Cranbrook comes to DWR.

The Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum hosted the 10th Annual National Design Awards on October 22, and the DWR E62nd Studio proudly offered our expansive split-level space to the Cranbrook Academy of Art's Alumni Reception to honor their winners and finalists. The illustrious crowd of designers and architects, both famous and soon-to-be famous, nibbled, imbibed and reunited merrily.

Luminaries in attendence included Lorraine Wild (2001 finalist), Neils Diffrient (2002 winner), Lucille Tenazas (2002 winner), Masamichi Udagawa (2003, 2006 finalist and 2008 winner - designer of the new subway trains and Metrocard machines for the MTA), Kathy and Mike McCoy (2005 winners) and Andrew Blauveldt (2009 winner, on behalf of the Walker Art Center), as well as noted inventor and industrial designer Eric Chan.

We had the opportunity to chat with Neils Diffrient who was charming, courtly and laugh out loud hilarious.  After going through the chairs that he designed in the DWR collection, he was game for a photo op, perching in his now iconic Freedom Chair with Headrest sandwiched by me and Reed Kroloff, Director of Cranbrook.

A great time was had by all, and the atmosphere was enhanced by the images of Cranbrook alumni Ray and Charles Eames, Harry Bertoia and Eero Saarinen that adorn our walls. For us design-obsessed DWR employees, it's a daily privilege to be associated with the Academy's amazing legacy. As the New York Times said in 1984, "the effect of Cranbrook and its graduates and faculty on the physical environment of this country has been profound...Cranbrook, surely more than any other institution, has a right to think of itself as synonymous with contemporary American design."

Posted by Jae Hah, Proprietor of DWR East 62nd Street Studio

Can it!

In Danish, the function of opening and closing is called “vipp,” which is also the name of a design company that’s been producing iconic pedal bins since 1939. To celebrate their 70th anniversary, Vipp has partnered with Design Within Reach to hold a charity auction that will benefit DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). Being auctioned are 35 Vipp bins that have been customized by Ralph Lauren, David Rockwell, Calvin Klein, Nigel Barker, Yoko Ono and others.

While you can’t rub elbows with these celebs at the actual auction (it’s by invitation only) there are two other ways you can participate: Five bins are on eBay, and through October 28, all 35 bins are on display and available for bidding at the DWR: Tools for Living in SoHo. And I don’t want to make your head explode or anything (thus, needing a bin for a beastly task) but the SoHo store also has a new window design by artist Mike Perry.

Of the 35 bins, the award for the farthest-flying Vipp goes to Michael Aram, who sent the bin to his workshop in India to be transformed into a golden pear.

A Vipp Bin in size medium at left, and a Vipp Bin transformed by Michael Aram into a Golden Pear at right. (Pear photo courtesy of Christian Larsen.)

“In the world of mythology,” says Aram, “pears represent bounty and gluttony. What’s more perfect for a receptacle of waste than a golden symbol of excess?” Sporting an oxidized bronze stem (the leaf was lost in transit), the brass body was hand-hammered from the inside to give it the somewhat nubby texture of a real pear. Perhaps, however, it was a bit too realistic, as the bin ended up stuck in Customs when it was deemed a botanical and flagged as a possible restricted item for entry into the U.S. Fortunately, the Homeland Security folks didn’t blow up the suspected Trojan Pear, but I’m guessing that at least one of them jumped when they pressed on the pedal and popped open the top.

From a symbol of gluttony to an example of what’s at stake if we do not curtail our habits, the Vipp bin customized by Nigel Barker is wrapped in a photograph he took when he spent two weeks on the ice in northern Canada.

Nigel Barker, and a Vipp Bin wrapped in his photograph titled “Frozen Cauldron.” (Nigel’s portrait courtesy of Nigel Barker LLC. Photograph of customized bin courtesy of Christian Larsen.)

Barker took this photo in 2007 when he went to investigate the horrors of seal hunting. Since then, there have been significant changes, including strong bans on seal product trade, thanks to the efforts of the Humane Society. The seals, however, are still at risk. A few years ago, the ice melted earlier than usual and hundreds of thousands of baby seals drowned because they were not old enough to swim. The concept behind Barker’s Vipp bin is that it provokes the user to think about the climactic effects of waste before throwing something away. He selected his photo “Frozen Cauldron” because “it’s beautiful, and yet the ice also looks a bit angry, as if Mother Nature has something in store for us.”

David Stark with his Vipp bin transformed into a cactus. (Photo courtesy of Christian Larsen.)

To appease Ma Nature, designer David Stark used a material that is normally seen as trash to create his Cactus bin. Made of simple cardboard, the cactus was hand assembled out of 279 individual and uniquely shaped laser-cut pieces. When asked about his inspiration, Stark said, “it was a trip to Arizona and the various sculptural forms of cacti throughout the landscape, along with my ongoing interest in turning everyday unsung materials (including trash) into extraordinary objects.”

The fact that Stark chose a cactus – a plant covered in sharp thorns – is also interesting. As if to remind people that there can be painful consequences to the items we throw away. Congratulations to all the designers who participated in this special event for DIFFA.

