Design, Products
June 16, 2011
By Amy Feezor
1. Molecule Dish, $44.00 Streamline supplies like paper clips and pushpins in a chemically inspired bone china dish by London design firm VoonWong&BensonSaw. Get it: Merchant No. 4
2. eweBOL, $64.00 This reversible merino-wool felt bowl—perfect for storing necessary knick-knacks—can snap together with other eweBOLs to create larger modular designs. Get it: Perhacs Studio
3. Baby Splash Pewter Bowl, $29.40 Place this unique handmade piece on your desk (or even in the front hallway) to easily keep track of keys or spare change. Get it: Gretel
4. Mini Berry Bowl, $75.00 We like the individually hand-drilled holes of this milky white porcelain bowl, which could double as a business-card holder (or a candy dish—your call). Get it: isabelleabramson.com
5. Good Eggs, $24.00 Hold smaller accessories in these ceramic stoneware containers cast from actual eggs. Get it: Supermarket
Images linked to their sources within the numbered text
Design, Products
June 16, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Neocon wrapped up yesterday. It’s mostly a show for the contract side of the business but we did get to reveal some of our new releases in the Classics range. Above is the Eames Lounge Chair with a white ash veneer and white powder coat base and back frame, and yes, that is the Noguchi coffee table. The legs are in same white ash we use on the lounge chair. Both pieces will be available in September. Sign up for our email newsletter and we’ll send you a note when they hit the store.
For more on Necon check out the slideshow David Foster put together for Discover here.
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
June 14, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Jon Setzen spends his days (and often nights) working as Creative Director at Something Massive a digital strategy agency in Venice, California. He’s new to LA, having just moved here after a decade of living and working in Brooklyn, NY. He’s best known for the hundreds of rock posters he’s made over the years and his work has been shown in NYC, LA, Japan, Denmark and the UK. He’s had the pleasure of working with the likes of Yahoo!, Target, Alicia Keys, Sony Pictures, 826LA, MOMA and countless world-renowned photographers. He runs the Los Angeles branch of Creative Mornings. He’ll never turn off a Smiths song, never turn down a good taco and daydreams about Narragansett, Rhode Island. He lives in Silverlake with his wife, son and Siamese cat.
What do you listen to while you work? It really depends on the day, the time and the situation. It’s generally a mix of old, new and rediscoveries. There is a calming reassurance in listening to something you know by heart. So, for me that could be Hefner, Pastels, Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, Galaxie 500 etc. Most of the time, I either close my eyes and pick something out of my iTunes library or keep playing the same stuff I am currently loving. Lately, it’s been a lot of Craft Spells, The Clash, Suede, Neil Young, Mingus, Generationals, Luna, Sonny & The Sunsets and Lou Reed.
How do you listen? At home I have a Numark PT-01 (portable turntable) which is plugged into a pair of old Sony speakers. I have it setup on the other side of my studio so it forces me to get up and stretch my legs every time I have to turn the record over. It’s a pretty analog setup really. I try to only play LPs and 7”s since I never ever get to listen to all that old vinyl anywhere but in that studio. Lots of old Modern Jazz Quartet, Aretha Franklin, Spaceman 3, Housemartins, Wedding Present, Orb, Nick Cave, Stan Getz, Stereolab and The Band as of late. At work, I share an office with two other people. Our company is growing like mad so we’re currently all in pretty tight quarters. My two office-mates (who are great and very busy) tend to be on a lot of calls. I generally use a $30 pair of Logitech skype headphones since I tend to need to be on skype a lot. It’s easy to toggle back and forth. I also have JBL creature speakers hooked up to my Mac Pro 8-Core which I use from time to time.
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Technology
June 14, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
As the battle between traditional desktop apps and web apps rages on, there an interesting middle ground forming: desktop apps that bring the best features of web apps right to your desktop. As part of Unplggd’s Weekly Download Recommendations, this week we rounded up some of the best native applications that replace popular web apps. Now you don’t need to leave those same tabs open all the time in your browser; they’ll have their own home on your desktop.
