Five Rather Cool Chairs....

I got these (and a few more) sent in an email from my friend. I can't give you the credits for the design then, but feel free to point it out to me. I have to say I'm pretty inspired by these, especially by the one made out of "Don't Walk" sign! My ex flatmate used to collect road signs, sometimes I got them as presents. I think I still have a huge cirle blue sign somewhere in his garage, so maybe I could come up with a use for it....

Peter Callesen And The Bodies Exhibition

Have you seen The Bodies Exhibition? I have. We went to see it with my ex, during our stay in New York this summer. My feelings about it were mixed, to say the least. Even though it is advertised as your chance to see the real human bodies, stripped to bones and flesh, nothing there seemed like human body to me. More like plastic, unnatural figures from a strange version of Madame Tussauds. Anyways, I was just thinking about it while looking at Peter Callesen papergraphics. They move me and make me think about the nature of human bodies much much more.

Vintage Furniture From Designsklep

I found a Polish online store - called designsklep - that sells vintage furniture with amazing retro design. Not only everything looks fabulous, or at least interesting, but since its old furniture, there's history behind it too. Unfortunately history has its price (and a rather steep one too), so I doubt I'll be buying any of these in the close future, but it sure is a treat for eyes to just look at them.

Orla Kiely's Tea Caddy

The more I'm interested in design, the more I appreciate Orla Kiely's work. Her stem patterns are so often reproduced, that you cannot live your life without noticing it at least once. I posted the above to The Dieline a while ago, but I figured you may not be familiar with it! Here's a short round up then:

For an Irishman, the word that comes to mind when thinking about coffee is Bewley's. It's what you'll get in every pub or restaurant when asking for a cup of coffee. If you look up the most famous Irish designer, you'll undoubtedly find Orla Kiely. For a designers touch on your tea packaging, the combination of the two makes perfect sense then. The tea caddy designed by Orla Kiely holds 160 tea bags of Bewleys finest and was released as a limited edition.

Orla's second packaging contribution this year is a reusable water bottle designed for Brita, one of the largest water filter producers. The idea behind Wottle was to create a truley eco-friendly product, instead of releasing another bottled water. Wottle itself is made out of recycled materials and is also meant to reduce the disposal of plastic bottles. Therefore, the design of the bottle had to be attractive enough to entice its preservation. "To be involved in the redesign of such an everyday product is always a challenge, and working with such a great concept made it all the more inspiring. It was exciting to consider the environment alongside practicalities and aesthetics." - says Orla Kiely. Both products featured Kiely's most recognizable stem print.

Isak

 I have to throw a house warming party and register my gift list at ISAK...

Icelandic Market

Just a couple cool items from Icelandic Market. Tres cool, in fact. I think I could easily have one apartment just for storing amazing chairs. And it would be pretty cluttered.... via emmas blog.

"Modern Design Deck" - Design Periodic Table

Scientists have the Mendeleev's periodic table - why shouldn't designers have their own one? Great illustrator Jen Renniger from pleasebestill decided to take the matters in her own hands. She created a beautiful illustrated deck of design classics and replaced the elements with her favourite design pieces. She called it the Modern Design Deck: Home Furnishing Icons From The First Half Of The 20th Century.

In 2007, during a creative funk, my husband suggested I work on a painting of his favorite chair (the Eames' RAR Chair) as a way to spark some creative flow. About the same time I found an old flash card set and it occurred to me that the two would make a wonderful combination. The Modern design Deck was born out of that little series of events. The deck includes 30 images of different iconic mid-century designs paired with their designers names.

Ventricle Vessel by Eva Milinkovic

My journey on the bus this morning was very inspiring. Doing my usual morning design-blog rounds on the iphone, I found this beautiful piece of glass art at playmedesign. Shaped as heart, combined of amazing colours, intriguing... The Ventricle Vessel vase by Eva Milinkovic made me smile and think positive despite the foggy and grey morning. Continue reading to see more examples of work by Tsunami Glassworks.

Limited Edition Chairs - Eames & Jacobsen

Within couple of days I found two limited editions of the design classic - RAR by Ray and Charles Eames and Egg by Arne Jacobsen. I don't know (yet) who's responsible for the Egg, but the amazing hand drawn patterns on RAR were made by Mike Perry. Check out more photos after the break.

Self Promotion Materials by Kanella

Many studios try to steal their clinets' hearts, but I especially like these cards I found at Graphic-Exchange by a Greek designer Kanella. Four hand stiched cards convey the message: DESIGN is the KEY to the PATH towards the SUN. Isn't that adorable? I also like the way Kanella talks about herself, how the studio was established by accident as a way to pursue side projects - KANELLA / MY BASE IS MY LAPTOP AND I. Well, good way to use your laptop, Kanella!

Four hand-crafted, embossed and woven cards that reveal a secret. The idea behind the project is based on the story of Ariadne and her thread which has been adapted and now it focuses on the importance of good taste. The main goal was to praise design by actually using a yellow thread.

My New Chair - Maple by IKER

I know I always said that my favourite chair of all times must be RAR by Ray and Charles Eames. And that it will be my chair of choice for the new apartment. On Saturday however, my friend took me to IKER, shop of a very well established Polish furniture brand. Furniture they design is simple, chic, inspired with best of the design trends and can easily stand comparison with their foreign competition.

It was indeed my lucky day because IKER had sales on their exposition furniture. Maple caught my eye with its colour first (bright yellow) and then its unique and such elegant shape. It is made from pressed wood and comes in a variety of colours. My first fully painted wall in the apartment is pale blue, so I decided to go for the bright yellow colour I first saw in the store. The set is completed with a table of similar irregular shape.

Barnaby Barford's Porcelain

The thing with Barnaby Barford's ceramics is that when first look at them, they seem like some ordinary 19th century porcelain dolls. Certainly not modern collectible items. On a closer look however, you start noticing small disturbing details. Guns in the hands of the little dolls, a hamburger or a KFC chicken bucket here and there, blood flowing from a cute Santa Claus' head.... His world in porcelain draws you in. And then you really want to collect them all.

Kafti Design Lamp

I have been slacking on the writing recently but I do have an explanation. I moved into my own, new apartment and now I am struggling with the polishing of the walls, painting, cleaning and arranging. I don't have much furniture yet, only a couple of items from the times I had been renting the places, so I'm on a hunt for beautiful objects. My first buy, today, was this beautiful lamp called Orbital by polish brand Kafti Design. They have amazing lamps, some of which I'm sharing with you below. They come in folded flat and you need to shape them. The whole office tried to put mine together! Photos after the break.

Haoshi Jewellery

Do you remember my post from November about Ted Noten's jewellery? If you do and you liked it, you will appreciate these beauties by Haoshi Studio from Taiwan. Looking at the small, intricate rings and necklaces, portraying animals and everyday objects, I'm convinced that any given object can become art. Just like Marcel Duchamp and his readymades.