Email Subscription
Comparing the trends at NeoCon with independent design.
There is always a design zeitgeist that emerges from the various styles, methods of production, and materials that are popular at any given time. So, I decided to compare what I saw at NeoCon with what I am seeing from independent designers using rapid manufacturing.
the best company at NeoCon 2009
(above: portrait from MetropolisMag.com)
Stephanie Forsythe, along with Todd MacAllen and Robert Pasut, make up molo—a collaborative studio that approaches product design from an architect’s perspective. The outcomes are wonderful, multi-functional structures that can be interpretted for use as furniture, lighting, space dilineation, or custom installations. The molo aesthetic is strikingly unique yet versatile enough for a range of interior styles: residential, educational, corporate, or commercial.
(above: the very popular molo booth at NeoCon 2009)
Most people favor the deluxe permanent showrooms of to-the-trade-only manufacturers and their champaign and hors d’œuvre afternoon hours, but I have to say that the molo booth was my absolute favorite at NeoCon. They were really the freshest company at the event, and their products spoke most to what I think is the artistic vision, environmental outlook, and indie philosophy of today’s young designers.
Keep reading for the story on how molo came about, circumventing the traditional A+D route, and how their amazing designs were inspired by dollar store trinkets.
Best of Neocon Silver Award winning lighting design and more.
It was the La Reina Pendant that caught my eye in the Boyd Lighting booth. It also caught the eyes of judges for the Best of Neocon; this LED powered, laser-cut steel pendant took the Silver Award for Decorative Lighting. There was suprisingly little laser-cut design being exhibited at NeoCon, and I think that’s what made this fixture seem especially fresh.
The new Kentfield Collection features several designs that have a very fête galante aesthetic. What could have come off as inappropriate for these economic times, the priority of sustainability, and the dwindling numbers of NeoCon attendees was instead refreshing. The ornate and bejeweled designs in the Kentfield Collection are to the Interior Design industry what the glamorous Hollywood sirens of the 1930’s were to the Depression era public.
More lighting eye candy after the jump. (more…)
Winners of the 2009 Ample Sample competition have been announced. Taking top prize was the ‘Shoe-Keeper’ designed by Wuthichai Leelavoravong.
Finalist Jake Tompkins re-envisioned carpet scraps as an eco-friendly hammock with ‘Magic Carpet Ride’.
Finalist Sean Miller designed ‘Mailbox’ from a single carpet tile.
Heather Wright and Christina Jih developed the Plush Petal Pendant which uses two carpet tiles cut into 32 strips.
All of the Ample Sample winners will be featured next week at Chicago’s NeoCon, and yours truly will be there for On Site reporting. Projects from the portfolio of industrial designer and winner Wuthichai Leelavoravong after the jump!
Nigel Coates, famed designer and director of Architecture at the Royal College of Art, is behind many of the amazing designs at Slamp. Slamp is an Italian designer lighting company started in 1996. The collaboration with Coates began ten years later; and today, forty-four talented individuals contribute to Slamp’s transformation of interior lighting.
Many of the Slamp lamps are made with exclusive materials including Opalflex®, Cristalflex®, and Steelflex®. These patented plastics offer superior strength, enhanced light diffusion, and flexibility. Take a look at these incredible fixtures by Nigel Coates, and be sure to check out the entire oeuvre by all the designers at Slamp.com.
via Dezeen
Congratulations Daniel Reetz
Epilog Laser, Instructables and Ponoko are pleased to announce Daniel Reetz, Fargo, N.D., is the grand-prize winner in the Epilog Challenge. Reetz will receive a new Zing 16 Laser engraving/cutting system for his innovative and eco-friendly DIY High-Speed Book Scanner from Trash and Cheap Cameras. Reetz’s winning instructable was one of 478 entries in the Epilog Challenge.
(more…)
3D printing/manufacturing company Materialise has a new 2009 series of products for .MGX : the E-volution Collection. Twelve new designs in accessories, furniture, and lighting were commissioned to seven different designers: Arik Levy, Bathsheba Grossman, Gernot Oberfell and Jan Wertel, Hani Rashid, Jiri Evenhuis, and Luc Merx.
