dovetusai

If you want to see some beautiful glassware, check out the collection from dovetusai. I like how all of their work reminds me of elementary school science experiments, a charming medley of beakers and test tubes. The bottom piece, called 'Antoine', is a candle holder and bud vase all in one - the perfect mix for a centerpiece. Handmade in Italy.

Jaime Hayon: Re-Deco

There's no doubt that Jaime Hayon is a master when it comes to ceramics. Recently he's teamed up with Lladró, a company well-known for it's traditional figurines, to give them a little shake-up in true Hayon fashion. The result has been the Re-Deco collection, a reinvention of some of Lladró's classic pieces using white porcelain and platinum in both gloss and matte finishes.

While I'm not much of a figurine fan, it was still interesting to see this collection in person at the Future Perfect in Brooklyn. And I was more than excited to see Hayon's 'Showtime' vases (above) there as well. They are just wonderful, creative, fun pieces and I really, really want one.

Reminder: Denver Design

I'll be back with a regular post later, but I just wanted to remind everyone in the Denver area that we are having a community meet-up tonight at the Walnut Room. Designers from all fields are welcomed to attend - 6:30 pm, The Walnut Room, 3101 Walnut St. Denver.

UPDATE: We had over 20 folks show up for our first meeting - thanks to everyone who came! See, there is design happening in Denver...if you couldn't make the meeting and want in on the action send me an email and I'll add you to our list.

Karla Schabert: Crochet Jewelry

I spotted Karla Schabert's amazing line of jewelry while visiting the Cooper Hewitt in NY. Her pieces are delicately crafted by crocheting fine cotton over glass beads. So beautiful.

Sparks: The Wrong Store

"It's really a collection of all of our favorite things," is how Tobias Wong and Gregory Krum described the products in their most recent project, The Wrong Store. Located in a small storefront in West Chelsea, The Wrong Store is a guerrilla concept in the form of a pop-up shop. The catch is you can't enter the store and you can't buy anything, at least not individually. You see, the goods in the Wrong Store come as all or nothing package.

Nearly three years after Tobias's 'Terminal 5' project in JFK (an installation which sadly only lasted three days), a new store has come to life, this time in a 6' x 10' room. The small space didn't stop Tobias and Gregory, Retail Director for the Cooper-Hewitt, from assembling an amazing collection of limited edition, and in some cases one-of-a-kind pieces, that blend art, fashion and design.

The Wrong Store is truly window shopping at its finest, only you'll have to get your wistful watching in soon because this little shop will only be open for two months. Thanks again to Tobias for being the nicest guy at ICFF, from giving me a mini-tour of the shop to getting my friends into an overcrowded party, meeting him was one of the highlights of Design Week.

Take a look of at some of the highlights from The Wrong Store below.

A passerby glances past the "Come in...we're closed" sign outside The Wrong Store.

Everything in it's place... the perfectly curated desk.

Five shelves of goods...

Yves Behar's 'Monster' sculpture and sunglasses by Bless.

Close-up of the sunglasses by Bless.

'Helmet' - a hand crocheted gas mask affixed to a helmet by Hella Jongerius and the 'Totem Doppelganger by Anton Ginzburg for Kid Robot.

'Money Cube' by Dean MacGregor and 'Brush #2' by Fredrickson Stallard.

'One Minute Sculpture' by Marcel Wanders, 'Vase' by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and 'ExoLight' by Laurent Massaloux.

ICFF: After Hours - Finnish Design

On Sunday night I also visited the Valvomo show, an exhibition of Finnish design, which was set-up in a converted fish locker in the Meatpacking District. There were a number of impressive pieces on display, including the 'OKA' coatrack by Teppo Asikainen and the 'Globlow Big Floor Lamp' by designers Vesa Hinkola, Markus Nevalainen and Rane Vaskivuori. The light actually gently deflates and inflates as it is switched off and on.

