Christian Flindt

Christian Flindt is a Danish designer with a gorgeous portfolio of work. I love the delicacy of his Flindt lights and the ingenuity of his colorful Parts of a Rainbow chair - "the worlds first sidestacker".

Hafsteinn Juliusson - Funstackable Stool

Also by Hafsteinn Juliusson is the Funstackable Stool - a playful take on stackable furniture. I love the practical detail of the unpainted leg that allows you to stack the stools without scratching the paint.

Christian Vivanco

Christian Vivanco makes beautifully detailed, playful furniture. I appreciate his consideration of all of the different sides of a piece of furniture - the back is often as beautiful as the front.



Via Dezeen.

Viable London

I came across Viable London on Designboom yesterday and am loving their work. They are debuting a new line of sustainable products at this year's London Design Festival. Slat Shelf is made of sustainably harvested pine and the Spiral Stools of cork, felt and wool.

Benjamin Hubert - 100% Futures

Benjamin Hubert sent over his new product lines, set to debut at 100% Futures in London in a few weeks. My favorite is his Labware lamp series which are inspired by laboratory beakers, and showcase the purity of glass blowing through the range of large, geometric glass lamps. Furthering the laboratory idea, each lamp comes with a Portuguese bark topped cork.



The Diamond Chair seems inspired by the Eames' fiberglass shell chairs, but has the surprising detail of an upholstered fabric seat.



Benjamin used thin walled concrete to make his Heavy Lights. I like the playful practicality of the ceramic Yumbrella bowl and banana tree

Tiina Hakala - Stor Chair

I'm digging Tiina Hakala's Stor chair - love the idea of stuffing unsightly things underneath my chair - I need that! Too bad this is just a conceptual piece - I hope she finds a manufacturer!

Jolyon Yates

Jolyon Yates sent over his Ode chairs today - love the fluid lines of the Ocean Rocker and the Stingray Stool. All of his work is handmade Northumberland, England.

Hiromatsu

I came across Hiromatsu on hoping for happy accidents - they make some gorgeous wood furniture. I want those chairs and the credenza badly...

Ryan Frank - Isabella Stool

Ryan Frank sent us his latest project, Isabella, which will be launched this September at the London Design Festival. Isabella is a stool inspired by traditional, hand-carved African seating, that deviates from the use traditional materials (exotic hard woods) in that it's constructed instead of Strawboard. Strawboard is a sustainable formaldehyde-free material made entirely from compressed straw. Ryan then wrapped the Strawboard in 100% felted wool, for both comfort and to allow for a broad range of colors. Ryan plans to expand the line with styles in bamboo and natural rubbers.

Egawa & Zbryk - String Chair

I am LOVING the String Chair by Egawa & Zbryk. So gorgeous! It's made out of plywood, nylon cord, and stainless steel - possibly uncomfortable, but really, who cares?

Via Design Milk.

Refined Sugar Studio

In the midst of the NSS chaos, I did get the chance to run through the ICFF for an hour. I grabbed a few business cards from the booths that immediately caught my eye, and Refined Sugar Studio was one of them. Cheeky and fun, the products are either limited edition functional pieces, or one-of-a-kind works of design art. Refined Sugar's tag line is "Sweet Designs for Living", and I think their work fits the bill. My two favorites: the Eat Me Dining Table, a reclaimed claw-and-ball foot dining table with a scrolling LED screen. Variations on the word "Meat" scroll across the table - "Eat Me", "Eat Meat", "Fat Me"...I also loved the Refined Cereal light fixture - all of your favorite childhood cereals illuminated in this one light fixture.

Big Prototype

I love this table by Big Prototype as seen at BKLYN Designs - it would be perfect in our small apartment as a combination coffee/dining table.

Images via swissmiss.

Artek

Check out this gorgeous set of chairs and table by Artek. I love the colorful chair seats and the sleek lines of the table legs. More great furniture can be found here.

Via Designboom.

fawn&forest

fawn&forest is another sponsor of our blog - they are an amazing online store focusing on everything green for your kids. The sell a huge range of really nice, modern goods - including products from some of my favorites - Three Sheets 2 the Wind, Area, Binth (octopus pillow above), Bookhou Design, and Netto (dresser, crib & polar bear rocker above).

