From the outset, the MO Bakery owners knew they wanted a space that presented their baked goods as the stars of the show, highlighting them like precious jewels in a display case. Masquespacio honed in on water as a theme after realizing it’s one of the main ingredients in both baked goods and coffee, dividing the space into three different areas that each represent a different phase in the process of baking and brewing.

The first zone is dedicated to the liquid state, where water makes the dough start to come together. Next is the bar zone, where a massive waterfall-like installation made of sandblasted glass tubes hovers overhead. The front of the bar features the “solid-state” zone, with lamps representing ice. The third zone is the “gaseous state,” where a series of fire bulbs represent the moment when the pastry is baked in the oven.

Throughout the interiors, custom seating ranging from low lounges to high stools offers comfortable vantage points to take it all in. The various metallic finishes were designed to generate reflections mimicking the distortion that occurs when viewing objects through water. The scale of the space encourages people to stay a while, gazing up at everything and taking in the scents of the bakery’s goods.

“On the other hand, the lighting incorporates fully controllable RGB lighting to set moods that could convert the space to a different status, being able to represent a ‘different space’ within a space, in campaigns, engagements, or talks, which is also extended by the reflections of the space in chrome fabrics, tables, and spheres [that create] another level of optical fusion,” say the designers. “This space is not solid. It is interchangeable and dynamic following what the brand has to say. Welcome to the new mood branding.”

With decor and lighting that moody, the MO Bakery almost feels like a bar or nightclub instead of a daytime-oriented café. Which begs the question: why don’t we have more cool spaces to hang out in that aren’t bars or nightclubs? Masquespacio is onto something here.

MO Bakery wanted to stand out from its competition, and it’s probably safe to say they’ve successfully done so with this imaginative interior design. Check out three previous projects that capture Masquespacio’s creative approach to design: a vivid and playful Mango teen store in Milan, Italy; a lavender-hued sunglasses store in Bogotá, Colombia; and a pastel Bun burger restaurant on Milan’s Via Dell’Orso.

The post Masquespacio’s Retrofuturistic Bakery Inspired by Flowing Liquids first appeared on Dornob.

Known as Vanitas, the genre focused on the futility of seeking wealth, power, and earthly pleasures, as it ends the same way for everyone: death. Carrington found the idea intriguing when she visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam a few years ago.

“I’ve always been attracted to the tradition of ‘memento mori,’ art that reminds us of the passing of time,” Carrington said in a recent interview. “In looking at those pictures of half-consumed food and fading flowers, I realized that one of the only things that could have survived to today was the silverware, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to try to make something out of that?’”

Her brainstorming led her to collect cast-off tableware to create arrestingly beautiful metal floral arrangements. Soup spoons became peonies, and silver teaspoons changed into rose petals. She incorporated berry spoons and fork tines to imitate tulips, protea, and hydrangea blossoms. One piece features a suspended silver pitcher pouring out a flood of feathers and flora.

Carrington taught herself how to weld just for this project, as well as how to solder and braze. Each piece takes her roughly three months to complete. “They’re quite difficult to make,” she said, referring to the process of collecting, sorting, composing, and finally welding every item into place. “Each flower requires a different kind of spoon and each metal requires a different heating technique.”

In the same vein, she has also constructed a 17th-century-style ship from the strands of discarded pearls. In a nod to Vanitas sensibilities, its splendor is tempered with the heaviness of the precious orbs.

Carrington has a long history of assembling everyday objects in completely new configurations. She’s turned gold jewelry into spider webs, metamorphosed soda cans into classical busts of famous kings and philosophers, transformed old blue jeans into a map of the United States, and even transfigured buttons into a giant postage stamp with the profile of Queen Elizabeth II.

“Mundane objects such as knives and forks, barbed wire, pins, and paintbrushes come with their own readymade histories and associations which can be unraveled and analyzed if rearranged, distorted, or realigned to give them new meaning as sculpture,” Carrington adds.

Her artistic career began with studies at the Bourneville College of Art, after which she earned a Bachelor of Fine Art in 1985 from Trent Polytechnic. She finished her formal training at The Royal College of Art graduating with a Masters in Sculpture in 1987. Since then, her art has attracted global attention, even being used to help raise awareness about human trafficking at the 2010 United Nations conference in Luxor, Egypt. Her list of personal commissions from celebrity clientele is impressive, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Elton John, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Tyra Banks.

