Having a Danish father and an English mother, designer Louise Campbell grew up and was educated in Denmark as well as the UK. It is perhaps this dual nationality that gives her work an unusual edge. Illustrating contrasts seem to be an issue that keeps returning in her designs. Her well-known Prince Chair, produced by HAY, combines a very personal expression with extremely high tech manufacturing methods.
Louise now works from her studio in Copenhagen, Denmark. Focus is on furniture and lighting design, but the studio is increasingly involved in product design and interior design projects as well. Louise is increasingly gaining a reputation for gently twisting not only every day objects and situations, but also materials and manufacturing processes in new directions. I love the Very Round Chair, made from laser cut steel, that she recently designed for Italian company Zanotta. Click here to go to Louise’s website where you can see all her designs.
Although not entirely new, Sarah’s work has been featured in many magazine and on several blogs, I would like to feature Sarah Cihat’s Rehabilitated Dishware on the style files. Sarah reincarnates existing products by giving second hand ceramics a new design and a new life. Old dishes are re-glazed in a modern colour with an interesting design. Sarah works from her studio in Brooklyn and her work is available from various retailers in the US, Canada and Japan. Click here for more information.
Elevator company KONE has asked Marimekko to decorate the internal walls of elevator cars with their designs. “Applying Marimekko designs to elevator cars will turn the ride into an experience that can be continued in other interior designs of the building. The agreement reflects the goal of both parties to make design a part of people’s everyday lives,” says Kirsti Paakkanen, President, Marimekko.
I certainly wouldn’t mind to see those gorgeous Marimekko designs in elevators and other public places.
More on Marimekko, they have just added some new fabrics to their 2007 collection. Please see some samples above. All patterns are simply gorgeous but I especially love those leave pattern fabrics designed by Björn Dahlström. Click here to see the rest of the new collection.
Flickr photo pool Rooms I *heart* created by Holly from decor8 was a big success. Over a thousand members joined within a month. Because of the size of the group it was hard to manage and unfortunately Holly had to terminate the group. Active members of the Rooms I *heart* group Kim from Canada and Jo from Australia joined forces and created Desire to Inspire.
On this blog we can all share our favourite inspirational design photos with the rest of the world. So join in the fun and send your favourite design photos (from books, magazines, websites etc.) to Kim or Jo. It is important to clearly state the name of the source. Great initiative girls!
I have been tagged by Holly from decor8 and CeLee from dress your nest. Now I have to reveal six ‘weird’ things about myself. This was not too difficult. Although to me these six things I mention below are not weird at all, I know that some people find me weird (I prefer to say unusual or ‘not ordinary’) because of them. My opinion is that you should be proud of your ‘weird’ character traits. They make you unique and make you stand out of the crowd. So here they are!
1. One of my favourite songs (ever!) is 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. Yes, I have a very eclectic taste in music… While cleaning the house I put the volume on and shamelessly sing along (you have to know that I sing out of tune because I am tone deaf).
2. What others have with shoes, I have with pillows. When I see a gorgeous pillow (case) I have to have it. Despite the fact that the last thing I need is another pillow. Also a $165 price tag (for one of those gorgeous Jonathan Adler needlepoint pillows) won’t stop me.
3. I love travelling and experiencing different cultures. Because of my you-have-to-try-everything-once attitude I have eaten fried spiders, fresh ants (they contain lots of vitamin C!), baked worms, bbq-ed crocodile ribs etc.
4. I do most of my shopping on the internet because I love getting packages. Every time the mailman rings on my door with a package my heart skips another beat. I know that I have paid for them myself, but to me they are like presents.
5. My boyfriend and me make up our own songs. We compose a new one almost every week. The best songs are created while doing the dishes.
6. I am the neighborhood’s cat lady. All the cats love my house (and I don’t even feed them!). I have had over 10 cats (not at once though) visiting me, while my balcony or front door was open. It has happened that, when I came into my living room after a good night sleep, a cat was lying on my (white!!) couch, deeply asleep and very content.
As almost everybody I know have been tagged, this one ends here.
With the Crochet Chair, Marcel Wanders has created a new application for traditional crochet. The chair is constructed from individual, hand-sewn crochet flowers that are stitched together, formed over a mould and stiffened with resin. The open structure and lightness of the chair provides a nice contrast with the massive marble side table, Solid White. The Crochet Chair was launched last month at Smart Deco, a show held at Design Miami.
UPDATE: Apparently showbiz couple Beyonce and Jay-Z has a great sense of style as rumour has it that they bought one of Wander’s Crochet Chair while visiting Design Miami.
Anemone is a series of lamps and tables inspired by delicate lace tablecloth. Finnish designers Mari Relander and Anna Katrina Tilli combine ideas of old tradition with contemporary forms and materials. The result is stunning I think.
Together Mari and Anna Katriina have a design company called Perhonen (Butterfly in Finnish). The duo met during their studies at the University of Art and Design Helsinki. Since the start of their studies, they have been working together on a wide variety of different projects and competitions for which they have been awarded many times. The Anemone lamp is available from gnr8.
The Dutch mail company TNT Post has introduced stamps showing ten design icons from The Netherlands, one of which is the famous Milk Bottle Lamp by Tejo Remy. Another reason to use ‘snail mail’ in stead of a quick email!
Frank Tjepkema is a Dutch designer based in Amsterdam. He graduated (cum laude) from the Eindhoven Design Academy in 1996. Tjepkema’s objective is to combine conceptual innovative ideas with functional intelligence and visual elegance. For Droog, Frank designed these Signature Vases. The idea behind the design is that these vases are the ultimate personalization of the consumer in a product, with minimal intervention of the designer. When you buy a signature vase you don’t get a ready made vase. Your personal signature is scanned and transformed into a unique vase, produced using stereo lithography. Click here to visit Tjepkema’s website where you can find more of his designs.
Winter has finally arrived in this part of the world. With tempurates dropping you should not forget the birds. With this birdhouse designed by Marcel Wanders you can feed birds in style. Available from Unica home and POAA.
