This staircase I came across on Apartment Therapy was too good to not share! I feel so inspired to try something like this.

I’m sure you’ve seen this chair everywhere by now. Coke and Emeco refresh the classic Navy chair, originally designed for the U.S. Navy back in the 1940s, by making it out of 111 recycled Coca-Cola soda bottles. I went over to Design Within Reach yesterday and took a look at it. It’s really gorgeous. The Emeco Navy chair is one of those staples of good modern design, it’s shape is timeless. I especially love the version with a wood seat.

I was also really impressed with the nice little site that Coke and Emeco put together for the launch of the new chair.

Portia Wells‘ work has always amazed me. Her design projects also serve as a platform for artistic ideation and social commentary about the objects we consume and acquire. I’m always surprised at how each time I look at a particular work I come across a new and unexpected thought behind it.

Even though both of my parents are from the Puerto Rico I have to admit I know very little (in fact, almost nothing) about designers from the Caribbean and Central/South America. Over the last year or so this has all changed, in large part to my wonderful friend Alberto Rigau, who has introduced me to a slew of artists, architects and designers (both historical and contemporary) from all over the place, including Brazil.

Fernando and Humberto Campana are two brothers from Brazil whose work I had no clue existed until only a few months ago. The Campanas have been working across the fields of industrial design (namely furniture), art, architecture/interior design and exhibition design for the better part of the last thirty years. Check out some of the crazy work they did for Lacoste below.

Designer/craftsman Kin Ichi Ogata has created some beautifully masculine, industrial pieces. The above being my favorite. Look for them on unity523ny’s site.

Found via Design Milk

SIXINCH is a great furniture and design company located in Belgium, Portugal and Japan. They have some really interesting uses of material and combinations of style.. be sure to go check out their site for more work.

James Hopkin‘s artwork is incredible.

I don’t usually find myself attracted to much contemporary sculpture, but Hopkin’s ability to craft pieces that require the onlooker to do a double-take has got me hooked. Hopkins constructs incredible works imbued with interpretative meaning through the use of scale, perspective and visual trickery. Enjoy.

After more than 50 years of using Futura (and Century Schoolbook) as their typeface for catalogs, signage, ads, etc., Ikea has decided to use Verdana instead. The reason, it seems, is to unify their presence globally in both print and digital media. Rubbish, I say! I think this represents poor taste on their part, and what (seemingly) stylish furniture designer/maker wants to act in poor taste.

Read all about it at Typophile.

Some interesting furniture made from skateboards by Skate Study House

Via Accidental Mysteries

Recently I ordered this great little business card holder designed by Sam Hecht. A couple of clicks later and I was led to his studio, Industrial Facility. They’re based in London and recently launched a new online store called Retail Facility. I love the calculator shown above.

LARS

KINKYFORM / PROPER VILLAINS COLLECTIVE

-WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Born and raised in Germany. Looking live out there in the rest of the world to get inspired by all the beautiful cultures.

-WHAT DOES YOUR WORK CONSIST OF?

A fusion between product design and illustrations/artwork. Quality over quantity and the beauty of materials.

-HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?

Starting with product design i found my love in furniture design. After graduating i worked as furniture designer, got bored of the

mass manufacturing industry and started Kinkyform to work against mass production and to make hand crafted goods and high quality production fashionable again.

Now i settled myself in the hand-crafted watch business which is one of my lifetime dreams. All my brands and projects are collected under The Substain.

-WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?

Working with people who inspire me and to merge my art with theirs. The beauty of 3 dimensional products

and everything you can do with materials. It feels great to merge your favorite things and make them touchable and even usable. Not only screen based artwork,

the real thing. I also love having contact with all those different individuals all over the world.

-WHAT IS THE WORST THING ABOUT WHAT YOU DO?

How the mass industries destroys the honest people who build things with their own hands. There are too

many hyped and fake people out there.

-IF YOU WEREN’T _________, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING?

I’d be living on some island and enjoy the simple live. that’s plan B actually.

-WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Shapes, geometries, colors, classic furniture design and artwork of the artists i adore.

-WHERE DOES CREATIVITY COME FROM?

Being creative is a way of living. You can’t stop it, can’t hold it back. You see things different and interact different.

Creativity comes from the things you learn, from the things around you and all the ups and downs you live through.

-WHO’S WORK DO YOU LOOK UP TO?

Charles Eames, Mies van der Rohe, Basquiat and artists/designers of today like Alex Truchot and Le Messie!

-WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR YOUR INDUSTRY?

I hope people will drop their ikea lifestyle and get back the hand-crafted and well designed products.

We need to avoid cheap mass manufactured products because it’s not the big companies who pay for the cheap prices, it’s the small man or child who get raped

for their cheap labour.

-WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM YOU NEXT?

There will be a new piece of jewelry, the Chaos/Order Gear and a matching watch! And new collabos as usual, the

Peace Denim Corp. is in the boat too!

-WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR FIELD ASPIRING TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY?

Do what you want. Don’t get pushed in a direction you don’t see yourself in. Try to find your way to do what you love.

-ONE DEFINING MOMENT OF YOUR CAREER SO FAR.

Seeing how the whole industry, let it be fashion or furniture design is full of pirates who try to rip you off. But also

the other side of the coin. I met many great people i look up to and will always love to work with.

-WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Madlib – Lifetime (Lifeline).

KINKYFORM

PROPER VILLAINS COLLECTIVE

i came across these guys while working on a project, dont know how much of their stuff is available for purchase but they got some really great ideas and visions… i particularly thought this fish cage was amazingly smart and would like to give one to my mother..  check em out.  sixinch

The Colombian Coffee Table 
Limited Snow Edition
Corian and Sentry Glass
£2,500 

The Colombian Coffee Table is the debut product to be released from London based duo Vonhideki – a combination of industrial design and illustration.  The table has just been showcased at this year’s London Design Festival and plans are being finalised for it’s debut in Milan next year.

Utilising cutting edge techniques and materials the table base is made from one piece Corian and the top is glass into which a bespoke illustration is digitally printed.  The table is produced by the manufacturing powerhouse Dupont. There are only a small handful of companies in Europe able to reproduce this piece making it very unique.

The Snow Edition is now available for sale directly from Vonhideki.

A bespoke illustration can also be privately commissioned for you own specific table (POA).

Von continues to be a beast….