Her works can be explored on her website and her Instagram page.

The post Ann Carrington’s Upcycled Sculptures Pay Tribute to the 17th-Century Art of Vanitas first appeared on Dornob.

It all started when Goodman traveled back to Canada in early April 2020 only to find three feet of snow and a frozen lake waiting for her, watching the earth slowly warm up in early spring. Each morning, she spent hours sitting in the cold listening to the chickadees and other little birds, learning to identify them all by sound. Binoculars and birding books helped her sharpen her perception. By the time she returned to Rhode Island, she had developed a new practice of listening and cultivating knowledge. She began to notice things like plastic bags in ditches, masks discarded on the street, and piles of trash along the train tracks.

“On the first day of classes I walked by the big blue bin outside the sculpture foundry,” Goodman writes in her senior thesis. “I had passed this bin every day the year before and had never given it a second thought. This time, when I approached it, the sun was casting its last rays of the day on the alleyway behind our studios before dipping behind the Metcalf Building. It was as if the container was glowing, light refracting off misshapen and abandoned objects. The bin was signaling to me, drawing me toward the limitless possibilities within it. I put on my welding gloves and began dragging out rusted metal scraps, contorted, some haphazardly fused together. I found a wide piece of steel tubing, some rebar, and some steel rod a student had bent into a squiggly shape. I took these items to the mig welder and made my first piece of the year. It was a chair, it was sittable, and it was like nothing I had ever made before.”

“I was actively unlearning while simultaneously knowing more. The materials were speaking to me, telling me how they should be processed and shaped. It was as if they had always been trying to talk to me but in a frequency I could not hear. Suddenly, I heard everything. I could recognize my lane again and it was going in a completely new direction. I decided that day I wouldn’t go to the store anymore. There was nothing I needed that I couldn’t find in my surroundings. Undervalued items everywhere. Pure potential tossed in the ditch while thinking, this trash is someone else’s problem. Maybe it could be my problem. I could create second chances and see value all around me. All I had to do was listen.”

The resulting objects might not even be recognizable as furniture on first glance. There’s something almost alien about them, sitting on whip-like curving metal supports reminiscent of the antennae of insects or the tentacles of deep sea creatures. All of these pieces of steel, found throughout Providence, were collected and processed with oxy-acetylene before being welded and spray painted. Ultimately, Goodman sees them as a physical representation of the city itself, and of the people who used and discarded those materials.

“This Trash is Someone Else’s Problem” is deeply informed by indigenous stewardship and the history of the surrounding area, advocating for design justice and social equality as well as a sense of responsibility for the objects we create. It’s also an interesting representation of Goodman’s lesson in its own right, as the final products are less important than the actual process of conceptualizing and creating them.

The post Lauren Goodman Turns Your Trash into Functional Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

Located on his own 50-acre property, art dealer Michael Hue-Williams came up with the idea during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Walking through these beautiful grounds during lockdown, I realized I have a unique opportunity to share the experience,” he says. “Having access to this land, combined with my numerous years of experience working with contemporary sculpture, made the decision to open an outdoor sculpture park really compelling.”

“There is very considerable interest from the public in seeing sculpture, particularly in the countryside in southern England, where there are such limited opportunities. In the current pandemic situation, it would be of even greater benefit,” says Lord Rothschild, one of several financial supporters of Albion Fields.

Opening on July 9th, 2021, the art garden’s first exhibition features 26 pieces from some of the world’s top sculptors, all showcased in the lush beauty of the English countryside. One preeminent work is Bernar Venet’s “Indeterminate Line” (2016-2020), itself an oversized mass of coiled metal. Also highlighted is “Sofa in Black” (2011) by Ai Weiwei, which looks convincingly like real leather but is actually carved entirely out of solid marble.

“Horizon Pavilion” (2017) by David Adjaye is a geometric timberwork that blends in harmoniously with its natural surroundings. Elsewhere in the garden the giant frame of “Cement Truck” (2010) by Wim Delvoye catches the eye, having been outlined with intricate Gothic architectural elements.

