The Brooklyn-based design/build studio 4-Pli designs and manufactures furniture cut from sustainably-harvested plywood on their in-house CNC mill which are then finished with low-VOC paints and varnishes. Much of their collection has elements that repeat, slide together, or nest within each other. They’re not exactly flat-pack design, but they’re also not hand-carved one-of-a-kind pieces (luckily for us). Their work finds a wonderful balance between the two extremes, resulting in work that is simple and sophisticated. (more…)

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!Update to Part 2: It seems like the “Shelter Screen” was carried on into the final rounds for ICFF. See below.

As SCAD students of the Designed Conversation course created different bedding solutions for the clients of Growing Hope of Union Mission, one of the most challenging problems was a structure that actually provided shelter for the homeless living on the street.

This was the prototype presented at the end of April during critique. The canvas slip cover fits over a standard bi-folding lawn chair. Inside the flap was a layer of tulle to represent mosquito netting. There were conversations about how to secure the flap while preventing liquid from dripping inside, how to make the netting functional and convenient, and how to transport the entire structure on one’s back.

Above, a student demonstrates the room within the structure and possible issues with not being able to sit up.

It seems that a more dome-like silhouette was the group’s solution. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to see this prototype, but it looks like the project really came together for ICFF.

At the end of the critique, I sat down with each groups “documentarians.” Rubi McGrory, a Graduate Fibers student, Alice Meiss and Kathleen Imig, both undergraduates in Fibers, were responsible for documenting the process of their groups, collaborating on the mission statement, and putting together the site for Designed Conversation.

(more…)

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Good old Etsy is a massive market place for all things ‘hand made’. Now the concept of the hand can be stretched to the hand that operates the mouse, that designs the product, that clicks send, that, well, uses Ponoko..

Anyway, Soop is a London based design studio headed by top chef Wai-Lian Scannell. She’s forever rustling up new recipes in the Soop kitchen (literally). You can sample a few flavours in Soop’s Etsy shop. In this instance the result is super cute jewellery that can be combined (see customized) to make your very own farmyard scene on your finger.

And while at Etsy check out this, Object

What_
A geometric entity to occupy a desk, a shelf or any space in your life. Balances on several faces.
So the outer casing is made out of recycled cardboard coated in beeswax. The beeswax adds strength as well as a pleasant smell. The underside has two wells, both filled with a swatch of moss.
Why_
A stress reliever, something nice to look at and touch, or a little bit of the outside when you are stuck inside.

ok

Soop Found via Josh Spear

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The NottinghamTrent graduate show has produced some great lighting designs. The Curly Sue Spiral Desk Lamp by Wendy Tytherleigh is a distinctive desk lamp designed for the retail decorative market. The lamp features a collapsible spiral shade which allows the user to control the light level without the need for a dimmer switch (Via designzen).

Another really interesting light design is the Opal by Natalie Wilkins. It’s a portable wireless light (I assume it has a battery) made from bone china that can be placed on a table, held in the hand or suspended on the string provided. The translucent ceramic shell emits a warm glow similar to a candle.

The Hula ceiling light shade by Sarah Turner incorporates MIY/self assembly/mass customization. Sarah says that the shade embraces a new MIY (making it yourself) trend. The consumer arranges and assembles the rings in whatever form they wish so that each person can have a light of their own design.

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New Zealand based designer Rachel Young, has produced a simple polypropylene bowl based on her research into origami, released under her banner of Fold.

After many hours of experimentation with paper, Young has patented the Fold dish, a delightful serving, fruit or display plate made from recycled plastic and available in black, white, red and yellow at Eon Design Centre.

The dish’s intended use is for storing fruit, although it can be used as a special serving dish for cakes, salads, bread or display of decorative objects and flower arrangements. It can also be used simply as a stand alone display object. Each dish is hand folded individually and can be stacked upon other Fold Dishes.

Also in the Fold range is a hand folded lamp using similar principles, there is a waiting list so place your orders now…
For more information, see www.fold.co.nz

While researching this post I also found an Origami Blog with loads of interesting origami based projects from hats to tea bag floats through furniture and window treatments by Dutch designer Hannah Allijn.

A bit sloppy on photoshop though.

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We have seen flat pack chairs, jewellery, lights, hammers, stools, even kiwis. Now there is small, portable flat pack barbeque. It folds down to a 30cm by 46 cm rectangle and weighs in at a manageable 4 kg. At that weight and size it could even be sent via the post. No longer does the barbeque need to be confined to the backyard you can take this thing with you everywhere. The gadget shop says “now the spirit of summer can join you wherever you are, or even sit permanently in the boot of your car, ready for action whenever the mood takes you”. Barbequing is very popular here in Australia during the summer so I’m sure there’ll be a market for people needing an emergency barbeque.

The good people at Apartment therapy have even dreamed up the advertisement “we can see it now: a TV advertisement spoofing the Apple MacBook Air ad. But instead of pulling out a laptop from a slim envelope, the actor will pull out one of these compact, folding barbecue grills to the tune of some grilling music while the sweet smoke of caramelizing summer fare wafts around…”

Flat pack is now spreading to all products. It’s definitely a good way to open your products up to a larger market if you can post your products around the world cheaply.

Via Apartment Therapy/Cribcandy

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The interdisciplinary course Designed Conversation at Savannah College of Art and Design started around a competition sponsored by the International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

“Given departmental emphasis on community outreach and, increasingly, small-scale production, fibers program members explore conscientious design and sustainable, socially responsible studio practice as a matter of course. For the past two years, the program has worked with the Growing Hope Artisans Cooperative, which provides creative programming for the homeless. This year, fibers students are delving into the issue of bedding for Growing Hope clients. Issues confronting the students include the relationship of inside/outside, portability, and the difference between consumer-driven and community-oriented products.”