Jelte van Geest

Jelte van Geest is exhibiting the GrandChair at the Design Factory Brainport Eindhoven. I've seen the idea of a sort of loveseat rocking chair before, but I love the modern lines and that you can accommodate two adults and one child on the GrandChair. The child's chair actually swivels, so he/she can either face the adults, or sit in line with them.

Milan Design Week coverage

I apologize for the lack of posts - I haven't been feeling so well the last few days, and so haven't been able to put together much by way of what's happening at Milan Design Week. But you can check out Yatzer, Dezeen, Wallpaper*, and MoCo Loco for coverage of the event.

(The George3 console table above is by Gareth Neal.)

Milan Design Week 2008

Tomorrow kicks off Milan Design Week, and being that we are in New York and unable to cover the event live, we'll do our best to scour the internet and bring you the best of the blogs that are covering it. From Designboom (top row): Angle Chair by Julian Mayor and Clock by Christiaan Postma (the hour is spelled out by multiple clock hands!). From our inbox: new Union Bench designs by I Do Design.

Tsai Design Studio

Tsai Design Studio created this interesting bunk bed as the winning entry to the 2006 36sqm Challenge, a design competition that asked for solutions for large families living in small spaces (36 sq. meters, to be exact). The Nested Bunk Beds were inspired by traditional Russian Matriochka dolls, with five nested beds that can be pulled out for sleeping. The design went from concept to reality after being installed at an AIDS orphanage in Wellington, South Africa.

Via Designboom.

Domestic

Domestic invited a select group of designers to create a series of products. Starting with vinyl wall decals, Domestic has branched out into a furniture series called 1.2.3.Furniture. Each piece is made from pre-cut multi-ply birch, and depending on the complexity of the furniture piece, comes with either 1, 2, or 3 panels of birch. Designers participating in this series: Matali Crasset, Antoine+Manuel, Ich&Kar, Electricwig, 5.5 Designers, Big-Game, Adrien Rovero, and Jörg Boner.

Yael Mer

The Rocking Slippers by Yael Mer are a melding of domestic shoes and a small rocking stool. Obviously, it's more rocking stool than shoe, since you can't actually walk around in them, but the idea was to create a piece of furniture that becomes an extension of the body and provides an intimate user experience.

Via Girl in the Green Dress.

Union Bench

Jangir of i do design sent over their latest design, the Union Bench. The Union Bench is a beautiful alternative to the standard park bench, and provides the user with more flexibility by allowing one to sit facing in any direction. The desire is to foster a more communal mode of public seating. The bench has an indoor version made of glass reinforced plastic (fiberglass?) with leather seats, and an outdoor version made of concrete and wood. If you're able to make it to Milan for this years Salone Satellite, i do design will be exhibiting the Union Bench at booth A-58.

Yuriko Takahashi

I love the coverage of the Stockholm Furniture Fair over at Designboom. Yuriko Takahashi's work caught my eye - she has some very nice bent wood furniture, and some amazing light fixtures. The lights have shades made of wood veneer and cloth which are connected with zippers.

Via Designboom. Photos via Designboom.

Jaime Hayon

Jaime Hayon isn't anything new to the blog circuit, but I love his BD Showtime Chairs. The are Eames-esque in their shape, but all their own in their collage of materials and textures.

Matthias Pliessnig

Matthias Pliessnig sent us images of his new bench - Waive. He describes it as the "ancestor of 'Bends', evoking a billowed grid of wood that has been depressed" so as to invite a sitter. Lightweight and strong due to the compound curves, Matthias is busy at work creating a longer version of this gorgeous bench.

Alfredo Häberli

You might know Alfredo Häberli for his Nemea Sideboard which made the blog rounds earlier last year and which we posted about here, but I was browsing through his website again and came across some great older projects. Eine neue Art Schuh was a shoe with interchangeable parts - a front and a back that you could mix and match with other fronts and backs to create different shoes. I'm not crazy about the styles (it was the '90s, after all), but I love the idea.

