Why Lighting?

I see lighting as a fashion accessory for the home; plus I wanted to explore working with new materials and lighting seemed like a good choice.

What role did materials play in the design?

 I like to explore materials especially materials under tension. I also wanted to explore the relationship between the construction of an object and how it “works”.

 What was the one thing you learned from this project?

To think simple.

His inspiration was based on the principle of an organic body composed of skin and skeleton. In pulling the pendant light’s center rod, the intensity of the light is raised or lowered; coinciding  with the pulling of the light’s fabric membrane. In order to produce a flowing and expressive movement, the designer concentrated on a very precise and harmonious gesture focused on one point. In this way, the lamp becomes a temporary shape creating a poetic time from daily use.

Eine Wand - We came across this team while walking the Passagen showrooms and my first thought was IKEA where are you? The ID Modus team takes its inspiration fromwhat they call folding architecture. Imagine this wall system in your first studio walk up or in your tween’s room with some of the pieces opening up to storage. Paint in in Mondarian style, wall paper it, turn it into a dry erase board . It’s genius!

                                                  

Probably the most interesting and invigorating part of a trip to cologne is the Passagen, the offsite event during imm Cologne Furniture Fair that focuses on interior design trends in galleries, showrooms and shops throughout Cologne. Yes, there’s lots of walking and your fair share of wild goose chases when  exhibitions don’t live up to their brochure descriptions.  But Designer’s Fair never disappoints. Rather than showing the most famous names in the business, the DESIGNERS FAIR consciously seeks to bring together the most exciting new discoveries. Young designers take rooms on the three floors of the RheinTriadem and fill them with prototypes and furnishings.

It’s amazing what you might find and boy, did we find some great things. One of my favorites was Klaus LEUTCHE, a design firm that we almost overlooked, walking into the room we saw tassels hanging from the ceiling along we turned around to a small group of  designers sitting in the back. Of course we had to ask about the tassels A product near and dear to our hearts. What we found was fabulous! Tassels that were actually lights. 

 Even better is the story behind it. In the young designers’ broken English, and our broken German- actually Susan’s German-we learned that they were renting space in the  Borrmann atelier. A trim and yarn  factory located in Dusseldorf. They were also looking for an inexpensive, readily available medium and a little inspiration, when they quickly realized that the yarn bins and trimmings and tassels provided it all- the missing links for their lighting project.

I am not sure what I love more- the pendant light which I am coveting for my own house (I could see 3-4 in different colors and heights hanging from the ceiling in my studio) or the backstory.

Check out Plinth and Chintz’s March issue for more of my musings about the young and exciting talents we found in Cologne, Frankfurt and Paris.

2009 Academy Awards set design

2010 Academy Awards set design

Rockwell Group has reprised one of the most dazzling elements of the 81st Academy Awards design - the Swarovski Crystal Curtain - but with new and unexpected features for an even greater theatrical effect.  I was blown away by the Crystal Curtain last year. Not only was it stunning, but I don’t know how you justify not using it again. ( OK, I am a huge Swarovski fan.)The curtains shimmers with over 100,000 Swarovski crystals flown in from Austria and stands 60 feet tall and 100 feet wide.

Elements added

 This year’s set also features three circular, revolving platforms that work in combination with rotating LED panels and architectural metalwork screens for film projection.  ( The wonders of modern technology!) The overall design is intended to evoke a classic but modern glamour, with white, platinum, topaz and smoky bronze hues added this year.

Sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see the final results.

This is fiber optic ready made curtain panel from Italian firm Decobel gives new meaning to “light at the window”.

Color schemes were lighter and fresher than last year and foreshadowed brighter days to come.

It was obvious that innovation had taken a back seat to reworking old favorites and best sellers, but if you looked hard enough you could find some truly amazing fabrics. The dimensional structures and surface trend for textiles is still gaining speed on the trend curve.

More to come tomorrow from imm Cologne and later this week- Maison et Objet!

I just bought my September issue. Do you have yours?

I anxiously await this issue of Vogue. As they say; if fashion is a religion than Vogue is the bible. Weighing nearly 3 lbs and consisting of 584 pages of inspiration, it provides hours of browsing, dreaming. I always rip pages, tag corners; filing it away in my journal.

 This issue was a definite MUST HAVE with the drop of this month’s magazine coinciding with the premiere of The September Issue, filmmaker R J Culter ‘s  documentary about the making of the 2007 version of the issue. Cutler got unprecedented access into Anna Wintour’s world; so of course I was curious… not to mention I was interested in seeing see what it takes to stay on top in the fashion world -giving lessons that could be learned in the interior world two fold.

Top  Inspirations

The Steven Meisel shoot In the Mood - 1942 New York - bebop, smoky bars, peplums and shoulder pads. A fashion era I have always had an infinity for.  Love, love, love the detail on the Dior wool suit to the left.

This shot seems like a flashback of my family album. It could very well be my grandmother and my great grandmother- two women  that have inspired and framed my design outlook.

Don’t you just LOVE the draping-  so Barbara Stanwyck. 

Into The Woods is Coddington’s fantasy fashion version of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood celebrating my fav color -red

Also check out:

Merci- a new concept store in the marais neighborhood of Paris that I will certainly be shopping at in January.

