Stop by your local DWR Studio for the latest edition of our collectible poster series. This poster features a timeline of iconic furniture designed by Eames, Noguchi, Nelson – all the heavy hitters – and produced by Herman Miller. We designed the poster to celebrate the Herman Miller Sale, happening now at Design Within Reach. The posters are available in limited numbers, so stop by a DWR Studio today.
Starting today, a six-week program called “i Saloni Milano New York" will bring a taste of Milan’s annual design week (which turns 50 next April) to NYC. Celebrating Italian design, art and culture, Saloni Milano will include showroom events, parties and exhibits. Starting on December 3, check out the Park Avenue Armory for Peter Greenaway’s video installation, “Leonardo’s Last Supper: A Vision,” which was seen at the 2008 Salone in Milan. For a complete schedule of events, try www.isaloni.it/ny (not working as of this posting) or the daily New York Times.
Anyone who’s seen the movie The Graduate is familiar with the scene when Mr. McGuire says to Benjamin, “I just want to say one word to you. Just one word … Plastics.” And while this suggestion is dated today (it was even a bit dated when the movie was made in 1967), the truth is that plastics were big business – a “wonder material” that emerged after WWII. Charles and Ray Eames, who started working with it for chair production, immediately recognized the possibilities of plastics.
Save 15% on classic furniture produced by Herman Miller, Inc. This includes iconic works by Eames, Nelson, Noguchi and others. Many items are in stock and ready to ship.
Happy Thanksgiving from Design Within Reach.
And speaking of family gatherings, where do you think Alexander Girard got the idea to make his iconic dolls? I’m guessing there were some entertaining holidays at the Girard house. Enjoy, be safe and (unlike the tall center doll) stay warm.
The enduring success of Michael Thonet’s café chair (in production for 151 years) is proof that there will always be a demand for simple, well-made furniture. The fact that more than 50 million sold between 1859 and 1930 should have been enough to tell these guys that this chair knows how to jump through hoops.
Making bikes as mainstream as jeans and t-shirts, the Gap has opened a PUBLIC pop-up store in San Francisco. Stop by the Gap flagship store at 890 Market Street (near Powell Street) to take a PUBLIC bike for a spin. If you agree that being on two wheels beats being on four tires or two feet (or Muni rails or airplane seats), pedal over to one of the iPads imbedded in the Gap workstations and place your PUBLIC bike order at publicbikes.com. Or you can skip the whole Gap experience and order a bike right now. Either way, your hip bod and awesome planet (and the folks at PUBLIC) will thank you. Ride on.
Our Omersa Leather Elephant was named one of the "electrifying presents to gift, get and lust after" by Elle magazine. Their editorial reads, "Let your niece, nephew, or godchild (and their grateful parents) discover the charm of an heirloom-quality toy that requires imagination, not batteries." Thank you Elle, and kudos to their photographer Len Lagrua who gave the Elephant the ride of its life in this blue and white swing.
Design Within Reach honors the life and work of Robin Day, who died November 9 at the age of 95. The British furniture designer was described by the Design Museum as “a deeply moral and highly principled designer, who was not interested in making a design statement, but in solving practical problems in the most rigorous, efficient and cost-effective way.” In 1962, the designer stated that “a good design must fulfill its purpose well, be soundly constructed, and should express in its design this purpose and construction.” His wife, the influential textile designer Lucienne Day, passed away earlier this year.
PHOTO: Robin and Lucienne Day.
Since 1921, “the Dream Factory,” as the family-run Alessi company is known, has been bringing creativity and technology to the objects we use every day. Now the subject of an exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, “Alessi: Ethical and Radical” explores the history of the Alessi family and company, as well as the iconic objects it produces. Looking for a great gift? DWR has Alessi products in its assortment. The exhibit runs through April 10.
Wow, what a day! Yesterday in NYC, we hosted our Spring 2011 Press Preview to give editors and other members of the media an early look at our new collections. The response was overwhelming, and we can’t wait to show you all the great new things coming in 2011.
Yesterday, many lots in Wright’s Scandinavian Design Auction went for more than the estimated price. A few highlights include a rare Finn Juhl Sofa (shown above) with a final hammer price of $30,000, and a Hans Wegner Swivel Chair for $26,250. I’ve coveted this chair, shown below, for years, but no, I was not the high bidder (sigh).
Alberto Alessi, who is the president of Alessi S.p.A., will be honored tomorrow at the Philadelphia Museum of Art with Collab’s distinguished Design Excellence Award. On Sunday, November 21, the museum will open its exhibit “Alessi: Ethical and Radical.” Alberto’s grandfather, Giovanni Alessi, founded the family-owned and operated company in 1921 near Lake Orta in the foothills of the Italian Alps, an area known for highly developed craft traditions in wood and metal. In the 1950s, under the leadership of Carlo Alessi (Alberto’s father), the company began to commission products from outside designers, and it was through this strategy that Alberto Alessi brought the company to the forefront of international design.
Find aisle after aisle of great deals at our Hebron, Kentucky warehouse (near the Cincinnati Airport). Save up to 70% on modern furniture and accessories, including customer returns, overstocks and "scratch and dents." Shop the Warehouse Sale this weekend, November 20-21. Learn more at dwr.com/warehouse.
I don't know what kind of doctors Frank and Schneeweiss are, but their beautiful lobby is sure to put a skip in the step of everyone who arrives. Designed by Stadler and Partner architects, the space uses colorful Nube chairs designed by Stua. The lobby is at the Munich offices of Dr. Susanne Frank and Dr. Wolfram Schneeweiss.
The Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a major exhibition: On Becoming An Artist: Isamu Noguchi and his Contemporaries, 1922–1960. One of the great sculptors of the 20th century, Noguchi searched for a better understanding of nature by recreating it. Whether through his large stone sculptures or the organic Akari lamps that he crafted or the spaces he created in gardens, theater sets and interiors. The exhibit explores Noguchi’s influential friendships with such seminal figures as Alexander Calder, Buckminster Fuller, Louis Kahn and Richard Neutra. Learn more at noguchi.org. Photo: Early promotional photograph of Akari, 1950s. Courtesy of Noguchi Museum.
“The elevator swished up like a gigolos’ hand on silk stocking.” So begins this archival footage of Susan Sontag speaking with Philip Johnson about skyscrapers and New York City.
Last week, we told you about our tour of the Philip Johnson Glass House. See images of the house, taken on a perfect spring day, and hear from RISD president John Maeda as he shares his thoughts about the house and its simplicity.
The Eames Office and Core77 are accepting entries for their Powers of Ten Video Response Design Competition. Submit a two-minute “response video” to the iconic film Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames. Your two-minute video can respond to the film in any form, “from reinterpretations and mash-ups to tributes and reflections.” The judges include Eames Demetrios from the Eames Office and MoMA’s Paola Antonelli, among others. Learn more here.
As we go into the weekend, here is a question to ponder. Which would you prefer to live in: the Philip Johnson Glass House (see below) or the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Farnsworth House (shown above)? Go to sothebys.com/modernviews to hear how this question was answered by some of the top creative minds of our era. My answer: both, of course. (Dare to dream.)
