2 Form

2 Form is a Norwegian design firm that focuses on textiles and furniture. I really love some of the rugs they make - they are totally non-traditional in the way that they are made - wool with a pattern punched out of it, so that the negative space forms the pattern; wool formed into stone shapes and threaded together...

MDT-tex Tulip Umbrella

Thanks to reader Frederika for sending us a link to MDT-tex's Tulip Umbrella. The base is a bit clunky, but I love the inside-out action and the elegant shape of the umbrella itself.

Second Line Frames

You might remember our post on Second Line Frames' work a few months back - we were really impressed with their product and with the idea behind the salvaged frames made from reclaimed New Orleans housing siding, so we decided to ask them a few questions and got so much more! Thanks to Anika and her family for taking the time to give us such a great interview. Check out Second Line Frames' etsy store here.



Who are you?
We created Second Line Frames as a way to shed a little hope on what was left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It stands for a new beginning and cherishes the past at the same time. We salvage wood from homes that were destroyed in the storm and remake it into picture frames that people can use for their own memories. It's our way of giving something that has been through so much, a new life. The whole idea of our shop is to remind people that there is always something to look forward to, even when you're looking back.

The name comes from the "Second Line" – a timeless New Orleans tradition. It's the colorful parade that follows a funeral procession to turn tragedy into a celebration of rebirth.

It was important to us that those who experienced it up close and those of us who watched from afar be able to own a piece of the New Orleans story. We see it as an American tragedy that is significant to all of us. There is a preciousness in the lives we create and the homes we build. And in the wake of destruction, that should not be forgotten. So that's what we hope to do, reinvigorate the survival part of it all...reclaim what had been disregarded and give it a renewed purpose.

We currently donate ten percent of our proceeds to The Katrina Foundation for Recovery. It's a relief organization that disburses funds across the Gulf Coast to groups working to rebuild from Hurricane Katrina. Any amount can make a difference when it's going toward a focused effort like this. If you'd like to learn more, visit www.bandforkatrina.org.

There are four people involved:
Anika Easter: I am an artist, clothing designer and writer living in Tampa, FL. I visualize the design layout of most of the frames and am responsible for putting together most of the tinier frames and mosaics. I also manage the website and all correspondence.

Kris Anderson: Kris owns a boutique called Dunia in Orange Beach, Alabama full of unique home décor and clothing where she also sells the frames. After living in New Orleans for 22 years, she's definitely got that "flavor" and a great artsy personality because of it. It's Mom (Kris) that is primarily in charge of collecting the wood. She can spot an amazing piece in a pile of rubbish a mile away.

Terry Easter: Terry is the chief frame maker and a self admitted perfectionist. He has always had a naturally expert hand at anything he's picked up, whether it's a basketball, golf club, tool or cooking utensil. So it was no surprise that frame-making came just as naturally!

Michael: Michael takes care of Second Line Frames' more intricate layouts, and is also our resident mathematician - the go-to-guy for frame symmetry.



When did you start doing this?
We haven't been doing Second Line Frames long at all. Actually, we just started in January of this year!

Where did you get your inspiration for making frames out reclaimed frame siding from damaged Hurricane Katrina homes? Where does the material come from? Do you have to get permission to use the materials?
In the several times we went back to New Orleans within the first two years after the hurricane, we couldn't quite get over the shock of how much was still left to be done, although with each visit, it was getting better. We'd see an old restaurant had finally reopened, or a whole family energetically taking on a fresh remodel. The street music was starting up again. Night life was coming back. But on the other hand, there was that pile of debris you'd see where there was once a quaint old house. Or that completely empty lot roped off with construction tape. Or stains of flood water levels up to the windows on homes throughout entire neighborhoods. And that was unsettling. We all felt an unignorable inclination to do something. We wanted to create something that could give back to the cause while at the same time giving people something to hold onto. Luckily, we found something we could all do together.

We're people who, if it's possible, try to find something beautiful where you don't expect to see it. We all love walking the French Quarter and seeing the amazing walls down there, layers and layers of paint, so delightful, and colorfully complex in their history. That's what the wood is like. Years and years of bright new paint colors. All the times it was given a fresh start. All that it survived. That's what we find so valuable.



