One of Frank Gehry's Fish Lamps. Photo by Joshua White

From the standpoint of a builder, the fish is the perfect symbiosis between skin and structure. Where there is movement there is stability. Where there is flexibility there is strength. Indeed, the dynamic shapes of Frank Gehry’s buildings have often been related to fish — several of his buildings have literally been fish.

From the artist’s perspective, the fish is critical interpretation. It is Gehry’s way of taking Neoclassicism to the extreme, as he explained in Frank O. Gehry: The Complete Works. “Architecture always has to do with history in some way or another,” says Gehry, “but when they started exaggerating it, the fish was kind of a joke over all these reference to the past. Everyone was quoting these old classical buildings, so I decided to quote something five hundred million years older than mankind.”

What fewer may know is that the fish form is also personal for Gehry. As a young boy in Toronto, his grandmother would buy a live, large black carp every Thursday, to be made into gefilte fish for the Sabbath. The fish would be kept alive in a filled bathtub overnight and Gehry would play with it, watching it twist and turn, until the next day when it became part of his family’s sacred meal.

Frank Gehry created his first legendary Fish Lamp for the exhibition, “Surface & Ornament,” organized by the Formica Corporation to promote their new product ColorCore and exhibited at NeoCon, the design trade exposition at Chicago’s Merchandise Mart in 1983. Through 1986 he went on to produce some three-dozen lamps of various forms, some of which were exhibited at the former Robertson Boulevard location of Gagosian Los Angeles in 1984. The lamps have come full circle with an exhibition that ran through February 14 at the Los Angeles gallery, and which was on view at the Paris location afterwards through March 9.

Thirty years later, Gehry’s new Fish Lamps are still surprising and wonderful—“a perfect form,” he says. The ColorCore ‘scales’ are larger, coarser and more rugged, which allows for brighter light and darker shadows. Placed on the ceiling, the walls and raised from the floor, they are beautiful and transfixing. And most interestingly, the bases, previously lecterns and plinths, are now angular constructions of posts and beams, an evocation of the elementary construction materials of traditional building methods of days gone by. For Gehry, the fish is the future of architecture, continually held up by the past.

By Brent Lewis
Cultured Magazine

2007 Campaign

Made Thought, who’s worked with Design Miami/ since 2006, has been an integral partner in developing the fair’s brand aesthetic, designing much of the ephemera of the fair itself. Kapila Chase, Design Miami’s Director of Marketing, spoke with Ben Parker and Paul Austin, the founding partners of Made Thought, who gave some insight into their design process and how they turn thoughts into realities.

Design Miami/  Why Made Thought? Does the studio’s name reflect a specific design approach?

Made Thought/  We liked the idea of design being a marriage of ‘making’ and ‘thinking’ — two key facets to design. It created an unusual juxtaposition of words which became memorable. Most importantly, the URL was available!

DM/ You have a wide range of clients, from David Beckham to Jamie Oliver to GF Smith. What’s the common denominator? Why do you think your clients seek out Made Thought?

MT/ Hopefully because they can see we believe in creating something unexpected. We have never been interested in replicating the latest graphic or sylistic trends — we’d much rather be seen to have an effortless and relevant approach. This allows our work to possess a timeless character which makes our work resonate with a broader range of clients across many different sectors. As the design is not caught up in its own stylistic veneer, this means the communication needs to really engage in an appropriate and intelligent way.

& Other Stories, Identity and packaging for beauty and cosmetics range, 2012. & Other Stories is an international fashion brand under the H&M brand.

We also place a great deal of importance on our design looking or feeling ‘beautiful’ — this is the ultimate seducer as it will give the design a compelling quality and always engage the viewer.

DM/ How would you describe Made Thought’s creative process in three words?

MT/ Collaborative. Intelligent. Conviction.

But the creative process really can’t be distilled down into three words. There are a number of factors which we feel need to be played out in any creative process — underlying narrative; balancing concept, style and function; good relationships (you’re only as good as your client); conviction as ‘editors’; and a search for a timeless aesthetic -all of which combine to create an over-arching approach and philosophy to the way we try and work.

