The Eames Living Room: Packed, Moved and Reassembled in 1:29.

 

Located in Pacific Palisades, the Eameses' Case Study House is an extension of their consummate performance, decorated with objects from their adventures and Ray's carefully considered vignettes. Its interior has remained virtually untouched since her death in 1988, until recently, when the living room was meticulously packed up and moved – a little more than 12 miles away – to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for inclusion in its exhibition California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way". It’s a daunting task to imagine, but thankfully, we don't have to. As the Eameses' living room was disassembled and reassembled, the LA Times' Bryan Chan captured the entire process on film and compiled it into a beautiful time-lapse video. 

California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way" is on view at LACMA through June 3, 2012. In addition to the Eameses’ living room, it includes more than 300 other objects that demonstrate the Golden State's role in shaping material culture.

Eclipse + Calder = Miro.

Our friends at Stua just shared this great photo with us. "The natural shapes of Eclipse Tables, with a Calder Mobile, create an image that looks like a Miro painting," says Jon Gasca. "Good ingredients are key to create an interesting result." We couldn't agree more. The photo below was taken in the lobby of a NYC hotel. Can you guess which one?

Auction watch: Scandinavian Design at Wright.

Here are a few highlights in tomorrow's Scandinavian Design auction at Wright in Chicago. The 1930s Lounge Chair with Reading Stand by Swedish designer Bruno Mathsson is a dream come true for a modern-loving bibliophilia, and if standing is more your style, his Book Stand is a great piece and a furniture form that is rarely seen today. (The description doesn't mention it, but it appears that this Book Stand is height adjustable, so you could use it while seated if you so desired.). In the "eye candy" category, there is a Vase by Stig Lindberg and Wastepaper Baskets made of rosewood and teak by P. S. Heggen. RESULTS: Lounge Chair with Reading Stand: $3,000 (estimate $700-$900). Book Stand: $1,063 (estimate $500-$700). Vase: $1,625 (estimate $1,000-$1,500). Teak Wastepaper Baskets: $16,250 (estimate $3,000-$4,000).

One can make a difference.®

This week in New York, and coming soon to other major cities, the annual Canstruction Competition will begin. This amazing charity competition will feature the work of 26 teams who will transform more than 100,000 cans into works of art. On November 21, the winners will be announced and the cans will be donated to City Harvest for distribution to those in need. Awards will be presented for: Best Use of Labels, Structural Ingenuity, Best Meal, Jurors' Favorite and Honorable Mention. Check it out and let us know which one is your favorite.

DWR Presents: Brad Ascalon.

Made of solid Carrara marble, our new Ascalon Menorah designed exclusively for DWR by designer Brad Ascalon is visually modern and inexplicably classic. "I wanted to create something that kind of sat in the background to elevate the importance of the candles, but yet I still wanted it to be a striking form in itself," says Ascalon, "the eight facets correspond to the eight days of Chanukah, and the left and right diagonals create an 18 degree angle. In Judaism, 18 is a very important number symbolizing chai, or life."

Recently, we stopped by Ascalon's New York studio to learn more about the menorah and his design process -- we had no idea that he'd turn out be a skilled ukulelist, too. Watch the video to learn more about Ascalon, his menorah and how he's carrying on a family tradition as a designer. 

 

Window shopping.

If you saw the windows of Façonnable USA in New York or Beverly Hills recently, you may have recognized the furniture. We worked with the luxury clothing retailer to outfit their outfits with iconic pieces from our collections, including Bertoia Chairs, Nelson Benches, PH lighting and more.

Our modern jack o lantern.

A DWR Luau Lamp and painters' tape. No carving required. Happy Halloween!

(I hope some kids don't try to smash my Luau Pumpkin.)

 

DWR Charlotte Hosts the Junior League.

Junior League ladies.

DWR Charlotte Studio recently hosted the Junior League of Charlotte for their Traveling Junior League Cocktail Party. After a stop at Salon 8 for hair and makeup, the ladies mingled and sipped cocktails among

DWR lighting at Whole Foods.

The market Whole Foods recently opened its first location in Oklahoma, and to set the casual, hip tone they were looking for, they chose our Coral Pendants for lighting. Designed by David Trubridge, this Pendant was inspired by the repeating patterns of ice crystals that Trubridge saw in Antarctica, and by the patterns he saw in underwater coral. Such

A big fan of Wally Pockets makes mini versions for her dollhouse.

