The Playlist: WORKtoDATE Design Director Greg Bennett
Take a listen to our latest music mix straight from York, Pennsylvania and the Eames-inspired home office of WORKtoDATE design director Greg Bennett. Read more
Balance, Design, Technology
February 22, 2012
Balance, Design
February 21, 2012
Ideal Live/Work Space: Jamie Latendresse
Prior to joining The Whole Brain Group as creative director, designer Jamie Latendresse served as Creative Arts Director for CPOP Gallery in Detroit, was co-owner of the emerging-artist gallery Primary Space, and worked for clients like General Motors and Our Time Theatre in New York City. Here the recent transplant to San Francisco shares his ideal live/work space–one that’s founded in every city dweller’s dream: more space.
Balance, Products
February 20, 2012
Six Ways with Presidential Design
Celebrate Presidents’ Day with these POTUS-inspired finds. Read more
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
February 17, 2012
Top 10: Best of the Web This Week
Here’s what we’ve been reading this week.
1. The ongoing “Creative Spaces” feature at confessionsofadesigngeek.com.
2. Houzz’s look at the Nelson Coconut Chair, “a stylish slice of modern cushiness.”
3. Design Milk on the importance of plants in the Pacific Palisades home of Charles and Ray Eames.
4. Glimpses of this organized home office (and its Finnish office supplies) at Weekday Carnival.
5. The premiere issue of The Roger magazine and its mission to showcase creative workspaces.
6. Apartment Therapy’s transformation of a home office belonging to two engineers in need of a more functional space.
7. This smart toolkit covered on fastcodesign.com that rethinks the standard pencil cup.
8. “How America became a nation of freelancers” at The Guardian.
9. The colors and pattern in the home of Wolfgang Joop at The Selby.
10. Deskography.org, where you can “show the world where you work.”
Balance, Design, Technology
February 16, 2012
George Nelson Inspiration in Austin
There’s much to discover inside the oak tree-shaded Austin home in Apartment Therapy Tech’s latest tech tour, but one thing in particular got our attention: the owners’ serene, uncluttered home office. Designed around a his-and-her pair of desks created for Herman Miller by George Nelson, the space features small pops of color by way of well chosen office accessories, a flexible Mirra Chair for long nights spent on deadline, and lots of light via a tall floor-to-ceiling window. Just outside? A soothing water feature offering white noise and an extra dose of tranquility. Read more
Balance
February 15, 2012
The Playlist: Janine Vangool of UPPERCASE
Janine Vangool publishes, edits, and designs UPPERCASE, a quarterly magazine “for the creative and curious,” from her studio in Calgary. Learn how music—and William Shatner—played a part in inspiring her career in this week’s Playlist. Read more
Balance, Design, Products
February 14, 2012
Six Ways with Red
Use these picks in Valentine’s Day’s signature color to inspire your space all year long. Read more
Balance, Design
February 13, 2012
Temporary Workspace Escapes
Your home office may be comfortable, customized to your specifications, and as hard-working as you are—but sometimes everyone needs an escape from the everyday work routine. One way to shake things up? Coworking, or sharing an office environment with others working on their own projects.
Communities like LooseCubes.com that let you find temporary space to rent by the day or the month (like Hoboken, NJ’s MissionFifty, above) are a smart place to start. Look for workspaces that inspire, teach you something, or that simply give you a fresh perspective. Here are a few spots available across the country that recently caught our eye. Read more
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
February 10, 2012
Top 10
Where we’ve been this week…
1. Treehugger for their “Most Beautiful Street in the World” post.
2. Apartment Therapy for this home office tour.
3. Design*Sponge’s wonderful wrap up of home office spaces.
4. Design Milk for their Designer DeskTop Wallpaper series.
5. MujiUSA has some very sleek minimal designs for the home office including these acrylic organizers.
6. Luludi for their cool way of incorporating plants into the home office – hang them on the wall.
7. Cleverhands shop on Etsy has a interesting alternative to the pencil case – check it out here. Good for home office workers on the go.
8. Vienna-based designers Less & More create beautiful wooden desk organizers. You can see them here on the US-Supermarket site.
9. Design Notes funny post on a new game – “Six Degrees of Cranbrook”.
10. Desire to Inspire’s post on a cool Toronto office.
Balance
February 8, 2012
The Playlist: Felicia Filer
Felicia Filer has been the director of the Pubic Art Division for the Department of Cultural Affairs in City of Los Angeles for more that 15 years. In this post she shares the music she loves to listen to at work.
What do you listen to while you work? I mostly listen to Jazz during the day when I work, either instrumental or with words. I will pepper in some Soul or World Music if I need a boost! Erica Badu, Adele, Aretha Franklin, Corinne Bailey Ray, Angelique Kidjo or Toots Thielmans will always makes me happy! As the evening nears, I tend to play something a little more moody, like Gretchen Parlato, Jeff Buckley or Esperanza Spalding.
How do you listen? Since I have my own office I don’t have to wear head phones when I listen to music. I generally listen through the speakers on my computer. I try to keep the volume at a respectable level, yet still serve my need for the music to change my atmosphere.
Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? I listen to Pandora on occasion.
Does music influence your work? Listening to music while I work helps me to stay calm. My job can be tremendously stressful. Mostly I am responding to people streaming into my office all day long with problems. I try to use a creative approach to solve the complex and challenging issues surrounding art and politics, such as how to continually provide cultural and artistic services throughout the City of Los Angeles with diminishing human and financial resources. Music helps me to think outside of the box when searching for innovative solutions to these concerns.
Who influences your musical taste? My daughter Brynne. She is part of an acoustic/indie duet called Le-Ti. She gives me a new mixed-cd about once a quarter with some amazing music on it. That really pushes me to keep expanding my musical taste. I find that the time of day or the beautiful California light and sunsets will also influence what I listen to!
What song or artist best represents the work you create/ If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be? Well, it’s the end of the year and everybody wants everything completed right now, so I would have to say today my work feels like the painting The Scream by Edvard Munch.
Felicia Filer’s Playlist
Esperanza Spalding, Fall In
Bobby McFarren, Invocation
Adele, Rolling In the Deep
John Coltrane, A Love Supreme
Wayne Shorter, Dance Cadavarous
The Beatles, Blackbird
Emanative & Ahu, Turn Your Lights On
Erykah Badu, Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long
Gretchen Parlato, Winter Wind
Azymuth, Free As A Bird
Jeff Buckley, Grace