G.F.Smith, Exhibition graphics for 'Beauty in the Making' exhibition, 2012

David Beckham, Identity and packaging for fragrance and body wear, 2011

DM/ You started working with Design Miami/ when we were logo-less, developing the brand from the ground up. Any highlights? 

MT/ Having a blank canvas to build a brand around is always a highlight. The show’s vision and ambition was great, so we needed to step up and create something special.

Our aim is to inspire and excite people before they get to the venue. It’s our job to reinvent the story each season, with an exciting visual hook that captures people’s imagination.

The brand uses a simple ‘divide line’ which is the defining element of the identity. This line represents the geographic duality of the show’s locations (e.g. Design Miami ‘in’ Basel) and manifests itself both graphically and physically through all facets of the brand. For the first campaign (2006) we applied this line into the physical environment of each location. This opened up a number of ideas and reintepretations of this theme.

We are in the fortunate position to be able to create communications which need to speak to a highly, visually literate and design aware audience — this allows us to be fairly esoteric and playful with the brand. For example, the ‘dipped’ cocktail invite (2009).

Welcome Cocktail invitation, Design Miami/ 2009. The invite is dipped into liquid latex at the 60 degree brand angle

DM/ You develop a new identity for each Design Miami/ show. How are your designs inspired by the fair?

MT/ For the Design Miami (December 2010) way-finding signage, our aim was to create an obvious visual link and extension of the tent aesthetic. Shrink-wrapping seemed like an ideal and exciting mechanism as both the colour and material tied-in perfectly with the structure. By wrapping iconic pieces of furniture (tables, chairs, sideboards, sofas, floor standing lamps) we not only created interesting sculptural compositions, but mirrored the show’s temporary home for the furniture galleries exhibiting within it.

Directional signage, Design Miami/ 2010. The sign not only hints at the exhibition content but also mirrors the show's tent structure to create an iconic and intriguing statement. Constructed from pieces of furniture and shrink wrapped together.

DM/ Do you approach designing for the Basel and Miami fairs differently? If so, why?

MT/ Yes, we try and respond appropriately to the cultural zeitgeist of each location. With Basel, which can often be perceived as a conservative setting, we try and be as expressive as possible —to create an intentional juxtaposition to what is expected. In contrast with Miami, we try and be a bit more controlled and disciplined. Of course, it doesn’t always work like this, but this is our outline approach.

Invitations for Design Miami/ Basel 2013, designed by Made Thought

DM/ Will you tell us a bit about the Design Miami/ Basel 2013 identity?

MT/ This season’s identity is about creating a conscious tension and contrast between an elegant and refined aesthetic and a disruptive layer — the graphic tape. The tape is then over-written with an exciting set of dynamic messages and calls to action. As it now stands confidently against Art Basel, we wanted to ensure its playful spirit isn’t lost. It’s all about subverting the beautiful with sometimes ephemereal that has an energy.

DM/ You’re a fairly small studio, on the boutique side, which must limit the number of clients you can take on. Is this an important part of your practice or do you plan on expanding?

MT/ We seem to have a natural resistance for expansion. We are scared of losing control of the quality and type of work that we take on. The idea of having to take on projects that we aren’t in love with just to feed the ‘machine’ is something neither of us desire. We spoke with a new business developer recently who argued that we weren’t being ambitious by being a small studio, but why do we need to be big? We are very proud of our creative output, love the clients we work with and are financially secure. Why would we upset this balance?

Also the type of work we take on is very much about brand creation and is often for creatively led organistions, who often don’t want a thousand pieces of communication. They tend to want a few pieces of communication done extremely well.

DM/ Lastly, what music playing at your studio right now?