Many of the garden’s featured artworks also focus on light and reflection. “Big Be-Hide” (2017) by Alicja Kwade is composed of giant boulders on either side of a mirror, one natural and the other constructed from aluminum, thereby providing different echoes in the glass.

Erwin Wurm’s “Fat Convertible” (2019) is a mirrored car silhouette of bulbous metal, and Hue-Williams has artfully juxtaposed it against the weathered wood of an ancestral barn.

Panels of polished stainless steel and aluminum create a dimensional object that appears to vanish into the background at certain angles in “Twisted Geometric Mirror III” (2020) by Jeppe Hein. Albion Fields also includes another of his works – a nine-foot-tall metal cucumber.

Yet another reflective sculpture is Ryan Gander’s “More really shiny things that don’t mean anything” (2012), a six-foot tall sphere composed of a thousand small chrome objects.

To enhance the garden encounter, Hue-Williams even had his land, long used for agricultural purposes, rewilded with deer, badgers, owls, hares, woodpeckers, and other woodland creatures. As they move from piece to piece, visitors can catch glimpses of them as they meander on a zen-like path through forests, meadows, and lakes.

The project came together with the help of four partnering galleries: König Galerie, Goodman Gallery, Lisson Gallery, and Marian Goodman. Adding to the uniqueness of the space, every sculpture on view is for sale through their respective galleries.

The current set of sculptures will be on display until September 25th, after which the collections will be rotated every six months. Visits to the Albion Fields and the adjacent indoor gallery Albion Barn are free, but reservations are required.

The post Art Dealer Brings Sculptures Outside for a Safe and Rejuvenating Gallery Experience first appeared on Dornob.

“Suddenly, I decided there should be a cloud, calmly and slowly rising over the river,” Ting says. “Clouds have a sophisticated and pure beauty.” Thus, a particularly unique bookstore was born, incorporating a series of indoor and outdoor spaces that take you on a meditative journey, clearing your mind to make way for all the written content you’re about to devour. If the layout looks familiar, that’s because it’s based on the traditional courtyard houses of China, in which the most important internal spaces are grouped pavilions looking out onto a central outdoor area.

Even as you approach from the street, the bookstore has an ethereal feel to it. The facade is a white perforated metal screen that almost blends into the sky, the entryway a cutout shaped like a cloud. Those perforations vary in size to create a layered effect that either reveals or disguises the rest of the city beyond the walls. Ting describes it as “a serene and pleasant visual subtraction” that focuses one’s gaze on the real clouds that float above the river. Trees, dark gray stepping stones, and islands of grass also punctuate the field of white.

The courtyard doesn’t just serve as a mood setter. It was also a way for Ting to to bring together the various “scattered” volumes that already existed on the site and give them a sense of flow and cohesion. One is the lifestyle book area, one is the coffeehouse, and another serves as a display for reproductions of rare books. New additions house areas like the sales kiosks and main bookstore displays. On the second floor of the coffeehouse is a future “urban parlor room,” while other upstairs spaces serve as exhibition areas. Even the rooftops are connected into a series of elevated terraces looking out onto the city, giving you a whole new level of spaces to explore. They include a children’s play platform, a “discussion terrace,” a fire pit, and a “labyrinth terrace” to sit and enjoy your coffee.

“I insist that architecture should be full of metaphors,” Ting says. “We distilled the clouds into an easy-to-read formal symbol, turning them into doorways, logos, and even UIs, while the white of the clouds covers all the background spaces of the building to reinforce the symbolic meaning in the clouds and represent the Shanghai of the clouds. The orange color extracted from Huangyan’s most famous orange not only represents the Huangyan of Duoyun, but also becomes the main color in the foreground of the entrance book and coffee area. From white clouds to orange clouds, it is easy to build a story about five-color auspicious clouds.”

Clouds and gaze-directing white screens are common motifs in Wutopia Lab’s work, and in fact, in their previous bookstore designs as well. Check out their design for the ultramodern futuristic Zhongshu bookstore in Xi’an, China and their sci-fi inspired museum full of architectural models.

The post Wutopia Lab’s Duoyun Bookstore Takes You on a Tranquil Journey Through Clouds first appeared on Dornob.

Designed by the Foshan branch of the Topway Design architecture firm, the new headquarters of ZCMetal was created to highlight the versatility and beauty of metal, as well as its connection with the natural world.