NW: The Shaman pendant designed by Arik Levy was constructed of epoxy with stereolithography (SL) and coated in nickel. A version in black epoxy is available at Unica.
N: Mathematician and sculptor Bathsheba Grossman modeled her Gyroid lamp on a ‘minimal surface‘ structure that is infinitely connected and found in certain copolymers such as ABS plastic, a material often used in 3D printing. You can purchase one of these complex cubes at Generate.
NE & E: Stereolithography and selective laser sintering were used to make the Ubu and Roi vases, designed by Hani Rashid to evoke the motion of whirlpools. The Ubu is on sale at Moss.
SE: Peter Jansen is the mind behind the Tulip lamp. He also designed the floral inspired Julia lamp shown below, also available at Moss.
S: Luc Merx’s Stucco is a multifunctional modular, wall mounted system printed with epoxy. The structure intends to “transform the white emptiness of surrounding walls into a maximised density of form, colour, and material.”
SW: Another design by Bathsheba Grossman, the base form of the Wye table replicates the negative space of the gyroid.
W: A detail of Gernot Oberfell and Jan Wertel’s Fractal table. See the design in all of its arborescent glory in this post by Duann and this one from Roy.
The clever kids at Mio (Jaime Salm, Roger Allen) have a new product out, and it’s everything we love—laser-cut AND customizable. The Trask Lamp is made from laser-cut, powder-coated steel and LEDs and can be adjusted for use as a table lamp, a task lamp, or a track lamp.
While laser-cut design seems to be everywhere now, I have to be honest and say that a lot of it seems arbitrary. All the better for Ponoko, yes. But maybe not all the best for design. The Trask lamp, however, seems like the perfect product for the materials and manufacturing used. Even the customization element of it is appropriate. Do we really need customized swim caps? Probably not. But lighting is something that everyone needs, and the demands for it changes depending on the room, the activity, or the time of day.
It comes flat-packed, and you put it together yourself. There are PDF instructions on the site. You can get one in silver, white, or chartreuse for $225 right here. For $25 extra you get the suspensions for a track light.
Erase time with the Dry Erase Wall Clock by Ricardo Saint-Clair,
Have you ever looked at Ponoko’s range of materials and wondered what you would do with say, the whiteboard?
Brazilian designer Ricard Saint-Clair’s 2005 design is a siple clever wall clock features a face made from a dry erase board, creating the ideal space to note appointments, jot notes, or leave messages for others or disregard the linear nature of time.
Comes with one dry erase marker with eraser, which discretely hides in the side of the clock.
Another by the same designer is the Chalkboard Bud Vase
This playful bud vase features a chalkboard front that can be used for drawings, messages, and more. The top of the vase is home to a removable glass tube designed to hold water and flowers. A small hole on the side of the vase holds the included chalk.
This design is a similar concept to that previously featured on the Ponoko Blog by Martin Konrad Gloeckle and his Un-Readymades which was part of his artifact for his thesis on design democracy, personalization, and mass customization.
Great minds think alike..
Both of Ricardo Saint-Clair’s designs are available at the MOMA store..
Martin is going great guns showing at model citizens nyc during nyc design week 2009 .. interviewed in pending magazine .. quoted in sony press release .. bendino lamp available at SF MOMA and no|such|name .. bendino lamp featured at ICFF 2008 and bergdorf-goodman .. shaded lamp wins best-of-show at dwr’s m+d+f | nyc .. kairos shelving and shaded lamp chosen as finalists for phoenix contemporary design fair.
via 2Modern
Sydney based design team Korban/Flaubert combine expertise in metal and architecture to produce furnishings that push form and leave function open to interpretation.
“We explore mathematics / geometry as a way of understanding the world. The building blocks of life. We explore growth patterns in nature and their genius at generating complextiy with the simplest sequences. This is our way of reaching an understanding of fundamental forms, patterns, and visual phenomena. We learn from the world around us.”
Their work serves as good inspiration for the diversity of form which can be accomplished with stainless steel, one of the three metal materials offered by Ponoko.
In addition to steel , the studio also works with polyethylene—a plastic with low environmental impact. To read more about their dedication to the environment or see their latest products, visit Korban/Flaubert.