Balance, Design
May 1, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Soon after moving to the Bay Area in 2007, Ryan Meis and Sarah Labieniec collaborated on a letterpress announcement for friends and family announcing their new digs. They enjoyed their collaboration so much, they founded Lab Partners to continue to explore their shared creative passions. With a focus on design and illustration, Sarah and Ryan approach visuals with a combination of imagination, storytelling, and craft. This week’s Playlist has the creative pair storytelling with music. Take a listen at what they have to say.
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Balance, Design, Products
April 30, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Since variety can be the spice of life and work, check out today’s clue for Herman Miller’s “Everywhere in Your Day” contest which leads us to Pinterest, a vast resource for variety.
Your living and working spaces shouldn’t be a stranger to variety either. Each has its own purpose, needs, and style. Here’s six great options for adding that Herman Miller touch everywhere you live and work.
*Don’t forget to play ”Everywhere in Your Day.” You could win great prizes, including a chance at the grand prize, an Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman!
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Balance, Design
April 26, 2013
By Amy Feezor
Get a glimpse at what we’ve been reading this week.
1. Cool Hunting’s preview of our redesigned Mirra 2 Chair by Studio 7.5.
2. Phaidon’s preview of the Wireframe Sofa by Sam Hecht and Kim Colin.
3. “The Psychology of Seating” at Dwell.com.
4. A look inside the portfolio of Sydney architect Madeleine Blanchfield, which demonstrates “the new Australian aesthetic,” at Desire to Inspire.
5. More from Australia: this simple modern home by architect Jessica Liew in Melbourne (via HomeDSGN).
6. 10 chalets, spas, and sanctuaries that help combat stress via Architizer.
7. This south-facing home just above the Miño River in Spain, built mostly of glass and concrete, at Inthralld.
8. The mix of mid-century modern and vintage industrial style at Irvine-based design firm Mattson Creative, courtesy of California Home + Design.
9. The American Institute of Architects’ top ten sustainable projects of the year, covered at Dezeen.
10. Did you see the making of our “Everywhere in Your Day” contest video? If not, be sure to check it out here.
Featured in photo: Branca Chair by San Hecht and Kim Colin
Balance, Design
April 24, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Architect Ray Tam left the advertising industry to begin studying architecture at the University of Oregon. After finishing his degree, he began a new focus on the rehabilitation of affordable and market-rate multi-family housing while working at BASIS Architecture and Consulting. Ray is also involved with the Bay Area Young Architects, part of San Francisco’s AIA chapter, and is a photographer. We asked him to take time out of his creative endeavors and design a sound musical structure for us in this week’s Playlist. Take a listen.
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Balance, Design
April 19, 2013
By Amy Feezor
Take a look at what we’ve been bookmarking all week long.
1. This article and video on the Re-Think the Eames show in Milan exploring the “Eames condition,” the “ideal paradigm for a reflection on design understood as a narrative, curatorial, and collective tool.” (Via Abitare.)
2. Craig Steely Architecture’s compelling design for Lavaflow 7, a house on the Big Island of Hawaii, at Contemporist.
3. Inhabitat’s look at the reopening of San Francisco’s Exploratorium, now the largest net-zero-energy museum in the U.S.
4. The clean, compact workspace of graphic designer Alex Yeske featured at Eva Black Design.
5. How many designs by Charles and Ray Eames and Alexander Girard can you spot in “Through Don Draper’s Eyes: A Tour of the Time-Life Building of the Sixties” at style.time.com?
6. This smart bedroom addition (complete with a new home office) featured at Modern Findings.
7. The vibrant Brooklyn home of identical twins Teman and Teran Evans at NYTimes.com.
8. The stand-out Orient IV Residence on Long Island by Ryall Porter Sheridan Architects (via Inthralld).
9. “Why Some Spaces Make Us Feel Right at Home” (penned by Herman Miller’s own Betty Hase) at the Drucker Exchange.