Paul Austin & Ben Parker / Made Thought Founding Partners

Interview by Kapila Chase
Ben Parker and Paul Austin are the founding partners of Made Thought

Cross-legged desk, USA, 1976. American black walnut, 28.5 x 55.7 x 35.5 in. (72.4 x 141.6 x 85.1 cm)

George Nakashima was a Japanese-American woodworker born in Spokane, Washington, who studied architecture at the esteemed École Américaine des Beaux Arts outside of Paris, and then received a Master’s degree in Architecture from M.I.T. Though this architectonic training would impact his woodwork and style, it was perhaps his forced internment during World War II which had one of the greatest effects.

There, Nakashima learned from a man named Gentaro Hikogawa about using traditional Japanese hand tools, joinery techniques, and the use of found materials. The gestalt accruement of his training, experience, and talent would lead him to become a major figure in the American Craft movement.

Closeup of an English Oak burl dining table by Nakashima being shown at Design Miami/ Basel 2013

At this year’s Design Miami/ Basel, Sebastian + Barquet – a NYC-based specialist in post-war American and European design – will be holding a solo show of George Nakashima’s furniture. Six of Nakashima’s canonical works will be presented at the fair in a landscape modeled on his Pennsylvania studio.

Coffee table, USA, 1977 French olive ash burl, walnut. 18 x 70.5 x 36.4 in. (45.7 x 179.2 x 92.5 cm.)

'Kent Hall' Floor Lamp, USA, 1990. Madrone burl, holly and fiberglass. 72.93 in. (185.1 cm)

Prototype grass seat chair, USA, 1947. Walnut and twine. 29 x 26 ½ x 20 in. (73.7 x 67.3 x 50.8 cm)

This grass seat chair is a prototype of the long line that Nakashima and his Wood Worker’s Studio would go on to create. Created in 1947, the chair has a wider angle than is typical of his later grass seaters. The use of dowel joinery, at the time of its creation, was considered passé and anachronistic. But in fact, the use of dowel joinery was forward-looking in its re-engagement with the structural properties of design. The grass seat was woven by his wife, Marion Nakashima, and reflects their eastern influences, as the lightness of the weaving lightens the stark walnut.

Coffee table, USA, 1978. Redwood burl, American black walnut base. 16 1/8 x 63 1/4 x 40 3/4 in. (41 x 160.7 x 103.5 cm). With artist’s signature, date and clients name

An extremely rare redwood root burl was used for this coffee table. Nakashima worked almost exclusively with hard wood, but due to the redwood burl’s dramatic figure and rouge hue, it is the only softwood that the designer decided to use. The table, which is one of the earliest versions of that design, rests on a pronouncedly architectonic Arlyn base. Like the other pieces that will be present at the fair, the work is imbued with a historical narrative tied to the life of Nakashima: the Arlyn base was given its name after the designers’ aforementioned friends and buyers, Arthur and Evelyn Krosnick.

Six Conoid chairs USA, 1970. Walnut & hickory. 36 ¼ x 19 ½ x 16 ¼ in. (92.1 x 49.5 x 41.2 cm). Signed: ‘Ablove’

The Conoid line of chairs is named after Nakashima’s self-designed studio. The six Conoid chairs on view at Design Miami/ Basel 2013 epitomize the woodoworker’s innovation and extraordinary technical skill. Signature hickory spindles are combined with floor runners that are cantilevered – a combination which provides a leaning optical effect and an attentive mix of modernism’s structure with a rural, from-the-woods vernacular.

Dining table, USA, 1970. English Oak burl, American black walnut. 27 1/8 x 66 3/8 x 48 ¾ in. (71.4 x 168.6 x 123.8 cm)

A dining table will be shown by Sebastian + Barquet which was made out of another rejected log from the Thompson Mahogany Company. An unhindered, naturally-edged top rests on an architectural base. The top is made from a now rare and depleted English Walnut, which has a lighter hue than the base’s American Black Walnut. Also to be shown is a cross-legged desk – a rectilinear unit in the Conoid style – and a trestle dining table made out of two slabs of English Walnut. Each of the pieces being shown have a story to tell, and each piece is a passage from George Nakashima’s long, accomplished, and sometimes harrowing life.

