There has been a lot of talk about tablets these days, but there’s definitely still some innovative stuff going on in the laptop/netbook space. Laptops are now emerging with “instant on” operating systems, integrated 3G and external graphics, all with great looking style. We’ll take a look at a few of the best looking new laptops we’ve seen, after the jump.
Danish modern style influences his aesthetic, nature acts as his inspiration—and everything from rap to classical to song selections from film scores fill his studio. Get a quick earful of the sounds from the work mix of industrial designer and woodworker Matthew Weatherly in this week’s Playlist.
What do you listen to while you work? I listen to a wide range of musical styles, everything from classical to lounge music. Some days I’m the mood for 90’s rap, and other days, it’s jazz.
How do you listen? When I’m ideating at the office, I listen to iTunes through my computer. When I’m in the shop, I plug my iPhone into a stereo docking station.
Does music influence your work? Even though the music is always resonating through my studio space, I wouldn’t say that my work is directly influenced by music. But perhaps my work is influenced by my relaxed mindset, which is a result of music.
Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? I have some close friends who have supplied me with musical influences through the years. Surprisingly, I find a lot of my music from TV shows and movie soundtracks. This is why I keep Shazam within a few clicks on my phone; I never know when I’m going to hear something that intrigues me.
What song or artist best represents the work you create? Since I draw most of my inspiration from nature, I could see my work being a song by Lisa Gerrard.
MATTHEW’S PLAYLIST
Walcott, Vampire Weekend
Easy Fly, Soul G And Tony Match
Vicious Traditions, The Veils
Curious, Naomi
No Complaints, Beck
The Grand Duel, Luis E. Bacalov
Tracce, Ludovico Einaudi
Trigger Hippie, Morcheeba
Long Nights, Eddie Vedder
We Oh We, The Hidden Cameras
Blame It On My Youth, Brad Mehldau
Sacrifice, Lisa Gerrard & Pieter Bourke
Images: Matthew Weatherly
Often times we find ourselves complacent with the Windows and Mac applications that we already own. However, once you check out these great apps you will be wondering why you haven’t heard about or used all of these before. From design to productivity, we have you covered in this weeks edition of Unplggd’s Weekly Download Recommendations.
IrfanView: Great for beginners and experienced users, IrfanView is a freeware graphic viewer that has many unique and interesting features. This application supports a plethora of file types including Adobe Photoshop filters. For the incredible price of free, it’s hard to find a better option for the last majority of your photo needs (pictured above).
1. Pino Get out your work aggressions (and keep your notes neat) with this small voodoo doll-shaped memoboard. Get info: danielcaramelo.com
2. Float Pendant Light This striking collaboration between designer Benjamin Hubert and Scandinavian lighting manufacturer & Tradition is handcrafted from a large block of recycled agglomerate cork. Get Info: benjaminhubert.co.uk
3. Haute Surface Set, $19.00 Use these houndstooth-inspired cork trivets as a coasters or mousepads, or interlock them to cover and protect the surface of your desk. Get it: Vivavi
4. Cork Peg, $50.00 Make space for extra supplies by hanging them on your office wall using these simple hooks. Get it: Molo
5. Cork Tray, $150.00 Letters and bills will look lovely in this handmade (and handy) piece by San Francisco-based Urbana Design. Get it: Branch
Images linked to their sources within the numbered text
After three days of dwelling on design all I can say is that there’s a lot of interesting work out there…and a lot of people who want to talk about it! This year there were 144 speakers split between two stages. Of course, some of those 144 were included in panels. But there was a lot of talking. As design writer Alyssa Walker pointed out the talks (two of which she was giving) were actually one of the shows strengths - it certainly was a point of difference from other shows.
There were also some gems on the floor – David Trubridge’s lights (above) were beautiful and he has figured out how to shrink their carbon footprint by redesigning them so they can be flat packed. Eames Demetrios dropped by the Herman Miller booth after his talk with Sam Grawe on the Eames Aluminum Group and the Miller House legacy. He too was taken by the Trubridge lights.
Another highlight was the Ecofabulous House. The 520 square foot home is part of the prefab pieceHome series designed by architect Jonathan Davis.
The example on show was styled by ecofabulous founder Zem Joaquin. It would certainly make the ideal backyard office and it’s going to be auctioned on eBay - so if you’ve got the room make sure you bid.
I finally I spent Saturday on the Eastside home tours – look out for interviews with those architects coming up in our new Q&A series.
Where we’ve been this week…
1. If It’s Hip It’s Here for its design-driven content and post on free screensavers.
2. Dwell on Design for its event schedule! Still trying to figure out how to pack everything in.
3. Key Operation Inc for their incredible projects. These Japanese architects produce some amazing houses.
4. ZeenScreen for Dezeen’s interview with Ilse Crawford. I’m a huge fan of her work and her approach to interiors.
5. Core 77 for the post on visual note-taking.
6. Wallpaper’s Architect’s Directory for gathering 20 young architects and letting them dream up the ideal summer house.
7. Emmas Designblogg for the great post on Dutch fashion photographer Fred van ‘t Slot’s home.
8. Sneak Peek over on Design*Sponge for Courtney and Michael Adamo’s home.
9. Stelle Architect because summer is here and they design the most perfect beach houses.
10. Eames Spotting on the Eames Office site for the William Shatner video.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself in this job and last night was one of those times. I found myself enjoying a delicious dinner at the Eames House. I was there last October for the Powers of 10 celebration but this was much more intimate. At the table were Eames Demetrios, John Berry (author of Herman Miller: The Purpose of Design and a friend of Ray and Charles Eames), Eames scholar Dan Ostroff and the Herman Miller team including Jack Schreur (Vice President of Herman Miller Classics and Retail) - all in town for the Dwell on Design Conference.
