Balance, Design, Products
June 27, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
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.
Balance, Design, Products
June 23, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
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).
Design, Products
June 21, 2011
By Cerentha Harris
We’re excited to announce that Herman Miller will be at the Dwell design conference this year for the first time. The design conference runs from this Friday through to Sunday. If you are in Los Angeles please do stop by the convention centre and say hello. On Friday Eames Demetrios will sit down with Dwell’s editor in chief, Sam Grawe, to discuss the Eames Aluminum group chair, its origins at the J. Irwin Miller house in Columbus, Indiana, and the enduring legacy of this now iconic design.
We’ve put together an incredible trip to the Miller House (see the slideshow below for pics from my trip to the iconic home) that you can win. It includes flights to Columbus, two nights accommodation at the Inn at Irwin Gardens and, of course, a tour of the Miller House plus an architectural tour of Columbus – a town that sports some of the best modernist architecture in the country. For more details click here.