- Rob Goyanes

Kassena Server, Dokter and Misses, 2013/ Hand painted solid beach timber/ 180 x 90 x 50 cm/ Southern Guild

“What a WONDERFUL focal point for a room – colorful with a playful pattern. Elegant yet practical at the same time.”

Sand chairs by Kueng Caputo, 2012. Mortar, sand, pigment paste, styrofoam 17 x 12 x 12 inches (43 x 30 x 30 cm) each stool.

For its eighth edition, Design Miami/ Basel returns with an enhanced gallery selection, showing museum-quality works spanning five centuries of design. The June 2013 edition of Design Miami/ Basel will see a significant number of returning galleries and first-time exhibitors alike, all of which represent the world’s leading galleries specializing in collectible design.

An international roster of nearly fifty historic and contemporary galleries from thirteen countries will be shown, alongside the fair’s cutting edge cultural programming in Hall 1 Süd, part of the new permanent exhibition hall in Basel’s Messe.

See the complete list of galleries below, along with some previews of the work to be shown:

Antonella Villanova/ Milan

Caroline Van Hoek/ Brussels

Carpenters Workshop Gallery/ London & Paris

Cristina Grajales Gallery/ New York

Dansk Møbelkunst Gallery/ Copenhagen & Paris

Demisch Danant/ New York

Didier Ltd/ London

Erastudio Apartment-Gallery/ Milan

Franck Laigneau/ Paris

Gabrielle Ammann // Gallery/ Cologne

Galerie Anne-Sophie Duval/ Paris

Galerie BSL/ Paris

Galerie Chastel-Maréchal/ Paris

Galerie Downtown – François Laffanour/ Paris

Galerie Eric Philippe/ Paris

Galerie Jacques Lacoste/ Paris

Galerie kreo/ Paris

Galerie Maria Wettergren/ Paris

Galerie Pascal Cuisinier/ Paris

Galerie Patrick Seguin/ Paris

Galerie Ulrich Fiedler/ Berlin

Galleria O./ Rome

Gallery Libby Sellers/ London

Gallery SEOMI/ Seoul & Los Angeles

Heritage Gallery/ Moscow

Hostler Burrows/ New York

Jacksons/ Berlin & Stockholm

Jousse Entreprise/ Paris

Nilufar Gallery/ Milan

Ornamentum/ Hudson

Pierre Marie Giraud/ Brussels

Priveekollektie Contemporary Art|Design/ Heusden aan de Maas

R 20th Century/ New York

Salon 94/ New York

Sebastian + Barquet/ New York

Southern Guild/ Wilderness

Steinitz/ Paris

Thomas Fritsch – ARTRIUM/ Paris

Victor Hunt Designart Dealer/ Brussels

YMER&MALTA/ Paris

The Design On/Site format showcases solo shows of contemporary design and reflects a diverse and international selection of designers and dealers collaborating in unexpected ways to bring new pieces to market.

Armel Soyer/ Paris presenting Mathias Kiss

Carwan Gallery/ Beirut presenting India Mahdavi

Elisabetta Cipriani/ London presenting Enrico Castellani

Galerie VIVID/ Rotterdam presenting Richard Woods & Sebastian Wrong

Louisa Guinness Gallery/ London presenting Anish Kapoor

NextLevel Galerie/ Paris presenting Bina Baitel

ProjectB/ Milan presenting Philippe Malouin

Artsy, an online platform for discovering art and design, is once again partnering with Design Miami/ to preview the fair online and offer the opportunity purchase select works being shown at Design Miami/ Basel 2013.

