Mr. & Mrs. Kahn

Ecooler, Mey and Boaz Kahn

Porcelain screen that uses passive, natural cooling methods. Running water flows through the channels of the hollow ceramic tiles, as air passes through the screen the room is cooled. The pattern was inspired by traditional Middle Eastern mashrabia.

Flaster

IVANKA recently launched its stunning Camelion floor and wall tiles at the London Design Festival. The tiles are Ivanka's concrete concoction FLASTER, a cast high performance concrete suitable for indoor and outdoor use. Available in thirteen stock colors, custom colors available upon request,  and in any configuration imagined.

7ply project

Claymate, red eathernware & grip tape
2010

Over the past five years the 7 Ply project has sought to expose skating art and culture to the citizens of Greece, the center ring of which is a skateboard deck art show. Now, perhaps it's the lozenge shape of the decks, but shows such as this have proven to be a hard pill to swallow. Inevitably, this type of event leads to obnoxious design motifs.  Sailor Jerry, graffiti lettering, and various segments of human anatomy propagate for the sake of "old school".

The refined submissions of Greece Is for Lovers, however, beg the question...

"How old school can you get?"

Handsome Geometry

click for full size image

Crystalline textures for the traditionalist.

Literal
Decanter Lights from Lee Broom, vintage crystal decanters repurposed as ambient pendant lighting. The lifestyle shoot of the collection really showcases the whiskey-lit effect they have. Very nicely done, and very easily mimicked with the use of a bottle cutter and a lamp kit.

Organic
Materialized Vase by Erich Ginder, to a degree... "the first in a series of objects that are created by scanning and decimating heavily adorned forms with high resolution scanners, resulting in jewel like abstractions free of the designer's hand." Though fully digital in its design and manifestation, the form is unobjectionably natural, as if porcelain ice has slowly consumed an estate sale.

Conceptual
Cabinet by Elisa Strozyk, antique burl wood cabinet with the addition of her signature wooden textiles. A malleable surface that affords wood, as a historically sturdy material, an entirely original tactual experience.

Williams British Handmade

"Historically exceptional craftsmanship was the norm

now it is the exception."

Society, read homo-americus, has become far too comfortable with comfort. Its warm fleece embrace has blanketed most from head to crocs. No place is this more conspicuous than the airport. How frequently the jersey clad (be it billowy or shrink-wrapped) masses tote designer bags boggles the mind. Granted designer luggage is rarely more that cheap advertisement these days.

So when pondering my packing stratagem for my upcoming jaunt, and wishing I had better luggage, I remembered running across the incomparable Williams British Handmade. Luggage worthy of palm sweating anticipation. Beautifully dyed leather, hand saddle stitched, all the brass trimmings and a FORM ≥ FUNCTION philosophy. A philosophy near and dear to our Mauvian hearts.

WBH

Sky Garden 23

Lovely pendant lamp from FLOS, chalky matte interior with floral plaster relief wrapped in a black candy shell.  Chanced upon at Lightology.

Cire Trudon

Bustes de Cire, candles inspired by 18th century masterpieces by the royal candlemakers. Each faithfully recreated in Cire Trudon's 367 year old vegetal wax recipe.

Too faithfully perhaps, royalties are incurred on every sale.

Erdnase

Inspired by "The Expert at the Card Table" by S.W. Erdnase, often referred to simply as Erdnase or The Bible, one of the most influential books on card magic and manipulation. Written under a pseudonym, the true author has remained a mystery for over a century.

Each deck includes two custom jokers, a custom Ace of Spades, and two ad cards printed to look like pages from the book. Card backs are printed in the book's signature green and the box is embossed with a textured finish and gilded lettering to recreate the first edition's cover, albeit in miniature.

Deck and book available from DAN&DAVE.

Woofer

Pun obviously intended by industrial designer Sander Mulder. Speakers certainly deserving of a Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Heads Will Roll" christening. Perhaps an accompanying leash power cord would be apropos.

Edison-esque

Nixieclock - Chronotronix V400

Franz Maurer - Aves Series

Nixie tubes, exposed hand-blown bulbs...

how is the compact fluorescent the easy switch exactly?

With the resurgence of Edison-esque aesthetics in lighting and electronics design the swap seems wholly unachievable. The efforts to improve the fluorescent alternative have not come far, at this point in time it can only be likened to substituting crème brûlée for a helping of non-dairy creamer.

I'm all for social responsibility and sustainability, but when will the greener bulb compare to the elegance of an incandescent?  

RGB Wallpaper

via Yatzer.

Though it looks like a botched registration job, the disorienting imagery becomes distinguishable as three individual layers when you shed some light on the subject. Not a particularly new trick and mostly composed of clip art, but the scale is impressive. Would really like a closer look at the papers with repeat patterns.

Time to revisit my Dover Publications collection it seems.

Genesis

SeMainier

no further comment

Cable Drawings

After running across this piece by Maisie Maud Broadhead (great name p.s.), I had to have one of my own. So here's my attempt at a mirror top silhouette to my existing dresser.

Cheap, but incredibly tedious project.

Son of Mac

M. Magritte strikes again. Vinyl macbook decals available in eleven shades from Hu2.

Demakersvan

I first read about Demakersvan and Lace Fence in an issue of Dwell some time ago. The three strong and quite young firm have made bounds since.

This piece was done in conjunction with "The Face of Lace", a year long exhibition promoting the the history and innovation of lace in Bruges. The design surrounding the flour mill was fittingly inspired by an old bakery logo.

They will also have work in the upcoming "Lace in Transition". The Design Center at Philadelphia University commissioned three design firms to create site specific installations inspired by the center's extensive Quaker Lace Company collection. The show will open on September 24 and run through April 3, 2010.

More Underfoot

Zebra-pad installation also in conjunction with "The Face of Lace" exhibition last year, hopefully now a permanent fixture of the city.

Dan Funderburgh

This gentleman can do no wrong. Mr. Funderburgh is a wallpaper designer and artist based in Brooklyn. Know him more & more.

Untitled (Tool Wall)

painted laser-etched chipboard

Seb Lester

T & A never looked so refined. I give you the gloriously inappropriate tidings of a typographer; printed in limited editions of course.

That Sebastian, he is incorrigible.

Coralie Bickford-Smith

Ms. Bickford-Smith's hardback classics for Penguin sold exclusively through Waterstone last fall, regrettably i missed my chance. They have taken up residence as my laptop's wallpaper, but - Egad!- there is a reprint on the horizon! The lovelies are scheduled to hit the shelves of the U.S. in late October.