Design
September 12, 2011
By Amy Feezor
1. Camo-A-Go-Go Mobile, $113.00 Add a little height to your home office by hanging this handmade mobile by Mobilosity from the ceiling. Get it: raredevice.net
2. Oras Stripes Pieva Wall Mobile, $180.00 Designer Vilija Marshall’s minimal-cool wall mobiles are made in Northern California using stainless steel and aluminum. Get it: Design Public
3. Fuyuh Bamboo Laminated Ceiling Mobile, $730.00 Japan’s Riki Watanabe crafted this now-classic bamboo design in 1975. Get it: NOVA68.com
4. Marine Modern Mobile, $130.00 This ocean-inspired piece reflects the contrasting forms of glossy seaweed, sea sponges, weathered shells, and coral. Get it: Puka Puka
5. Abstract Rhythm Mobile, $798.00 The simple form of this aluminum Flensted Mobile—a traditional handicraft in Denmark—adds interest to any workspace. Get it: Amazon
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
September 9, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Where we’ve been this week…
1. Abitare for its interview with Julius Iacchetti who designed Moleskine’s new line of pens and pencils (above). Just click translate – unless of course your Italian is up to speed.
2. Design*Sponge for their post on how to get organized online. Lots of helpful info here.
3. Designboom for their design coverage. They always find the most interesting homes – like this one in Salentina, Italy (below).
4. T Magazine’s blog ran a great piece on Steve Jobs where they had the design community weigh in on Jobs’ contribution.
5. Modern House for their post on quirky wooden computer accessories.
6. Design Spotter covers a cool clock for the iPhone (below).
7. Three by Three sells all things magnetic including cool new round magnetic balls. Perfect for keeping your office papers organized.
8.Wallcandy Arts for their newly patented chalk board decals. Clever.
9. Core77 Design Awards has its very own site. Lots of amazing designs here including our own SAYL chair.
10. You Are The River because sometimes its nice to let someone else pick through all the dross on the internet and find the good stuff. You’ll find lots of beautiful interiors here including the author’s own home (below).
Balance, Design
August 20, 2011
By David Foster
We’re passionate about design. We’re also pretty passionate about cycling. So, in 1999, when a group of avid cyclists, including Herman Miller’s current CEO Brain Walker, began discussing the idea of creating special Herman Miller bike jerseys, design quickly entered the discussion. To find out what happened next – and see more beautifully designed jerseys – head over to our sister blog, Discover.
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
August 12, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Where we’ve been this week…
1. CondeElevator on Twitter. I know it’s shallow but these tweets makes me laugh. This person publishes comments they overhear in the Conde Nast elevator – mostly snippets from Vogue employees.
2. App.Itize.Us is a great spot to find new apps.I love the Crouwelclock by Dutch designer Wim Crouwel (below). Thanks to Lifework reader Marc for the tip.
3. Kitka for their post on designer David Ericcson. Great workspace.
4. Design Skool for their coverage of Estudio Manus (office below).
5. Better Living Through Design because they’ve got a great eye for interiors and homewares. I really like the desk set by Mateo Ilasco.
6. BKids for their tour of Nerissa Coco’s home and office (below).
7. It’s Nice That is a beautifully designed blog and curated on art and design (check out the cat scan!)
8. Found By James is a site that offers up objects discovered by global traveller “James”. These pocket pencils, which he found in London, are wonderful.
9. red.house for their interiors coverage including this Swedish apartment in Malmo (below).
10. Design Observer for their poetry posts. It’s so nice to come across contemporary poems in this context. Thoughtful addition to a great site.
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
August 5, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
1. Phaidon’s Agenda lets the book publisher showcase their great nose for a design, architecture or art story. The stories here are not confined to the book’s they’ve published. It’s a smart way for the brand to get the word out about new books and at the same time feed our design appetite.
2. The Design Files for Lisa Madigan’s home and home office (below).
3. Houzz for it’s collection of home offices. Can you tell I’m looking for new spaces.
4. Wanken for the post on an incredible holiday house in Argentina – it would make the perfect backyard office.
5. Kinfolk is a gorgeously designed new online food magazine. Now I know what to have for lunch.
6. Design Sponge’s Sneak Peek because it’s nice to see the Eames Molded Plastic chair with dowel legs mixed with other pieces so beautifully.