Curio, by De Intuïtiefabriek, 2012. Nut wood, glass. Courtesy of Priveekollektie Contemporary Art | Design

"Cinnamon Girl," by Ron Nagle. Ceramic, 4" h x 7" d x 4.5" w, Courtesy of: Pierre Marie Giraud, Brussels

"Etagère," by Pierre Paulin, 1968. Painted wood, 146.5 x 27 x 125 cm. Courtesy of: Marc Domage

Egyptian Table by Mogens Lassen, 1940. Elmwood, tulipwood, brass, 221 x 112 x 74/82 cm. Courtesy of Galerie Eric Philippe

Lamp "534" by Gino Sarfatti, 1951. Marble, metal, bakelite, 34 x 14 x 56 cm. Courtesy of Fabrice Gousset and Galerie kreo

Table and Chair by Axel Einar Hjorth, 1929. Carved Pine, 67"L x 23"W x 29"H. Courtesy of Hostler Burrows

Chest of drawers - commode 219, by Alain Richard, 1954. Elm and lacquered metal, 63 x 48 x 79. Courtesy of Galerie Pascal Cuisinier (Paris)

Water Pendant (square), Form IV, by Anish Kapoor, 2010. 22ct gold with rose gold interior. Courtesy of Louisa Guinness Gallery

Minguren I Coffee Table by George Nakashima, 1977. French olive ash burl, walnut, 180 x 92.5 x 45.7. Courtesy of SEBASTIAN + BARQUET

Set of six panels from the James de Rothschild mansion, at 19 rue Lafitte, Paris, circa 1836. Courtesy of Steinitz

Asymmetrical ceramic armchairs by Lee Hun Chung, 2013. Glazed ceramic in traditional grayish-blue-powdered celadon. Courtesy of Gallery Seomi

Plant stand by Jean Burkhalter, 1930. White painted metal, 86 x 24 x 48 cm. Courtesy of Galerie Ulrich Fiedler

National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Louis Kahn, 1962–83. Image courtesy of Vitra Design Museum

The term master builder, most of the time, refers to those pre-Renaissance individuals who were at the helm of both designing and building their projects. Architecture changed considerably as design became specialized – and in the 19th century, professionalized – which had major effect not just on process, but on the functions and aesthetics of modern urban design. Louis Khan is considered one of the 20th century’s master builders; an architect who, from start to finish, evoked an archaic sense of grandeur and a mastery over his broad palette.

Exterior view. All following photos by Ursula Sprecher, © Vitra Design Museum 2013

The Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Switzerland is hosting the first major retrospective of this American architect – himself of Estonian birth but raised in Philadelphia – to be held in two decades. The renowned planner and designer of buildings such as the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, and the National Assembly Building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is given deserving attention and breadth with the exhibition.

View of the exhibition room 3

Opened in February of this year and finishing August 11,  the exhibition is aptly titled “Louis Khan: The Power of Architecture.” It contains models, original drawings and watercolor paintings, photographs, and film footage shot by Nathaniel Khan, who directed a film about his father called “My Architect.” The exhibit tells a biographical story, as well as a narrative concerning the development of his work.

"When the work is completed the beginning must be felt". View of the exhibition room 4

Khan was a prodigious self-documenter throughout the concepting and creation processes of all his work. “The Power of Architecture” displays a robust collection of documents detailing all his major works. They demonstrate his movement from early urban planning designs and single-family homes to the edifying, truly-grand structures of ancient proportion. The chronicles and models are buttressed by Khan’s own words printed on the walls, which were often as symbolic and instructive as his buildings.

View of the exhibition room 4

The impressively diverse collection showcases Kahn’s oeuvre, characterized by a far reaching, modernist’s vocabulary – from complex spatial compositions, to brutalist forms, to styles borrowing from the Bauhaus and Arts and Crafts movements. Khan melded the moral vigor of traditional architecture and design with the then forward-looking emphasis on technology, local resources and elements such as air and light.

View of the exhibition room 2

“Louis Khan: The Power of Architecture” is an ambitious undertaking, but it contains the tools, materials, and wherewithal necessary in communicating the formidable force of Khan’s vision and lineage.

- Rob Goyanes

Vitra Design Museum. Image courtesy of Vitra

“Louis Khan: The Power of Architecture,” at the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Switzerland.
February 23, 2013 – August 11, 2013

A bookshelf designed by ROLU, on view at the Merchant's House Museum. Image courtesy of Noho Design District

New York Design Week is in full-swing with a bevy of exhibitions, installations, and events being held everywhere from pop-up tents to museums to retail stores.  Design Miami/ has compiled our top picks for what to catch.

