Design
March 18, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
“Backpack mogels Eastpak teamed up with design studio Quinze & Milan to create this catch-all, carry-all sofa that’s part of their ‘built to resist’ collection. Although at first glance it seems a little strange, we think it’s a great idea for an all in one home office. No really! Think about it!
In small apartments having a home office can be difficult, even if you’re working out of a closet. When we first saw this sofa, we couldn’t really decide what to put in all those pockets, snacks? Remote Controls? Tea Cup Poodles? But then it dawned on us… what if it held all of our office supplies? The pockets are large enough to hold file folders, books, supplies, even your laptop. They’d be the perfect place to holster small electronics, cords, adapters, battery chargers — you name it. As long as your cat doesn’t use it for a scratching post, we’re not against the idea in a small space. We like the idea of at-hand storage and it would be much easier to stash away all your gaming controls and not have to put them in a box, on the other side of the room, just to make them look pretty.
What do you think? Is the backpack sofa here to stay or just another crazy designer idea?
(Image: Highsnobiety)
This story appears in partnership with Unplggd, a site for people who embrace technology and design in their home.
Balance
March 17, 2010
By Amy Feezor
You may know Markos Moulitsas as the founder and publisher of the progressive political community Daily Kos. But did you know that he’s also an accomplished pianist? Just before his trip to Austin for this year’s South by Southwest festival, he gave us a look at how music plays a part in his life.
What do you listen to while you work? Depends on my mood. Anything from punk like Bad Religion and Ramones, to Bach Brandenburg Concertos or Chopin Waltzes, to new country like Rascal Flatts and Sugarland, to Latin music like Juan Luis Guerra and Carlos Vives.
How do you listen? Either on my laptop, or if I’m alone at home, I’ll power up the stereo. I also play music, so I’ll take quick mental breaks tickling the ivories. (Check out some stuff Markos recorded a long time ago here.) Below is a picture of my living room, focusing on my piano. The green chair in the background is where I do most of my work.
Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? I get all my music via iTunes these days, though I love Sirius satellite radio as a way to expand my musical horizons. It’s great having so many genres available at my fingertips.
Does music influence your work? Can you show me an example? It doesn’t influence my political work, no. But it certainly plays an important role in my own personal life. Latin music reminds me of my cultural roots—I love to dance salsa and met my wife in a tango class. Country music speaks to my love of family and country. As a classically trained pianist, I grew up listening to and playing Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and most of the classic classics.
Where do you find music recommendations? I find new music in large part through satellite radio. I’m also a big fan of the iPhone app Shazam. If I hear something that I like while I’m out and about, the app tells me exactly what it is I’m listening to. But of course, the older I get, the more locked in my playlist becomes. But rather than look for additional artists in familiar genres, I force myself to expand into new musical niches. For example, since my existing playlist started sounding too derivative, I’ve started exploring jazz.
If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be? I’d be punk rock, like Bad Religion—opinionated, in your face, unrelenting, and not always in tune with mainstream wisdom. But still fun.
MARKOS’ PLAYLIST
Brandenburg, Black Violin
Quiero Decirte Que Te Amo, DLG
Welcome to the Future, Brad Paisley
Yes!, Chad Brock
Read more
Design, Products
March 17, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
I’m always on the lookout for Herman Miller around the web and in real life I did spot a nicely used Eames Lounge Chair in the Santa Monica Kiehl’s store but didn’t have a camera! If you find anything in your travels send them on.
Los Angeles Times: This home office caught my eye. It ran in the LA Times over the weekend and is the renvoated home of film producer Mark Gill and screenwriter Hanna Weg. That has to be an ottoman for the Eames Lounge Chair poking into the bottom of the frame?
Kicksonfire: Walk the walk. DC Shoes andNorfolk Virginia’s shop CommonWealth have collaborated to create the Gatsby in Eames Black.
Shorpy: Great shot of Alexander and Susan Girard at the Herman Mille showroom in San Francisco.
Mai Nakamura: The work of creative director Mai Nakamura. This poster is aptly named “Voice Your Style”.
Design*Sponge: Grace runs great sneak peaks of people’s homes. The home of Jamie Gray, a graphic design professor at Kansas City Art Institute, has some very nice Herman Miller pieces.
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
March 17, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Monkeys Always Look is the name of an opinionated and funny design blog and etsy shop run by designer Allison D. Cecil. She works from her San Diego home with her husband, tortoise, three great danes and “a really angry cat.”
What sort of work do you do and how does that impact the space you work in?