The other project that I liked a lot won an award from Wallpaper for the Best Shelving System of 2006. I'm not sure how functional it would actually be as a shelving system, but I think it makes for an attractive screen or room divider.

Jelte van Geest

Jelte van Geest's GrandChair is pretty sweet - it's a rocking chair that makes it just a little easier on Grandpa's knee.

Wieki Somers

I remember seeing Wieki Somers' High Tea Pot make the rounds on various blogs and thinking that the tea pot was on the gruesome side - which it is, but that's the point. Made of bone china and modeled after a fox skull with a water rat fur cozy, Wieki describes the project as "tasty and unsavoury, harm and delight aren't discerned any longer. Nothing is more decadent than to satisfy the human need for status and extravagance through the harm of animals."



The rest of Wieki's work is as thoughtful - the Bathboat looks at the form and function of a small boat and inverts it by turning it into a bath. The bathtub legs make reference to the wooden frame that boats typically rest on when docked.



Some more projects (left to right): Come Clean (soap in the image of the traditional Dutch farmer, which when used disappears to reveal the form of the modern business man who has replaced the farmer), Mattress Stone Bottle, and Blossoms (a vase which takes on the shape of its contents).

All projects were done in close collaboration with Dylan van den Berg.

Bookhau

I love these kids chairs by Bookhou. So cute! They are made from recycled furniture parts, so each chair is one of a kind. They will be available at the upcoming One of a Kind show this spring, along with Bookhau's new baby collection.

Via Poppytalk.

Lama Concept

Yvonne Laurysen of Lama is a Dutch designer focussed mainly on textiles. I came across her website today, and was really impressed by her felt rugs, each of which is created by cutting and assembling pressed industrial wool felt. The felt slices are randomly assembled, allowing for a natural pattern to emerge.

Lama makes furniture, too - check out the Loft light and the Sinus table and chair set.

5.5 Designers

5.5 Designers is a French design firm with a conceptual design bent. I love the chair made from sandwiched broken/discarded chair ends. It doesn't look very comfortable, but it would be cool to have around.

Now, the Style IV chandelier I wouldn't actually put in my house, but I like the idea behind it - four chandeliers in one, depending on your vantage point. It's simply made - two sheets of mirror form the axis, and allow each quartered lamp to be completed.



I'm also very taken with 5.5 Designers' wallpaper - inviting user participation, the wallpaper slowly evolves over time, becoming richer and more interesting as it is intervened on. 5.5 Designers recommend using the wallpaper in spaces where we find ourselves bored or with some extra time on our hands - the bathroom, waiting rooms, etc.

Thomas Bernstrand

Thomas Bernstrand is a multi-disciplinary Swedish designer who makes everything from glassware, to furniture, to lighting, not to mention that he designs architectural interiors, as well. He designed the Uddabo table for IKEA, which combines a dining table with a work table. I could definitely use one of those! Too bad the US IKEAs don't carry it (though it may just be out of production, since it's an older design). Also interesting are his Burk Glasses - a series of glassware inspired by beer cans. Thomas appreciated the ergonomic comfort one finds in drinking beer out of a can - the lip fitting perfectly with the folded part of the can - and translated that into a classier, glass version.

Studio De Makers Van

The Cinderella table by Studio De Makers Van is something of a mind bender...It's got a crazy shape going on (you can't see it from the photo above, but it morphs into a semi-circle as you move around the table - check out the 3D model on the Studio De Makers Van website). What I like most about it is the traditional profile it mimics in an nontraditional way. I almost wish they had simplified the form so that it didn't morph quite so much, but it is a very beautiful table. The Cinderella table is made up of 57 individual pieces of birch plywood. Also very cool is the Lace Fence, which is a reinterpretation of a common outdoor element. SDMV describes it beautifully as "hostility versus kindness, industrial versus craft".

Jeroen Verhoeven, Judith de Graauw and Joep Verhoeven founded Studio De Makers Van after graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2004.