“As designers, we’re living in an environment with cold reinforced concrete buildings and fast-paced lifestyles, thus we are increasingly desiring to return to nature,” explains the Foshan Topway team. “Through this project, we intended to create a free, refreshing space where visitors would feel like they’re brought to nature and liberated from fatigue and burnout. Based on the design concept of ‘naturalism,’ we tried to integrate environment with nature to create a people-centered and personalized space.”

ZCMetal itself aims to endow its products with “artistic aesthetics, natural forms, and humanistic spirit.” Those products include customized metal furniture, decorations, and art installations, all fashioned using the powerful combo of modern carving technology and traditional craftsmanship.

The entry way/exhibition hall of the new HQ is designed to “wow” visitors as it leads them through a giant curving cavern, with layers of reflective steel mimicking the weathered texture of ancient canyon walls. LED lights from above allow the surfaces to change color, from blazing reds to icy grays. The ceiling can even be programmed to appear like a shimmering blanket of stars or a veil of billowy clouds. In one bend of the cavern, a metallic seat rises organically from the polished steel floor.

“We hoped to return metal to its original state and simplicity of nature,” add the architects. “Nature nurtures mankind’s creativity, while we give back to nature with creative thinking.”

Once outside the canyon, the view opens up to a two-story high reception area, complete with a lobby bar and conversation space. The reception desk is made from delicately molded steel, with a backdrop of artistically brushed metal surrounding an oval of geometric shapes and shadows. Giant metal water droplets are suspended mid-fall above the desk.

To the right, visitors can view the spiral staircase, itself enclosed by dark walls filled with neon LED polka dots. While the initial impression is reminiscent of a disco-era dance floor, the subsequent reflections created against adjacent walls produce echoes of trees and rivers of light. Just outside the space are a series of descending drops that suggest the idea of a waterfall.

Perpetuating the water theme is the landscaped area between the stairs and the reception desk, where Topway has sculpted a splash of metallic water backlit by more frosty blue LEDs.

Overall, the ZCMetal Headquarters exudes a feeling of modern power and wonder, with a nod toward the nature that sustains today’s technology.

Founded in 2002, Topway Design began in Shanghai and has since expanded across 24 Chinese provinces and Canada. They specialize in the architectural planning and design of real estate development projects. Some of their larger undertakings include Dalian Jinzhou Greenland Center and the Taiyuan Tsinghua Science Park.

The post Foshan Topway’s Giant Metal Canyon Recreates Nature Through Technology first appeared on Dornob.

Stronger than glass, various military and commercial applications for this remarkable material are already being tested. What was once used in the science-fiction Star Trek movies, see-through aluminum is now something that – through test mixing with rubies, sapphires and more – is now being tried out in all kinds of ways to create transparency where strength is also required.

For now, it is used in static-free transparent aluminum wrapping for computer parts and other electronics. It is also being tested in otherwise-conventional see-through soda cans and military shielding for vehicles where windows once were. At over ten dollars per square inch, however, it is still not cheap enough for mainstream everyday use – but may be someday soon.

Here are some more details from Science Daily.

“‘What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before,’ said Professor Justin Wark of Oxford University’s Department of Physics, one of the authors of the paper. ‘Transparent aluminum is just the start. The physical properties of the matter we are creating are relevant to the conditions inside large planets, and we also hope that by studying it we can gain a greater understanding of what is going on during the creation of ‘miniature stars’ created by high-power laser implosions, which may one day allow the power of nuclear fusion to be harnessed here on Earth.’”

“The discovery was made possible with the development of a new source of radiation that is ten billion times brighter than any synchrotron in the world (such as the UK’s Diamond Light Source). The FLASH laser, based in Hamburg, Germany, produces extremely brief pulses of soft X-ray light, each of which is more powerful than the output of a power plant that provides electricity to a whole city. The Oxford team, along with their international colleagues, focused all this power down into a spot with a diameter less than a twentieth of the width of a human hair. At such high intensities the aluminum turned transparent.”

The post Transparent Aluminum: A Real See-Through Metal first appeared on Dornob.

A gorgeous fusion of old and new, this dwelling incorporates historic stone walls already on the building site, tapping into the leftover structural walls and foundation of a bygone barn.