I am a housewares designer/maker, trapped inside a vintage treasure hunting horticulturist that fantasizes about paper and typeface I need LOTS and LOTS of room since I have so many different products that I make and sell. Each product seems to require a different tool, dedicated work space, oversized piece of large machinery or fun gadget I had to buy and to justify buying it I make something with it to sell. To my very patient husband’s horror it has taken over the entire house, backyard, garage, legal air rights and walls in our tiny little house.
How long have you been in your current work space and what size is it? I started my business almost two years ago in our 130 sq foot spare bedroom. I still use that bedroom to do computer design work related to my business and all the packing and shipping of my wares. In the last year my business has taken over the house and I consider my workspace to be 1200sq feet, which is the size of our little tiny house. In the living room I stamp silverware, photograph items, and nap on the couch. In the dining room I cut stationery, pile up outgoing orders and pig out, and in the kitchen I make candles, horde photo props, and make coffee (the most important meal of the day).
Do you have any tips on how to organize a work space? Well I *try* to stay organized by storing things in lots of antique tins, wooden boxes and other vintage booty I find along the way. I also find that piles and piles and piles of stuff where the most important stuff is hidden somewhere in the middle is helpful for me. Not because I can find anything, but reminds me that I have a lot of work to do and shouldn’t be goofing off.
What are some of the pitfalls of working from home? A triple soy cheese veggie burger and an entire bag of frozen french fries is only 3 minutes in the microwave and a bite away. I think the biggest pitfall is that work is never over. I will find myself checking email on the way to the bathroom at 3am.
What do you most enjoy about working from home? Probably what most people love about working from home…, Oprah marathons, the bon bons, 3 hour lunches, on-staff masseuse, emailing in the nude, you know the usual.
Do you have a desk accessory you can’t work without? I love a good tape dispenser.
How big a role does technology play in your work? While so much of what I do is handmade, my “shop” is on-line. So while producing the actual items requires more muscle than technology, I couldn’t live without my Mac to blog it, sell it, tweet it and communicate with clients and customers.
Design, Products
March 16, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
We mentioned a while back about launch of House Industries Eames Century Modern font. Well the font is finally here, in all its mid-century glory. It was launched last week at the Eames Office in Santa Monica. The exhibition runs until April 1, 2010.
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
March 16, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Lara Parent is a Michigan-based photographer and blogger. We’ll be following her amazing office over the next year as she changes the ‘inspiration walls’ that surround her desk. The idea is to create a kind of visual diary of the space, so look out for upcoming posts tagged ‘Talking Walls’. But first we talked to Lara about working from home…
How much time do you spend in your home office? What kind of work do you find yourself doing there? Anywhere from 2-6 hours on any given day or evening. I mostly work on my photography: everything from exploring and editing to making photographs in my space. I have only been digital for a little over 4 years, so I feel like in this transition from film and the darkroom to the digital darkroom I am constantly learning. Lately I have also been making and editing videos and doing some occasional tiny sketches–some for a new body of work I am starting. When I first started out in photography, my focus was fine art for gallery and museum exhibitions, but I never lost my love for photographing people and collaborating with my subjects: I am fascinated by other people’s stories.
How would you describe your home office? What is the design aesthetic? I surround myself with objects from nature, man-made objects and images or illustrations that inspire me. I don’t know that I have a set design aesthetic…I guess it could be described as flexible and open, ever-changing. My office is a place where I can focus, create, think and just be. It has beautiful morning and evening light that never fails to inspire.
Does anyone else use your home office? I love it when my husband comes in to hang out, talk, or to give me feedback on my work. Our dog, Lucy, loves to nap in the space and bask in the patches of light throughout the day.
How do you organize the space? With great difficulty…a consistent way or system of organization is something I have yet to perfect. My husband who is an industrial designer, did an incredible job at laying out and creating a wonderful office space from a spare bedroom. He designed and built my main work surface and also helped me to figure out which work areas would work best for different projects and tasks. He also found ways to create the maximum amount of storage–control the clutter–in the existing space by knocking out a section of a wall to create a more accessible closet, to utilizing the space next to a dormer for built-in shelves that house my files and photo equipment. I have three main work areas in my office: the main desk [below] that houses my computer, scanner, printer, external hard drives, and Wacom tablet. I do a lot of my editing and other work on the computer at this area; another work surface on casters where I do most of my writing and sketching; and three of IKEA’s Malm cabinets that make up a nice work surface (when it is clear of stuff!) for cutting and packaging.
