2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Win a Modern Nursery Winners Announced!

Thank you all who participated in our Win a Modern Nursery Sweepstakes! And the winners are...

GRAND PRIZE:
Argington Modern Nursery & Color Consultation from Danielle Hirsch. Including: Bam Changing Table, Bam Toddler Conversion Kit, Bam Bassinet, Bam Bassinet Canopy Support, Bam Canopy Drape, Bam Six Drawer Dresser, Bam Diaper Caddy, Bam Trundle Drawer

Kimberly Pacetti
Houston, Texas
Graphic Designer

"I am a designer and my husband and I own our own design firm in Houston, www.goodproject.com. We eat, sleep and live modern design and we are elated that our little one will be surrounded by stylish nursery decor thanks to 2modern. This is an amazing prize- thank you. As soon as we put the nursery together I will post the images on my blog http://ittyluxe.blogspot.com/ for you to see."

2ND PRIZE:
avalisa - Elephants Stretched Print

Jessica Trounce
Phoenix, AZ
Art Director & DIY Enthusiast

"WOW! Thank you so much! My arriving little one will love it I'm sure.'m an art director and designer for an advertising firm by day and an artist and crafter by night. Check out my baby blog http://stitchedlittleelephant.blogspot.com/. I'm always on 2modern's site and blog getting ideas on what to put in my home and my, soon to be occupied, baby room."

3RD PRIZE:
Inhabit - Plankton Pillow

Merry Warner
Salt Lake City, UT
Intern Architect

"Thank you! It made my day!"

Bits and Pieces

Bits ‘n Pieces is a traveling exhibition of work by international designers, architects, computer scientists, and material and technology researchers. It will showcase projects still in their development stage, as well as furniture, architecture, jewelry, graphic design and products that anticipate the next phase of the digital revolution, focusing on how society is imbued with, shaped by and shapes technology. This new era will be marked by increased awareness about, and accessibility of, continuously advancing technologies and materials and the changes that we will be making in our lives through them will be not just formal but structural, not merely aesthetic but substantive, changing how we actually think about, design and build our objects and space. What will life look like based on changes that are sometimes visible to the public and sometimes invisible? 

There are some pretty cool projects showcased in the exhibit, I like the concept of the Brain Waive Sofa.

Brainwave Sofa is a collaboration between Lucas Maassen and Dries Verbruggen from Unfold

The shape of the Brainwave Sofa is entirely determined by recording 3 seconds of Maassen’s neural 'alpha' activity the very moment he closed his eyes. The resulting 3 second computerfile is sent to a CNC milling machine that mills out the Brainwave sofa in soft foam. It is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a futuristic production workflow in which the designer only has to close his eyes and a computer 'prints' the result out as a functional form. A warm grey felt with buttons in the valleys is applied by hand to the foam honoring the traditional codes of a sofa.

 

 

 

The exhibit is running till Dec 4th

Material ConneXion 60 Madison Avenue, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10010 

A Glimmer of Hope

Most likely...if you are reading, this you are a designer of one sort or another...if not, you are at least design-minded. I can not tell you how many conversations I have had with designers who are frustrated, burnt out, weary, tired, uninspired and otherwise on the verge of giving up in this economy. Resources are limited, clients are overly conscious of budgets, jobs are scarce and... 

"It's tough out there. So many huge problems in the world, so much noise, so hard to know what to do and where to begin. All of which means—it's a great time to be a designer."

In comes the Glimmer Manifesto. Think of it as your first sip from the fountain of designer-immortality. The fire under your feet. As designers (and, honestly, just as contributing members of society...) it is our job to create transformation within the world, to improve it...for everyone. This holds true in the toughest conditions even more so. I stumbled across Creativity's write up on the book earlier this morning and I am definitely adding this to my next Amazon shipment! Click here to read the write up.

 

Warren Berger is the author of Glimmer and the editor of the blog GlimmerSite.com

Its another awesome source of inspiration and I highly recommend checking it out!

Dinner in the Sky

 

Impress them or scare them to death, or why not both?   Either way it is original.   Dinner in the Sky is hosted at a table suspended at a height of 160 feet by a team of professionals.  Benji Fun, a partner in this event, is the worldwide leader for this type of activity.  The table can accommodate 22 guests at a time during an 8 hour session in which they are strapped in like a rollercoaster ride.  Safety first.  