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Products
June 13, 2011
By Amy Feezor
For a few months now, I’ve been eyeballing the folks at Poppin, the new office-supply retailer aiming to transform dull desktop items into fun, candy-colored design pieces. I’ve already been wooed by a smart marketing campaign (when I followed them on Twitter back in February, they sent a direct message asking for my address so they could mail me a gift. A few weeks later, I received a box of turquoise ballpoint pens—completely cool. And, turquoise!). This week, I’ve been charmed by a look at their launch products on the Poppin site (still in Beta).
Nicely designed and brightly hued (you can shop by color), the line ranges from funky retro pens to preppy laptop bags to a selection of I-probably-don’t-need-it-but-I-want-it-anyway rulers. Take a quick peek here—your desk might just thank you.
Images: Poppin.com
Design, Products
June 13, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Today is the last day for you to get 15% off our designs. Our summer sale ends at midnight tonight. So head over to the store or your local Herman Miller retailer to check out lots of great deals for your home office (and the rest of the house.)
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
June 10, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Where we’ve been this week:
1. Fast Company for its the post on the garage converted into a sleek office space and their interview with Dieter Rams.
2. JTNimoy for his amazing programs – most recently he worked on Tron. But you’ve seen his design elsewhere, I promise. Check out his cool graffiti program here. Just heard Josh speak at a Creative Mornings hosted by Media Temple. Cool guy.
3. Chrome Experiments because we all need a break from our work now and then. I’m fascinated by the sketch program. Which one takes your fancy?
4. Workalicious for its standing desk post. More on standing desks from us in a few months. There’s definitely a buzz around this idea.
5. Ecosalon for their year in vintage post. Fascinating to see what came out in 1946.
6.. Obsessilicious for its mid-century aesthetic and obvious good taste!
7. Chairsmith because it’s nice to know someone else obsesses as much about chairs as we do.
8. Brain Pickings for the “100 Best Design Books of the Past 100 Years.” I love a brave list.
9. Moma Design Studio for the sites cool design as well as its amazing content (thank you swissmiss for the heads up on this one).
10. Not Cot for their post on an amazing office space in Moscow.
Balance
June 10, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Architect James Meyer is the founder of Los Angeles based design/build firm LeanArch and the fourth in our POV interviews.
Above, left to right: Kuhlhaus 01 (photo: William Short) and Kuhlhaus 02 (photo:Claudio Santini), both in Manhattan Beach, CA.
1. You’ve talked about being inspired by the Eames House in your designs. What do you think makes a house feel like a home? I often promote the idea that the home is the last remaining piece of personal expression left in most people’s lives. Nowadays, we are completely surrounded with products, goods and technology which are designed by others and tailor made to meet the needs of our consumer-driven culture. The cars we drive, the mobile phones we use.
Above: The kitchen at KDC-02 (photo: Claudio Santini)
The companies who make these products are constantly trying to demonstrate how they are able to be customized to meet the personal tastes of their potential customers. The fact is, that these items, along with most everything else, are extremely limited when it comes to personalization.
Above: Wild Oak Drive Residence
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Balance, Design
June 10, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Sunset Magazine always makes a splash on their Celebration Weekend with a model home; Michelle Kaufmann got her big launch when they presented her first Glidehouse there, and the first Breezehouse in 2005. They are often grand things, like Henry Siegel’s in 2006. But times being what they are, this year’s home is small, affordable, and built from a recycled shipping container.
It’s designed by Hybrid Architecture of Seattle, who have been doing shipping container architecture for years, calling it Cargotecture. and have it down to a science. They are insulated with soy foam, have bamboo flooring and a tiny boat-like bathroom. The C 192 will retail for $59,500, or $309 per square foot, which will no doubt be a cause for complaint. But as I have noted before, small houses cost more per square foot than big ones.
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Balance, Design, Products, Technology
June 9, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
In case you missed the post over on Discover I wanted to remind you that architect Bill McDonough, who has been a long-time collaborator with Herman Miller is speaking tonight in San Francisco with “Cradle to Cradle” co-author Dr. Michael Braungart as part of a fundraiser for their Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
McDonough designed Herman Miller’s award-winning GreenHouse. He also worked with us on the Mirra chair (below), which was the first office chair to meet McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC) Cradle to Cradle Design Framework.
For tickets to tonight’s event click here.