Gwendolyn Horton

P.S. To see a Vipp bin transformed into a xylophone, click here, and to see a video of the Can It! exhibit in SoHo, click on the video below.

Still classy, but no longer fiberglassy.

Back in production and available first at Design Within Reach, we’re proud to reintroduce the Eames® Molded Plastic Chairs with wooden dowel legs. Working closely with the Eames Office to create these fully licensed chairs, the Michigan-based Herman Miller, Inc., reengineered the dowel base for improved strength while staying true to the Eameses’ original design.

Charles and Ray Eames created the DAW (dining armchair with wood base) and DSW (dining side chair with wood base) as a later version of the shell chair designs they created for MoMA’s 1948 International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design. At that time, the Eameses stamped the shells out of metal. Later they moved to fiberglass, and today the chairs are made of a more ecologically supportable material, recyclable polypropylene. While the materials have evolved, the comfort of these chairs has not changed. The molded shells have high, flexible backs, deep seat pockets and waterfall seat edges that reduce pressure on the backs of thighs. These originals are authentic, fully licensed products of Herman Miller, Inc., and until November 23, they're available only at DWR. Eames is a licensed trademark of Herman Miller.

DWR: Kitchen Debuts.

On January 21, a hardy group of design editors, writers, architects and developers in New York braved the cold to attend the official launch of DWR: Kitchen, now available to order through the DWR SoHo Studio. To celebrate that the kitchen system is made in the U.S., the crowd munched on deviled eggs, BLTs, and mini cheeseburgers. Glasses were raised to the hardware-free fronts that give the kitchen its clean and timeless look, and more than one guest asked Nilus de Matran, the designer of DWR: Kitchen, how he approached the project. His response? "It was interesting working with a company known for furniture. For DWR my idea was to also think of the kitchen as furniture, so that the kitchen flows into the dining room, living room or other areas of the house." Much was made of the ability to reconfigure the modular units as needs change, or to move an entire kitchen from home to home ("It's perfect," as one guest quipped, "for commitment-phobes!").

Remembering Betty.

The toy we know so well was co-invented and named by a woman most of us are less familiar with. Her name was Betty James and she passed away in November at the age of 90. Her partner in creating this toy was her husband Richard, who had the original idea when he saw a torsion spring fall off a table and flip over. The first 400 Slinkys the couple made sold out in 90 minutes at Gimbles department store just before Christmas 1945. The price: $1 each. Fifteen years later, Ms. James’ husband left her and their six children. It was then that Ms. James took over the toy company they’d started, and she ran the business until 1998. Ms. James believed that she had an obligation provide a good toy for children whose families can't afford expensive toys, which is why the Slinky has remained affordable for 63 years.

Product Placement.

Ever wondered how your favorite well-designed object came to be? Get an inside look at the creative and logistical processes of product design from and for Japan at Product Placement in New York on September 10. Along with five product designers including Masamichi Udagawa of Antenna Design (winner of the 2008 National Design Award for product design), Kari Woldum, design buyer for DWR: Tools for Living, will be speaking about Craft Design Technology and Fog Linen (pictured above), two of the Japanese lines in DWR's collection.

Stampede for Eames.

The stamps are here! Today is Charles Eames’ birthday (he would have been 101), which is why the Postal Service chose June 17, 2008 to release 16 42-cent stamps honoring Charles and Ray Eames. The stamps include images of the husband-and-wife team and their furniture, as well as their textiles, House of Cards and images from their films. Order your stamps from the Postal Service.

Design First Aid.

We’re long-time fans of Harry Allen & Associates – his collaboration with Areaware, the Reality line, has been one of our favorite collections of accessories.  Now he’s partnered with Johnson & Johnson to recreate the iconic First Aid Kit.  Its sleek, minimalist design and color-way is a must-have for any modern home, especially those like the ones below, full of children prone to scrapes and bruises. Via Soho’s Carie Scott.

Stamp of approval.

David Baccus, the Proprietor of our San Jose Studio, uncovered some exciting news for all Eamesaholics while perusing Eames Demetrios’ Flickr page the other day. Yes, the Eameses will be commemorated with 16 stamps published by the United States Postal Service. Designs include the LCW, the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman and the House of Cards. It may also be the only time you can get an Eames La Chaise for 41 cents.

Archimede goes freestyle.

Niketown’s Visual Director found inspiration in DWR’s Archimede Laptop Caddy as the ideal method to display the 2007 collection Doernbecher Freestyle 4 shoes at six Niketown stores across the country. Custom graphics were applied to each caddy to describe the inspiration behind each patient’s design. Each year since 2004, a Nike shoe designer has teamed with a patient who has been treated for serious illness at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, OR. Through each of the six patient/designer partnerships, a unique pair of original “freestyle” sneakers is designed and produced. Thus far, more than $500,000 has been raised for the children's hospital. Shoes can be viewed and purchased at Niketown stores in Portland, OR, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York City. Learn more about the program and the designers and purchase sneakers on Nike’s website here.

Posted by Janell Anderson