ICFF: Party People

What ICFF coverage would be complete without a few party highlights? On Sunday I proudly made it to 5 events in the tight 6-9 time frame (impressive I know). My first stop was at the Flavor Paper reception at Michael Angelo's Wonderland Beauty Parlor. The place was packed with Flavor fans enjoying the company's new patterns, including their fun 'scratch and sniff' series.

ICFF Day 3: The Best of the Rest

I'm heading back home today, but I wanted to share a few more ICFF photos before I leave - we'll just have to file this post under 'miscellaneous'...

While I had a great time at this year's fair, there wasn't that much in the way of dazzling design. There were a lot of really nice pieces, but very few of them made you say 'wow' as you walked away. Being my first fair, I don't have much to compare it to - overall it just felt very "safe" to me.

I still have some coverage to share of all the events surrounding ICFF, including a tour of Tobias Wong's Wrong Store and Jaime Hayon's exhibit. But for now, here's the best of the rest from ICFF 2007:

This chandelier is beautiful - it's a light that can also hold plants or cut flowers in the individual fixtures. By Waawiz of Japan.

I was excited to see Maxim Velcovsky of Qubus design studio showing his work. I recently posted about his dinnerware on designklub, and it was great to see his ceramic pieces in person. I spoke with Maxim for a little while and hopefully I'll be doing an interview with him soon. He's definitely on my 'one to watch' list.

Anna & Sean from Sub-Studio and I all agreed that these lights by Thai designers Tazana were among the best. They are actually made up of individual plastic pieces linked together, forming these wonderful, intricate designs.

I really liked this room divider, although I can't remember who it's from - I'll have to look it up when I get home. It reminded me of a green felt forest.

The layout of the Thout booth was great; there were homemade touches everywhere, which was a nice change after seeing row upon row of overly sleek Italian exhibits. Thout had several fun pieces on display, including their "UtiliTILE' series - panels with pop-out features, which hold everything from spices to silverware.

'OTT' hooks from Viable.

This picture doesn't convey the true glory of this design. SAC A FAIRE is a system that offers you ten bags in one. Each sheet of tyvek contains the layout for 10 different styles of bags. You simply choose the one you like, cut along the dotted lines, fold or sew in a few key places and you can turn the 2-D graphic into a 3-D accessory. Oo-la-la!

ICFF Day 3: Textiles

New pattern from Amenity.

I am always a huge fan of the wild patterns and colors from Missoni Home.

I finally got to meet Shelly from k studio and see their new designs. All of the embroidered pillows were great, but the big round faces were the best!

ICFF Day 2: Wallcoverings

'Chateau 66' from Nama Rococo. Limited edition of 180 sheets. This photo does not do the pattern justice...it's really hard to photograph hot pink and metallics!

New design from Erica Wakerly.

'Boxed In' by Wolf Gordon.

Modular wool-felt wall panels from Anne Kyyro Quinn. Each square snaps onto a magnetic frame, allowing for endless combinations and designs.

New patterns from my buddies at Flavor Paper. The top one is real scratch and sniff paper! Below are 'City Park, Party Girl and Flower Pedal'.

ICFF Day 2: For the Kids

I don't usually cover children's furniture on designklub, but there was so much of it at ICFF, I figured I'd share the highlights.

Fun bedding and textiles from newcomers Boodalee.

I may not have kids, but I do recognize a useful design when I see one. The 'HiLo' by Age is one of those clever pieces that is so simple, it's brilliant. One side acts as a high chair, the other a taller kids seat.

Of all the children's companies I saw, Celery was my favorite. Not only are the designs eco-friendly (recycled materials, formaldehyde-free), but they are also wonderfully simple. Instead of messing around with tiny pieces of hardware, the furniture is held together with wedges, which makes the pieces just as much fun to assemble as they are to use.

ICFF Day 1: Furniture

New furniture designs spotted at ICFF during Day 1.

'Specter': a chair made out of resin-cast mesh by Josh Urso Design

Resin casting was everywhere at ICFF - above are the 'Book' shelf and 'Branch' table by Areaware.

Beautiful new eco-friendly pieces from IANNONE. My favorites were the graphic armoire and the mod cork credenza.