Herman Miller blog: Lifework » Design Milk

ICFF: Meet and Greet

Cerentha Harris — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:59:51 +0000

We had a busy day yesterday with bloggers from all over the blogger-sphere dropping by our booth. It was great to finally put faces to names. Definitely look out for Jaime Derringer ‘s ICFF round-up on Design Milk. And for an extraordinary array of interviews with designers you can’t go past PSFK – plus their map has been a great guide through the ICFF maze. PSFK’s senior editor Dave Pinter dropped by the booth yesterday armed with two very serious looking cameras. You can check out his coverage here. We spent a bit of time with Lloyd Alter from Treehugger. We’re thrilled to announce we will be sharing stories with Lloyd over the coming months. Look out for those. Lloyd was particularly impressed with Wastberg’s paper lamp (pictured above). I put him onto the lovely Cappello lamps (below) by Molo – a great little desk light for Lifework readers.

A Portable Home Office

Cerentha Harris — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:06:13 +0000

I came across this office in a box (albeit a very large box) on Design Milk. What do you think? Doesn’t look terribly ergonomic! But the concept is a strong one. It is designed by Tim Vinke.

Morning Coffee: Jaime Derringer, Design Milk

Cerentha Harris — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 22:22:25 +0000

Who? Jaime Derringer, editor of Design Milk

Where? Cherry Hill, NJ.

How do you take your coffee? What brand is it? I’m currently drinking Wegman’s (our local grocery store) brand dark roast, which is actually a bit too dark for me. However, their medium roast was too light. I think I’ll be changing to another brand once I’m through this bag! I always take my coffee with cream or milk of some sort — whatever it is that we have! And, I try to use regular sugar. I was one of those “pink stuff” “blue stuff” “yellow stuff” people for a while, but now I’m back to natural sugar.

Tell me about your coffee cup. I began collecting art mugs about 12 years ago or so. There was no rhyme or reason behind it. Every time I went to a store and saw one, I would snap it up. I now have 9 famous artist mugs. They’re the perfect size for my morning cup — not too big and not too small. Today’s mug is Leonardo Da Vinci.

What happens if you skip your morning coffee? If I were to skip my morning coffee, my day would get slowly and progressively more painful. I need caffeine, sad but true. Without my morning java, around 1 PM I would definitely get a headache, which would last the rest of the day. I would also be quite the cranky pants.

Wall Socket Dilemma Solved

Cerentha Harris — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:33:00 +0000

An ugly wall socket is the bane of many a home offices. Mine is a beige rectangle of plastic home to an angry mass of cords. And we are wireless! Sure my keyboard and mouse float around free but the monitor and laptop and phone and printer and desk lamp all need to be plugged in. Oh, and the phone charger. Neffa, a Dutch design team, have come up with an elegant solution. “The basic assumption in all [our] solutions is that the wall socket itself does not change. No new shapes, no special modifications, no unusual designs: it is about integrating the existing wall socket into the interior design in its original shape.” Clever and stylish. Via Design Milk.

Inspiration: Design Milk’s Busy Editor

Cerentha Harris — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:13:05 +0000

Jaime Derringer is the editor of Design Milk, an online magazine devoted to modern design. But that is just one of her many hats. She also edits Art Milk, collaborates with Erin Loechner on Bakery (they ‘bake’ businesses) and contributes to AOL’s blogs on home and design. I checked in with this busy woman and found out it takes a good dose of organization to get all that work done – and a lot of energy.

How long have you worked from home…and where is ‘home’? I have been working from home since July 2009. It is like a dream come true and I wake up every day thankful that my boss is so nice. Actually, I’m lying – she’s kind of hard on me. I’ve never worked harder in my life than I have now that I quit my day job but I couldn’t be happier. I live in Southern NJ right outside of Philadelphia, PA with my husband Jordan and my two dogs, Beans and Lulu. We spent a few years in San Diego, CA but moved back about a year ago. We’re trying to figure out how to live in both places at once.

What does an average work day involve? I usually get up and get going immediately. I can’t just lay around. I need to be moving because as soon as I wake up my mind just starts to go. I spend the first part of my day reading and answering emails, reading my RSS feeds, checking on my blogs, looking at stats, and checking Facebook and Twitter. Much of the rest of the day is spent writing and editing posts for Design Milk, Art Milk, BAKERY and also my AOL blogs, ShelterPop and DIY Life. It depends on the day which blogs I focus on. I do work in the office, rather than on the couch because it helps me work harder and helps separate my living space from my work space. But I won’t lie — I do have a Macbook and spend a lot of time on the couch after regular work hours, but often I’m also watching TV or house-hunting rather than really working.

I just got the new Apple mouse and it’s amazing. It has definitely changed the way I work. Is there any form of technology that really inspires you? All Apple products inspire me, from their design to their functionality. I own just about the whole catalogue. I’m really into the idea of community, in other words, manufacturers who create devices that can be added on to by just about anyone. For example, the iPhone and other phones’ applications and Facebook’s platform, where users can create what they want and need. I love the idea of technology being a foundation or vehicle for further advancement.

How do you organize your space? I’m thinking here of your physical space but also your virtual space. Any particular software that helps keep things under control? I can get messy when I’m engrossed in projects or super busy, but I am one of those people who washes the dishes while the dinner party is still underway. I like to keep things clean and put all my toys away when I’m finished playing with them. Basically, I like a clean, simple desktop. [The IKEA drawer unit above nestles next to Jaime's desk and acts as excellent storage].

On my computer, I also apply the same logic – file it away when you’re done. My current favorite virtual programs are Google docs and iCal. I can’t function during the day without iCal. The Stendig calendar [on the wall above her desk] I get every year from Unica Home. I use it every day despite my obsession with iCal. My chair is the Cobi from Smart Furniture (Smartfurniture.com). When I finally find that perfect house and it’s time for an office upgrade, I’ve got the Aeron and Eames Aluminum on my short list. (The Philadelphia poster is from Ork Posters.)

What item from your desktop can you not do without? Besides my computer? Probably my printed blogging schedule. I’m old school so I like to print it out each week and check off the posts as I schedule them. My current favorite accessory is my WTF snowglobe that my mom got me for Christmas after I posted about it on my blog. It just makes me laugh and keeps me from taking anything too seriously.

What inspires you? I recently attended a blogger conference called Altitude Design Summit and I have to say nothing inspires me more than my peers. More inspiration comes from blogs, other motivated and determined people, mountains, Apple products, and my brother who is legally blind but just got a master’s degree in interactive entertainment (gaming).

More Calendars

Cerentha Harris — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:06:34 +0000

Let me know if you are getting sick of calendars. I still haven’t bought one so I continue to look. The savvy editorial team over at Design Milk offer up their calendar choices, including this one from Blue Ant Studio that is inspired by a mid-century modern aesthetic (yes, that is an Eames plywood chair by the pool). And Blue Ant are kindly offering the calendar for free – you just download the pages from Flickr and print.