In this gorgeous adaptive reuse project by McGarry-Moon Architects (images by Adam Currie) in Northern Ireland, the historic structural stone of a crumbling ruined barn segues into contemporary metal and wood siding, creating a lovely juxtaposition of past and present materials, balancing weathered history and streamlined modernity.

As compelling as the finished product of this historic renovation is, the process photographs really help tell the story of preservation and architectural adaptation involved in this sensitive intervention. Existing walls had to be tested, stabilized, sliced, capped and protected before introducing the new steel frame (and in turn finer-grid wooden frame) for the additional sections of house. Each intersection required careful planning and execution. The result of the barn remodel is clearly worthwhile, however, proving that we shouldn’t demolish old structures just because they’re no longer usable in their current condition.

“This unassuming residence is a responsive configuration of skilfully contained views from the interior the manipulation of natural light combined with fluid, informal spaces allowing us to create architecture that has some dramatic moments but does not overly dominate the character of the existing stone barn. The house is surprising which engages people and allows the dwelling a unique character without having to resort to reproducing a replica of the past.”

“The original stone structure, the splendid views of ‘Slemish’ and the desire for comfortable understated interiors were the principles that focused us as architects. The preservation and consolidation of the stone structure was fundamental in achieving an architecture where the old and new complemented each other. Thus the residence was designed by fusing new technologies with older building techniques whilst incorporating sustainability ideals in order to create a rural architecture for the 21st century, rather than simply remodeling or recreating the methods and manners of the past.”

The post Stone Barn Wall Built into New Home first appeared on Dornob.

Lean in to really look at the hen, for instance. That’s a button for an eye, encircled by a golden wreath ornament. In the center of that button is the head of a fox, while the comb at the crest of her head consists of three tiny hen figurines. Her body contains a fork, a spoon, and maybe a kitchen sink, too. The fox, meanwhile, is made of old red tins. Visible on one panel along his back is the word “fox.” Franc adds that she used an old spectacle case and cutlery on his flanks, and surgical scissors and watch straps on his face.

On the head of a hare, another button-eye features a flying bird, and a gear on the muzzle calls to mind the pocket-watch-carrying White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. The griffin is Franc’s only mythological creature to date, which gave her a bit more creative license. Its components include “recycled metals, decorative tin, and various pieces of ‘found’ materials such as umbrellas, keys, bike spanners, cutlery, chainsaw blades, hinges, dog leads, and lawn mower parts.”

Based in London, Franc clearly has a knack for choosing just the right upcycled elements to incorporate into each life-sized character. She begins with a wire netting armature, filling out the shapes with all manner of junk. Her process is intuitive, led by what she has on hand, what fits each part of the animal’s body, and species-appropriate symbols and imagery.

Picking out each object is part of the fun of viewing Franc’s metal menagerie, but their underlying structures are interesting, too. It’s cool how she leaves much of the armature visible, owing in part to her admitted fascination with skeletal systems and the mechanics of motion.

“I have always been fascinated by the sculptural form and shapes of animals, they present a never-ending source of inspiration to me,” she says. “I try to capture a feeling of their movement and presence in my sculpture. For this I use wire and other materials in a way that suggests drawing in three dimensions. This allows me greater freedom to add changes whenever I want during construction to keep the feeling fluid and to reflect the diversity of movement and form. I increasingly use recycled and discarded materials as I enjoy the challenge of transforming something with a past history into something new and exciting.”

If you love Franc’s creations and want to adopt one as your own, you’ll be happy to know she sells them periodically through her online shop, with smaller animals like birds listed around £180. Keep an eye out for more additions on her Instagram @barbara.franc.

The post Artist Barbara Franc Upcycles Scrap Materials Into Intricate Metal Creatures first appeared on Dornob.

As fans of the show know well, co-hosts Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Karamo Brown, Jonathan Van Ness, and Bobby Berk all have a certain way of sashaying into a room, identifying every little thing that can be improved upon (including the style and confidence of the resident), transforming it, and polishing it until it glows.

The Queer Eye Collection “brings that same notion home, with pieces that speak to who you are and how you feel,” reads an official press release on the launch. “With pieces so stylish and versatile, you can totally own your space.”

