In 2009 Alessi initiated a workshop co-directed by Cranbrook 3D Designer-in-Residence, Scott Klinker, and Metalsmithing Artist-in-Residence, Iris Eichenberg. Ten participants were chosen for the week-long, hands-on experiment in metal working. The studio was loaded with metal types from a local supplier that included sheet, rod, tube, solid block and I-beams, and the participants had 24-hour access to the shop to play with the materials and develop product proposals and pre-production samples. They met for loose critiques throughout the week and brainstormed about “American Typologies,” products specific to American culture.

According to Alberto Alessi, “The idea to organize this workshop came to me during a visit to Cranbrook in 2009. This visit gave me the opportunity to experience the existence of a clear attitude typical of the Arts and Crafts movement, and also typical of silver and metalsmiths, that has always intrigued me so much because it is so rare in European design.”

Klinker added that “When Alberto Alessi visited Cranbrook in 2009, he seemed especially impressed with the material experiments in the studios. His vision for a collaborative workshop was very specific: search for new forms in metal through a hands-on, craft process in the metal shop. The workshop addressed two main questions. First, what forms will metal take? Then later, what Alessi products might come from those forms? The final products seem to capture this fascination with the physical manipulation of metal.”

Four the products created during the workshop will be made by Alessi and released later this year. You can see a few of them pictured here, including Scott Klinker’s Patterned Bowl Studies and my personal favorite, the Pinch Vase by Adam Shirley. The banana easel is Dear Charlie by John Truex. Stop by Alessi Soho (130 Greene Street), which was, coincidentally, designed by Cranbrook graduate Hani Rashid (1985) , or follow the project on their blog.

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we think the car in this video is a gallardo. here’s an overview: With a Gallardo replacement not too far out, Lamborghini has invested in a number of special high-performance derivatives for its entry-level car. The latest Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale pays tribute to its Blancpain Super Trofeo racecar in a package that will still be legal on the street. Limited to a mere 150 units, it surpasses the already track-oriented LP570-4 as the most extreme Gallardo ever. The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo race series is sponsored by both Lamborghini and Blancpain, the self-dubbed world’s oldest luxury watchmaker, and brings racers and professional drivers face-to-face on Europe’s most challenging racetracks such as Monza, Silverstone, and Hockenheim. [ lamborghini ]

[ Vehicle Specs ]
Base Price – $250,000 (estimated)
Engine – 5.2-liter V-10
Horsepower – 562 hp @ 8,000 rpm
Torque – 398 lb-ft @ 6,500 rpm
Transmission – 6-speed e-gear
0–60 mph – 3.4 seconds
Top Speed – 199 mph (estimated)
Weight – 3,015 lb (estimated)
Length – 173 inches
Tires – Front: 235/35ZR-19, Rear: 295/30ZR-19

Chicago reminds everyone that the city embraces the bicycle as evidenced in new bike lanes seen behind the Merchandise Mart. The lanes promote bikes and bike safety. Here are five well-designed bike safety products you should put on your gift list.





Feel dorky wearing a bicycle helmet? Nutcase creates an aesthetically dis-pleasing, strictly utilitarian experience. Helmets seemed made to be ripped off as soon as possible. [ nutcase ]





Vespertine Cinch Belts offer a subtle pattern of intertwining diamonds wraps around the extremely reflective ANSI approved material of the Cinch Belts. They even reflect in the rain! [ vespertinenyc ]





Bookman bicycle lights. Stylish, luminous and pocket-sized. A slim, detachable bike light from Bookman, a Stockholm based company that makes accessories for bikes and people on bikes. [ bookman ]





Fibre Flare™  is a portable self-contained flexible solid core side emitting fibre optic element interposed between two electronic housing ends. Inside each of the housing ends is a single high intensity LED. Water resistant silicone outer housing. Powered by 2 x ‘AAA’ batteries. [ fibreflare ]

Ok, you’ve made yourself safer. What about your bike? The innovation for all cyclists, whether hobby cyclists or pros protects two-wheels with a high theft risk using this foldable lock. [ abus bordo granit x-plus ]

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It’s been difficult for tokyobike fans not living in Japan to get ahold of one of the company’s well respected city bikes, but on May 17th their London shop will officially open. To celebrate Dezeen is giving away a single-speed tokyobike worth $840. To enter, just show up to the opening party in Shoreditch this Thursday night. The winner will get to ride home on the bike that evening, and five runners up with get Gropes leather handlebar grips worth $40 apiece.

If you’re unfamiliar with tokyobike, it’s a small, independent bicycle manufacturer founded in 2002 in Yanaka, a suburb of Tokyo. The name references the bike’s purpose. “In the same way the mountain bike was designed for the mountains, so tokyobike was designed for Tokyo.”

So what makes a bike suited to zipping around the streets of a congested city like Tokyo? “Smaller 650mm wheels and slim, compact, steel frames make the bikes easy to handle and light to ride. More about slow than fast, tokyobike is as much about discovering your city and enjoying the ride as it is about the destination.” It might not be best choice for a bike messenger, but it will do quite nicely for the rest of us.

Before setting up shop in London, tokyobikes hit the streets of Milan for Salone del Mobile – watch a cute video of design week goers biking to events.

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Designed for the Italian furniture manufacturer Mattiazzi, the chair was actually “born” on their factory floor. Grcic said “The chair was inspired by the material, the machinery and, of course, the skill and craftsmanship of the people we worked with…Right from the beginning, I was looking for a distinct grammar for my design, a language that would express the characteristics of wood. I liked the idea of working with planks. They signify the very beginning of the production process – a tree trunk that is cut into slices. I like the way in which a carpenter joins wood. It is immediate and direct. The construction remains visible and easy to read. Structure turns into form.”

Medici comes in three different kinds of wood: Walnut, Douglas Fir (in natural and yellow) and, for outdoors, thermo-treated Ash.

“Designing for Mattiazzi was like a personal time travel. It took me all the way back to my professional roots. At the very beginning of my career, I was trained a cabinet maker. Working with wood is what I learnt from scratch. It is where it all started for me.”

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Vaulot & Dyevre gives Fantôme a bit of personality in their description: “Let him proceed in your living room to conceal your personal effects. Simple and enigmatic, he’s harmless.” Their other designs reflect this sense of humor, like BoraBora, a pill that shines like a lightbulb to remedy your “moodiness, flaccid skin, and tendency to depression. You are obviously in lack of sunshine. Our range of supplements Kelvin Lumen restores the vitality you need. Sunset Laboratories offers a wide range of solar radiation, Borabora, the Maldives, Haiti and the Bahamas, ask your pharmacist. Read the instructions carefully. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose. This additional Solar should not totally replace natural exposure. Avoid abusive use.”

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