Marc Fornes's dancers at Moss Bureau.

Moss Bureau

256 West 36th Street, 10th Floor

Friday May 17th 6-8pm/ Send an email to rsvp@mossbureau.com before attending

Moss Bureau, a design advisory firm that also holds exhibitions of contemporary studio works, is showing a series by the French architect Marc Fornes. The series “Les Danseurs du Tailor” was developed by Fornes and his studio THEVERYMANY. The collection of nine floating dancers are made of aluminum, and they take on postures with plenty of attitude despite their abstractedness.

Doug Johnston Light Sculpture

Doug Johnston: Light Sculptures

Mondo Cane, 174 Duane St, Tribeca
Friday, May 17 – Friday, May 31, Opening reception Friday May 17th, 6-9 PM.

Doug Johnston has been creating voluminous sculptures and objects out of only coiled and stitched cord since 2010. This exhibition shows his latest series of hanging light sculptures made entirely out of cotton and nylon. A supreme stitching finesse brings out the nuanced and striking forms that are possible in Johnston’s limited, yet not limiting, palette.

A view of the Wonder Cabinets of Europe at the London Design Festival, 2012. Image courtesy of Wallpaper.com

Wonder Cabinets of Europe in America

Saturday, May 18 – Tuesday, May 21, 2013/ Booth 3110 of the ICFF

The Wonder Cabinets of Europe started as a venture that explored the creative interstices of European countries. Designers were given large wooden boxes to display their processes, materials, and objects in a cabinet of curiosities fashion, showcasing both comparisons and contrasts across borders. For the ICFF, the Wonder Cabinets of Europe travel to America and engage two new designers – Washington based Jonah Takagi and Matylda Krzykowski from Poland – thus creating a transatlantic design dialogue not to be missed. Other designers showing include Pauline Deltour, Oscar Diaz, Maria Jeglinska, Kueng Caputo, Loris&Livia, Harry Thaler.

One of the weavings created by New Friends. Image courtesy of Matter

Matter

405 BROOME STREET, NYC

Friday, May 10 – Tuesday, May 21, (Matter is open Monday-Saturday, 10-6, or by appointment)

Matter, the NY-based contemporary design store, gallery, and manufacturer, will be hosting designers Alex Segreti and Kelly Rakowski of New Friends, who will be producing a large-scale weaving. The two designers have constructed a site-specific loom that will enable them to weave one of their signature weavings from the floor to the ceiling. A living workshop, the work will be evolving throughout and will be a striking performance of craft and patience.

Pots by Chen Chen. Image courtesy of Sight Unseen

Sight Unseen, the online design magazine and consultancy, has produced a satellite design showcase titled Noho Design District since 2010, and this year’s showcase features an array of cutting-edge workshops and events. Besides the Designer Master Classes being held at the Bowery Hotel, where participants are invited to workshops taught by Fredericks & Mae, Fort Makers, and Chen Chen & Kai Williams, there will be a number of fascinating exhibits:

A piece by Misha Kahn, on view at the Noho Next 2013 exhibition. Image courtesy of Noho Design District

Noho Next 2013

Subculture, 45 Bleecker Street
Friday May 17–Monday May 20, 12PM to 7PM

Noho Next 2013 presents a selection of 13 up-and-coming American designers chosen by Sight Unseen editors and NDD curators Monica Khemsurov and Jill Singer. The show will include furniture, lighting, and objects by Assembly, Brendan Keim, Brian Persico, Eric Trine, Jason Rens, Karl Zahn, Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, Matt Paweski + Gabriel Abraham, Misha Kahn (pictured above), Pat Kim, Pinto + Glasse, Professional Associates, and Souda, plus a special Jambox sound + design installation.