Yvonne Fehling and Jennie Peiz

My mom sent me a link to Yvonne Fehling's and Jennie Peiz's exhibition at the Arp Museum in Remagen, Germany. I love the dynamic ChairStoolBench and how it reads as one long plank of wood with traditional chair shapes emerging and disappearing from that plank of wood. Gorgeous! I would love to see this in a city park somewhere.

WaterRower Classic

The extent of my workout schedule is a yoga class every once in a while, but if we had the space in our apartment, the WaterRower Classic might convince me to get off my butt. Made out of solid American Black Walnut and finished with three coats of Danish Oil, the Classic is like some crazy Rube Goldberg inspired rowing machine.

Bare Mobler

Bare Mobler is a collaboration between Norwegian furniture designers Orjan Djonne and Karl Marius Sveen. Their aesthetic is clean and modern with a focus on details and materials.

Vujj

I came across Vujj today, a furniture manufacturer in Sweden. They work with a couple of different designers, and have a nice (small) collection of work up on their site.

Artur & Jonas designed the two chairs (you can tell - they have the same profile!). Johannes Herbertsson & Karl Henrik Rennstam designed the Alog Shelving System, which is a modular shelving system made from MDF and ash. You decide where you want to attach the shelves (no fittings required!).

Marieke Rongen

Marieke Rongen is a young Dutch designer who makes some gorgeous light fixtures! She plays with texture on the inside of the lamp shade, as well as with unconventional materials like concrete and copper.

The chair below is called Wear Memory and references your grandmother's doilies. It looks to me like the silhouette of the doily is burned into the chair, but I'm not sure from the image.



Via Bloesem.

Contraforma

Contraforma is a collaboration between several talented, young European designers and architects. They have done a lot of great work, but my favorite collection thus far is the MW cabinetry series by Nauris Kalinauskas. The combination of precise, laser-cut metal with reclaimed wood planks is lovely. The cabinets can be stacked or placed next to one another to create different furniture configurations. The metal frame, while a modern material that is fabricated via modern processes, alludes to a classic, wooden furniture profile.

Afroditi Krassa

There's not a lot of text (read: none!) on Afroditi Krassa's website, which leaves me to my own devices and wanting more information. Her products are sassy and beautiful. I would love to hang one of her "Bright Lights" (top) in my living room...

Form Us with Love

The chord is often the most unsightly part of a lamp. The Chord Lamp by the young Swedish firm, Form Us with Love, takes the chord and integrates it into the design. Use it with a funky bulb, and you have a beautiful fixture. Also very nice is the SwopIt, an acrylic side table that comes apart so that you can change the textile swatch sandwiched between the two acrylic pieces.

Eames Hack

I saw this over at Core77 and Notcot and had to repost it here - six University of the Arts students (Jared Delorenzo, Tim Peet, Alexandra Temple Powell, Tom Reynolds, Alie Thomer, and Andrew McCandlish) re-purposed two classic Eames' chairs, turning the Molded Side Chair into a toilet seat and the Molded Plywood Dining Chair into seating for a child. In the students' own words:

"These two pieces, the Eames toilet chair and the Eames child seat, are about breaking the status surrounding high design objects. Through physically invasive alterations, these once iconic, elite, forms are liberated from their old, restrained image. The project is not a critique of the Eames, but rather a fulfillment of their original ideals."

Tunto

Tunto/Mikko Kärkkäinen is a very impressive Finnish designer. It was hard for me to choose just a few products to showcase, but I did my best! What I like most about Tunto's products are the urban graphics and bright colors that permeate their collection of work.

The Hoover lamp is a gorgeous fixture, and I love how the base seems to be sitting on the floor with you. The packaging is awesome, too, with the lamp shade just peeking out over the side.

The M3 is a seat/storage unit, which is great for people like us who have tiny apartments and need all the storage we can get.

Below is the Vuokko table which I like for its simplicity and also for the splash of color on the underside. It's available in many pretty colors!



Via Design This Design That.

Reddish

You've probably seen Reddish make the rounds on the blogging circuit over the past few weeks, but their work is really great so I wanted to highlight some of my favorites here. I love this blurb from their website: Reddish "spends most of the time helping objects feel better about themselves".