Produced as a partnership between Walmart and Queer Eye showrunners Scout Productions, the online-exclusive launch makes elevated contemporary furniture and accessories accessible to nearly any budget. For instance, the streamlined Leopold Modern Metal Bed costs just $189 for a queen size frame (though it’s currently sold out), and its product description reads like it came straight from Jonathan Van Ness.

“Did you know that the bedroom is usually the last spot in the home to get a makeover? HAIR FLIP — well not on our watch boys and girls, Bobby Berk would not be pleased! That’s why we’ve specially designed the Queer Eye Leopold Metal Bed, because we know you deserve a sleep sanctuary fit for a gawd (or gawdess!). After all, you work so hard and give so much of yourself to others. Don’t cry, we’re running out of tissues!”

“Featuring a sleek yet bold black metal frame with a geometrically accented headboard and footboard, the Leopold radiates unadulterated modern class with its angular design elements and rounded corners — Spotlight please! Take a deep breath hun, we’re not done. Its thoughtful durable construction also provides secure metal side rails, slats, and additional center legs for complete support — and you know we’re all about supportive relationships. Offered in a variety of sizes, the Queer Eye Leopold Metal Bed will no doubt upgrade your bedroom lewk and have you sleeping like a baby!”

Other standouts include the flat-folding Liam Sofa Bed in green velvet, $349; the Durham Glass Top Industrial Dining Table, $240; and the Farnsworth Mid-Century Fireplace TV Stand with a realistic electric fireplace insert, $335.

Of course, on Queer Eye, it’s Bobby Berk who’s in charge of home makeovers, and he’s proven time and time again that he’s not just a pro but the hardest worker in the cast. While Antony mixes up some guacamole in the kitchen, Berk feverishly paints, furnishes, creates custom pieces, and even plants new gardens to give each makeover subject a fresh new home base to enjoy. The results are incredible, especially for the short time frame given, and a true testament to his talent.

Queer Eye, a reboot of the early 2000s Bravo series of the same name, just dropped its fifth season on Netflix June 5th.

The post “Queer Eye” Furniture Collection Debuts at Walmart first appeared on Dornob.

The post Space Saving Ideas: Extending Dining Room Table Tops first appeared on Dornob.

Vaguely mushroom-shaped when not in use, the Overcast Light transforms once you turn it on, mimicking the look and feel of a cloud passing in front of the sun. Knauf made the shade from blended paper pulp, providing an uneven texture that controls the transmission of light from the bulb underneath.

“The LED light source is dimmed unconventionally via proximity to the shade, instead of using a dimmable driver. This is done by pulling the leather tab up or down along the side of the cylindrical base, moving the light source closer or further away from the shade,” Knauf explains.

While so many unique and sculptural home furnishings and fixtures tend to be prototypes, Overcast Light is actually available for purchase at 1stdibs for $2,200.

While Knauf has an entire portfolio full of cool furniture and decorative objects, lamps happen to be where his talents truly shine. Another notable piece is the “Alumette Floor Light,” a tall and slender LED lamp created around a structural aluminum form. Instead of using a conventional lamp shade to diffuse the light, Knauf partially encloses the bulb in a metal frame that acts as a wide angle reflector to cast softer light around the room.

The “Lloyd” lamp works in a similar fashion. A panel of LED lights hovers above your desktop, supported by two delicate steel wires sunken into a pedestal base. The panel casts a broad, even beam of light and can be swiveled to illuminate new angles or reflected off the wall for a softer effect.

The bases of floor lamps have to be quite heavy to remain stable, which is fine if you’re shopping from a local store, but gets little trickier when shipping. To address the problem, Knauf designed the “Water Based Lamp,” a collapsible floor lamp that preserves the archetype of the “solid mass” base but weighs much less.

Knauf took inspiration from the outdoor industry to create a base made of welded Duratec fabric, which is commonly used in the construction of inflatable kayaks. You just fill the base with water to keep the lamp upright. The shade is flexible nylon mesh supported by tent pole-style aluminum tubing.

A bio for Knauf on the official IDS Vancouver site reads: “Calen Knauf is a Canadian designer living and working in Vancouver, Canada. Calen studied Industrial Design at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Shortly after graduating, Calen won best student lighting for his thesis project ‘Standard Lamp’ at Design Plus 2014 in Cologne, Germany. His first produced design was licensed to Esaila in 2012.”