Elisa Werbler, "What's Your's Is Mine," 2013. Courtesy of elisawerbler.com

Trophy: Awards We Live With

Underground at The Standard, East Village Hotel, 25 Cooper Square
Friday May 17–Monday May 20, 12PM to 7PM

Presented by the American Design Club, this show will feature the works of over two dozen designers and collaboratives who created trophies and trophy-objects. As the organizers explained, “A trophy is a memento, token, or symbol, used to commemorate an achievement or victory. Whether they are awarded, stolen, or created, trophy objects can come in many forms.” Dealing with subjects ranging from victory to death, this show promises to be a riveting trove of symbolic objects.

Image courtesy of Nohodesigndistrict.com

A Travel Show by Field and Various Projects 

Various Projects, 2 Bond Street
Friday May 17–Monday May 20, 11AM to 7PM; Saturday May 18, 11AM to 9PM

Field and Various Projects will be presenting a compendium of artists and designers who’ve created works based on the narratives and methods/goals of travel. The participants include Timothee Colmant, Daniel Gafner, Colgate Searle, Jonah Takagi, Okolo, Hannah Waldron, Katrin Greiling, The Good Flock, Studio Gorm, the thing, and more. Field’s own line of design objects will also be on view and available for purchase.

Merchant's House Museum. Image courtesy of The Basics Magazine

Modern Craft at the Merchant’s House Museum 

Merchant’s House Museum, 29 East 4th Street
Friday May 17–Saturday May 18, 12PM to 7PM; Sunday May 19–Monday May 20, 12PM to 5PM

Built in 1832, the Merchant’s House is New York City’s only family home that is preserved just the way it was, both inside and out, from the 19th century. A group of designers working with modern craft techniques — including Doug Johnston, Andrew O. Hughes, Meg Callahan, Eric Timothy Carlson, Aaron Anderson, Fort Makers, and ROLU  — will fill the house with a smattering of contemporary objects that will juxtapose with the house’s historical context in ways unexpected and curious.

Matt Olson pictured in the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of PIN-UP. Courtesy of PIN-UP Magazine

PIN-UP MAGAZINE

PIN-UP will be launching their new Spring/Summer 2013 issue! The edition includes an interview with Paulo Mendes da Rocha, ROLU, and Delfina Delettrez. So be sure to keep a look out!

Image courtesy of Salon 94

SALON 94 OBJECTS & DESIGN

12 East 94th Street,

Friday, May 10 – Tuesday, May 21, (Salon 94 is open Monday-Friday, 10-6)

Throughout NYCxDESIGN, Salon 94 will be showing an installation of furniture and objects by designers including on view by Matt Merkel Hess, Takuro Kuwata, Rick Owens, Betty Woodman, Pae White, Kueng Caputo, Nicolas Party and others.

- Rob Goyanes

Ironing Board Coffee Table/ Greta Magnusson Grossman/ 1952/ Wood and brass/ 150 x 81 x 60 cm/ R 20TH Century

“I have always been intrigued with designs created in the mid-twentieth century. Equally, I enjoy the fact that this particular piece of furniture has drawn its inspiration from a utilitarian object of everyday life. For me, it is timeless and poetic – and it also possesses a sense of unassuming simplicity that is genuinely functional.”

Photo by Ed Reeve

André Fu/ Founding Principle of AFSO

FINN JUHL/ WRITING DESK/ 1953/ ROSEWOOD, GUNMETAL & BRASS/ 140/195 x 85 x 73.5 cm/ DANSK MØBELKUNST GALLERY

“The writing desk that Finn Juhl designed in 1953 consists of different elements: a drop-leaf made of rosewood, a metal tube supporting structure and a suspended four drawer cabinet. The different elements are clearly legible; Juhl broke with monumental gestures and the idea of material unity as well.

Juhl’s writing desk is less organic than other danish design pieces of this time; he succeeded in blending international and Danish tendencies. For me the writing desk is one of the most striking and convincing examples of modern design.”

HUBERTUS ADAM/ Director, S AM – Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum

The local products designed by ECAL Product Design Masters students. Images by Emile Barrett

As part of the Masters in Product Design at ECAL (École cantonale d’art de Lausanne), Lausanne, Switzerland, the Terroir project recently brought together international students and local artisans from the Romandy region.