The based in Belgium the crane can be driven to any accessible location.  America has one in Las Vegas.  Surprised?

Dinner in the sky also is available for events and parties and can add an additional platform for performances or even weddings where you can bungee jump off afterwards to celebrate the nuptials. 

Sounds like fun, an adventure and something you will talk about to all your friends.  It does however beg the question … what happens when you drop a fork?  And oh yes…where is the Ladies Room?

For more info:  www.dinnerinthesky.com  and www.dinnerintheskylv.com

Have a infinitely modern day!

Sustainable trophy

I`m so proud of my friend Danilo Conti. Not only he`s an excellent designer, but also he firmly supports sustainable living, and that`s why he only works with the right materials and the good producers. Danilo`s last work was a range of trophys for a very popular sports event in São Paulo, Brazil, the "Megarampa".

The result couldn`t be any better. He was clever enough to combine the elements of the sports envolved (such as rollerskating and cycling) with the beauty of a FSC certificated wood. Other than that, the pieces were made by youngsters who are learning a new skill (and doing that they are kept out of the streets).

 

 

Endorse 2Modern on ShineALight

2Modern has been nominated in the ShineALight competition (through American Express and NBC) for our charity work and our sustainability/eco emphasis. If we win, we get a grant and marketing assistance to strengthen our efforts in these areas.

Please take 3 minutes to register/endorse 2Modern...it makes a big difference.

    - Click : http://shinealight.ivillage.com/sbo-profile/?ProfileID=1729
    - Then click the banner: "Support This Story ENDORSE NOW" and click Register
    - Enter information and submit (note: you have to click the "terms and conditions" link + scroll down to the bottom before checking the box next to it).
    - When you get the confirmation page, you can endorse the 2Modern story!
    - Click the banner: "Support This Story ENDORSE NOW" on http://shinealight.ivillage.com/sbo-profile/?ProfileID=1729 and your vote will be registered

Thanks! Please pass on to friends if you don't mind. The more endorsements we get...the better chance we have.

Portland, OR Soap Box Derby

Every year since 2001, The Portland Adult Soap Box Derby hits the streets of Mt. Tabor with all sorts of cool, slick and off the wall box cars racing for the finish line. It's a good time had by all!

"It is our drive towards success of our ongoing experiment to stay young, yet not so young. Practicing safety with speed, ingenuity with science and creative tenacity in art of building and racing Adult Soapbox Cars. With a bit of luck, hard work and communication with all parties we will persevere. "We thank our beloved Volcano for allowing us to tickle her back."

This year's Winner for Best Engineering was Twin Barrels Burning by Charley Wheelock. Although not that fastest box on the road, it sure was creative!

"we put disc brakes on wine barrels with a '57 Ford F100 drop axle for a frame and rode them down a mountain."

Mr. Wheelock also runs Kapow Design, specializing in modern contract furniture design, tradeshow booths, children's furniture, environments, design/manufacturing consultation, and of course, any interesting projects.

You can see more pictures of the The Twins here

The Space Between

The Space Between Light and Shade is Benjamin Shine's latest artwork that creates a portrait by pleating and pressing a single piece of tulle netting.

"Following an ongoing series of portraits which explore fabric manipulation and construction ideas, Shines latest technique exploits the translucent qualities of tulle fabric to generate various gradients, tones and textures through the intricate pressing and pleating of a single length of the material."

Just thinking about the process behind this portrait makes my head explode.... twice. What a brilliant piece!
The 3' x 4' portrait is currently being exhibited at the Courvoisier Future Gallery in West London.
If any our London readers get a chance to check this piece out in person - make sure to tell us about it.

via

2Modern Labor Day Sweepstakes!

In celebration of Labor Day, 2Modern is giving away modern gifts and design for 7 days. One gift will be given away each day to a lucky winner. To win, all you have to do is enter on any day that you want to win - come back every day!

**Forward this to another design enthusiast! Additional prizes will be sent to people who have referred the most people!

ENTER NOW!

Brazilian and French design icons

2008 was the Brazilian year in France, and 2009 is the French year in Brazil. To celebrate this amazing partner/friendship, Museu da Casa Brasileira (Brazilian Home Museum), in São Paulo, put together an exhibition with the best of design in both countries in the twentieth century.

Each country presents 22 products, and the exhibition is open until the 20th of September.

 

 

 

Via limonada-biz. You can get more information here.