Jordan Kushins is a freelance writer and former associate editor at Dwell. She's happiest when crafting but also enjoys drinking tea, swimming in outdoor pools, and Singin' in the Rain, and once baked a very large cake that was shaped like a hamburger.
January in Frankfurt is pretty darn cold, so it feels fitting to be here at Heimtextil browsing all the lush materials that are changing the way we make ourselves at home. It’s the 40th year of the fair, and the Messe Frankfurt fairground is beyond expansive. 2,500 booths spanning nearly 340,000 square meters of exhibition space feature bed, bath, and table linens and accessories, wall, floor, and window coverings, an entire hall is devoted to suppliers from Asia, and a dedicated trends section exploring the look and feel of the forecasted fashions for 2010 and 2011.
For years there’s been a divide between manufactured first-world luxury items and handmade third-world crafts, but industrial designer Stephen Burks believes that the future of design lies within that diminishing void.
Forever replacing bulbs might fast become an act of the past as long-lasting, energy-efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) make their way into the marketplace.
Though it’s quite popular to proclaim that design can change the world, even the best-laid plans aren’t enough to make a difference on their own. We spoke with three leading design agitators about how and why we all need to get involved.
From the familiar log model to Swiss chalets and Swedish friggebods, cabins are the simplest of structures, made from local materials in forms that respond to climatic and cultural needs. However, these no-frills wilderness escapes no longer require giving up modern comforts and aesthetics. Today’s cabins synthesize traditional typology with present-day design know-how and allow architectural explorations in a way traditional homes rarely do. Here we highlight five modern retreats that might give you cabin fever of a different sort.
Though some might say that you can’t buy good taste, Cok de Rooy has built a career out of doing just that. He refined his design sensibilities as a buyer for big brands like Liberty of London, and in 1992, he and his business partner, Dick Dankers, opened the Frozen Fountain in Amsterdam. Today the Dutch design shop is renowned for showcasing both homegrown and international talents, hosting twice-yearly exhibitions, and rotating original art and prototypes among its curated wares for purchase.
Plastic waste is a huge problem. Single-use containers and products are clogging up our ecosystems, and the statistics are staggering: of the nearly 230 million tons of plastic the world uses annually, only about 10% is recycled, and there’s a garbage vortex twice the size of Texas floating in the Pacific Ocean between North America and Asia. For David De Rothschild, avid traveler and founder of Adventure Ecology, a 2006 world report about the buildup of plastics in our oceans marked an ecological epiphany and the beginning of a journey to raise awareness and bring those numbers into tangible, sharper focus.
Marianne Lien and Lasse Altern Halvorsen opened Pur Norsk in Oslo in 2006 to seek out and promote the finest in Norweigan design. Can Pur Dansk be far behind?
The business of product design is a family affair for Matteo Alessi, Director of Trade Marketing and International Development at Alessi (and great grandson to Alberto, the company’s founder).
It’s been a busy few months for Willard Ford and Andrea Ching. The duo launched Ford + Ching, their joint-venture furniture and design company, in June at Dwell on Design. They debuted their LA showroom earlier in the summer and now they've set up shop up north with a new sales office and sample warehouse in Oakland.