Supervised by the French designer Augustin Scott de Martinville, co-founding member of the Lausanne-based design studio Big-Game, the project allowed students to collaborate with local blacksmiths, pastry-makers, fromagers, forest keepers, and bonbon-makers (to name a few), create a product, and sell it at local markets.

“It’s always an issue to get students involved with producers and artisans,” explains Martinville. “This was a good way of breaking the ice. The students got direct feedback from the public when they sold the products at the markets, which is rare for designers; sometimes you never see the end consumer.”

The Terroir market in Lausanne

Terroir is a term that refers to local produce. It is often used in wine terminology, but may also denote local foods and objects.

The students presented their Terroir products twice: once at the local market in Lausanne, and last week in Renens, a small town near Lausanne. “The students made their own market stalls in a workshop, so they could really understand every aspect of the process,” says Martinville.

Sixteen students participated in total. Here, Disegno speaks to three of them about their individual projects.

Pate au chèvre Carolien Niebling/ Goat cheese patties referencing traditional pate vaudois

Carolien Niebling (NE): Pâté au chèvre

The petit pâté vaudois is a local delicacy that you can buy at the butchers. It’s a small pastry with meat filling and jelly on top. If you put it in the oven, the jelly melts into a sort of gravy. I’ve re-interpreted the pastry and changed the meat to goat’s cheese, which is also typical of the region, and I’ve made a new kind of jelly from honey. The shape is quite close to the original because I wanted local people to recognise that it was based on the petit pâté vaudois.

I worked with a goat’s cheese farmer, and eventually produced the pastries in a local bakery. When I presented the pâtés at the markets, people immediately recognised them, but they were really surprised about the goat’s cheese. It’s quite dangerous to try to change an appreciated local tradition. But overall I think people really liked it.

Mixing honey and cheese is not something you would normally do in Switzerland, it’s probably more common in Holland. Maybe my heritage was an unconscious influence.

Couteau Vaudois by Dominic Schlogel/ A hand-forged knife produced in Vallorbe

Dominic Schlögel (DE): Couteau vaudois

The project was not only about food and drink, but also about traditional craftsmanship. So I made a knife. I had the chance to collaborate with the Grand Forges in Vallorbe, a town with a very long tradition of forging and blacksmithing. My producer was Amélie Pietrzykowska, a blacksmith at the forge, which is also part of the Museum of Iron. It was fascinating to work with Amélie, and learn how materials behaves outside of the industrial setting.

The idea was to make the essence of a knife with a traditional, hand-forged steel blade and a modern hilt using CNC technology. So it brings together tradition and contemporary technology.

I also worked with the Coutellerie Besson, a knife sharpener in Lausanne, a business that dates back to the late nineteenth century. So I was really involved with the tradition of knife-making here in Romandy, working with these people to create a contemporary object that still has traditional elements. We made 14 knives in total.

Bonbons a la seve de sapin by Oili Hirvonen/ Candy made out of Romainmotiers tree sap and Vaud's honey

Olli Hirvonen (FI): Bonbons à la sève de sapin

I made some sweets from Douglas fir sap. It’s quite similar to maple syrup. In the region there are popular sweets made from the sap of normal pine trees. I worked with a forest keeper from Romainmôtier, a very old Swiss village near Lausanne. First we tried to collect the sap from a normal pine tree, but then he pointed out that the sap of the Douglas fir has a tastier, citrus-like flavour. Then I worked with an amazing man called Georges Zehnder; he’s 82 and has been making honey sweets all of his life. He’s retired but we got to do this last project together.

I took small pieces of wood and used the tree texture to press the sweets, so that the way the sweets look tells the story of its origins. I’m from Finland, where we often use the sap of different trees. So my project was a mix of my own heritage and the local tradition.

Cheers by Hyunwook Lee/ Appetizer chips made from cereal grain used in beer brewing

This article originally appeared on Disegno Daily on 5 May 2013.