“He has worked closely with life long-friend Conrad Brown from 2013 to 2019 on a range of projects including product design for mass production, furniture, custom editions, interior design, and graphic design. Their work together has won several awards, including The Rising Star Award at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2017 and [the shortlist] for the Dezeen Awards for Lighting Design in 2018.”

You can keep up with Knauf’s work on Instagram.

All photos courtesy of Conrad Brown

The post Overcast Lamp Mimics a Cloud Passing Over the Sun first appeared on Dornob.

In cases like this, it can be helpful to bring in the old “what would aliens think” trope, attempting to remove all of our preconceptions to set our imaginations free. But it’s also worth remembering that scarcity drives innovation, and people without a lot of access to resources can be some of the craftiest among us.

For a new series called “The Misused,” Taiwanese designers Liang-Jung Chen and Shue-Yuan Yang found inspiration within their own communities. They discovered elders in the countryside of Taiwan creatively improvising daily necessities using objects that could commonly be found laying around the house, transforming old tires into hanging planters, using funnels as shades for hanging lamps, and making drying racks out of hangers and wire baskets.

The designers say their collection “aims to re-fulfill the potentials of everyday metal hardwares by misusing them with a twist of humor.” With each creative “misuse,” you can see how everyday objects have a lot more potential than we typically see in them. They may seem specialized, but if you try, you can probably find all sorts of ways to employ them in your home, too. As we collectively work to move beyond our era of disposability and pollution, finding new ways to creatively reuse objects that already exist will only grow more and more important, so it’s a good skill to pick up now.

For Chen and Yang, the experiment proved that even “misusing” an object can produce something that really and truly works. Their fun creations include a table mirror made with a magnetic door holder, a marble jewel box made with a door hinge, glass wind chimes made with an S-hook and turn buckle, a notebook made with grill mesh, a rattan stool made with hose clamps, glass hydroponic vases made with floor drains, a magazine rack made with a braided hose, plywood bookends made with corner brackets, a cork side table made with steel cable ties, and more.

The pair adds: “As product designers, we always prioritize the logical user experience of a product. Somehow, in countryside Taiwan, we are often awed by how local grandpas and grandmas improvise homewares with existing objects creatively. The grass-roots humor originated from their earlier frugal life due to the lack of resources. They had motivated us to leave the stereotype of ubiquitous metal hardwares behind, and to re-imagine their functions according to their clever structure.”

“Each long-existing hardware has been refined by people all over the world [so many times] that they have become the universal modules for assembly. It is this collective anonymity that makes the hardware design so impeccable. Keeping the philosophy of misusing in mind, we paired 11 industrial metal hardwares with different crafted materials. The outcome is a series of homewares repurposing various kinds of metal hardwares, including a door holder, floor drain, door hinge, hose clamp, [and] S hook.”

The post Objects Made of Misused Hardware Celebrate Creative Improvisation first appeared on Dornob.

Cassina, the sole company with the authority to manufacture furniture designed by the inimitable Charlotte Perriand, recently opened an exhibition at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. A collaborative effort with Pernette Perriand Barsac, the exhibition not only includes replicas of Perriand’s visionary works, but also of the iconic 1929 Salon d’Automne interiors, in which Perriand presented her Equipement Interieur d’une Habitation furniture designs alongside Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret some 90 years ago.

The Exhibition Focus

Perriand was best known for her obsession with structural design, and the designs of the environments she encountered during her travels around the world. The photos in the new Louis Vuitton show reflect those passions and are artfully displayed in one of Cassina’s iconic wooden Nuage bookcases. Here, they are ingeniously divided into different subjects that were most important to the designer, including Les Objects Trouves, Japan, The Mountains, and Prefabricated Architecture.

The Setting

In keeping with historical accuracy, the new exhibition almost flawlessly recreates the three artists’ premiere presentation at the Salon d’Automne — tubular metal furniture pieces and all. While the designs were harshly reviewed for their minimalism at the original exhibition, they still managed to leave a huge impact on the world before very long. Armchairs, tables, and chairs that eventually became the heart of Cassina’s renowned LC Collection complete the visual scene, but instead of using their now-standard modern finishes, these pieces were made using the fabrics, frames, and colors used explicitly in their original iterations. Various other pieces on display like the single bed were fashioned specifically for the new show.

