Playlist: Designer Eduardo Alessi

Jamie Latendresse — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:00:29 +0000

Italian designer Eduardo Alessi has a singular wit and energy. You can see it reflected in his work as well as distinct focus on sustainable products and materials. Eduardo believes if a product can make someone’s life a bit easier or even a bit more amusing, the product succeeds. His recent project, the ECO DIY Collection, is a series of 2D products made with recycled cardboard. The charming and minimal designs are modeled after endangered animals and include everything from a light to a speaker to a bookmark. Catch up with this desk-dancing-designer’s listening habits in this week’s Playlist.

What do you listen to while you work?
Usually I listen to music across many genres including 70′s punk, psychobilly, post punk, New Wave, ska, reggae, surf, da African blues, 60′s Italian beats, space rock, and indie. I do prefer a female vocalist.

How do you listen?
In private, generally, with computer speakers as loud as I can. If there are people around I will listen with low volume or use some headphones — the cheap kind you can buy everywhere because every 10 – 15 days I lose a pair. I have hundreds.

I define myself as an “office desk dancer.” In my years of office work, I have developed a dance technique that lets me dance while I’m seated. I move my legs super faaaaast, following the rhythm, but from the waist up I don’t move. This way no one can see anything. One day I’d like to create a tutorial on YouTube. It is pretty funny!

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers?
Many, from blogs to streaming radio. Too many to list.

Does music influence your work?
Yes. This will sound common, but usually music creates a kind of hermetic habitat around me that isolates me from the rest of my thoughts, bad moods, fatigue, even hunger (sometimes). It helps me focus on what I am trying to design.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste?
Usually by getting lost on the Internet.

What song or artist best represents the work you create?
I am the Frank Zappa of the design.

Ideal place to sit and listen to your playlist:
The SAYL Chair, Fog Base with Studio White Y-Tower, and red back suspension and seat material.

Eduardo’s Playlist (Eduardo notes that his playlist is made up of songs he will never skip when they come up):
1. Last Caress, The Misfits
2. Ceremony, New Order
3. Fly Me To the Moon, Frank Sinatra
4. Needles and Pins, The Ramones
5. Vecchio Frack, Domenico Modugno
6. I Am the Resurrection, The Stone Roses
7. White Riot, The Clash
8. Andavo A Cento All’Ora, Gianni Morandi
9. Pugni Chiusi, I Ribelli
10. Riot Squad, Cock Sparrer
11. The Sign, Ace of Base

Photos: Eduardo Alessi

Recognizing the Re-Ply Chair

Amy Feezor — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 15:13:48 +0000

It’s easy to see why we would take notice of the Re-Ply Chair, a Kickstarter project currently making appearances in several design blogs. Inspired by a simple form — a folded piece of paper — the minimalist recliner by architect and designer Dan Goldstein utilizes cardboard and a straightforward steel base to create seating that is permanent, durable, and surprisingly comfortable. Its material finds strength in Goldstein’s patent-pending manufacturing process, which includes stacking, cutting, laminating, molding, and folding layers of heavy-duty corrugated fiberboard into a sturdy shell. (Does this sort of innovation sound familiar?) Additionally, the Re-Ply offers a sustainable design: all the cardboard material comes from used boxes, its other components are as green as possible, and the entire chair can be recycled. But what truly caught our eye? Re-Ply’s popular upcycled prototype takes shape using our own Herman Miller shipping boxes — interesting timing, particularly since Herman Miller just won the Reusable Packaging Association’s inaugural Excellence in Reusable Packaging Award. Take a look at more photos of the Re-Ply here, and learn more at kickstarter.com.

Photos: there-ply.com

Herman Miller blog: Lifework » eco

Playlist: Designer Eduardo Alessi

Recognizing the Re-Ply Chair