What is your process for producing the frames?
We get the wood by driving up and down the streets of New Orleans. All the wood we collect has either already been put into piles for trash pickup or we get permission from a family currently doing renovations. They have always been more than happy to give us the wood, and often, would like us to haul away more than we can carry.

One thing we are committed to doing sometime in the future is to give a frame back to the original person we got the wood from so they can have a preserved piece of their old house. That would be a fantastic moment!

As far as cleaning it goes, we wash it down through and through with a bleach and disinfectant solution, then lay it outside until it dries thoroughly in the sun. We sand it to remove any loose paint and to reveal some of the underlying layers, then seal it with a satin varnish.

When it comes to the designs, we pick out a plank of wood and think about what would best fit it, not how it would fit into our design. The wood inspires the frame. Sometimes we use the tiny leftover pieces to make mosaics. We try to maximize the wood we have and the dimensions of each frame are based on the most we could get out of each piece, in an attempt to produce as little waste as possible.



Why frames (as opposed to furniture, etc)?
Frames seemed only natural as a way to preserve a memory. They also allow for people to include their own personal touch and make it their own. We have a few ideas for other products too, though. So keep an eye out...there very well may be more items coming soon.

Wendy Plomp

Wendy Plomp has taken the ubiquitous cardboard box and made an object out of it in her project "Message in a box". She silkscreens patterns and ornament onto flat cardboard boxes in an effort to give value to a typically discarded material - giving it a second life. I love the connection between the printed cardboard and traditional rugs.

Milan Design Week 2008

Tomorrow kicks off Milan Design Week, and being that we are in New York and unable to cover the event live, we'll do our best to scour the internet and bring you the best of the blogs that are covering it. From Designboom (top row): Angle Chair by Julian Mayor and Clock by Christiaan Postma (the hour is spelled out by multiple clock hands!). From our inbox: new Union Bench designs by I Do Design.

DesignCode

DesignCode makes colorful light fixtures and screen systems. I love the Flamp Noir - a box containing the silhouette of the iconic lamp.

+D TEAM

Cute plush toys by +D TEAM.

Second Line Frames

How gorgeous are these frames? Second Line Frames creates each from salvaged wood siding found in New Orleans post-Katrina. Second Line Frames takes its name from an old New Orleans tradition called the Second Line - "the colorful parade that follows a funeral procession to turn tragedy into a celebration of rebirth". A portion of each sale is given to rehabilitation efforts in affected New Orleans neighborhoods.

Via heysusy.

Domestic

Domestic invited a select group of designers to create a series of products. Starting with vinyl wall decals, Domestic has branched out into a furniture series called 1.2.3.Furniture. Each piece is made from pre-cut multi-ply birch, and depending on the complexity of the furniture piece, comes with either 1, 2, or 3 panels of birch. Designers participating in this series: Matali Crasset, Antoine+Manuel, Ich&Kar, Electricwig, 5.5 Designers, Big-Game, Adrien Rovero, and Jörg Boner.

Orcadesign

Swissmiss posted about the very cute Facade Vase by Orcadesign. It's a great way to turn a mundane water bottle into a gorgeous felt vase!

Atelier Doodle

Atelier Doodle sent us their latest project, the Portafrutta, which is a fruit platter made out of a series of 35 wood strips. The form (or terrain, almost) created by the strips starts to suggest where fruit might be placed. Atelier Doodle's desire is to eliminate the bruising that occurs when you pile fruit up on top of each other by creating separations that give each piece of fruit its own space.

IKEA sneak peak

IKEA sent us a sneak peak of some products to come this April - here are our favorites:

The KNUBBIG table lamp by Michiko Nakata (above), with floral graphics on clear and frosted glass spheres. We love the bright colors of the GUNVOR fabric by Anna Salander (bottom left) and the very sweet BARNSLIG cushion by Maria Vinka - a pillow for keeping your hands and feet warm. The design and colors of the cushion remind me of kids pajamas.

