ThingsAmongMany

Tomorrow, furniture design company Blu Dot will launch their Real Good Experiment on the streets of NYC. Known for their well designed, mid-priced contemporary furniture (I’m thoroughly enjoying the Paramount Sofa I scored during their 20% off sale recently), Blu Dot is starting the experiment in an attempt to give a little back:

I came across the woodwork of Chadhaus this morning and I’m pretty in love with their Vollen Series. A small shop based in Seattle, Chadhaus works with locally sourced materials to create modern renditions of classic pieces. here’s how they describe their work:

Chadhaus is part laboratory, part production shop; researching the finest materials and using fine-tuned craftsmanship.  From first idea to finished product, quality and functionality are the focus.

Chadhaus uses locally milled steel and hardwoods, as well as FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified plywood with formaldahyde-free adhesives.  Woodwork features non-toxic finishes derived from natural materials, like beeswax.

The Vollen Series looks to me like the perfect dining setup for a small NY apartment. I love the fact the communal feel that the bench brings and the warmth of the wood offers a throwback to the older days of sitting around a family table. At the same time, the clean lines of the pieces bring a decidedly contemporary air to an otherwise classic design.

Sometime long ago, on a wander through Moss in Soho, I (like many before me) fell in love with the Vitsoe 606 Universal Shelving System. Obviously, it appealed to the modular modernist in me like no other shelving system I’ve seen. First produced in the 1960’s, and only tweaked since, the system is a classic in its own right. And, unfortunately, it carries the price tag to prove it (hey, it’s from Moss, what’d you expect?). This prompted the beginning of a search to find a more affordable variation.

The best I’d come up with was the Stolmen System from our Swedish friends at Ikea. Obviously, being from Ikea, this soved the affordability issue perfectly. On the other hand, the Stolmen lacks some of the options - not to mention finish - offered by the classic 606 system.

Then, recently, I came across ISS Designs. While clearly marketed (based on their website) more toward the professional market (ie. architects), ISS Designs seems to fall squarely between the 606 system and the Stolmen solution as far as adaptability and affordability - it’s arguably just as adaptable as the original Vitsoe system. Shortly after stumbling onto the ISS Designs site, I came across this post at Apartment Therapy featuring architect Koray Duman’s Alphabet City apartment renovation featuring the modular shelving system. Check out the ISS video featuring Duman’s apartment.

Their site is hard to navigate, but ISS Designs does appear to have an NYC showroom if you’re interested in more info. I’ll be checking it out sometime soon!

Anyone else noticed the recent resurgence of the clothespin across the design world? This arguably outdated little home appliance doesn’t have much of a place in most homes these days - though there is something to be said for clothes dried outside on a line rather than in a dryer with chemical softeners. But over the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed a nostalgic comeback for this underdog.

After a bit of research, it appears that we can thank the Polish design team POOR for bringing to life this otherwise forgotten friend. By integrating a variety of useful everyday objects into a standard clothespin, the crew at POOR has created a line of go-anywhere pieces: a USB thumbdrive, a knife for spreading, and even an MP3 player.

Of course, their designs aren’t limited to clothespin designs. I was also quite taken by their 3D cross side-table. And there’s plenty more on the POOR site to explore. Have a look, it’ll be well-worth your time!

Whoa! Talk about a collaboration that could yield some amazing results. The crews from Design Within Reach and Supermarket have teamed up to bring us ModernMart IV. They’ve collected the best of the best from the Supermarket designers and will be displaying their wares for a one-night-only sale in the DWR Tribeca studio.

The ModernMart will feature work from Bailey Doesn’t Bark (who you might remember from here), Kim Westad, and Moop - among others. They’re also offering up a “super goodie tote” to the first 100 people in the door as well as free champaigne. And you can sign up before the day of the event for a drawing to be help on the 11th (no word on what the prizes are).

Of course, if you’re in need of some modernist furnishings, check out the DWR Clearance Sale happening online or venture over to the DWR Annex in Secaucus which is supposed to have some killer deals.

Despite the argument that Design Within Reach has lost touch with the “Within Reach” part of their moniker, it’s tough to challenge their ability to make some really iconic pieces readily available (to those who can afford the prices). And to cement their standing, the crew over at DWR recently started an item-per-day sale of some very limited edition piece.

According to a post over on Apartment Therapy, Chris and Kari (the brains behind the DWR Tools For Living idea) recently returned from a trip around the world where they spent their days gathering up as many rare, vintage, and one-off pieces as they could find. Those pieces are now being sold on DWR’s site in a limited edition run of awesomeness. Some pieces are available for purchase on the DWR site, while others are being auctioned off - like an original Eames designed leg splint, or #1 of 500 of the new Gehry Superlight chair. Of course, I’ve got a pretty serious hankering for the Venti Fan they’re showing off (ironically, one of the more “reasonably” priced items at a modest $600).

They’re revealing a piece per day for about another two weeks. You can keep track of the items on their Limited Edition Page, or sign up for their mailing list to get the info via email.

During my web travels yesterday, I came across the website of designer Jolyon Yates. All I have to say is WOW! I can’t believe I’ve not seen more of his work before. Yates has designed a unique series of seating pieces called ODE. Each piece is an ode – traditionally “a lyrical poem that pays respect to that which inspired it” – to something in nature that’s inspired the designer.

His pieces are mostly made from ash or birch woods, though he does have a design or two available in resin as well. The shapes are fantastically flowing, almost organic, in design and beg the eye to linger.

In a world of loveless volume manufacturing, ODEChairs display soul by reflecting the care and honesty with which they have been conceived and crafted.

Definitely take the time to peruse his site. The photography alone is worth looking at, but the pieces are also gorgeous!

As most mid-century fanatics well-know, finding the right piece at the right price is really difficult these days. Factor in the issues of shipping and receiving, possibly having to refinish a piece, etc., and the plight of the mid-century furniture shopper can be downright daunting. Sure, we can scour ebay (and deal with all the trouble that comes with the ‘bay), hunt on craigslist, or spend hours wandering through flea markets and “antique” stores…

Or we could just sign up for Lushpad. Launched in early August (yeah, like 3 weeks ago), Lushpad is an exchange platform aimed directly at the mid-century modern market. Users can browse or place ads for furniture items (and a few other decorative pieces) that meet their fancy from a range of well-known designers. Based on their Canadian price listings, I’m going to assume these guys are based up north somewhere. But that doesn’t limit your ability to shop by location, designer, object type, etc.

Despite being stocked mostly with newly produced reproduction items at the moment, the Lushpad platform is extremely promising for connecting interested buyers and sellers. Hopefully once the word spreads, they’ll limit the number of retailers and promote the system more toward individuals.

Around here, we’re HUGE mid-century modern and classic modern fans – names like Eames, Bertoia, and Knoll definitely get us a little hot under the collar. Of course, any discussion on on mid-century classics inevitably leads to the big question: to buy or not to buy knock offs. While we’d love to commit our money to the true classics, the unfortunate reality is that a commitment of that sort would add at least a decade or two to our purchase timeline. So knock offs are a fact of life.

So if you happen to be in the same boat. And further, if you happen to be in Australia, you should check out Mybid.com. Dot au. Essentially an Australian-based Ebay for furniture and art, this place has some killer deals. Everything starts at 1AUD (about 86 cents for us Yanks) and the pieces looks pretty solid. Butterfly Stool for a buck anyone? Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like shipping is available to the US at the moment. Hopefully if they do well, that’ll be an upcoming step on their list.