Archive for the ‘furniture’ Category

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Khodi Feiz’s Moment Chair for Offecct

Old wooden school desks—the ones you slide into, with the chair and table fused together—provide the form for this multifunctional seat for Swedish company Offecct. Created by Khodi Feiz, an Iranian-born American designer now living in Amsterdam, the upholstered Moment supports a range of activities, from reading a newspaper to typing up a report to having a light meal. Flip down its integrated, wing-like tablet surface when you need it, and flip it off to the side when you don’t; aside from being convenient, you could also argue that the tablet’s placement reinforces the notion of public (just hanging out and open to conversation) and private (busy at work and would prefer to be left alone.) Made of molded foam, and available with a range of feet configurations and finishes, Moment can be used in residential or commercial settings.

Moment, with its tablet work surface flipped to the side.

Feiz’s sketch of Moment in action.

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

Parchment Table by Kenneth Cobonpue

The gently undulating pages of an old manuscript inspired the top of this dining room table, which was created by Kenneth Cobonpue, a Filipino designer known for his use of natural fibers and materials. Fine layers of walnut are naturally warped and then stacked to create the surface; rather than being compressed, the layers are allowed to breathe, which creates an airy, sculptural profile from the sides. Brushed stainless-steel u-shaped legs complete the look. Yet despite its durability—and the thought that, What’s the worse that could happen if we put it outside? The wood warps some more?—the Parchment table is strictly meant for indoor use.

A detail of the Parchment table’s warped walnut layers

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

There’s a New Marketplace in Town

Look out 1st Dibs and One Kings Lane, because another online market, Dering Hall, has just launched, making high-end custom furniture that was formerly only available to the trade accessible to the general public. The site offers permanent online storefronts for architects, interior designers, dealers, and “artisans” to display small selections of their products. Additional content includes Q&As with designers, and guides on decorating (current offerings include lighting strategies and what to look for when purchasing a sofa). For those impatient types who don’t want to wait the typical 6-plus weeks for custom pieces, Dering Hall offers an “available now” search option, so you can satisfy your need for a demilune table or Dunes and Duchess lamp in record time.

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Bing.com “Finds” Uhuru Design

Occasionally I indulge in a bit of reality television, and during The Rachel Zoe Project last night, I was pleasantly surprised to see a commercial for Microsoft’s Bing.com search engine, featuring Robert and Cortney Novogratz (of The Novogratz). In the ad they use Bing to find a use for wood scraps, and come upon New York-based Uhuru Design and their signature Stoolen table.

Uhuru Design's Stoolen Table

Stoolen is one of Uhuru’s original designs, and has stood the test of time (or at least the seven years since RISD grads Bill Hilgendorf and Jason Horvath founded the design/build company). The Stoolen tables are created from hardwood scraps generated by the many local woodshops in Brooklyn, collected by Uhuru, and carefully pieced together. To complete the “up-cycling” product, Stoolen is also available circled by a found bicycle rim, to provide a bit of sustainable shine to the wooden piece.

The popularity of the Stoolen and ready availability of scrap wood from their many projects has prompted Uhuru to look for other ways to use the material. They now offer a Stoolen lamp, and the “Puzzle” series, which features short lengths of the wood scrap formed into mirror surrounds and tops for a console table.

Uhuru Design's Puzzle Mirror

We’re delighted to see this talented young studio being recognized for one of their first designs – oh, and Rachel Zoe’s premiere collection looks pretty solid too.

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

TAF’s Adaptable Table for Muuto and DWR

I’m a woman who likes options. Always have, always will. And while customization has never been a problem for the high-end furniture industry, it’s been a bit more challenging for less affluent buyers. Enter the Adaptable table by Stockholm-based duo TAF Architects. The aim was to update the timeless Scandinavian wood table via a choice of new materials and detailing. The result is consumers can choose from four different table tops, four powder-coated metal frame colors, and four types of oak legs; in total the combinations allow for 64 different personal and unique pieces. Commissioned by Danish firm Muuto, the table retails for $1,995 at Design Within Reach.

