2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

Storage, Italian Style

Cattelan Italia has mostly beautiful pieces on their website which I encourage you to visit, but storage is of particular interest to me, always, so when I see something that serves double duty, one of which is for storage, and is beautiful at the same time, I feel the need to share.  Designed by Gruppo Grafite  this mirrored top coffee table pulls up to reveal storage underneath and can be used for serving while dining.  So, come to think of it, I guess it's a multitasking unit (that hides things!).

1)  the Sherpa--mirrored coffee table comes with a Wenge or beech stained silver frame with a frosted glass top or polished white or black frame with mirrored glass top. Heights: Closed 33cm - Open 50cm

2) Storage Unit and Serving Shelf

But just to show you how versatile, if not colorful, Cattelan is, check these stools out (and they are on wheels!).

Called the Kubo chair, at Cattelan's site, they have an entire page of color choices in the leather with a few that have croc  texture..........bingo!

The Wood Co-Op

While in Vancouver we made daily trips to Granville Island, visiting the great Public Market and exploring numerous shops featuring some of British Columbia's most talented designers.  One of our favorites was The Wood Co-Op.

The Wood Co-Op is Canada's premiere showcase for quality handcrafted contemporary design. The Gallery opened in 2000, showing the work of just 34 artisans. Today the Gallery features the work of over 150 of British Columbia's best woodworkers, earning a reputation as the definitive venue for heirloom quality wooden objects.

Design Contest for Brazilian Students

As one of the biggest retail companies in Brazil, and a reference in furniture and object design, Tok&Stok carried out for the third year, the Tok&Stok Design Award for students (only for Brazilian students). Like previous editions, this year the contest has a theme: study. The contestants must research what is essential and needed in a furniture used for this in purpose.

Besides a good understanding of Tok&Stok style and trends, the student has to think about materials, transportation, production , packaging and disassembly.

Here are some of the winner products from previous editions.

2006 1st place (theme: Organize)

2006 2nd place

2007 1st place (theme: Sit)

 

Milan Week Preview 2008

From Designboom:   designer roderick vos  created this circular shelving unit for the dutch company linteloo. 
This is so brilliantly simple and functional, I wonder why no one has done it before now.  Perfect for that corner of the living room, the unit can be spun around to get to the books in the back.

Comic Furniture

The Graphic illustration is invading our places with all kind of household products.  First, was the walls stickers, some pictures and posters... but now, take a look to this "comic furniture".  A design of Giuseppe Canevese for Mosso with drawings of Guido Crepax.  What do you think about it? cool, funny, kitsch... leave your thoughts here.

Via Momeld.

One From Wallpaper's Design Awards: Cubic Meter Shelving by Arik Levy

Wallpaper recently came out with their design awards issue, and one piece that just immediately popped out at me was the One Square Meter by Arik Levy. This piece is one in a treasure trove of Mr. Levy's pieces that shows true genius. It is a modular shelving system that can break out into any form you want, or it can be compressed into its original shape of a one square meter cube (thus, the name). The finishes in the original collection came in black and natural oak and was limited to a production of 10. However, it appears that Paul Smith has bought the rights to make this piece and will be going into larger production. I checked the Paul Smith website for price and availability, but no information is currently available.

Kurve

Vancouver-based Kurve Studio Furniture will be represented at IDS West in March, and I'll definitely be stopping by their booth.  Each piece is designed and handmade by self-taught furniture maker Enrico Konig.  His contemporary urban furniture utilizes hardwoods, veneers and even metal, incorporating old-world techniques and modern technologies.

Nest

New vendor Nest brings colorful and eco-friendly kids furniture to 2Modern! Jax Toy Box, Toy Cube, Storage Tower, and Hamper are all made with recycled wood and 100% organic cotton. Cozy Nest Seat is all organic cotton as well, stuffed with recycled upholstery remnants. And the Pebbles Crib Bedding is made with recycled, post-consumer recycled soda bottles! Now that's closing the loop!

2 Works by Daniel Rohr

I've recently been exploring BlickFang. I have no idea what the word Blickfang means, but what Blickfang is it's a collective of up and coming Central European designers who travel to a number of the international design fairs.

With its own very distinctive charm BLICKFANG presents innovative design made in Germany and the neighboring countries.The outstanding difference at BLICKFANG is designer presence at the fair. This means visitors can not only buy their personal favorites in a collection but also talk to the designers. Over 160 furniture, fashion and jewelery designers will be showcasing their latest collections ...

Today, I thought I would present a couple of pieces from one of the over 160 designers involved in Blickfang. The designer's name is Daniel Rohr, and he has come up with two very fun objects: Get Framed and the Clamp Furniture series. Get Framed, seen above, is a fun way of sharing images with people through creating innovative packaging. Essentially, the envelope that the image comes transforms into the final picture frame. The idea is lovely and is ripe to be licensed by an picture printing website like Kodak, however, Mr. Rohr's execution may require a college degree to assemble judging by the number of pieces shown in the images.

A much simpler, but equally clever design concept is Daniel Rohr's Clamp Furniture. The designer has created two pieces: a table and some wall shelves. Why is a piece of clamp furniture so wonderful? To begin with, you are no longer bound by what material you can use for the shelves. You want glass then clamp the glass. You want a sheet of steel, then clamp that instead. The choices are infinite. Also, there is something that happens whenever I see an everyday object repurposed in a new and refreshing way. I get this satisfying "aha!" moment.

To Have, Hold and Reach Your Goals

Just as new beginnings are a current national preoccupation, so too should organization be on the priority list of anyone gearing up for a fresh start. Everyone knows change isn't easy, but few make the correlation between reaching new goals and getting organized. With a plan and some hot new storage pieces, success is a lot more probable. By keeping your accumulations in check and those you already have in designated places, you can stay focused on the changes you want to make instead of being sidelined by clutter or general disarray. Forward motion is all about momentum. So don't start the new year with resolutions alone. Add a few of these attractive Home Decorators storage options and  free yourself to soar.