-from the ICFF announcement

The last post Front and Center: Designed Conversation at ICFF (Part1) covered a product concept for people in transitional housing. This post covers the second prototype that focuses on the needs of individuals living in shelters. When I attended the final critique, the prototype looked like a three panel room divider with fabric pockets.

Each fabric panel was 15 inches wide and attached to pvc pipe. The idea was to use found materials to create pockets at different heights of the panels for those sleeping on the top or bottom bunk. The screen would provide storage as well as privacy. Issues arose at this last critique on the construction around the stitched sleeves of the panels, the stability of the light weight pvc, as well as the inconvenience of repositioning the screen in order to climb on the top bunk. The students must have seriously evaluated these issues, because less than two weeks later their prototype looked like this.

Storage is given precedent with an expandable shelf, as opposed to fabric pockets. Contents can be kept out of sight, and there is a fold out shelf.

These are the latest photographs I have of the prototype, but Fibers professor Jessica Smith reported that the final prototype for ICFF incorporates over 10 yards of digitally printed polyester.
Here’s the front of their promo card. Return tomorrow for coverage of the final design which offers a sleeping solution for men and women who must live on the street and a few words from the students reflecting on how this project has affected them as designers and as people.

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I’ve only recently discovered how much I like lamp/light designs and I have been looking at a lot of them, the fold lamp was one that caught my eye, Alexander Taylor makes reference to the familiar traditional form of the lamp with a bit of a twist. The Fold lamp is part of a series of lights by Established and Sons that also includes a floor lamp and another variation of the table lamp. They are made from a sheet of folded aluminium (hence the name), with a braided fabric cable. We’ve seen a few products made by folding metal lately, like the origami table.

What I find most interesting about this lamp is its bare bones construction. Taylor goes against the normal approach and doesn’t attempt to conceal any of the lamps cabling of fittings. ‘I like work containing honesty with regard to construction process and thought. I think the product should tell its own story and once your thoughts have to be explained then something within the design is not working,’ says Alexander Taylor.

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Nutre Arayavanish is a jeweller whose jewellery is informed by her interest in owner involvement.

She recently won the numbers of prestigious awards such as New Designer of the Year 2007 from the Business Design Center and Jewellery Designer of The Year 2007 (Student Category) from British Jewellers’ Assiciation (BJA). She explores the relationship between two-dimensional pattern and three-dimensional object, also the relationship between maker, jewellery and wearer in order to encourage the wearer to engage more with the piece apart from wearing them. The public perception or reaction to the jewellery when presented to them in different states of existence and brings new experience to wearers and viewers, and a new level of dimension to jewellery wearing.

Postable Jewellery is the spacial way of communication. It is a jewellery that can be send through mailbox, like a postcard. It is a flat-pack ring, assemble by slotting each components together. Presenting itself as a card and a gift, it can be a perfect present for any occasions.

available at magma books
What a perfect way to use Ponoko. By combining flat pack jewellery like this and laser etching you could design a business card that assembled into a piece of jewellery, what a great way to woo a potential client…..
Found via our buddy Josh Spear

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Designed Conversation is a special topics course at the Savannah College of Art and Design. This Spring, a divergent group of students from the Fibers and Furniture departments came together under the direction of professors Jessica Smith and Sheila Edwards to collaborate on a proposal for this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair. I had the honor of attending the final prototype critique and interviewing a few students about the project.

“Designed Conversation represents a dynamic dialogue between Savannah College of Art and Design students and clients of Growing Hope of Union Mission in Savannah, Georgia. Union Mission aims to elevate the quality of life of Savannah’s homeless through housing, job training, counseling, and healthcare. Growing Hope, the arts and crafts cooperative within Union Mission, is a unique program which addresses the need for creative expression in this underserved population. Our goal is to create sustainable bedding solutions for people in non-traditional living situations. We address the needs of three specific demographics within Union Mission: those sleeping on the street, those sleeping in a shelter, and those living in transitional housing.

Through regular conversations at the shelter, our clients expressed their needs for comfort, security and privacy which we continuously integrated into our design solutions. We embrace a definition of sustainability looking beyond the green movement to incorporate a socially constructive practice. Using readily accessible materials and an ease of construction, we created functional items that can be replicated by clients within the Growing Hope Studios. In giving the design blueprints to Growing Hope and posting them on the internet, we aim to give our products a life in the community beyond ICFF.”

:: mission statement

This first post presents the work of the group that addresses those in transitional housing programs. Because physical shelter is provided, the primary needs are personal and psychological. Below, are the sleeping arrangements the students visited.

These “bed pods” were developed to provide privacy and a sense of ownership and control over limited personal space. The canopy like structure is secured to the bottom of the bed frame by simple straps and suspender clips. The pod can be folded back and snapped shut to signify that this person has left the dormitory and begun their day. Extended, the pod provides shade from the typical overhead florescent lighting, privacy from fellow housemates, as well as some storage. There are pockets on either side of the interior for small personal items. It’s light weight and compactability make it portable, due to it’s construction of fiberglass rods and basic fabric. I think it’s a very good way to begin to establish individualized space and a healthy sense of independence.

Here’s the final version to be presented at ICFF.

And here, clients of Growing Hope of Union Mission look at the prototype.

coming soon. Front and Center: Designed Conversation at ICFF (part 2) - a storage solution for shelters

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