inspiration. information. influence

It’s Sunday which means it is time for our weekly design intell series! Design Confidential curates a weekly selection of relevant and noteworthy design news headlines from around the world.Check out the links below for news, trends and home decor/design resources you may have missed this week. Enjoy.

Products

Creation Baumann 2010 collection

Abraham Moon introduces 7 new wool collections and sample books

Furnibloom 

Walcot House’s Disc Finial has been revived with a wonderful selection of new colors and textures  

 Wallpaper for Windows  new Deco Wave window film   

Innovation + Technology

Homestyler Partners with Dwell

Target Launches New Social Media Push

Design Destinations

Polo/Ralph Lauren Does Monticello

Why Design Now?  at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York

2010 French Sculputural Preview  to the French Salute to Edith Wharton 2011 The Mount, Lenox, MA

Design Events + Competitions

Sketchbook Project 2011  Tour

‹‹SYSTEMS: THINK FORWARD›› INNOVATION COMPETITION 2010/2011

So I’m back from a whirlwind trip to NeoCon. We saw some amazing new products in the sea of seating. More on that tomorrow. For now, my top three favorites were:

C.F. Stinson’s Sta- Kleen dry erase upholstery fabric

Suzanne Tick’s Memory Glass for Skyline Design

Dietiker’s new chair- Ono- in an inspired color palette by Arik Levy

If you want to see the best of NeoCon. Read NeoCon Live’s daily postings. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Neocon Day 1

NeoCon Day 2

NeoCon Day 3  Don’t Miss Apartment Therapy’s post about NeoCon ideas you can use at home!

NeoCon 2010 opens tomorrow and I am off to walk the aisles and see the showrooms to get my annual dose of creativity and innovation from the contract industry. Here are my perennial favorites and my list of must -stop- and- sees in the next couple of days.

Knoll Textiles- I can’t miss the new Knoll Luxe Rodarte collection.

Lowell

Keats

Maharam always delights the eye.

 Designtex too!

 B & B Italia to see the Patricia Uriquola Outdoor Collection- Crinoline.

Mecho Shade will show their sloped shades.

Bergamo Fabrics introduces Aligator Viscose.

Perennial fav- Maya Romanoff shows the  Meditations collection of hand made paper by Nepalese artisans.  The luxurious texture and shimmer of Meditations wallpaper may look glamorous, but it’s also a feel-good product: Production of the handmade lokta paper employs Nepalese artisans, requires minimal energy use, and offers a portion of profits to Aid to Artisans.

Tricycle unveils the Ample Sample winner and I need to get the inside scoop if they are branching out into more industries.

This year’s winner is Steven Rothe’s Cynch Stool. Rothe, a designer from Minnesota with 11 years of experience who works for Meyer, Scherer, & Rockcastle, Ltd., explains, “The Cynch Stool’s aesthetic was driven by the goal of creating a piece of furniture that was crisper, softer, and streamlined, while not being overly heavy to allow for easy mobility of the object.”The design for Cynch is a classic combination of form and function.  With a clean and minimal aesthetic, this stool is able to meet realistic stresses while weighing less than 30% of a comparable design of solid carpet tile.  By using less total resources on top of a design that already takes advantage of almost 100% of every tile, Cynch allows the design waste stream to go further.  And by being held together with mechanical fasteners and straps, the stool is completely recyclable at the end of its life span.  The Cynch design offers minimal cutting, a simple assembly process and a lighter yet attractive stool, making it a cinch.

Herman Miller- the list goes on…. Plus, I know I’ll find a gem or two hidden in the temporary suites or find a great new source from the new exhibitors.

Monday, June 14th, Susan and I will be presenting a seminar in the Fine Design Residential Seminar Track titled: High Impact Materials for High Income Projects at 2:30-3:30 on the 15^th floor.

While I am there, I’ll be checking out the Guerilla Truck Show at Fulton Market- it’s the sixth year where young designers back up 18 wheelers to a loading dock and for 4 hours showcase their newest work. Participating groups include Strand Design, Object Society, Studio Murmur, Object Design League, and Uncommon. Object Society in it’s second annual show, offering more exciting new furniture and designed objects from even more of Chicago’s best independent designers. In the auxiliary gallery, Object Design League will be showing work from their 2010 workshop: Bags, based on the popular Midwestern game Cornhole. The public is invited inside to play our special “Bags Course,” featuring 15 designers’ interpretations of games with projectiles and targets.

