Design
July 19, 2012
By Amy Feezor
He’s based in Orange County, California, but Jonathan Lo, founder of J3 Productions and the mastermind behind the blog Happy Mundane, spends his weekends at a getaway in the San Diego area. And although the rented beach house is a place to take a break from the busy week, the space still acts as Jonathan’s official “second office.” (After all, who doesn’t have to sneak in some work on a Sunday every once in a while?) Appropriately decorated with pops of aquamarine, the temporary office offers everything a guy on the go needs: just enough room to work, a designated place for a printer, bits of art for inspiration, and easy access to the ocean when break time comes around. Read more
Design, Products
July 12, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Interiors stylist, writer, and publicist Kate Baxter charms us regularly with her musings over at her popular Fabric of My Life blog. Get a look at the flexible new SAYL chair now taking up residence in the flat she rents in London (and hear her thoughts on what it’s like to live in the middle of a city prepping for the world stage) in this easygoing office tour.
Tell us about yourself: What you’re passionate about, what you’re proud of, and where you’re going. Fabric of My Life is my own little corner of cyberspace where I document my favourite inspirational finds, be it interiors, homewares, fashion, or well-designed products that make me go “ooooh!” I started my blog when I was freelancing as an interiors stylist as a way of cataloguing all the things I liked in one place — but it has grown into so much more than that now. I’ve made so many great friends and connections through my blog and have had several fantastic experiences as a result of it — the best being selected this spring to take part in BlogTour NYC, a week-long design tour of Manhattan with 14 other interiors bloggers.
What inspires you in your work? Everything inspires me! Although I write mainly about interior design and homeware products, I draw inspiration from all areas of my life — friends, film and TV, magazines, being out and about in my beloved London…. The whole city is abuzz with energy just now, as we surge forward from the excitement of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations to the imminent Olympics; the whole atmosphere is simply electric. Hearing the athletes talk about their preparations for the games, their dedication, and their ambitions is so inspiring and the increasing sense that we can actually do this — put on the greatest spectacle in the world — is truly, truly exhilarating.
Tell us about your home workspace. Were there any special considerations that influenced its setup? I live in a rented flat, so my main consideration is how to fit a dedicated “workspace” into my bedroom. Luckily, I have the largest room in the house and have been able to zone off a corner to set up a mini office. This is probably where I spend most of my time, catching up on emails, blogging, scouring the Internet for inspiration. I love that I have a window next to my desk – it’s great to have natural light to work by and a little bit of greenery outside to offer a moment of quiet contemplation while waiting for the next wave of inspiration to hit. I like how long my desk is — it’s great for laying out press pack materials and samples to order my ideas for posts. I keep things (somewhat) organised with desk accessories from Ording and Reda and Muji, and surround myself with photos of my friends, mementos from trips, and images ripped from magazines to keep me inspired. I would love to have an Anglepoise work lamp, but for now, my white lamp from IKEA does the trick.
You have a new SAYL chair. How do you like it? I am incredibly lucky to have had my SAYL chair gifted to me by WellWorking, a West London-based company that provides office furniture and ergonomic solutions for the workplace and home. I was introduced to them through my blog.
The chair was chosen for me based on my answers to questions regarding my height and build and how I use my work area. Before I got my SAYL, I had an industrial-style brown leather chair that I had bought at a car-boot fair. I loved it despite it being very impractical, so I had actually been very hesitant to change chairs. But as soon as I sat in the new SAYL I was a convert. WellWorking came to my home to “install” the chair and it was adjusted to my height and my desk, meaning that from the very first time I sat down to work in it, I was the most comfortable I’ve ever been sitting at my desk. I use my chair not just for work, but for leisure, as I often sit up at my desk watching TV on my laptop. The webbed back supports me perfectly and the recline (which I’ve always hated in other chairs) is an absolute dream.
Do you have other Herman Miller pieces in your space? This is my first Herman Miller piece, and I would most certainly have more if I could. In an ideal world, I would love to have a Nelson Swag Leg Desk and an Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair. I saw the fascinating Eames: the Architect and the Painter documentary recently and would very happily have anything by Charles and Ray Eames in my home. Their design aesthetic was simply stunning.
Photos: Kate Baxter
Design, Products, Trends
July 3, 2012
By Jamie Latendresse
Celebrate our forthcoming Independence Day with a little tour of U.S.A-made items that are as all-American as apple pie, baseball, and the Aeron Chair.
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Balance, Design
June 29, 2012
By Amy Feezor
1. “Herman Miller meets Wonder Woman” on the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s Tumblr.
