Furniture
A little bit Steampunk, a tad industrial loft makeover, these upcycled KOZO lamps are being produced by a 7-member collective called DEMO Design Clinic working out of Florentin (Tel Aviv’s Williamsburg doppelgänger)…
While perusing the child-centric wares of one of my favorite Tel Aviv shops, Carousella, I came across these oversized baskets by Franco-Senegalese company Europ’Africa Deco…
The work of Raw-Edges is not for crowd-followers or wallflowers. Indeed, the pieces are ballsy, sometimes rough, often bright and clashy. It’s the sort of furniture that a more timid houseguest would veer away from – never daring to plop down on the “Volume” couch, for example.
A house isn’t a home without a cozy nook for reading–preferably illuminated by something striking, simple, and versatile like this 001 model by Naama Hofman. Made of a cleverly angled iron rod and acrylic tube filled with 120 LED lights, this has got to be one of the niftiest reading aids I’ve come across in a while. The design is such that you can place it any which way on a table top, or hang it from the ceiling or wall…
Your Lo’s List London correspondents have recently moved into new, unfurnished digs in Islington and, as you can imagine, we’ve had flat-pack on our minds for weeks. But while it’s all well and good to put together beds and shelves with nothing more than Allen keys and some frustrating pegs, some pieces of furniture demand more care in their selection. With all the hours we spend at our computers each day, the choice of a perfect writing desk was always going to be a difficult one. What a relief, then, that a weekend trip to the Columbia Road flower market and Brick Lane led us right to the door of Unto This Last…
Just right for springtime, Alessi’s whimsical line, A di Alessi, is full of impeccable housewares that balance function with fun. Although their website is a royal nuisance to browse, the plethora of goodies, from plant-like toilet brushes (so much less depressing) to the perfect kitty bowl for Goobie the Cat, are sure to brighten up so many of those daily dreary to-dos!
“My imaginary wonderland is a land where everything is made of soft wool, trees are knitted and instead of growing leaves, pom poms sprout out, strange knitted creatures eat cup cakes and doughnuts sprinkled with stitching. The creatures are different shapes and sizes like odd socks, some have extra long legs, some have two heads, some are grumpy or shy and all are not what they seem. Scale and proportions are stretched or squashed, there are no rules.” — D.W.
A big thank you to the style-savvy Doug & Haruna, who sent over this link to Truck, a luscious furniture & housewares collection from Osaka, Japan. Aside from the must-have-it-all furniture catalog on their site, Truck carries tons of other goodies, from handmade leather belt bracelets by Atelier Shirokumasha (just $17), to very French antique wicker baskets, to one of my favorite things: Moroccan babouche slippers! Pretty much everything you see in the hypnotizing photos on their site (rugs, bins, lamps, pillows…) is for sale. Um… minus the coordinated house cat and pup, I’m assuming. Thank goodness I live nowhere near this decor goldmine…
True true – the fad of vinyl decor has long been underway, but UK company Hu2 Design has a welcome, fresh take on the medium. Moving beyond the purely aesthetic, Hu2’s vinyls serve as helpful home tools for any frazzled city dweller…
1Nel's Pack of Dogs Bookshelf & Bench$413
2Penguin Classics with Cover Illustrations by Coralie Bickford-Smith$14
3My Wonderful World of Fashion by Nina Chakrabarti$13.5
4Studio Smeets Design Lili Lite Bookshelf Lamp€99
5Harry Allen Rollerstop Bookend$95
6Folk & Flora Pattern Books and Notecard Set by Reprodepot$44
7Zelco Itty Bitty Book Light$35
8Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller$29
9Pictorial Webster's$23
10i3’s Help! Bookmarks – Set of 5$19
1Manuella Big Elephant Floor Pillow$115
2Kid O’s City & Country Blocks by Lisa Mahar$45
3Donkey Products Helmet N. Crocheted Camera€26
4Playsam Rocking Rabbit$185
5Baby Barolo Cocoon Sleeping Bag$204
6An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton$15
7Sara Carr’s Lambswool Pencil Scarf$45
8Schnurpfel Pony by Naef$49
9Monster Hands by Hector Serrano$8
10Goodbyn Lunchbox$30
1Eding:Post’s Picnica Bunny Bag$27
2Angharad Mclaren’s Recycled Climbing-Rope Mat£68
3Singgih Kartono Magno Sustainable Radio$200
4Freitag F74 Bob Bag$300
5Esque Studio's Recycled Glass Slump Vases$285
6Handmade Bird Calls by Sweet Bella$36
7Bamboosk8’s 100% Bamboo Skateboard Decks$45
8De Paper Bag By Jos Vandermeulen$20
9The TransNeomatic Bowl by Fernando and Humberto Campana$89
10Recycled Bike-Chain Bottle Openers by Resource Revival$14
More quirky flights of fancy out of Israel by way of Reddish Design Studio – a hop and a skip south of Tel Aviv in the city of Sitriya. Naama Steinbock and Idan Friedman certainly aren’t afraid of breaking the norm with their work, which is inspired by everything from Yakuza tattoos to embroidery. Some of my favorites are the picnic skirt – allowing for picnicing anytime, anywhere, the Yakuza furniture collection – tattooed from tabletop to foot, the bird bread board – great for you or place it by the window for your feathered friends, and the bath & beyond chair – ‘nuf said.
With a planet that is drowning in trash and choked by pollution, any company that makes the effort to be greener gets the “We Are Good People” badge in my book. When that company manages to highlight the “eco” side of their products in a way that sparks the imagination and demonstrates how far one can go with ecologically-forward thinking, well, that warrants a big freaking gold star.
I first began following Madrid-born artist/designer Jaime Hayon’s work a handful of years ago when I saw his Showtime vases at The Future Perfect in Brooklyn. The balanced curves and primary shapes of his pieces results in something so easy to gape at – hypnotizingly simple – and full of youthful cues: Japanese animation, vinyl toy culture, circus patterns, graffiti, science fiction… Oh, how I pine for Hayon’s glossy Green Chicken, with her felt-like plumes, perfectly peckish beak, and alien bulb-ears… What’s next for the artist? A giant porcelain chess set to be exhibited in Trafalgar Square for the 2009 London Design Festival!