 If yousee me in the booths. Stop and say hi!

Recently I did a post  about young designers whose products blew me away at the January shows. Well, they are making waves again.
I have a soft spot for needlecraft, so I was amazed by Pavlinder Nangla’s embroidered take on the global financial crisis when I first saw it at imm Cologne. Luckily loads of U.S. designers got to also view his inspiration wall hangings at ICFF.He assembles each piece from bits of scrap fabric, found objects, small toys, jewelry, and pretty much anything else interesting he sees. Palvinder uses the unique pieces as personal design inspiration for his fashion and textile design work- his mood boards that become pieces of art.

I first saw Irish designer Rachel O’Neill’s (she studied at the University of Iowa) work 2 years ago at imm Cologne as part of the British Design Students booth. Rachel creates large scale wall hangings and lighting from custom dyed velcro. Who knew?! Some combinations include feathers and metallic finishes.  I loved the idea of taking a common material, in this case- velcro- and turning it into something else. The results are as you will see are completely unique and original. This year she surfaced again at ICFF with some stunning lighting concepts. Love the play on light and shadow.  What designer/workroom/installer hasn’t become frustrated by a jumbled mess of velcro? Now we know what to do with it.

I have finally spent some time learning the awesomeness of my iphone. I have to say, it can be addicting, plus it’s a designer’s dream.  Here are my new favs when it comes to the apps that are designed for designers and architects.

 1.Units by TheMacBox allow users to convert area, length and width among other units. According to Examiner.com, designers and architects can simply plug in numbers to quickly convert a drawing that is in meters to feet, for example. By eliminating the need for formulas, Units by TheMacBox will save time and ensure accuracy.FREE

2.Architect’s Formulator by Multieducator Inc. contains over 200 formulas in the areas of Electrical, Carpentry and Plumbing, as well as Concrete and Excavations. Unlike other applications, this one costs about $10.00, but some would agree that the app is worth the price since it practically eliminates the need for having to reference bulky manuals.

3. iHandy Level iPhone App – very handy for leveling pictures on the wall, checking that a table is level, etc. FREE

4.Mark on Call by M.O.C. Interior Design, LLC helps with space planning, includes a pre-loaded material palette and allows users to save a library of finishes to “skin” onto surfaces in a virtual room. Version 2.0 is now available. $ 2.99 That lets you:

Take pictures of actual finishes, fabrics, rugs, and flooring from your favorite manufacturers and “skin” them onto ANY item or surface in your room using your iPhone camera or images from your photo library and publish and share them with other users.

 Access Presets Palette offering pre-loaded color, pattern, wood, and stone options; apply our user-friendly color wheel; or import custom colors and patterns

 Utilize new Rooms Gallery to backup & publish your room designs, move rooms to another floor plan, create room templates, & collaborate with other designers, clients, friends, family, or other app users.

Talk about design mobility-you can actually consult and share room plans with your clients!

5. My MOST favorite is reQall. reQall is a voice-enabled memory aid that seamlessly integrates your mobile phone, email, text messaging and IM into a powerful organizer, reminder system and productivity assistant.  God knows I can use a little more memory! reQall lets you capture your ideas, tasks and commitments before you forget, and it proactively keeps you well-prepared.  A colleague turned me on to it and I tested it on a trip home from Indy last week. When I get behind the wheel my head clears and my to- dos come into focus. I LOVED this- I speak into the phone; it turns my recording into text; creates a list organized by categories like need to buy, Notes, To Dos, Call, etc. that I can access and then sends me a reminder! Busy designers will love this- no texting yourself a note. FREE

If  you have an iPad… here’s a fabulous new app. I have been coveting this design series after seeing it for several years ago at a show. Phaidon hasn’t wasted any time in transforming its encyclopedic Design Classics collection into an app for Apple’s new tablet device. Originally published as a three-volume set (and tucked inside its own carrying case), Phaidon Design Classics features 999 of the most innovative, beautiful, and influential products created in the last 200 years, from early-1800s Chinese bonsai scissors to the sleek line of brunch equipment (kettle, coffee maker, and toaster) designed by Jasper Morrison for Rowenta. $19.99 ( orginal three book set- $175.00)

Last but not least, if personal design shopping is part of your design service package try Red Laser. Just used it pricing a TV for a client. Not only did it price it, but listed the cheapest prices within 5 miles and online.  $.99