joon & jung

item: living light
designed by: joon & jung
photos via: joon & jung
comments: this light is designed to sense the presence of people. it adjusts by opening like a flower blooming and increasing the light level as more people are gathered. when people are not present it closes, reduces the amount of light and goes into energy saving mode. amazing technically as well as aesthetically. the form is light, made of simple materials and well proportioned. originally from korea, joonsoo kim and jungyou choi met while at design school in the netherlands where they are currently based. their work reflects the unique combination of the design aesthetics from both of these two places.

a date with wine

item: a date with wine
designer: george lee of le mouton noir & co
photos via: le mouton noir & co
comments: this product was designed to date your wine bottle if you aren't able to drink it all in one sitting. there are disks that rotate so that you can mark the month and date. the bottom portion is a stopper to keep the wine fresh. it's a well designed product that solves a common problem. it was fun looking at the sketches so i included them. hope you enjoy them too.

scrapile

items: furniture and accessories
materials: discarded wood scraps
designed by: scrapile, brooklyn ny
photos via: scrapile and chow
comments: bart bettencourt and carlos salgado are the designers behind scrapile. they decided in 2003 to start the company with the idea of designing products by salvaging waste from the new york woodworker's industry. wow. because of their process each piece is unique. the pieces are beautiful but knowing their material source makes them even more so.

studio ve

item: endy stool
material: available in oak, ash, maple, mahogany and cherry.
designed by: studio ve, tel aviv
photos via: studio ve
comments: these stools are made of six components. Three pieces for the seat and three for the legs. the angles of the components, silhouette of the stool and bright colors made me stop to investigate. i'm glad i did because the story behind the colors is interesting. the ends of lumber are apparently vulnerable so saw mills paint them for protection. normally, the painted ends are discarded as waste. studio ve decided to give emphasis to this as a nod to the wood's source, while also enjoying the bright colors. not only is this more efficient with less waste, it's also playful. nice.

item: shapemaker blocks
materials: hand printed rubber wood
designer: miller goodman
photos via: best made company and miller goodman
comments: the possibilities and fun are endless with these bold and bright wooden blocks. they come as a set of 25 with a collection of design ideas to get you started. bold, graphic, simple, bright and fun. this is the type of toy that young and old will play with and keep for years. enough said.

mikiya kobayashi

items: top image, uki hashi chopsticks and bottom three images, mov stool
designer: mikiya kobayashi
photos via: daily icon and design territory
comments: uki hashi are chopsticks that are designed with enough curve to allow them to remain off the surface of the table, eliminating the need for chopstick rests. the mov stool is designed to be used at the beach as a seat when pushed into the sand. when not being used as a seat they can be flipped over to create a goal for soccer playing. the simplicity here of designs that get to the absolute essence of function and beauty and playfulness is captivating. check out mikiya's website for more of his work.

nicola staubli

item: reversible
materials: tubular steel and fabric
designer: nicola staubli
photos via: nicola staubli
comments: gorgeous, simple, smart and multi-purpose, these chairs are intoxicating to me. the steel frame can be reconfigured into a standard height chair and also a lower, lounge height chair. awesome. the fabric is two sided so you can also change the color. what you see here is actually four chairs in one. it's impressive that such a simple design can have so much versatility. what's also impressive is how easy the designer has made it for the end user to achieve the variations. nicola is an architect in switzerland. please check out his website, his work will amaze you.

rachel castle

items: silk screen prints
materials: acrylic paint on 300gsm montvaal paper
designer: rachel castle
images via: castle
comments: rachel started castle with a line of bed linens she had been hand printing for friends and family. she also sells prints like the ones shown above. she focuses on hand printed items on quality materials. check out her website to see more artwork and textiles. bright and beautiful.

fence erasmus mc

item: construction fence for rotterdam erasmus medical center
materials: spruce and steel
designed by: origins architects, rotterdam
photos via: origins architects
comments: when the erasmus medical center renovation project began, ideas were submitted for the design of the construction fence. the reasons for that are two fold. one, the renovation plan was quite extensive, requiring the fence to be up for possibly ten or more years. and two, the netherlands has a practice of spending 1 percent of the budget on projects of this scale for public artwork. the fence by origins is an amazing piece of art. it's made of simple materials, spruce and steel. the design consists of two modules that are reconfigured to create a beautiful meandering shape. the texture and rhythm of the lines is a stunning solution to the challenge of making a construction fence that protects the public from the renovation while also providing something rich and engaging that enhances the environment visually. fascinating.

simple double deux

item: simple double deux bed
materials: moulded beech plywood with beech veneer
designer: daniel jauslin of drexler guinand jauslin architects, switzerland
photos via: designboom
comments: where to start with this one? this bed was originally designed for a client the firm was designing a home for. they needed a guest bed but couldn't find one to meet their needs so the architect started playing around with molded plywood. after the home was featured in magazines, the requests started coming in for the bed. this is the ultimate function, strength and beauty union in my mind. the curved slats of the bed are strong but lightweight. if you have two guests, the bed is easily pulled apart to accommodate them both. if you have one guest, they can partially pull apart the frames so that the second frame acts as a night stand. genius. i love this too much!

ann van hoey

item: ceramics
material: earthenware clay
designer: ann van hoey, belgium
photos via: ann van hoey
comments: these pieces were inspired by origami. after visiting japan, ann's work reflected the simplicity and geometry of origami. these pieces have no glaze or any decorative element added to them. they are simply the clay and the shape of a circle as it morphs into a square. simple and powerful.

tara donovan

item: untitled 2003, sculpture
material: styrofoam cups and hot glue
artist: tara donovan
photos via: ace gallery, ny
comments: tara uses everyday, mass-produced materials and through repetition, scale and form takes them completely out of context into incredibly monumental sculptures. her process started by accident when she purchased a roll of plastic sheeting to use as a drop cloth. as she was unrolling it, she noticed how beautiful the folds were that it created. this began her focus on such mundane materials and how they could be transformed into something quite spectacular. check out the ace gallery website to see more of her work. sublime.

elephant ceramics

item: ceramics
materials: porcelain and stoneware
designed by: elephant ceramics by michele michael, new york
photos via: flor's blog and automatism
comments: michele is a home design editor and prop stylist who has worked for many of the top home design magazines over the years. she also wrote a terrific book, the new apartment book, which is full of beautiful, well designed ideas for home decorating and is available on amazon. more recently, she opened a prop house that focused on tabletop items for photo shoots. in her work she sometimes had trouble finding the perfect piece for a shoot and so began making her own. these pieces are profoundly beautiful! she impressed the work with the texture of linen and applies glaze in a very organic, expressionistic way. each piece is hand made, unique and absolutely stunning.