Check out the talented work of Kara Bartelt, who writes the MilkWeed column at Design Milk. She's a big fan of our Wally Living Wall System, and recreated the wall pockets at a 1:12 scale for her mini modern home. She even planted them with air plants — a smart choice since aerophytes don't require water and her dollhouse lady in the striped shirt (I think I tried that on at J.Crew last weekend) doesn't look like the type to have a green thumb. Kara is participating in the I'm a Giant dollhouse decorating competition and we look forward to seeing her mini modern house when all the entries are revealed on December 15.

As seen in today's New York Times.

Our Restore Basket made the Style section of today's NYT, and was singled out as a smart solution for storing athletic gear. The basket is named "Restore" because it is constructed of felt made from recycled PET bottles (e.g. water bottles dropped in the recycling bin after working out with said athletic gear - quite yin-yang if you ask us). Restore comes in three colors and is included in our Semiannual Sale.

111 Navy Chair®: Visual Narcotics.

Street artist Visual Narcotics is one of the 111 architects, designers and other industry professionals we asked to comment on the 111 Navy Chair®. He got his start stickering the streets of L.A. with blown-up, Xeroxed pills labeled “Visual Narcotics” – which also stands for the massive amount of information we are confronted with as a society. Learn more about Visual Narcotics at 111 Chairs Project.

Test your skills.

We love this! Think you have what it takes to be a typographer? Take the Kerning Game and let us know how you score. The Kerning Game was designed by Mark MacKay for Method of Action.

 

 

111 Navy Chair®: Peter Kallen.

We asked 111 architects, designers and other industry professionals to comment on the 111 Navy Chair®. Peter Kallen was one of them. As the design director for Nau, an outdoor clothing company based in Portland, he finds the engineering of the 111 Navy Chair fascinating, and his favorite chair is his bicycle. Learn more at the 111 Chairs Project.

Wright Auction results: Modern Design.

Earlier this week, Wright held its Modern Design auction, where a vintage Grasshopper Floor Lamp sold for $11,250 (estimate $3,000-$4,000). Designed by Greta Magnusson Grossman, this lamp was recently added to the DWR assortment. It was out of production for more than 50 years (the lamp that sold at auction was a vintage piece) and we're very proud to be bringing you this authentic lamp, produced by Gubi in Denmark, and reasonably priced at $875. Grossman was a powerhouse and we're very excited to be sharing her story. Other auction highlights included a Ball Clock for $1,063, and this eye-catching Vanity Set by Paul McCobb (hammer price $6,875).

What do you know about post-modern art? Watch, write and win tickets to a special event.

Impress us with your knowledge of post-modern art and you could attend Conversations in Context at the Glass House. One winner will receive 2 tickets to the October 13 with David Salle. Winner is responsible for their own transportation, parking and any other costs. Ticket value $300 ($150 each).

Here’s how to enter:

• Watch “The Pictures Generation, 1974-1984,” a short video review of the 1999 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit to learn about David Salle and this artist collective, ­whose work appropriated pop culture images and photography to create dramatic social commentary in reaction to the rise of mass media in the late 70s.

• Write a brief statement about which piece of artwork featured in the video review is your favorite and tell us why. 

• Email your entry to pr@dwr.com. Include your name, city and state of residence, as well as your age, phone number and email address. 

• Must be 21 to enter.

111 Navy Chair®: James Victore.

James Victore is an author, a self-taught designer, an SVA professor – and also one of the 111 architects, designers and other industry professionals we asked to comment on the 111 Navy Chair®. He has won several design awards including the Grand Prix from Brno Biennele in the Czech Republic and has exhibited at the MoMA. Learn more about him at 111 Chairs Project.

111 Navy Chair®: Joel Peterson.

 

Omaha-based Joel Peterson was one of the 111 architects, designers and other industry professionals we asked to comment on the 111 Navy Chair®. As the bass player for indie rock band The Faint, Petersen enjoys skateboarding and looks forward to those two weeks in October when the weather in Omaha is perfect. Learn more about him at 111 Chairs Project.

A DWR employee gets an insider's look at Herman Miller.

Some things never change. Even in modern design. I discovered this on a recent Tuesday morning as I watched a man hand-select the sheets of walnut veneer used to create one back panel of an Eames Lounge and Ottoman at a factory in Holland, Michigan.

I was on an all-access tour of Genesis Seating, the company that partners with Herman Miller to produce some of the most iconic pieces of furniture that define the mid-century modern aesthetic, and just a few of the pieces DWR calls "classics".

California Design, 1930-1965: "Living in a Modern Way."

Now open at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), this exhibition is "the first major study of California midcentury modern design." The quote incorporated into the exhibition's title is from Greta Magnusson Grossman (check out her amazing lamps), who said that California design “is not a superimposed style, but an answer to present conditions... It has developed out of our own preferences for living in a modern way." We're dying to go to the exhibition. Have you been? If so, what was your favorite object?