7. De Vetpan Studio’s blog for its luscious photography and their review of a Wacom Bamboo iPad Stylus.
8. Fast Company’s story on a bamboo bike where the frame is grown in shape.
9. Brain Pickings for the Power of 10 Flipbook post.
Powers of Ten, Flipbook from Joe Marianek on Vimeo.
10. NPR’s 3-Minute Fiction for the perfect work break. Great stories that take 3 minutes to read.
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
July 29, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Where we’ve been this week…
1. Fast Company for Alissa Walker’s insightful piece on designing through a downturn.
2. Designspiration for its cool collection of home office images. A new image site that will only get better as it grows. A photo from the home office collection above features our Mirra chair and Airia desk.
3. Home Designing for a strong mix of interiors including home offices.
4. Designwire Daily for the post on the Ennis House (above). This gem in Los Angeles designed by Frank Lloyd Wright finally sold for $4.5 million. It was on the market for 2 years.
5. Remodelista for the best screened-in porch I’ve seen in a long time. The perfect semi-outdoor office?
Read more
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
March 25, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
Where we’ve been this week…
1. Mike Perry Studio for his sense of humor. He is also donating 100% of his online sales to help Japan.
2. GOOD’s design and architecture stories always hit the mark. I also love the Infographic coverage.
3. BOOOOOOM! Not sure if I got all the ‘o’s in there but forget the title of this blog and go straight to their design posts. Lots of great finds.
4. Notcot which has been redesigned and now boasts even more great design, architecture, homewares, fashion and food.
5. Materialicious for their round-up of office spaces.
6. Lovely Clusters for a good dose of pretty interiors.
7. Picked by Six reminds me that simplicity is often the key to a well-designed blog!
8. Pilar Viladas on The New York Times site for her strong design coverage.
9. Zeospot for their home office round ups.
10. Aterlier A+D for architect Michelle Linden’s take on modern architecture and design.
Balance, Design, Products
January 10, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
This blog has been up and running for a year now and I remember so clearly when I started how excited I was to have access to all Herman Miller’s awesome archival material. One of the things I keep forgetting to remind the Lifework readers is that you have access to the work too. The Discovering Design page has lots of info on each designer, slideshows of their work and fascinating stories on the design process. I highly recommend you drop by the site and check it out.
Design, Products, Technology
September 9, 2010
By Christine MacLean
Designers excel at thinking about form and function. They are less adept at thinking about objects as cultural expression, says Prasad Boradkar, an associate professor of Industrial Design at Arizona State University and author of a new book, Designing Things: The Cultural Meaning of Objects.
“It’s not a part of normal design discourse to talk about theory—to talk about how we [designers] think about objects,” he says. He hopes the book, which is an interdisciplinary look at the cultural meanings of the things we use every day and the designer’s role in that process, will be the impetus for more discussion.
The book also explores the worth of things, the making things, the greed imperative, planned obsolescence, and even fetish objects, all the while using product examples from companies like Nike, Bling H2O, and Herman Miller.
He was inspired to include Herman Miller in the book not just because of the iconic nature of some products but also because of the company’s values, including the way it embraced design early and for the right reasons, its emphasis on durability (the 12-year warranty), and sustainability. And he admires the way the company engages external designers. It’s a great way, he says, for the company to get “a fresh perspective every time.”
Balance, Design, Products, Technology
June 11, 2010
By Cerentha Harris
Around the web…
1. Tiny Ass Apartment As her title suggests Simone Chavoor tackles small interiors with a cheeky gusto that makes reading her blog as much fun as looking at it. Where to start: With the weather warming up check out Simone’s garden post and get a few ideas on how to bring some green into your home office.
2. Modish Portland, Oregon-based Jena Coray, has been blogging about cool vintage finds at Modish since April 2006. She’s also the owner of the Miss Modish Vintage shop. Where to start: A nice post on vintage office accessories.
3. My House Party A design blog from a husband and wife team who make little wooden houses. Sounds quirky? Trust me it is worth checking out. Where to start: Their Up houses – I want one for my office.
4. Black Eiffel An interesting mix of fashion, interiors and accessories for the home and body. Written by graphic designer Rachel Jones who has a nice eye for design Where to start: The peonies on her desk are lovely.
5. Seesaw Angela Hardison, Raquel Raney and Lindsay Tingstrom of creative agency Seesaw Designs blog about their work and design that catches their eye. The studio turned 3 last month. Where to start: The cool bookshelf post.
