Style Substance

April 1, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

Get out of the home accents box and take a minute to see the most amazing thing I’ve come across in years. (Though honestly, I don’t know exactly what it is.) The illustration above is beautiful enough but you have to see the real thing in motion -- watching the video of Air Jelly is a magical experience. I felt like I was witnessing some beautiful creature captured from an alien world. The developer is Festo, a company specializing in industrial automation. The website is in German, but this will take you right to the video. Afterward you can get back in the box, if you want to.

April 1, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

March 1, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

The 32nd Plagarius Award ceremony was held during Ambiente in Frankfurt, Germany last month to (dis)honor those in the industry who copy other designs. While the little gnome with the gold nose may seem funny, the economic losses attributed to knockoffs are not. Estimates put the losses in the billions of Euros and hundreds of thousands of jobs each year. While jumping on a trend and creating the next better lamp shade is what keeps our industry vibrant, 1:1 knockoffs are a crime. Action Plagarius had real-world knockoffs and originals on display to help sensitize all of us a...Read More

January 8, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

When I first heard about this guy (thanks, Chris) I thought, 'How cool!' somebody's been squatting in an Ikea -- how did he get away with it? Not that difficult apparently. There was a group of artists living in a mall in Providence, RI for several years before they were discovered. Alas, this guy is a filmmaker and has the approval of the giant retailer. This web site chronicles his ready-to-assemble adventure. (Nothing against Ikea, but I'd have chosen the Takashimaya on Fifth.)
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November 15, 2007 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Talk about turn-key. Deasy Penner & Partners, Palm Springs realtors to the rich, and Fitszu Society, purveyor of cool objets for the home, have teamed up to, apparently, save Palm Springers time and energy when out shopping for architecturally significant housing. (One can only assume these poor desert dwellers get exhausted counting their money or something.)

Real estate and retail together is a brilliant idea, like ordering burgers from the gas pump. But to really make this baby sing they need to flesh it out a bit. I suggest the addition of a ...Read More