A Desk of Briefcases and A Small Pile of Briefcases

A Desk of Briefcases and A Small Pile of Briefcases
+ New pictures of the "Leather Collection" for Nilufar Gallery
+ maarten de ceulaer

Eames Demetrios Talks About His Grandparents, Ray and Charles

Underscoring the idea that the kitchen is both a social hub and a place of innovation and transformation, Dornbracht, manufacturer of premium kitchen and bath faucets, has created a novel exhibit celebrating the diversity and ingenuity of actual street “kitchens.” Entitled Global Street Food, the installation includes a Vietnamese market boat laden with soft drinks and fresh vegetables, a Sudanese tea stand made from recycled tires and tin cans, and a charcuterie cart from Argentina, crafted from a shopping cart and bulletin board. It is part of the acclaimed Art Basel expo, debuting June 10, in the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, and open to the public until July 12.

Conceived by Dornbracht’s creative and brand director Mike Meiré, the project highlights the contrast between industrial perfection and total improvisation.
By examining these widely varied displays, dismantled and shipped from their native countries and reassembled in exacting detail within the context of a pristine white space, visitors can evaluate the importance of function over form in kitchen design.

“The possibility of creating a mobile, functional unit in the smallest of spaces is fascinating,” Meiré explained. “Can we manage to create a complete kitchen in two square meters? What should it look like and how should it work? These explorations lead to new and more complex kitchen solutions. It’s about being aware of the kind of kitchen you really need for your lifestyle, and then developing the design.”

Global Street Food, which premiered at IMM Cologne furniture fair in January 2009, marks the latest cultural coup from Dornbracht and Meiré. In 2007, they offered the antidote to a high-tech, minimalist design aesthetic with The FARM Project, a walk-in kitchen stocked with live farm animals and housed in a simple barn-like structure. Intended to reconnect visitors to the source of their food and return vitality to lifeless kitchens, The FARM Project was presented at the Milan Furniture Fair in 2006, followed by coveted spots in 2007 at the Sculpture Projects Münster and Art Basel Miami. Both Global Street Food and The FARM Project are part of Dornbracht Edges, a series of projects that reflect the intersection of architecture, design and art. The Edges are platforms for designers and architects to depict their visions and utopias, with projects as diverse as they are eye-opening.

The promotion of art and culture has been an integral part of Dornbracht’s corporate culture since 1997. The company’s commitment is divided into several areas, which have developed separately and parallel since the first edition of the Statements Projects in 1997. As part of the Statements series, between 1997 and 2003, Dornbracht regularly presented free interpretations on the subject of “cleansing rituals” by internationally renowned artists, photographers, writers, musicians and designers. Since 1998 Dornbracht has addressed the general public with the Dornbracht Sponsorships, which included supporting the German project for the 48th and 49th Biennale of contemporary art in Venice. Since 2000, the exhibition series Dornbracht Installation Projects® has been based on the idea of presenting contemporary artistic positions in the field of installation. In 2005 Dornbracht launched the Performance series and transported its commitment into a new discipline: the temporary, situational character of a performance.

Further information on the Dornbracht Culture Projects on the Internet at http://www.cultureprojects.com.

Images: Dornbracht

Seat by Aimee Less

Los Angeles gallery Fifth Floor will be exhibiting new furniture work by local architects that are seeking alternative design practices during the economic slowdown.

Looking for Work
Ali Jeevanjee, Aimee Less, Earl Parson
June 20 - July 18, 2009
Opening reception: Saturday, June 20, 6-9pm

Fifth Floor
502 Chung King Court
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Mini Capsule Hotel by Atelier Van Lieshout

Mini Capsule Hotel by Atelier Van Lieshout

BauBike by Michael Ubbesen Jakobsen

Michael Ubbesen Jakobsen is the mind behind the Bauhaus inspired fixed gear BauBike. Jakobsen manufactured the frame using geometric perspectives, applying 60 and 90 degree patterns throughout the bike, giving it a boxy appearance. Gathering only raw materials for the frame, Jakobsen exhibits his excellent craftsmanship and meticulous form is evident at a first glimpse. For more photos and details about the bicycle, check out the BauBike website.

Comme des Garçons souffle ses 40 bougies

Adrian Joffe (Photo by Chris Moore)

Rei Kawakubo, 66, is one of the great fashion forces from the last decades of the 20th century to now. Integral to her success is that she is too original to be pigeonholed. In fact, the guiding force of a fashion life that stretches way beyond clothes is an urge to think forward, encapsulated in new projects this month — from the ‘‘Black’’ stores to a collaboration with Vogue Nippon and an exhibition at the Paris store Colette.

Here is an inside look at Ms. Kawakubo’s partnership with Vogue Nippon. Photo: Comme des Garçons

An advertisement in a Tokyo railway station for the first of 10 stores devoted to the new Black Comme des Garçons guerrilla brand, which will be phased out after 18 months.

Design collective Outofstock exhibited a collection of five furniture pieces as part of the SaloneSatellite in Milan last April.

The collection includes a chair, lamp, desk, side table and coat stand.

Outofstock exhibited new projects at the Salone Satellite of the Milan Furniture Fair last month. A collection of five projects – Arbor, Sherlock, Coat Shed, Black Forest and Naked Chair were shown. Outofstock also selected by Elle Decoration Spain to show at the Elle Decoration Young Talents Show located in the basement of Super Studio Piu, where Black Forest and Naked Chair were exhibited.

Neckwear by J.Press

Raw silk and Indian Madras ties from  J. Press

Matali Crasset's Open room for Established & Sons is reminiscent of the Reitveld Schroeder House in Utrecht and Piet Mondrian's paintings.

Photo: Established & Sons

Couture & Interiors by Thomas Voorn

New Collection by designer Thomas Voorn
This Collection is called Fashion Herbarium - Coming Home Series 0.3.

Tendance Design: Utilitaire

Beasts par Nacho Carbonnell fait parti de l'exposition Craft Punk, une collaboration entre DesignMiami et Fendi. Les designers ont produits des pieces uniques en recyclant le materiel de l'usine.

Photo: Fendi/DesignMiami







Une pleiade de designers (Maarten Baas, Kiki Van Eijk, Joost Van Bleiswijk, Minale-Maeda, Philippe Nigro, Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe, the Campana Brothers, Front, Marc Sadler and Bertjan Pot) pour un nouveau venu dan le monde du design avec une avant premiere a Milan: Skitsch (emotion et design contemporain)
Des objets simple et utile dans des materiaux peu chers comme le carton (The Build Up collection table et chaise par Philippe Nigro) ou la collection haphazard en porcelaine de Baas. Si l'objet perd les materiaux nobles, il gagne en revanche en personalite. En effet tous les prototypes de la collection de Baas ont ete moules a la main et sont donc uniques. Simple, utiles et uniques

Photo: Skitsch







Peut-on planter une chaise? Oui, c’est possible. En Amérique du Nord, au 19e siècle, de jeunes arbres étaient maintenus en forme pendant plusieurs années jusqu’à ce qu’ils adoptent les contours d’une chaise ou d’un fauteuil. Les freres Bouroullec se sont inspires de cette idee pour concevoir leur chaise vegetal en polyamide renforcé à la fibre de verre

Photo: Vitra