More on Perriand

Perriand was a pioneer in the world of furniture design, and a key player in the birth of modern furniture. Her visionary brilliance was evident at an early age and continued until her death in 1999.

Barely 24 years old, Perriand burst onto the scene with a stunning bar under the roof design at the 1927 Salon d’Automne. This distinctive piece was built entirely from anodized aluminum and nickel-plated copper, and it was heartily celebrated by critics almost immediately upon its release. That acclaim solidified her relationship with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, which went on to make her an integral part of the legendary design studios at 35 rue de Sevres for the next 10 years.

Remembered by friends and colleagues for her devotion to benevolent and revolutionary philosophical theories, Perriand’s always work reflected her loyalty to those beliefs. After she stopped designing, she focused on projects for huge corporations like Air France.

Le Monde Nouveau de Charlotte Perriand will be on display through February 24th, 2020, so book your tickets now while you still can!

The post Cassina Recreates Iconic Charlotte Perriand Pieces for New Louis Vuitton Show first appeared on Dornob.

As Kevin Kelly, (co-founder of Wired Magazine) once wrote: “the internet is a copy machine.” It has proven its ability to spread information and media of all kinds, from music to movies, animation, graphic designand more … but how do you send furniture out over the wire? One German design group is working that out.

Open Design works with industrial and furniture designers who develop an array of abstract modern and cool contemporary home objects, all with flat-pack, folding and bending properties suitable for CNC machines, laser cutting and/or three-dimensional printing. From model to prototype is a quick and easy step, and from there: global distribution is a cinch.

The resulting plans are then licensed under Creative Commons so people can download the design and print it out locally via a 3D printer or laser cutter (more and more places have these – and you can bet there is one near you or coming soon).

DIY designers can potentially modify these works and ‘share alike’ – and it saves the hassle (not to mention questionable legality/morality) of reverse-engineering high-end pieces of furniture.

Metal is one of the more obvious candidates for its combination of strength and flexibility, though there is no reason why CNC-cut wood and other materials would not work for some pieces as well.

Perhaps it is still ahead of its time, but this project will hopefully push furniture forward on the digital frontier, and have things ready and waiting for the day when we all have our own personal 3D printers at home (or at least a publicly-accessible laser-cutter at the local copy shop).

“A revolution in product development, production and distribution is imminent due to the Internet’s disruptive nature and the easy access to CNC machines. Open Design is a proposal to make this happen. It’s aim is to shift Industrial Design to become relevant in a globally networked information society.”

“In Open Design a design is CAD information published online under a Creative Commons license to be downloaded, copied and modified and is produced directly from file by CNC machines and without special tooling.”

The post Free Flat-Pack Plans for Laser-Cut Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

At the intersection of art and design sit the chairs of William Stone, a series of cut-and-paste chair designs that mix and match elements from existing seats with stranger parts like thick and bulky rough-hewn logs.

Existing structural elements that would normally seem ordinary are suddenly called into question, standing out as visual anomolies – their thinness and regularity seeming more impressive under the weighty misshapen objects they support.

In other cases, Stone takes only new and natural pieces to create wholes that are at once unique and somehow easy to believe. Their simplicity reflects a kind of do-it-yourself approach that makes one want to make his or her own at home.

From standard supports to wheeled bases and rocking rails, each of these chairs is different and yet made part of a similar set by virtue of how they were created and the combination of new and old, natural and man-made elements used.

In addition to the chairs shown individually above, Stone has exhibited a great many other Frankenstein-esque custom art chairs assembled from all kinds of parts – including ones composed entirely of single-function pieces like legs, backs or bottoms.

Most of his work isn’t nearly so practical as this. Check out this description from ArtForum, which should prime you to check out more on his website:

“The absurdist sculptures of William Stone confront us with an utter lack of functionality. Working with wood, brass, copper, and various domestic and industrial objects, Stone creates quirky, self-contained inventions.”

“His perfectionist sensibility gives the work an air of importance that exceeds its actual usefulness. Stone revels in a clean, forthright style. Many of the pieces seem to embody contradictions; the newness of the wood often conflicts with the outdated machine elements. Most of the works’ references exist outside specific art-world contexts.”

The post Rough and Ready: Artistic Wood-Block Chairs first appeared on Dornob.