IITTALA TOOLS SAUCEPAN $295 Developed with the insight of professional chefs and the material mastery of designer Björn Dahlström, this range of highly designed cookware was created for people with a large appetite for life. The generously sized pieces are perfect for even the most demanding occasions, adding ease and control to every aspect of cooking and serving.

Tools by Jakob Jørgensen is a series of handcrafted woodworking tools intended to explore craft traditions and act as a counterpoint to machines.

Iittala Decanter The perfectly formed, mouth-blown shape of Citterio and Nguyen's Decanter was thoughtfully designed to enhance the qualities of its contents. The neck opens slightly, allowing wine to breathe and releasing the flavors and bouquet that have been locked inside it. The clean, clear design lets in light to ignite the brilliant color of wine. While it fits naturally with virtually any glassware, it's at its best when matched with Iittala's range of wine glasses.

In addition to the aforementioned designers, catch work from artisan textiles and apparel studio Small Trade Company; textile artist Llane Alexis; handwoven apparel and textile maker Voices of Industry; and jewelry maker Liz Oppenheim. "It's a very diverse group, which we like," Chiang says. "What unifies the participants is a deep relationship with both design and material. Great craft is not complete without design."

Tools of the trade.

2015 marks Tapio Wirkkala's centenary and Iittala is introducing pieces from its archive into production in honor of the milestone. The Finnish designer worked with the glass manufacturer for four decades, each of which is represented here by a shot glass. From left to right: the 1980s, 1970s, 1960s, and 1950s.

Iittala Ruutu Vase, from $95 Designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, each vase takes 24 hours to make by skilled craftsmen.

Song waxes poetic about her medium. "Wood is constantly in flux, even when it has been felled," she says. "It is a breathing material. It expands and contracts, depending on its environment. I work with wood because it primordial to me. It feels like an intuitive process to study wood. I need to understand and work with it and allow it to become what it wants to be." The round cole jaw and chucks she uses on her lathe hang on a wall in her studio.

Although woodworking has been an interest for as long as Michael Rupich can remember, the first time he picked up a saw was when, at seven years old, he started building his own skateboard ramps. “Skateboarding was definitely a huge influence and motivation for me, because I needed to build ramps in order to skate them,” he says. “That continued into my early teens and gave me a great understanding of basics like making things structurally sound and the uses of tools and machinery. In my later teens, I started moving away from the carpentry aspect and began doing more refined wood working.” Photo by: Esther Nisanova.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

The Jorgensen's Menlo Park home is a model of green design with features that are smart for everyone to consider. "Every project is different, but there are some universal things that will apply from project to project," says Feldman about designing a green home. "The first—and most obvious thing—is to always try to build less, to have a smaller house and be smart about how the rooms are designed and oriented so that you can get by with less space. Smart design will lead to a smaller building, but it won't feel smaller."

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

Rian and Melissa Jorgensen's 2 Bar House in Menlo Park boasts all the usual green design suspects: energy-efficient lighting, good insulation, renewable material finishes, radiant heat, and the roof is pre-wired for future PV panels. Executed by Feldman Architecture, the house requires only natural lighting during the day which keeps energy costs way down. Still, the most stunning aspect of the green design is the living roof planted with succulents, aloe, viviums, and ice plants. "I'm absolutely glad that we did it," says Melissa. "It turned out so well and I really enjoy sitting up there and taking advantage of it as much as I can. It's very peaceful." Read more about this total remodel here.

Quart table lamp by Rich Brilliant Willing.

Kitchen/Dining Room: Perhaps when setting the holiday table you noticed your cutlery has lost it's luster. Upgrade your fine flatware with the Piano set by Renzo Piano for Iittala.

Issey Miyake’s studio has created a small collection of tableware and interior textiles for Finnish brand Iittala. The concept of harmony translates into a subdued color scheme and soft shapes as well as the Japanese designer’s signature pleats.

