participants a new, active, insight into the theme. Or at least an aspect of the theme. For the current exhibition "Essence of Things. Design and the Art of Reduction" this means, among others, workshops on cardboard furniture production. Cardboard is without question one of the more challenging products that one can choose for
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Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are without doubt two of the brightest stars in the international designer furniture heaven. And two of the most omnipotent. Something which however may slowly change. Ronan Bouroullec in the VitaHaus, Weil am Rhein Following their initial breakthrough with Cuisine désintégrée ( Disintegrated kitchen ), an concept piece by Ronan Bouroullec that was taken on by Italian producer Capellini in 1998, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec went on to develop projects with companies
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The theme of the 2010 Designpreis Halle is and was "travel" For us travelling to Halle has a special meaning as in a previous life we used to regularly travel to Halle, experience all sorts of perverse inhumane horrors and then travel back to Leipzig glad - once again - to have escaped from the banks of the Saale with our lives. That was then. But since then not only has our life changed but we now see and understand Halle in a completely different light. Thanks largely to another tour;
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