Above: the X-Table and Grenadine. The jewelry from the Grenadine line are cast from pieces of polystyrene. Each piece is unique.

Jim Hannon-Tan

I love the Clampleg by Jim Hannon-Tan. Besides being gorgeous, it allows you to make a table out of any surface. The heights are adjustable so if you have wonky floors like me, you can level your table.

Context

Stumbled across Context over the weekend, and was impressed with their work. My favorite line is the William & Mary Collection (top), which updates a more traditional style by having the side profile of each piece read as a section. Context reinforces the graphic nature of their furniture by including a dark, hardwood stripe in each piece.

Naked by Alberto Colzani

The Naked by Alberto Colzani is a spindly little chair with a lot of character. The thin supports converge to form a chair of peculiar scale. And I love the playful detail of the hand slot. The finish can be either funky or sophisticated, depending on the fabric and metal finishes. Overall a very fun little chair.

Das Design

The Nightstand and Bed from Daniel Schultz, designer and craftsman of Das Design in SF are both incredibly beautiful. I really like how the subtle curves and corner details make the pieces become more alive when viewed obliquely.

Malin Lundmark

Here is a way for you to personalize your furniture. You can decorate your pendant lamp with your favorite necklace, or you can hang your necklace on a shelf that reinterprets "intarsia", an Italian building tradition where a decorative pattern is inlaid into a surface. Malin Lundmark's website doesn't seem to be working, so I unfortunately can't find much information on her. I'd love to know more about Malin's work, so if anyone has any leads, let me know!

Leif.designpark

Gorgeous furniture from Leif.designpark. The Tone collection takes on the language of traditional Japanese parquetry techniques, juxtaposing different types of wood to bring out the colors and textures of the various woods used. Beautiful!

Via Style-Files.

Ample Sample

I don't remember where I first saw this, but Ample Sample was a brilliant contest where industry professionals were asked to upcycle the carpet samples they had sitting in their offices. Some beautiful products resulted. My favorites were the Mag "Daddy" Caddy by David Shor and The Loop Bench (though I would have covered the sides, and just exposed the tops of the carpet samples) by James Seaman. The light fixture above unfortunately doesn't get credited on the website, but I like it!

C2 Climate Control by Herman Miller

The Climate Control by Herman Miller is a heater, cooler and air filter for your personal office space. The C2 is a nice little accent for your desk that serves the very important function of keeping you comfortable so you can fill out those TPS reports.

Tal Gur

I got an email this morning about an interesting exhibit of Tal Gur's work at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The artist's statement:

The exhibition space contains several objects which reflect a laborious production process: "Reading" tables, "Alata" light fixtures, "Mesh" chairs, and a "Bamboo" partition. The objects, with their entire range of materiality, sprawl, outline their course in the space, dissolve mass, allowing a glance through― through the object, the place, the space.

If you are in Tel Aviv, you can check out the exhibit from June 14 to September, 2007.

Thanks, Tal!

Alfredo Haberli - Nemea Sideboard

This is an amazing sideboard by Alfredo Haberli. It can be opened up or closed back down depending on what configuration you want for the day. The design is very sleek, with no visible hardware. Gorgeous (and expensive)!

Via PadStyle.

Daniel Michalik

Daniel Michalik's furniture exhibits the fruits of his experiments with cork. Much of his work shows how the natural flexibility of cork allows for complex and comfortable shapes.

Emiliano Godoy

I like the rough and playful aesthetic of the Spot Jamming chairs by Emiliano Godoy and Alejandro Castro.

Emiliano's Sangre table was fabricated for a fundraising event held by Lacoste in Mexico City. Forty artists were invited to participate by producing pieces that were put up for auction. I love how the crocodile skin texture appears when the table is illuminated.

Studio Dror

The Pick Chair by Studio Dror has two functions - it can be hung up and displayed on your wall as art, or it can be folded into a chair. Living in a small apartment, having some additional seating would be great and I love the idea of not having to hide it away when it's not in use.

Via PadStyle.

