design

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Original Paper Collage, Abstract Works on Paper by Cherie Lester.

Cherie Lester is also a photographer, but I am not so fond of her photos as I am of those paper collages of hers. The first one is an original, whereas the second one below is an archival print.

You can also see some paintings on her website.

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Archival Pigment Print of an Original Collage.

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Pink and brown pompon slippers by art.i.choke @ Etsy.

art.i.choke was founded in 2006 by Turkish designer Öykü Thurston in Istanbul. She had studied the art of felt-making in Zushi, Japan in Haruka Ichihara’s studio and then went on to graduate from the “Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising” in Los Angeles.

She uses the traditional techniques of felt-making to produce modern wearable items. Every piece is hand shaped and therefore unique. And you can find the collection @ Etsy.

I am not exactly into hats - except when it comes to Blythe dolls - and even less into shawls, but I really love those slippers. They come in different colors and even if I like the pink & green ones a lot, my favorites are really the pink & brown above. They are available in all sizes from 6 to 10.

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This is just a small part of the Easter reading guide @ desire to inspire.

midcenturyjo @ desire to inspire issued an “easter reading guide” in 4 parts last week and I was absolutely thrilled and truly honored to find a thing of beauty… included.

I did not find the time to extensively browse through all the great and inspiring blogs listed there but I sure will, especially since I have not worked on my blogroll yet and was planning to this week-end… Love it when people do the job for you ! (hint hint)

midcenturyjo has been at it before and you can find all her reading guides here.

Desire to Inspire is indeed an inspiring blog - mainly focused on interior decoration - and the work of midcenturyjo & kim - “an Australian and a Canadian trying to inspire the world, one room at a time”.

midcenturyjo also has an Etsy shop.

Pia Wallen for ElectroluxPia Wallen for Electrolux
Ultrasilencer Special Edition by Pia Wallén for Electrolux.

I discovered this on yatzer a very inspiring blog by interior designer Costas Voyatzis and I must say that if ever there was to be “a dream vacuum cleaner” (imagine such a category…) that would be it. It’s just perfect ! I love white and orange so much, and I even think in a small appartment like mine I could let this one apparent happily since I do not have a spot to hide my own ugly one (which I bought a long time ago when vacuum cleaners had not yet started to become interesting)…

It reminds me of Jasper Morrison’s Breakfast Set for Rowenta - let’s just hope it does not have the flaws the Rowenta products had.

(It also reminds me a bit of a version of the Tissot Danica Patrick T-Touch watch that I liked a lot, because of the few touches of red upon the white leather).

But anyway, once again, there’s nothing like simplicity in design. This thing could well be the ultimate vaccum cleaner for some time.

Pia Wallen for Electrolux

Source :: yatzer.

Soap Carpet by The Swedes for Kateha
Soap Carpet by The Swedes for Kateha.

I registered @ Stylehive yesterday and I stumbled upon this great Soap carpet designed by The Swedes for Kateha and available @ ScandinavianDesignCenter.

I love that moss color - definitely in the air - but the carpet also exists in white.

Moss Pincushion by Ottoman

Moss Pincushion by Ottoman @ Etsy.

Whoever still thinks that eco-friendly products cannot be fun, fashionable or even gorgeous must seriously reconsider their beliefs because the times when green meant plain-boring-looking are long over.

I would not necessarily have presented these Moss Pincushions from a “green” point of view, but since Ottoman emphasizes this on her profile, I think it is only fair to do so. All the more as the whole shop seems to be driven by a constant desire to “find environmentally-friendly sources for materials and shop locally whenever possible and still keep the aesthetic (she is) after”. And it certainly shows for the shop has a great outlook and the collections - ‘Moss’, ‘Cork’ - well thought-out in terms of aesthetics and design.

However, you need not be an eco-driven person to appreciate and even love these creations.

Those Moss Pincushions are just beautiful and gorgeous looking !

Carlton by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano
Carlton designed by Ettore Sottsass in 1981 for Memphis Milano.

I found this great article called “Memphis design style is back” while doing some research about Ettore Sottsass in early January when I learned he had died. I’m not in a writing mood these days so I guess I’ll just add a selection of photos and links here.

Ettore Sottsass - Tahiti Lamp for Memphis Milano - 1981
Tahiti lamp by Ettore Sottsass for Memphis Milano, 1981.

Black & White Vase by Ettore Sottsass for Bitossi
Vase (502) - Black & White Collection by Ettore Sottsass for Bitossi of Italy.

Sottsass Associati. Casa Wolf, Ridgway, Colorado, USA, 1987-89.
Sottsass Associates - The Wolf House in Ridgway, Colorado, USA, 1987-89.

Ettore Sottsass. Portrait by Luca Fregoso. ?Ettore Sottsass: Work in Progress?, Design Museum, London.
Ettore Sottsass. Portrait by Luca Fregoso. “Ettore Sottsass: Work in Progress”, Design Museum, London.

Ettore Sottsass

Articles on Sottsass :
Ettore Sottsass @ Design Museum + Memphis @ Design Museum
Ettore Sottsass - 20 ans de design pour Olivetti @ Centre Pompidou
Ettore Sottsass @ LACMA
Ettore Sottsass : “Tout est design, c’est une fatalit?” Le Monde, 29/08/2005, interview by Mich?le Champenois.

Shopping :
Alessi
Memphis Milano
Ettore Sottsass @ Unica Home
designdesign.it

Designers of Tomorrow : Ragnheidur Osp Sigurdardottir

Pick Me Chocolates by Ragnheidur Osp Sigurdardottir

I stumbled upon Ragnheidur’s work on This is Blythe Forum and even though she showed only a few pictures of her work - she is still young and is currently studying product design at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Michigan - those few pictures clearly pointed to some strong personality and a great talent. Ragnheidur was born in 1981 and comes from Reykjavik, Iceland which accounts for her Northern sounding name : Ragnheidur Osp Sigurdardottir.

Her work is both elegant and familiar. The objects she makes are beautiful without being intimidating. They have something of the obvious in them - a quality not easily attained and which requires work and talent. They have not yet been produced but you wish you could already find them in shops.

Amongst those projects she would like to see produced, the Pick Me chocolates look very promising. She has thought of making them herself and selling them, but what she really wants is to work with a chocolatier that makes premium chocolate. There is also her Aromalarm, an alarm clock that wakes up and puts people to sleep with aroma. Here is what she wrote to me when I asked her how it was really working :

The Aromalarm is still a concept but I thought of it working in a way where you buy little capsules containing different aromas and inserting them inside the clock (on bottom). They would then get attached to tubes that would release the aroma depending on if you are falling asleep or waking up. If it ever gets made and could really function, I would like there to be all kinds of different aromas to buy.

And although it is not exactly the kind of things I like, I must admit that the way she worked on the BENJAMIN stool designed by Lisa Norinder and produced by IKEA by drilling holes in it and decorating it with brodery - she calls it Bentey - is very interesting. I came to think about it afterwards which is always a good sign with objects. I think it works better with some color and the brodery on top so that you don’t get to see the reverse side of it, but on the other end, this version has a more modern touch and is really inspiring.

And I love her digital patterns for ceramic tiles! I think it goes way beyond what you usually see that has been made with a computer. (Edit : The tile patterns are not available any more on her new website. You can only see this one on her Portfolio at coroflot.com. 27 August 2007)

Ragnheidur Osp Sigurdardottir’s links :
Umemi : her website.
Her Portfolio.
And Everything Nice, part of her research for her thesis on cuteness.
And would you believe it, she has a pug too! Hers is called Panda, you can see pictures of her on Ragnheidur Osp Sigurdardottir’s Flickr.