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!"

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!

Ecouterre

Jill from Inhabitat just dropped me line regarding her new site:  ecouterre

...she has done a great job with Inhabitat and looks like she is working her magic again with this eco fashion site. Good work!

G

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.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

2009 will certainly go down as a very memorable one, to say the least. I think there will be a lot of reflection on what exactly transpired over this past year. There is no need to rehash it all, the Media does a great job at keeping us up to date with every detail possible.

I guess the one thing that I can decipher from all of this is this...if you are in a position of power, and your decisions impact several people, then make sure that you are acting with other people's best interest in mind. Make sure that your integrity is in check and that you are as concerned with other people's well-being as your own.

CEO's, Politicians, Hedge Fund Managers (Ponzi Scheme Operators), Teachers, Parents, etc...we all inherently know right from wrong. We all know when we are looking to 'just get ours', regardless of the end result of our actions on others.

I am sure I am preaching to the choir...as most of the people that are the root cause of some of these current global concerns will likely never read this, let alone have it sink in. Maybe if we start giving more attention to the people that are doing good things for people, doing the right or selfless thing when no one is even watching, then things will start to change in a positive direction. I hope that good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior isn't in 2009. That is my wish.

I sincerely hope that all of you out there have a very Happy, Healthy (and Conscious) New Year!

Greg

The London Underground and its 100th Anniversary.

Brightest London is Best Reached by Underground, by Horace Taylor, 1924. Published by Underground Electric Railway Company Ltd, 1924. Printed by Dangerfield Printing Company Ltd.

In art, nothing does it for me like the poster, especially the mid century poster, and the London Underground's 100th Anniversary helps to satiate the need for the period  by doing a retrospective of the original posters commissioned by London Transports Frank Pick who as chief of staff for the London Underground made it his mission to create a masterpiece of underground design to alert all potential commuters of the "romance" of traveling by underground.  Now on view at London's Museum of Transport and for a quick tour of some of the finest artists and graphic design posters of the 20th century go online here or for the entire collection view online at the London Transport Museum's website.

No Need to Ask a P'liceman, by John Hassall, 1908. Published by Underground Electric Railway Company Ltd, 1908. Printed by Johnson, Riddle & Company Ltd.

circa 1950, London's Roundel, the symbol created for London's Underground corporate logo that came to be assoicated with much of the city of London was designed by Edward Johnston, a brilliant artist and calligrapher and is a study in typography.

See a century of the Underground Logo, here.

To celebrate the centennial of London's Transport system, 100 new pieces of art have been commissioned by London's Transport.  Also on view, and for sale, at The London Transport Museum's website.

From the Guardian and the Daily Heller.

Vote for 2Modern

Home Rejuvenation is having their "10 Most Influential Design Bloggers for 2008" survey.

Please vote for 2Modern Design Talk! ;)

CCTV-TV Station and Headquarters, China, Beijing-Nearing Finish.

Architect Rem Koolhaus and his firm the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (Rotterdam) won the competition (in 2002) set for the design and construction of a new complex for the CCTV's new headquarters to be completed in time for the Beijing Olympics.  The design was/is so spectacular that the Museum of Modern Art in New York created an exhibit around it in 2006, already a phenomenon in architectural circles, to address the preconceived notions surrounding the building of a tower with the magnitude this has.  “It’s a fiendishly complex building in terms of program and structure,” Mr. Koolhaas said in a quote from a 2006 New York Times article about the exhibit.

Construction began in 2004 and the famous right angle cantilever at the top of the building was joined in December of 2007.  Reaching their goal of finishing by the time of the scheduled Olympics in Beijing began to look not only possible but plausible.

Several flickr accounts have begun taking images with regularity to keep us updated as to the construction's progress.  Then on May 31st, Nike got the jump on the Olympics when it projected the introduction of China's Golden Athletes Olympic suits  against 4 of the building's columns giving us a small glimpse of what is soon to come at the same time realizing the imaginations of those who created  the sci-fi worlds of Blade Runner and the Fifth Element.  For more stills and to see Nike's eerie video go here. 

Meantime the 5 million square foot complex is more than an astral projection....

The CCTV project also includes a second  building that will house a five-star hotel (bldg left of CCTV) with 300 rooms, restaurants and spas, recording studios and a 1,500-seat theater.  This structure, the Television Cultural Center or TVCC is, as described by the architects, the public component of the project and was to open ahead of the larger headquarters in 2007.

Also as reported by the New York Times, China’s television network  will be capable of broadcasting 250 channels when the headquarters is completed. CCTV currently produces and broadcasts just 16 channels.  For more information about the building and interior drawings visit OMA's official website.

Make Some Green Competition

Keeseh Studio invites students and design enthusiasts to celebrate the pursuit of ecodesign through an international competition to utilize waste material.

A given manufacturing facility creates many copies of a product; therefore they create many copies of their waste material as well. Waste material can be used as raw material for other products or processes; this concept is known as upcycling.

The goal of the competition is to promote upcycling by encouraging the use of wasted materials to generate innovative designs and redefine the standards of environmental sustainability by fostering balance between conservation and development. This competition will provide a stepping stone to help educate viewers of the vast opportunities and future development of environmentally friendly processes, materials, and products.

All entries must be received digitally or by mail no later than October 1st.

3 entries will win media coverage and recognition of their product or process and one will win a cash prize of $1000.

Visit www.makesomegreen.otherpeoplespixels.com for more details

2Modern Supports Emerging Designers

2Modern was proud to sponsor the Design*Sponge Scholarship! Grace at D*S does a wonderful job at promoting and fostering design contests. 2Modern is a primary sponsor on the Design*Sponge blog and for contest, like these, that help emerging designers get their vision to market. Thanks Grace!

There were over 2000 entries and 12 finalists. $11,000 was awarded to 4 winners (listed below):

Jaime Karoses : 1st Place

Talia Bromstad : 2nd Place

Julia Bonnell : 3rd Place

Sharon Levy : 4th Pace

Congratulations to all the winners and best of luck with your design aspirations!