Freestyle Exhibition

Simone from the QUT Art Museum emailed us about their latest exhibition, Freestyle. Curated by Brian Parkes, Freestyle exhibits the work of forty of Australia's best contemporary designers spanning across the fields of furniture, lighting, textiles, homewares, fashion, jewelry and accessories. The exhibit has been travelling around Australia since October of 2006 and is currently at the QUT Art Museum from May 31 to July 22. The exhibit will be heading overseas at the end of the year.

From left to right:
Cero chairs by Brian Steendyk, jewelry by Dinosaur Designs and furniture by Alexander Lotersztain.

Art With Function

This isn't normally my style, but there is something about Art With Function's furniture that I like. The pieces remind me of an illustration in a children's book - very playful and imaginative. Better yet, the furniture is made of discarded pieces of raw material.

Conscious Design

I love the Tio chair by Conscious Design. The Tio comes in a range of fantastic patterns and colors, all of which come as interchangeable covers that allow you to with change the lounge chair as you so desire.

ICFF - Amardian and EGG Designs

The beetle shelf system by Amaridianwas one of the coolest pieces at the show. Patterns are very big now and the beetle reinterpretation was a nice leap. Greg and Roché Dry, of EGG Designs, created the screen and do a bunch of other great work as well.

ICFF - Baco Stool by Yothaka

The Yothaka furniture line used a variety of different materials, and one of the most interesting was the line of Pineapple Paper pieces. The seat of the Baco Stool is loose sheets of dyed pinapple fiber paper.

ICFF - Shine by James Lear

Shine, by James Lear, is a great reinterpretation of the armchair. Re-inventing the ornate repeat by simplifying the pattern form and increasing ornament by using Swarovski crystals, the chair is both new and old at the same time. James is a RISD BFA Furniture '08.

view more of the RISD ICFF 2007 pieces here

ICFF - Palo Samko

Palo Samko's work was gorgeous in person. The pieces have playful details and are extremely well crafted.

ICFF - Thout

Thout's work is full of clever surprises and solutions for compact living. The HoleySTUMP is a reclaimed cedar stump with holes bored into it, conveniently sized so as to store a beer or a soda can, if desired. Thout has also developed a series of UtiliTILES, a modular wall tile system that is programmed for specific functions - to hold a piece of fruit, a cup, a fork, etc.

Paul Isabella

Paul Isabella wrote to us about his "el credenza", which is both a piece of furniture and a light fixture. You move the lamp around the top of the credenza by inserting it into a grid of holes. Certain holes turn the lamp on, others turn it off. A memory game, of sorts! Paul is a furniture design major at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

iannone

iannone:sanderson is no more (James Sanderson decided to pursue his architecture career), but Michael Iannone is still pushing forward and will be debuting some new pieces at ICFF this year. Here's a sneak peak at one of the newest pieces - the Mod Lodge Sideboard - whose kirei board doors peak out from underneath a graphic cut into a wood veneer laminate. I like the graphics from their earlier pieces better, but these are lovely all the same. You can check iannone out at booth #2518 at ICFF.

BKLYN DESIGNS - Round Up

Last but not least from our BKLYN DESIGNS faves, check out this beautiful desk by Elucidesign and some funky lights from SSD. I think the "Childhood Memories" fixtures would look great in a kid's room.

There were two other exhibitors that I loved, but my pictures just don't do their work justice, so I will point you towards other bloggers who covered them:

Platform via Design*Sponge.
Brave Space via Inhabitat.

BKLYN DESIGNS - Hi Five

Cool new work from Hi Five (a collaboration between Kiel Mead and Michael Cummings). I like the graphic nature of the chairs, and the treatment of the wood used for the skateboards - it almost looks like fabric!

BKLYN DESIGNS

Stay tuned Monday for our favorite picks from BKLYN DESIGNS. I browsed the exhibits earlier today, and there were some familiar faces and a lot of new ones. 2007 is the five year anniversary of BKLYN DESIGNS with a great cross-section of Brooklyn designers exhibiting.