Linda Florence

Sub-Studio reader Kariann submitted a bunch of links to us for our Ideas: Wallpaper column yesterday - we unfortunately had already switched over to our new Ideas column - Chocolate (yes, in honor of the month of love), but I absolutely LOVED the link she sent us to Linda Florence's Scratchcard Wallpaper. The graphic pattern is covered up with the same silvery substance that coats lottery cards - scratch it off and the real pattern is revealed. I would imagine it would make a huge mess of your house, but it's a fun idea anyway.

Thanks, Kariann!

HZL - Calle Henzel

A reader sent us a link to HZL's rugs - personally I'm a boring solid color rug person when it comes to my own home, but if I wasn't, these would be right up my alley. I especially like the rugs that mimic another material. Each of HZL's rugs are limited edition and handmade.

Thanks, Ake!

Helena Schepens

Helena Schepens is a silversmith by education, but has created a series of very interesting, wooden fruit bowls. Each bowl seems to be sized somewhat particularly to a certain kind of fruit, so I don't know that they will work with fruit across the board, but I love the sculptural quality of the bowls, as well as the dynamic kinetic nature of each.



Via Bientôt Demain.

5.5 Designers

5.5 Designers is a French design firm with a conceptual design bent. I love the chair made from sandwiched broken/discarded chair ends. It doesn't look very comfortable, but it would be cool to have around.

Now, the Style IV chandelier I wouldn't actually put in my house, but I like the idea behind it - four chandeliers in one, depending on your vantage point. It's simply made - two sheets of mirror form the axis, and allow each quartered lamp to be completed.



I'm also very taken with 5.5 Designers' wallpaper - inviting user participation, the wallpaper slowly evolves over time, becoming richer and more interesting as it is intervened on. 5.5 Designers recommend using the wallpaper in spaces where we find ourselves bored or with some extra time on our hands - the bathroom, waiting rooms, etc.

2007 Gift Guide - For Him

Hi Folks,

We hope you caught our gift picks for him this week - watch the ideas column next week for christmas decorations.

Left to right: Dart Coat Hooks by Suck UK, Decanter N°2 by Etienne Meneau, and the Snow Wallet by Ulterior Motive.

Hung Ming Chen

Hung Ming Chen is a young designer from Sweden with a few lovely products. I think the bird light is fantastic - it can be clipped on to an existing light bulb and instantly create some visual interest in a room. Also very clever was his trash can - simply two wooden pieces with built-in clips - slot them together and create an instant trash can. More work is available on his website, Hommin.

Via Style Files.

Morphorm - Theosaurus

Ack! This piggy bank by Morphorm is so cute! I love the little cork feet, and the traditional porcelain design on a non-traditional form. One of my good friends has an obsession with pigs and I've been looking for a piggy bank for her for Christmas. Every time I think I've found the right one - another awesome piggy appears! What to do, what to do?

Via Electro^Plankton.

2007 Gift Guide

Keep an eye on our Ideas column to the right, as we update it with holiday gift ideas over the next few weeks. This week we are focusing on gifts for her, next week will be gifts for him.

Above: Fauna Goldfish Necklace by paraphernalia and Knit Coasters by Alyssa Ettinger.

Artful Home show

Yesterday was a crazy day (thus the lack of posts), but I did make it to the Artful Home preview show at the Puck building (love that place!). The evening provided a great opportunity to meet artisans and to see new work in the glassware, ceramics, jewelry and textiles fields. Some of the highlights:

The glassware tended to be colorful - lots of bright pastels (is that an oxymoron?). The Spike Bowls by Hudson Beach Glass and Nicholas Kekic's collection of vases were gorgeous, and I loved their forms.



Ananda Khalsa had some jewelry in the show, and it is truly more beautiful in person than it is in photographs. Everything is so delicate and intricate. The Stacking Bowls are by Kaete Brittin Shaw.


I had the pleasure of meeting Laura Goldstein of Grotta & Co, who make very cool silk screened throw pillows. The designs tend to incorporate personal elements, such as handwritten letters from her grandma and old musical scores.

The Artful Home show is open to the public starting today through Sunday at the Puck building in Manhattan. There is unfortunately a cover charge - tickets are $12 in advance and $20 at the door (steep, in my opinion!). Check it out if you are in the area. Have a good weekend, all!

plusminuszero

plusminuszero is a Japanese company headed by designer Naoto Fukasawa. The website description of the company really sums up the work:

It means neither plus nor minus;
it is necessity and sufficiency;
it is something you have never seen but somehow feel at home with;
it is a shape that is very normal yet fascinating;
It is the moment you realize, for the first time, that this is exactly what you have wanted.