Above: Dinner at the Eames House. Dan Ostroff (left) tells the story of the La Fonda chair as Jack Schreur (middle) and Eames Demetrios (right) listen.
It was a magical experience, listening to stories from Eames about his family and future plans for the iconic building. (Look out for the Pacific Standard Time exhibition and a major renovation of the house). John Berry who had visited the home many times recounted a lovely story about a stormy breakfast with Ray Eames that ended in Ray offering John a container of crushed eucalyptus leaves for his son. “It was impossible to stay mad,” said John with a laugh.
It was also a great opportunity to hear Jack talk about some of the amazing things we’ve got coming up. You already know about Magis but there’s so much more. I can’t share the stories with you just yet…but please stay tuned. And in the meantime do stop by the Dwell on Design conference. Eames is speaking tomorrow with Sam Grawe, Dwell’s editor-in-chief and we’ve got a cool gallery-like display of iconic chairs (I’ll post shots tomorrow for everyone who can’t make the show).
These architects came to Lifework via a salad. It was the fresh tuna in the Niçoise at Earl’s Gourmet Grub, a Los Angeles cafe, that first lured me in and then it was the incredible interior. The architects had not only mixed marble and plywood, they’d eschewed the standard white box interior for an undulating ceiling of plywood blades and a wall covered in what looked like a street grid carved magically into ply. It’s an impressive space. I tracked down the men responsible – David Freeland and Brennan Buck of FreelandBuck – and found out that their work setup was just as interesting as their designs.
Above: David Freeland in his Los Angeles home office, right is Brennan Buck’s New York home office.
David, you are based in Los Angeles and your business partner, Brennan Buck lives in New York. How does this bi-coastal set up work? Surprisingly it works very similar to a typical office. Brennan and I collaborate closely most projects and decisions in the office. With so many communication technologies available we’ve been able to maintain a very fluid collaboration. Video conferencing, the ability to share screens and watch each other sketch and draw has been especially useful. Locations on the east and west coast also put us in touch with many more people, merging different perspectives, environments, and atmospheres in our work.
There is a beautiful rich sense of patterning apparent in your architectural designs. I would go as far as to say that a hallmark of your work is this rich detailing that relies on digital technology. I wonder if this obvious comfort with technology enables you to work more fluidly between the two cities? An office grounded in paper sketches and balsa wood models perhaps wouldn’t flourish as well? Yes, I think this is very much the case. As the design process has migrated from analog to digital it has changed the way collaborations take place. It is no longer possible to collectively author a project just by sketching and drawing on the same piece of paper. For us that paper is the digital model that we alternately pass back and forth to develop options, editing and critiquing together.
If you’re a java nut, you’re probably already familiar with CoffeeGeek.com. What you might not know is that the man behind the highly caffeinated site, Mark Prince, is working from the great outdoors in Vancouver this summer. It’s a great way to enjoy the warm temps, but it’s also the perfect exercise in de-cluttering your office space.
When he decided to move outside, Mark decided to do without a lot of his regular office frills. Temporarily transporting your own home office outside will give you the same de-cluttering benefits. Much like The Closet Trick shows you what percentage of your wardrobe actually gets worn, a summer office will show you exactly what tech, tools, organizers and furniture you truly need in your space.
As you work outside, you’ll have to pop back in to your year-round office to grab the necessities as you need them. When the end of the summer rolls around, clear out everything that’s been left untouched in your indoor office space—it shows you really don’t use or need that stuff as much as you thought.
By Taryn Fiol
This story appears in partnership with Unplggd, a site for people who embrace technology and design in their home.
Freelance product, furniture, interior, and exhibition designer Katarina Häll likes to combine simple, stripped shape expressions with colorful details and poetic touches—much like the playlist she created for us this week. Take a listen at this Stockholm-based multitasker’s upbeat mix.
What do you listen to while you work? It depends very much on what I’m working with, what kind of concentration it requires, what mood I’m in, what kind of weather it’s outside, or what the actual work needs to get inspired. If I start a new project, for example, I have to listen to something I’m familiar with and don’t have to concentrate on. It’s often something from my early years in the 90′s like Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Stone Roses, Kate Bush—familiar sounds that I know by heart help me focus. But if I am in the middle of a job that requires more routine and less creativity, I listen to newer music within the broad category of pop/rock. Some of my favorites at the moment are Disciplin, Beach House, and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.
How do you listen? For some reason, I have not come to the point where I’ve invested in a real speaker system—so, unfortunately, through the computer speakers.