10. A double dose of inspiration from Illinois-based artist Chad Wys: his personal Tumblr and his graphic design Tumblr.
Featured in photo: Eames Sofa by Charles and Ray Eames
Balance, Design
April 17, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
In the heart of Detroit’s creative and cultural midtown lies Nora Modern, a treasure trove of modern housewares, gifts, and accessories. The store was created by four friends looking for a way to change the tone of retail in Detroit. Together, owners Liz Boone, Toby Barlow and Joe Posch, and manager Michele Unverzagt offer Detroiters a unique source of thoughtful design — everything from stone and glassware, to timepieces, bags, and artwork. The Nora team has a saying: “We honestly don’t know what you want, but we have a store filled with things that we love, and maybe you will, too.” Sounds good to us. And speaking of sounding good, check out Nora Modern’s musical soundtrack in this week’s Playlist.
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Balance, Design
April 12, 2013
By Amy Feezor
Take a look at what’s been on our radar this week.
1. Five black and white offices that are “anything but boring” at Apartment Therapy (agreed).
2. Happy to see our Mirra Chair in one of the greenest structures in the world: the new Center for Sustainable Landscapes, designed by Design Alliance Architects for Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory (via Architizer).
3. The “Quiet Motion” installation by designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for BMW i at Milan’s Salone del Mobile 2013 (via URDesign Magazine).
4. More Bouroullecs: check out the brothers’ Steelwood Galva for Magis (a new iteration of their Steelwood chair and stool in galvanized steel and beech wood) along with other photos from Salone del Mobile from Wallpaper* Magazine.
5. And even more from Salone del Mobile: enjoying Snap Assembly’s Tumblr coverage of the show.
6. The solitary Eames Molded Plywood Lounge in this composer’s Wisconsin practice studio designed by Johnsen Schmaling Architects at Dezeen.
7. Classic mid-century chair stencils by Stencil 1 spotted by Design Milk.
8. The sunny Fresno House — nicely situated between the forest and the ocean in Carilo, Argentina — co-designed by Felix Raspall and Federico Papandrea and featured at Dornob.
9. The thoughtfully designed L23 House by Pitágoras Arquitectos in Portugal found at Archello.
10. Patrick Rochon’s eye-popping photos of wakeboarders riding special boards affixed with LEDs at Colossal.
Featured in photo: Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Eames Walnut Stools, and Eames Sofa by Charles and Ray Eames
Balance, Design
April 10, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Unless you’ve been living under a Rocky Mountain, you’ve probably seen a lot of Topo Designs over the last year or two. Mark Hansen, along with fellow adventurer Jedd Rose, created the backpack and apparel company to satisfy their obsession for the perfect gear. Together they produce beguiling products, made in the United States, that hit the sweet spot between great aesthetics and smart functionality. Here’s the music Playlist that fills Mark’s workplace. Lend an ear.
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Balance, Design
April 5, 2013
By Amy Feezor
Take a look at what we’ve been bookmarking this week.
1. The Eames Aluminum Group Management Chair in action at the studio of letterer Erik Marinovich via Warby Parker Class Trip.
2. Inthralld’s tour of visual artist and designer Michelle de la Vega’s garage-to-home conversation (it’s an astounding 250 square feet).
3. This duplex apartment by Paris’s Place de la Madeleine designed and owned by architect Michael Herrmanon (via materialicious).
4. The family home of designer Alice Flynn — a mix of masculine and feminine style — in Avalon NSW Australia, featured on Design*Sponge.
5. More from Down Under: this beautiful home blending indoor and outdoor spaces at Homedit.com.
6. The roundup of smart concrete interiors at Design Milk.
7. This project by MASS Design Group to develop housing for doctors at the Butaro Hospital in Rwanda (via Architizer).
8. The installation created by E/B Office at the Teton County Library in Wyoming that physically responds to the Internet (via The Fox Is Black).
9. Dwell’s look at a modern tree house in Belgium by design firm Baumraum.
10. Did you catch this recent post by Ryan Anderson, Herman Miller Director of Future Technology, at the Drucker Institute’s blog, Drucker Exchange?
Featured in photo: Branca Chair by San Hecht and Kim Colin
Balance, Design
April 3, 2013
By Jamie Latendresse
Based in Charleston, South Carolina, designer Jay Fletcher surfs when he has spare time — or he would if he had any spare time. The creative mind behind this week’s Playlist spends his working hours creating full-scale identities for companies large and small, near and far. Jay’s thoughtful and precise designs are both visually arresting and effective in their communication. Now check out the arresting sound waves emanating from his superbly appointed (with Embody and Eames Molded Plastic chairs) workspace. Listen up.
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