I have been watching with interest and dismay the saga of Ron Johnson’s arrival at and departure from J.C. Penney’s. The whole enterprise seemed dubious: turning Penney’s into another Target, if that was the goal, seemed misguided. But I was curious to see where it would end up. At Target, Johnson hired Michael Graves and other designers and he was the creator of the Apple stores—which I never thought would succeed.
Johnson is gone now but some of the product lines he ordered up for the housewares departments at Penney’s have arrived in the stores. There is stuff from Graves, Jonathan Adler, Conran’s, Martha Stewart, Bodum, Cuisinart, Pantone, Joseph Joseph and others. I wasn’t sure what would happen to these goods after Johnson’s firing,. There was an elaborate advertisement in Architectural Digest magazine’s June issue, the goods were online and I decided to check into my local Penney’s the other day.
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The pieces are arranged in a series of mini shops. I was amazed how extensive the variety and display. I don’t know whether the things will sell or be reordered but there were highlights: colorful Bodum mixers, Graves vases and frames that are better than any in the earlier Target collections, and Conran’s furniture that recalls Ikea. The Martha Stewart shop is mostly paper goods.
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My favorite: the celedon vase at Graves. [ jc penny shop ]
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about phil patton
Wright presents Harry Bertoia: Masterworks from the Standard Oil Commission on 6 June 2013 at noon CST. These works have never before been presented at auction.
“As a Chicagoan, I have been very aware of Bertoia’s installation at the iconic Standard Oil Building (now the Aon Center). We are proud to have the opportunity to present these outstanding examples of Harry Bertoia’s work and we are proud to offer such strong pieces of Chicago history for sale right here in Chicago.” ~Richard Wright, Director
‘Bertoia’s Sonambient’ sculptures standout for their unique contribution to the modern art and design aesthetic. Each work is in itself a kinetic masterpiece that is activated by touch or the circulation of air; motion and energy adding visual and audible complexity to Bertoia’s otherwise minimal forms.
Bertoia coined the term Sonambient (a combination of the words sound and environment) to describe his sound sculptures of the 1960s and 1970s. He first began exploring sounding sculptures in 1960 after he accidentally struck a rod and was intrigued by the memorable and lasting tone of the metal. Until his death in 1978, Bertoia created hundreds of varied tonal constructions featuring rods of beryllium copper in a magnitude of configurations.
[ harry bertoia: master works from standard oil commission ] Each item will be presented in our online preview at [ View lots ] | 1440 West Hubbard Street Chicago | 312 563 0020 [ wright auction ]
auction > 6 june 2013 | noon CST
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Danish trash can design company Vipp is giving new meaning to the word bombastic.
The company best known for the 1939 design of the Vipp Pedal Bin, unveiled a series of eight “couture” designs for their iconic trash cans. The designs, by Berlin designer Lessja Verlingieri of Lever Couture, took around 400 hours to complete and utilized 1400 (!) meters of fabric. The company’s word for their creation? “Trashion.”
Each of the designs is based on an outfit that Lever Couture had previously created for one of her clients, which include Lady Gaga and Gwyneth Paltrow. Verlingieri said it was a creative challenge to alter her designs for trash bins.
“But,” she points out, “the Vipp pedal bins have a great shape and they are the stars among pedal bins.”
The Trashion Bins are available at the Vipp Flagship Store in Copenhagen and will retail for 3500-5000 euros. If you’re considering purchasing one, we’d recommend buying a second regular Pedal Bin for actual, you know, trash.
[ vipp ] [ lever couture ]
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about carrie neill
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Wolf-Gordon introduces an innovative new product ‘Wink’, a clear dry-erase coating that tranforms any surface into a write-and-erase canvas. In the process they were honored with the Editors Award for Wall Coverings for its interactive, conceptually charged seven-panel installation. If you attended you probably are caught tagging in the following video. Booth attendees tried their hand at completing landscape-themed drawings started by ten artists and designers by playing the game known as “exquisite corpse.” The visitors had a chance to photograph their drawings and share the images on social media sites using hashtag #WGWink.
from left: boym partners, michael graves, snarkitecture
from left: jan wilker and hjalti karlsson, ali tayar, laurene and constantin boym | photos: donnelly marks
The artists included Constantin and Laurene Leon Boym of Boym Partners, Michael Graves, Hjalti Karlsson and Jan Wilker of karlssonwilker, Myles Karr, Ben Katchor, Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham of Snarkitecture, and Ali Tayar.
[ wolf-gordon ]
Wolf-Gordon is an American design company founded in 1967 to offer designers a comprehensive source for all types of wallcoverings, united by the common qualities of excellent design and dependable performance. The product line includes wallcoverings, upholstery and drapery textiles, paints, and Wink, clear, dry-erase coating.
This writer is a designer living in Chicago. The month of May signals many things but if you’re a bargain hunter in Chicago it signals ‘floor sample sale’ as showrooms prepare for Neocon. Two days left to find something neat at Luminaire. Luminaire’s not the only place btw, but… Just sayin. [ details ]
Italian designer and architect, Mario Trimarchi at Alessi giving a presentation to the press on architecture and his designs. It took 26 years before Mario approached Alessi with the Scirocco designs.
la stanza dello scirocco | mario trimarchi | alessi | 2009
“La Stanza dello Scirocco” is a range of items born out of the abstract and motionless atmosphere of a magic place: the room in large Sicilian country homes where one is forced to seek shelter from the sultriness while waiting for the sirocco to die down. It is a room without windows in which you can do nothing but ponder the wind that is undoing all sublunary things outside. The upshot is a collection of geometrically irregular items made up of small splinters of various sizes, interlaced in an unstable balance. And so I came up with the idea that “La Stanza dello Scirocco” could be recounted through the story of drawings done by hand and through images of shadows, and that we could then ask everyone to exert themselves ever so slightly and make a small input with their own imaginations. ~Mario Trimarchi
[ mario trimarchi ] [ alessi ] [ fragile ]
about diane o’donnel
As part of an ongoing commitment to bringing the best in contemporary design to the public, Luminaire, a pioneering force in the design world, is presenting internationally-renowned designer Henry Timi. Milan-based Timi’s minimalist vision, let’s re-label ‘essentialist’ vision because each piece appears to have reached a reduction that can go no further without breaking. His vision is more than the design of the object, but a way of living, connecting emotionally with a pure, harmonious state of mind.
tavolinetto | 2013
In 2006, Timi founded his own design firm, working with keen designers who share his curiosity and passion for intuitive, emotionally provocative, minimalist design. Internationally respected designers Claudio Silvestrin and Claudio LaViola, friends of Luminaire, are included in Henry Timi’s exclusive team.
Having been exposed to experiments with wood dust while growing up, Timi is committed to the material and insists that all products are handmade in Italy, and built by tailor and craftsman manufacturing of the highest quality.
tavolo | 2013
sedia | 2013
sgabello | 2013
vaso | 2013
candele | 2013
Timi’s work can be seen at the Luminaire Lab in Miami. A cocktail reception for the designer will be held at the Lab on 22 May 2013.
event > henry timi | luminaire lab | 3901 NE 2nd avenue | miami design district
date/time > 22 may 2013 | 6 > 8p [ details ]
[ henry timi ] [ luminaire ]
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