The objects above are from plusminuszero's new collection: Coffee and Tea Maker, Toaster, Sliced Bread Dish, and Humidifier Ver.3.

Coe and Waito

Coe and Waito have a new line of porcelain bottles out, inspired by treasures dug out of the ground as children. The bottles are complete with platinum decals of the insects, dirt and leaves dug up with them. Hello, beautiful!

Scott Amron - Dry Vase

I love Scott Amron's Dry Vase. I don't usually press flowers, but I think I would if I had one of these...The vase is made of rubber-coated earthenware. The soft black makes it pretty sexy...Though I wish it was just made of rubber like this vase, so that it could start out functioning as a "live" vase, but would lose its shape when you pressed your flowers.

Via Core77.

Three Potato Four

Congrats to Stu and Janet on the launch of their shop Three Potato Four. 3P4 differentiates itself from other online shops with a really nice selection of vintage items (mixed in with new prints/cards - including our Abyssal print, Specimen Catalog prints, and Visible:Invisible prints). Shown above: vintage High Low Milk Bottle, Matt Cipov's Creatures of the Deep (love it!), and the Midcentury Teak Tray.

AvroKO - Social House

AvroKO recently completed the Social House, a maximalist restaurant among the new restaurant/lounges on the Las Vegas Strip. I think the cabinet of curiosities/apothecary wall that surrounds the stairwell is incredible. Each drawer is individually lit and the entire wall is operable, allowing the restaurant to create a constantly changing surface texture. While the restaurant draws on a number of one-liner decor choices, I can't argue with the fact that it looks amazing.

Joanna Mendicino

Joanna Mendicino emailed us about some very sweet new work. I like that the images are made through a void rather than through a relief.

Robert Stadler

I know I posted about Robert Stadler's +336+ SMS mirror a few days back, but browsing through his website reveals such a great body of work, so I want to post a few more items...

The Pentaphone is a lovely change from the standard telephone booth. It is gorgeous to look at, and besides that, it is adjustable to your height.

Foreveryoung would be a nice replacement for my 5 lb weights. These dumb-bells are made from Carrara marble and are available in 3 and 5 kgs.

Robert Stadler +336+ SMS Mirror

Mirror, mirror on the wall...Danielle over at Style Files posted about the +336+ SMS Mirror by Robert Stadler, a mirror that can receive text messages, and I couldn't resist posting about it here. As one gets closer to the mirror, luminous text appears. If you are like me, you can forget about buying one - only twenty have been made and they cost $10,000 each! If not, you can purchase one here.

Ting Vintage Belt Floor Mat

Found this interesting floor mat over at Branch. Designed by London-based Ting, the mat is made up of a bunch of vintage leather belts that are mounted on a backing of reconstituted leather. The worn leather (and the color variance) is really beautiful. Each mat is made to order. They aren't cheap at $648, but they are pretty!

Floyd

How's this for multi-tasking - a cup that doubles as a ring while in use. By Floyd.

Via MocoLoco.

Ample Sample

I don't remember where I first saw this, but Ample Sample was a brilliant contest where industry professionals were asked to upcycle the carpet samples they had sitting in their offices. Some beautiful products resulted. My favorites were the Mag "Daddy" Caddy by David Shor and The Loop Bench (though I would have covered the sides, and just exposed the tops of the carpet samples) by James Seaman. The light fixture above unfortunately doesn't get credited on the website, but I like it!

Studio Dror

The Pick Chair by Studio Dror has two functions - it can be hung up and displayed on your wall as art, or it can be folded into a chair. Living in a small apartment, having some additional seating would be great and I love the idea of not having to hide it away when it's not in use.

Via PadStyle.

Michelle Brand

I love it when people rethink the way an object is used, especially when that use gives the object a second life. Michelle Brand has created a 'fabric' made of the bases of plastic bottles. Each bottle is cut, sanded, and assembled into the tapestry. Beautiful!