marcus fairs passing is a big loss to all of us. he was a big inspiration to architecture and design. a visionary. although 20-plus years my junior, i consider him a mentor. he founded and authored a great resource in #iconmagazine and in #dezeen that will carry on I’m sure but not be quite the same without him.
marcus fairs launches dezeen as a blog in 2006. the site not so great. the content on the other hand was relevant, opinion-filled, and the best of examples. the most current mission statement in fair’s own words with anders holst podcast was to be the most influential and popular design website in the world. mission accomplished.
above > icon cover recent issue
fast rewind, fairs launches icon magazine in 2003. as editor the magazine readership soars. in fact the magazine and fairs himself was awarded launch of the year and journalist of the year in 2004. in his own words, “a great publication in the golden era of print.” then fairs publishes a significant book, twenty-first century design in 2006 with a foreword by marcel wanders for which he is fired by media 10. he was fired because he didn’t clear the book with his bosses. both the first thru third editions of fair’s book can be found on amazon. the firing, which can also be heard in holst podcast, is strange because you would think the publisher, media 10, would be proud, not pissy, to have a visible expert editor publishing a book. but fairs had an internet something up his sleeve, “i can do this!” yes marcus, indeed you can.
above> the cover of first edition
[ dezeen ] @marcusfairs #iconmagazine #dezeen
i followed dezeen from the get-go and felt honored that he followed DesignApplause. we also met in milan in 2018 and vowed to have a drink at bar basso. sadly i have yet to go to bar basso.
click > enlarge
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.
about perrin drumm
al10000 kaj series by karim rashid.
You know Alessi for their gorgeous kitchen tools and tableware, but I’ll bet you’re not as familiar with their line of watches, designed by the likes of Karim Rashid, Achille Castiglioni and SANAA, among others. They offer some classy aluminum and leather varieties, but I like Rashid’s happy-looking polyurethane model, Kaj (above).
I’ve noticed a trend towards brighter, almost childlike accessories for designers in the last few years. Go to any design conference and you can’t help but notice the sea of black and white clothing is punctuated by glasses and watches that are not only unique, they scream I AM UNIQUE from across the room. Pink lucite glasses and a watch made from neon rubber are the designer’s calling card. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – bring on the fun eyewear! And, from Alessi, the fun wrist wear. [ alessi watches ] [ alessi shop ]
al2400 neko series by sanaa
al22000 daytimer watch by will alsop & fredrico grazzini
about perrin drumm