Aimee Less

I love the Juki Flatfold Chair by Aimee Less. It comes flat packed and you lace it together to create the final form, with lots of fun colors to choose from. Also interesting is the Pinch refillable spice pouch, which allows you to eliminate waste (both the grocer's bulk-bin plastic bag, and the spice jar at home).

Via design*sponge.

Milkweed and Doublebutter

Love the furniture line from Denver-based Milkweed and Doublebutter. I like the clean lines and beautiful material choices. Milkweed and Doublebutter are the design and fabrication studios of David Larabee and Dexter Thornton.

Andreas Engesvik

Love this "Alto Desk" by Andreas Engesvik. It's beautifully simple! The desk is available at Nova 68 for a lot-a lot of money.

Via Red House.

Capellini Fish and Bird Chairs

These two Capellini chairs: Fish (left) and Bird (right) are examples of zoomorphic inspiration in furniture design without being too literal with form and material. I especially like the simple forms and basic shapes.

Caboche Lamp by Patricia Urquiola and Foscarini

The Caboche, designed by Patricia Urquiola and produced by Foscarini, showcases a great composition of heavy and light. The large acrylic nodules defy their weight with singular connection points. And the whole fixture hangs by the thinnest of wires. The lenticular effect of the nodules amplify and refract the singular light source into a mass of shapes and angles, creating the appearance of a thousand points of light.

Massimo Barbierato

The light, simply called Tube, was a collaboration between Massimo Barbierato and Francesco Tencalla. I like the simplicity - basically a flourescent tube covered with maple veneer. The light exposes the grain of the wood.

Tavoli, also made by Massimo Barbierato is a table that is made up of many strips of wood. The strips aren't glued together, and by repositioning the supports, you can adjust the shape of the table.

Facett Sofa and Chairs by Ligne Roset

The Facett sofa and chairs by Ligne Roset is so badass. I especially like how they paired it with the worn interior for the catalog photographs.

Mash Studios

I love the clean lines and sliding panels for this wall mounted sideboard, designed by Mash Studios.

Banquet Chair by Estudio Campana

Fernando and Humberto Campana created The Banquet Chair (left) and Alligator Chair (right) as built-to-order pieces. I would love to use these for a kid's room.

Flavour Design

Thought this was sort of clever, though it feels wasteful if these weren't discarded bathtubs...At any rate, the Savon by Flavour Design is an antique clawfoot cast iron bathtub that has been converted into a loveseat. The vase to the right was made from fallen wood. I think it's beautiful, but can't tell if it has been coated with something to keep the wood from rotting or to keep water from seeping through the wood?

ID 360

The "Symbol" is an interesting, multi-functional piece of furniture by ID 360 that functions as a chair, a bench, a side table...It's sort of funny looking with all of its arms but I love that it does lots of things at once.

Loyal Loot

Beautiful nesting tables from Loyal Loot. The tables in the Bonnie and Clyde series are made of cold-formed mahogany plywood.

Matthias Pliessnig

I guess Sean and I were thinking about similar things! I love these furniture pieces by Matthias Pliessnig. What I like most about the pieces (besides their very pleasing shapes) is how skeletal they are. I love that you can see the structure behind each piece.

Via Electro^Plankton.

Body Raft Chaise by David Trubridge

Capellini manufactures the Body Raft Rocking Chaise, designed by David Trubridge. The chaise gets its inspiration from naval architecture and its construction method is similar to that of a wood frame boat. I love that it melds the warmth of wood with the slender forms of a boat.

Unto This Last

Sexy shapes from Unto This Last. All of the furniture is produced with a computer-controlled machine, and can be somewhat customized. Their work reminds me a little of Ryan Frank's.

Via Style Files.

Muunto

Came across this shelving system by Muunto on Style Files, and I think it's fantastic! I love the organized chaos, and how each drawer/shelf/cubby has an obvious function. The system is super flexible, and you can add and remove storage types as you need. Unfortunately, the system isn't available in the States, but for any readers out in Finland - I'm jealous!

Every Space Design

I love this shelf/vase from Every Space Design. Sean and I have actually been working on a similar piece (which I will post here as soon as it is finished), so I was excited to come across these guys. Also lovely is "Slice", which serves as a serving board, table, centerpiece...Simple and organic.