Sarjaton We love this shallow serving bowl from iittala. The Tikki pattern is simple yet intricate and right on trend for the season.

Relations stacking glasses for Iittala, 1999.

The super-geometric Tool table by LucidiPevere for Debi is formed by 3D laser cutting technology; the lightweight side table comes in two heights.

The living room, dining room and kitchen are in one open space. The flooring is bamboo. The cabinetry is a mix of bamboo, walnut, and maple, and was fabricated by City Cabinetmakers out of San Francisco.

The countertops in the kitchen are a mix of quartz surfaces and custom and salvaged stainless steel. "We use the kitchen all of the time, it turned out really nice," says Melissa. "It's very open, certainly one of the central focuses of the house, and is fun for entertaining."

The Archimetric Notebook and Drawing Tool Set is an elegant notebook designed for architects, designers, or anyone who is interested in scaled drafting. The pages of the notebook are ruled at a scale of 1/100° and 1/50° for precision drafting, and the book also includes blank pages for notes or freehand sketches. The grey pages are lined with white, making the graphs almost appear to fade away from the pages. The result is a surface that sets drawings apart form the lines, letting them stand on their own. The Arhimetric set also includes drawing instruments, including a scale ruler, protractor and t-square, and a bookmark.

TOOL THE MATHEMATICIAN DRAFTING SET Art and science become one in this stunningly sculptural, endlessly practical piece from Tom Dixon. Informed by the unique British aesthetic, this kit of parts is comprised of sleek sheet brass cut into functional tools— a ruler, protractor, set square, and paper clips— etched with the most precise of measurements. Perfect for the mathematics aficionado or precision draughtsman, it brings beauty to any workshop or study.

Aarnio’s tools of the trade,

Tool Stand We love this galvanized Tool Stand for it's simplicity, beauty, and versatility.

Whether you think you have what it takes to be the next master chef or just enjoy whipping up simple, delicious dishes at home, you will love these durable, heatproof and handsome kitchen tools from "Good Design" Award winner FD Style. Discover your inner chef-in-the-making. - with additional writing by Victoria Nguyen

Quart Table lamp by Rich Brilliant Willing, $705 The canister shade provides strong directional light, ideal for reading, while the stone base lends richness without hogging precious space.

Shelter No. 2, Broisson Architects, 2008 This prefab made mostly of recycled materials is modest, but not too modest for a spiral staircase. Three levels culminate in a large skylight, which filters natural light all the way down to the ground floor's hydroponic garden.

It Will Get Loud: A Small Speaker That's Big on Sound Home audio companies are managing to make speakers smaller, more portable, and more wallet-friendly while keeping sound quality as robust as their larger (and pricier) brethren. Soundfreaq's co-founder and creative director Matthew Paprocki will demo and deconstruct the award-winning Sound Stack and demo Sound Platform 2 to let you in on the technology behind making big sound come from a tiny package. See this Saturday, June 22, at 12:30 p.m. on the Demonstration Stage.

Drawing inspiration from the beauty of the natural world, the undulating shape of each Aalto Vase alludes to the untamed shorelines of Finland's thousands of lakes. The fluid aesthetic reaffirms the deep connection between man and nature, while making a statement against the failure of industrial production to meet universal human needs. This vase was designed by Alvar Aalto in 1936.

Ruutu Vases by Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec for Iittala Though simple in form, creating these diamond-shape vessels in an array of delicate, watercolor-like hues in glass requires exacting precision.

Designed by Oiva Toikka for Iittala, the Kastehelmi series is now a classic product line within the brand. Finnish for “dewdrop,” the Kastehelmi evolved from a technical challenge—Toikka used the glass droplets to cover joint marks left on the surface of pressed glass pieces. Although the technique originally began with functional intentions, the distinctive look made the series a popular range of glassware, inclusive of the Kastehelmi Large Plate.

The downstairs office houses the tools of the trade.