My Sew Called Life-a short article about Jason Wu teaching one of the Vogue editors to sew. Good insight from anovice what the craft and art of sewing is like.

Country Couture - Vogue visits Juicy Couture co-founder Gela Nash-Taylor’s country manor

Still looking for more Fashion Inspiration? Check out Valentino, The Last Emperor

Here’s a sneak peek of what NeoCon  ’09 will have to offer next week. From textiles to technology, Neocon never disappoints.

Maharam Digital Projects combines content and execution, making the work of today’s leading artists and designers affordable and accessible as a curated repository of images printed using the highest quality digital techniques available.  Digital Projects is a carefully curated repository of museum quality installations for walls, including two 10′ by 36′ works by Douglas Gordon and Karel Martens. Digital Projects can be used for contract and residential applications; this versatile medium provides visual vocabulary drawn from emerging and established artists, internationally renowned graphic designers, and longtime Maharam collaborators.

Defining Leather through design. Whatever you can create can now come to life in genuine leather and then be upholstered onto the furniture piece of your choice. SIF Technology is raising the bar on creativity in the contract market with its new Digital Leather image process-a unique printable laminate that permanently fuses high resolution aniline and semi-aniline colors, full color photos and graphic images onto and into the surface of genuine leather. What a perfect way to showcase it but with the Pantone Chair.

Several innovative, technical methods were fundamental to the success of these Momentum fabrics. Classique features a unique carving finish which results in a vertical rib effect on the face of the velvet. Sartorial’s dimensional pleat construction is unusual in the industry. Most pleated or puckered fabrics are created using a stretch yarn or a finishing or chemical process which can lead to a flattening of the pleat during the upholstering process or through standard use. It took more than five years of experimentation for Momentum’s collaborative mill professionals to achieve a hand-woven pleat effect in production. While Sartorial is not the only pleated fabric on the market, it is the only pleated fabric which is also embroidered. Delano features a Trieste yarn which is a custom made novelty weft yarn from Italy. The striations that the Trieste accomplishes are unique. They are long and graceful rather than the shorter, choppier striations most often seen. This very special yarn was used in tandem with a carefully fashioned woven structure to create an unusually soft and slick tweed look. 

Designers want a web experience that reflects and enhances their design and product selection process. The Virtual Library by Mannington Commercial delivers on these desires by complementing the creative process and keeping key tools at a designer’s fingertips. The Virtual Library, the first of its kind for our industry, enables exploration from any location with online access and shortens the sales cycle - all while reducing unnecessary use of valuable space in design firms’ libraries or contributing to landfill waste.  This immersive online experience uses 3-dimensional and Flash technology to simulate the experience of being in a product library for every hard and soft surface floorcovering in Mannington Commercial’s complete product mix, and to stimulate exploring and experimenting with product choices with virtual flip book technology -letting designers flip thru  pages the same way as a designer would look through a paper catalog.

As its name suggests, Stucco  by Geneieve Bennett resembles molding sculpted on a plaster wall, but it is actually a cleverly designed, three-dimensional wall panel adorned with cut leather pieces. The resulting composition of abstracted leaves and flowers comes just in time for spring. While custom colors and sizes are available, it comes standard in a 30 1/3-inch-by-39 1/3-inch panel.

Finally, My favorite- I have already downloaded it!

 With Colorsnap by Sherwin Williams you can discover how coordinating colors and bringing ideas to life is easier than you ever imagined. Find a color you love, snap the photo and receive the matching Sherwin-Williams paint color and coordinating palette. And it’s all FREE!

• Choose a color that inspires you and match it with one of our 1,500 Sherwin-Williams paint colors.
• Receive a coordinating palette that complements your color.
• Find your local Sherwin-Williams store where the experts will help you bring your vision to life.
• Save colors to your “My Saved Colors” library for future inspiration.

The judges have deliberated and here are the 2009 Ample Sample finalists and winner. If you’re going to NeoCon in Chicago; check them out in person where the finalists’ products will be showcased. The finalists include:

Jake Tompkins of JMBC Design - Magic Carpet Ride

Sean Miller - Mailbox

Heather Wright and Christina Jih - Plush Petal Pendant

Wuthichai Leelavoravong - Shoe-Keeper

Sean Miller’s Mailbox

The Plush Petal Pendant used a cylindrical, reclaimed lampshade frame which allowed for 32 strips. This fabrication used exactly 2 carpet tiles. The shade was designed for the reuse of materials, and the absence of glues and adhesives. This picture is an actual fabrication which is lit by a spherical compact fluorescent bulb.

An Eco-Friendly Hammock, Magic Carpet Ride, inspired by the paper chains of childhood that utilizes the texture and feel of carpet to create a more comfortable and relaxing surface.

AND THE WINNER IS……

Cut, Clip, and Hang. There are only 3 simple steps to create “Shoe-Keeper”.  Shoe-Keeper was inspired from the close (physical) relationship between the carpet and shoes. Importantly, there is no waste in this design. To keep a pair of shoes, we need only a half of the carpet tile. Besides its main function, we can also use Shoe-Keeper as decoration on a wall by mixing and matching different colors and patterns of carpet tiles.