Mobelform

I love this couch/bunk bed from Mobelform. It's so much better than the old fold-out couch! I'm very attracted to the lights below, too, though I can't decide if I like or dislike the seaweed-esque fixture. Grabs my attention at any rate.

Lamp Lamp by Hironao Tsuboi

The Lamp Lamp by Hironao Tsuboi is a curious little oddity. I like that it turns the vernacular of the lightbulb into something that makes you think twice about how it engages the light fixture. Available at Unica Home

Klaus Aalto

Love the Take Out storage unit by Klaus Aalto. Besides being attractive, I love how utilitarian and functional it is. It would be great to store all my little doo-dads in various boxes and then to have the ability to transport an individual box to wherever I needed it to be.

Filipe Zanardi

Thanks to Filipe Zanardi for sending us an email about his Carpet-Lounge. This has gotten a lot of press already, but I thought it was worth mentioning here. I love the innovation on the traditional carpet as a gathering space. So often when lounging around my living room on my rug - after my elbow or butt has fallen asleep - have I wished for something to lean up against, and voila! Here you go! Instant chair! I wonder how comfortable the Carpet-Lounge is, though...

Rehti - Aleksi Penttila

I like how the "Wide Chair" is essentially one piece of DiBond, part of which is molded into chair form and the other part which folds up to become the arm rest of the chair. "Wide chair" was designed by Aleksi Penttilä, who is part of the Finnish design collective Rehti.

Poul Kjaerholm

I'm in love with this chair! The weaving of the seat and back is so beautiful...It reminds me of a human spine. I love how the weave is just slightly irregular. This is a design classic I never knew about (shame on me!), originally designed by Poul Kjaerholm in 1956. Thorsen Moebler is now remaking the chair. Hot!

Via David Report.

Hypermarket - 4-pli

Thanks to Hyperakt for emailing us about the opening of Hypermarket on Smith St. in Brooklyn (by appointment only). Hypermarket is a showroom for "intelligent, cutting edge furniture, products and apparel created by independent designers", including 4-pli, Nicholas Furrow and Michael Ciancio. The image above is the Puzzle Conference Table from 4-pli. The table is made up of seven smaller desks that combine to make the conference table. It's a nice idea, but it seems like it would be hard to pull up a chair and sit at...

The Very-Nice Chair

The Very-Nice Chair by François Azambourg, available at Domeau & Pérès, is a very intricate and incredibly expressive chair. But expressive in a strict and rational form instead of in a wild and freaky form.

Linteloo

Discovered this furniture designer over at Style Files. Danielle is so lucky...She just bought the coffee table shown above (lower image). Linteloo is a Dutch-based furniture design firm.

45 Degrees

Love the contrasting materials of this cabinet by 45 Degrees and how the cabinet doors undulate across the cabinet face. It's made out of solid walnut and bleached quarter-sawn maple.

Akemi Tanaka

I'm always excited by furniture that has multiple purposes...Akemi Tanaka has several furniture pieces that go from being coffee tables to seating. They are beautiful and they are sustainable - each piece is hand-made from renewable bamboo plywood and finished with an non-VOC danish oil.

Eric Manigian

I am very attracted to Eric Manigian's Bandwidth Series of furniture, especially the way that he juxtaposes different woods. He always references the tree with small "imperfections" such as knots and edges that he allows to remain and highlights. Each piece is made of wood from fallen, diseased, or discarded trees.

Alessi Toilet by Laufen

The Alessi Toilet and Urinal by Stefano Giovannoni of Laufen are interesting new takes on bathroom fixtures. The little shell top moves to the side when you want to use it, and glides back after you are done with your business. I feel like they should glow or something.

DYAD

If you don't think steel is too cold a material, check out this beautiful bed platform from DYAD. Hot! I love the clean lines...It's super thick steel, too (must way a ton!): 3/4" thick. The Clasp Coffee Table is very nice too - I like that the glass top is translucent enough to allow the steel structure below show through.