Design Storytelling

More beautiful, clever, exploratory work from Studio Makkink & Bey with the Crate Series.

Love Jurgen and Rianne’s dedication to redefining existing objects. In this case deconstructing the common crate and reconstructing it into a variety of decorative and functional domestic ‘live/work’ designs.

The Crate Series is a strange combination of ready mades and one offs; with second hand objects, found in a Rotterdam antique shop, framed by unique crate structures.

Quoted in Icon Jurgen Bey says: “We understand crates as something to put objects in, but reassembled, they become a way of giving a larger object its surroundings, its own sense of privacy.”

Beautiful, human centred, thought provoking, and made with reused materials = good design for me.

Crate Series at Six Projects

(darn, missed it - finished on Jan 14th)

@johnmaeda drew my destiny in the sand at the @riflemaker_soho gallery this afternoon. Playing my part in Maeda’s four day consultancy performance piece was a brief, but rather unforgettable experience.

Knowing you are going to have a one to one audience with a creative guru can be an intimidating prospect. The set up at Riflemaker with gallerists in labcoats ushering you into Maeda’s presence, in hushed reverent tones, purposely served to exacerbate the anxiety.

“Are you ready? Are you sure you’re ready?”

The man is clearly a master of creating an atmosphere.

The reality of the experience was a surprising mixture of disconcerting, charming and enlightening. The sandpit arrangement, with him on the inside and me on the outside, created the necessary space between us. I am the outsider. The challenge? Can I break down the boundary with my presence and words?

There was very little eye contact from Maeda, as he stamped down the sand to create his newly blank canvas, but his quiet presence was authoritarian.

I told him the fortunate story of how an outing for a cookie brought me the opportunity to take part in his ‘fortune cookie’ performance - he liked the poetry of that. I explained that I write for TreeHugger and Cool Hunting, of which he muttered an approval. I told him briefly about my design work with climate scientists.

Then I layed it on the line… all the while Maeda drew my story in the sand, cookie and all.

My question: “From one interdisciplinary person to another, how do you find a harmonious balance between the long + deep and the wide + shallow?”

I struck a chord. Maeda said he also experienced the discomfort of being interdisciplinary, but that he had gotten over it because he was happy in himself.

He then recounted a visual reference he got from the Japanese designer Takashi Okazaki (if memory serves correctly) who contrasted the eastern view of building a wide sturdy base with a shallow elevation (Maeda draws Mount Fuji - Hokusai style - in the sand), with western narrow tall constructions that topple over (Maeda draws a vertical line that immediately resembles a skyscraper).

In summary John Maeda’s advice consisted of these salient points:

• Be confident enough to forge your own path
• Build a wide and sturdy base
• Be happy in yourself
• Don’t let other people take you down
• Move out in front of the pack
• Be a leader and a role model
• Enjoy your cookie

Thanks John - I will!

I left, as Maeda hurriedly erased my sandy story with his feet, clutching a signed print out of one of Maeda’s tweets (a poetic embodiment of making the digital physical). The tweet, for which I paid the princely sum of £2, says:

“The shortest communication path between two people is a straight talk.”

Precisely.

Maeda Studio

This incredible LED chandelier was my favourite work from the Art + Design London show that’s on in Berkeley Square this week, running alongside Frieze.

This year there was a dearth of interesting contemporary work in the Art + Design Pavilion, it’s mostly filled with beautiful 20th Century art works. But there’s always a real gem or two to be found in there.

The Fragile Future dandelion head lights by Ralph Nauta and Lonneke Gordijn were the stand out works of the show and were quite rightly awarded the Moet Hennessy Prize 2010.

I first saw the Nauta + Lonneke’s LED Fragile Future lights at the wonderful In Praise of Shadows exhibition at the V+A last year, curated by Jane Withers. It’s brilliant to see them developing this idea into new forms.

The LED lights placed at the centre of the dandelion heads seem quite magical. At first it seems to be a sort of visual trick, but then you realise they are really real. The mind boggles imagining the intricacies involved in pulling these structures off.

The conjunction of the heavy concrete block in amongst the incredibly fragile dandelion heads creates a particularly powerful image of the imminent damage and destruction of these incredibly delicate forms, as well as a rather beautiful visual analogy of environmental destruction.

Ohhhhhh - @janellemonae is da bomb! Here’s just a little taster of what I probably won’t be seeing tonight in London town - ooh it hurts just thinking about how awesome she’ll be.

I discovered these beautifully minimal gold street signs this morning on the corner of… well you can see which corner it is. I’d love to know the story behind them. Why? Who? When? I’ve got questions people!

My first tattoo may well read: “I loved your signage so much it persuaded me to come in and get this tattoo” Not exactly catchy I know, but it sure would be heartfelt. I just love this signage so much! Everything from the black tile background - to the gold Butcher’s style font - to ‘The Family Business’ name - to the double building numbers. It’s just all so immensely pleasing.

Patricia Moroso talking to Gareth Williams, at Clerkenwell Design Week, about new Senegal Collection. Picture showing boy running over colourful fishing nets that are used to weave furniture pieces produced by local artisans.

Truly a spectacular day in Hyde Park. How lucky we Londoners are. More like this please.