What piece of technology helps you most in your work? My laptops and my iPhone. I love portability and on occasion, the ability to work on a few things at one time. One of the things I enjoy most about the iPhone is that I always having a camera with me. I am forever stopping on walks or pulling over in my car to capture something beautiful or interesting.
What impact do you think color has on a workspace? A great deal of impact. I absolutely love color and always find it incredible when someone can make bright and saturated colors on their work space walls work for them. Because so many of the images and objects on my walls and shelves are full of color, when the background isn’t neutral, the color ends up competing with those images and objects and I have a hard time focusing on what I have posted. I get my color fix by the other blocks of color in my space: Goldfish FLOR carpet tiles, a window seat cushion in a similar orange, and my green office chair.
What desk accessory can’t you do without? My set of Prismacolor colored pencils (and a black marker, and paper with a bit of a tooth to it).
Is there a piece of furniture you’d love to replace? Furniture-wise, no. I adore my green Eames Aluminum Group chair and all of my work surfaces. I love that my chair and one of my tables are both mobile. Casters are essential! If there is anything I’d like to change, it would be the color that I painted my west facing tackboard wall. I love green. I love color. But after living with it for a few years and seeing how the green competes with the images, I’ve realized I must repaint in a more neutral color–likely white.
What inspires you? I am fascinated with people…how others see and what their stories are. I was always that kid who loved looking at other people’s photo albums, home movies, and the art and objects that people had in their homes. My husband also constantly inspires me: his thinking processes, the objects and spaces he creates and his kindness. I am inspired by people who are thinkers, who create, who are dedicated, who have passion, and who work to make things better. Light, nature and color are another a huge source of inspiration. I do my best thinking on days when there is a lot of light or at the lake when the clouds are dark and the light is dramatic. So much…
Balance
March 16, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
“With work and home life continuing on a collision course, we’ll admit we’ve been having some trouble focusing on all of our blogging and freelance work all on the same computer. What does Flynn from Smart Passive Income suggest? Have two separate computers dividing work and play. According to Flynn:
“The computer in my office (an iMac) is where I did everything, including all of those personal things. It was hard for me personally to keep those things totally separate. By buying a laptop that is specifically just for personal, non-work related items, I can more easily focus on work when I’m supposed to work, and not be tempted to work when I’m doing personal stuff. Furthermore, because the laptop is portable, I can literally separate work from non-work stuff by keeping the office and the computer in it off limits during non-work hours.”
It may not be the greenest solution out there, but we’re not going to argue with results. Even if it’s just for one man. For myself, I’ve learned to carefully adapt my work flow by having different profiles set up on a single computer. Then again, I also work off a Macbook Pro and do my coding and stuff on my PC rig. So, I guess overlap is ultimate inevitable unless I enable separate profiles for work and play.
What do you guys think? Is splitting your work flow into two separate computing devices an ideal solution? Let us know in the comments!
[Image: Deskography]
[Via Lifehacker]
By Anthony”
This story appears in partnership with Unplggd, a site for people who embrace technology and design in their home.
Products
March 16, 2010
By Amy Feezor
Upgrade your old stack of run-of-the-mill manila with our picks for five less-than-boring file folders.
1. Limbo File Folders, $6.00 (set of 3) Make a statement (and perhaps make a co-worker chuckle) with these slightly cheeky folders. Get it: Bob’s Your Uncle
2. International Arrivals Filex Wood Spiral Folders, $10 (set of 6) This set comes with 12 adhesive tab labels and plenty of simple style. Get it: Greener Grass Design
3. Chelsea Letter-Size Interior File Folders, $4.99 (set of 6) Color-code your files with bright graphics and bold patterns. Get it: The Container Store
4. Wallpaper Drops Designer File Folders, $6.95 (set of 6) A little retro. A little modern. And a lot cooler than any folder that’s ever hit your desk. Get it: Amazon
5. Thomas Paul File Folders, $11.00 (set of 9) These three coordinating aqua/green designs make the chore of organizing a much lovelier one. Get it: Amazon
Images linked to their sources within the numbered text.
Design, Products
March 15, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Last week we heard from Lifework reader and president of ecoScorecard Martin Flaherty. He reminded us about the humble but lovely owl-style paper clips. I thought anyone who had a passion for a paper clip had to have an interesting workspace…and here it is. The company is based in Atlanta, GA. I know it’s a commercial space and Lifework covers residential work but that yellow wall is irresistible!
Martin says: “I think we’ve got a great space. We’re a hodgepodge of Blu Dot tables, Aerons, a Mitchell Gold sofa, and late 1950′s Danish modern furniture.”