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Product Placement 3.3: Milan 2011 Insights – April 27 at 6.30pm

We’re back from Milan, and before it all becomes a dream, we announce:

Product Placement 3.3: Milan 2011 Insights from a Designer, a Retailer, a Publicist, and a Journalist

This is going to be a little different than our other PPs, as clearly we can’t talk about one product for five minutes. Instead, you’ll get five minutes of trends, observations, and musings from four presenters with very different roles in and perspectives on the industry. The featured speakers:

Barry Richards, Principal and Studio Leader, Rockwell Group

Kari Woldum, Vice President, Merchandising at Design Within Reach

Kimberly Oliver, Associate Director, Camron PR

Julie Taraska, Senior Editor, Gilt Home and Contributor to Fast Company, Details, Wallpaper*, and Metropolis

All will be happening :
Wednesday, April 27, 6.30-8.30 (Presentations begin promptly at 7)
Rockwell Group
5 Union Square West
New York, NY 10003

Seating is limited, with RSVP mandatory for building security. To attend, please send an email with your name and the number in your party to thisisproductplacement@gmail.com.

See you there!

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Molten Metal Coal Tables by Jim Zivic

Jim Zivic's coal tables, with molten metal poured in the cracks.

Jim Zivic's coal tables, with molten metal poured in the cracks.

For the past decade, Jim Zivic’s métier has been coal, which he sculpts, hones, and polishes into massive tables for clients like Lou Reed and Salma Hayek. “It’s a little romance with the muck,” he says of the anthracite chunks, which he buys 14 tons at a time from a mine in Pennsylvania and stores in the backyard of his upstate New York home. The coal’s earthiness and anti-preciousness appeal to Zivic, but the irony of his situation doesn’t escape him. “The same stuff my neighbors are burning for heat, Ralph [Pucci, his agent] is selling for thousands of dollars” a piece, he says. His latest coal tables show him experimenting with the material’s texture and physical properties. Some of the chunks he has coated in silicone, playing up the anthracite’s natural luster; others he has left in their rough state, when they’ve just exited the earth. He’s poured molten metal into the cracks of a few, mimicking the butterfly joints and barbell-shaped repairs common in woodworking, and dumped plain epoxy in the deep cuts of others, to keep the fragile matter from falling apart. “They’re all in different stages of finish,” he says of the works, “because I want to show people there is beauty in roughness, too.” The pieces, along with his other new commodities-based furniture, including benches made of cotton bales, aluminum dining tables, and upholstered steel-framed chaises formed from hexagonal bars—are on view at Pucci’s Gallery Nine New York showroom through April.
Zivic's cotton bale bench features a leather top and straps, the latter with handmade buckles.

Zivic's cotton bale bench features a leather top and straps, the latter with handmade buckles.


A square coal table and campaign chair by Zivic.

A square coal table and campaign chair by Zivic.

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Palindrome Furniture Series by Peter Marigold for Moss

Mr Owl Ate My Metal Worm bookcase

Mr Owl Ate My Metal Worm bookcase, from Peter Marigold's Paindrome series.

A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backwards or forwards. British artist/designer Peter Marigold’s Palindrome collection of furniture for New York design store Moss is that, with a twist: They are symmetrical pieces that are half mold and half cast, with the forms, textures, and details of one side mirrored on the other. To make the items, Marigold engages in a little production trickery. He first assembles the wood as a mold, with the composite casting material layered inside. Once the latter is set, he disassembles the wooden mold, turns it inside out, then reassembles it, using fasteners to join the two sides. The result is that the imperfections in the wood and rendered beautiful on the cast side: circular saw marks become symmetrical decorative swirls, knots become motifs, and holes become handles.
Prior to casting, the item’s wooden half is engraved with a word or phrase, which is repeated on the cast side in raised writing. Each of the collection’s eight pieces has its own palindromic name, save for the gun cabinet. Sadly, each item is a one-off.

Tattarrattat cabinet, part of Peter Marigold's Palindrome series.

Tattarrattat cabinet, part of Peter Marigold's Palindrome series.


Gun Cabinet with Marigolds, part of the Palindrome series.

Gun Cabinet with Marigolds, part of the Palindrome series.


Anna chair.

Anna chair.


Deed dining table.

Deed dining table.