2. A bookcase that magically stores chairs and tables at PSFK.
3. ”Are You Spending 1,000 Hours Preparing for Your Next Job?” at the Harvard Business Review.
4. LA Observed’s short chat with Allon Schoener, author and periodic guest at the Eames House in the 1950s.
5. It comes equipped with Wi-Fi … could you use this as an occasional outdoor office? (Via Design Milk)
6. These home-office solutions for cords, cables, and devices at Apartment Therapy.
7. The Selby’s tour of jewelry designer Philip Crangi’s NYC home and studio.
8. Did you see our SAYL Chair on True Blood? (Via latimes.com)
9. This discussion about design knockoffs at last weekend’s Dwell on Design home show. (Via Dwell)
10. Hither and Thither’s coverage of our Pop-Up Shop in Soho, NYC. There’s still time to stop by — it’s open through this Sunday, July 1.
Balance, Trends
June 25, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Did a bark, woof, or ruff (or perhaps a coo from an excited coworker) fill the halls of your office last week? Friday, June 22, was Take Your Dog to Work Day, a day dedicated to bringing man’s best friend into the workspace. This 14th annual canine celebration helped promote pet adoption, as well as the benefits of having Fido at work — which, according to recent research from Virginia Commonwealth University, include reducing stress and making the job more satisfying.
Companies like Amazon, Google, P&G Pet Care, Clif Bar & Company, and Ben & Jerry’s already have open-dog policies. What about your place of business? Would you welcome a dog in your workplace? Why or why not?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. And in the meantime, take a look at a few furry friends that made it into the office on Friday. Read more
Balance, Design
June 22, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Here’s a look at what we’ve been reading for the past few days. (What about you? Leave us a link to your favorite post of the week in the comments section.)
1. A hidden home office created from a spare closet, featured on the Home & Garden blog of the Los Angeles Times.
2. “A Love Letter to Plywood,” a short video by sculptor Tom Sachs, in which he declares plywood “a delicious wood sandwich” (via swissmiss).
3. 20 gadgets to help you make the most of the summer — including some great items to help you take your work outdoors — from Netted.
4. Colorful ideas for waking up your home-office decor from Real Living.
5. An artistic way to deal with unsightly cords at Dwell.
6. Architect Sigund Larsen‘s “Shrine” project, a mini multitasking storage solution, detailed at Architizer.
7. Have you ever tried to go paperless in the office? (Via Apartment Therapy).
8. We spy a smart white Eames molded plastic side chair in the home of Mary Jo and Steve Hoffman at Design*Sponge (and also in the photo above, by Mark Andrew of Studio 306).
9. The Ridge House, a rural Canadian hideaway designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, at ArchDaily.
10. A fascinating aerial photo tour of New York City’s rooftops at Co.Design.
Photo: Design*Sponge / Mark Andrew of Studio 306
Design
June 19, 2012
By Iris Anna Regn
Auckland, New Zealand-born Marcia Mihotich is a designer and illustrator based in London. Attracted by the big city and the promise of an exciting job in graphic design, she moved to the UK in the late 1980s, where she eventually opened her own practice. At her live/work studio, she combines clear thinking with a quirky individual aesthetic and collaborates with companies such as Industrial Facility as well as variety of arts-related organizations and people. She is also creative director of the new tea company Rosy Lee Tea London. Other recent projects include the design of a new series of books for The School of Life and Pan Macmillan publishing as well as illustrating Philippa Perry’s book from the series called “How to Stay Sane.” Mihotich is currently working on a large comic story for the British Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale. Find out what inspires her in this tour of her space (starting with that cushy Eames Soft Pad Management Chair).
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Design
June 14, 2012
By Amy Feezor
Still smarting from the end of this season of Mad Men? (And can we make it through another year without being able to spot the mid-century modern pieces popping up in Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce?) While you wait, get your design fix from a few modern-day ad agencies that Don Draper — or perhaps his design-loving wife Megan — would be proud to call home.
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Balance
June 13, 2012
By Jamie Latendresse
How does music fit into the work and process of Andy Johnson, founder of Seattle-based Ample Furniture? Find out in this week’s Playlist. Read more
Balance, Design, Products
January 3, 2012
By Cerentha Harris
It’s that classic Goldliock’s moment anyone with a home workspace has suffered through. Trying to find just the right office chair. It has to be ergonomic. That is a given. For me it had to have good back support, a seat that doesn’t cut off circulation in your legs and arm rests to keep RSI at bay.
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