Design Public

Somehow this post got buried in my drafts folder and never published on the blog. We figure better late than never! We’ve already showed you the bright color trend from ICFF - here’s the other side. Natural materials and/or neutral colors were all over the place at design week, especially at the Haute Green Show, which featured ecologically responsible products. On the flip side, some of the objects play with industrial materials and the natural look, like orange22’s Botanist End Table, which is made from aluminum and covered in a wood laminate. Below are some examples of the products that engaged us:

One of the coolest booths caught my attention with a quote. It said “This ain’t yo momma’s wicker!” The company is called PIE (Project Import Export), and the reps were the nicest people! Here’s some non-grandma wicker:

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Note to self: Next year, make sure to get a picture with the company name in it when shooting a product, and don’t think “oh, I’ll match it up with this huge stack of brochures and my messy non-sensical notes when I get home.” By the time I figure it all out, next year’s ICFF will have come and gone. Sorry for the lack of sources on some of these - as I figure them out, I’ll add them, or feel free to leave a comment giving me some aid if you know! Live and learn.

ANYHOO, Bright colors were all over at ICFF this year. While natural materials in neutral colors were everywhere, colors in all sorts of material from felt to plastic were right there next to them. Here are a few of my favorite booths:

MOROSO’s booth looked ready to be a print ad:

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One thing I could not help but notice at ICFF this year is that sexy is definitely back. Thanks Justin. Here are a few examples:

The RISD/Swarovski collaboration - glammed up:

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Can you top this?

One of our first and favorite vendors, Blu Dot, is teaming up with Dwell in sponsering an open competition to design the ultimate lounge chair. They will “be looking for something comfortable, sustainable, efficient, honest and affordable. Just submit your design by July 2nd. We’ll pick three finalists and debut the prototypes at Dwell on Design Conference in San Francisco on September 15th. With Dwell’s and Blu Dot’s seal of approval, one winner’s chair will go into production and join the Blu Dot collection at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in May of 2008.” (more…)

I have always had a thing for chairs, and often I’ve doubted that there is any fun chair design left to be created, but the ku dir ka chair by Paulius Vitkauskas from the Lithuanian design force contra FORMA definitely put a smile on my face:

You can rock back or forward on different sets of four legs without landing on your keister.  In addition, what color could outdo froggy green?  We love this one!

Lighting took all kinds of new forms at this year’s ICFF. I named the one above Mary Poppins. Fitting that it was in the Brit section.

This Austrian chandelier might just be the best thing I saw in the entire show:

The shades below are made of CDs:

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Check out our photo galleries from ICFF and NY Design week:

Flickr Gallery: ICFF 2007

Flickr Gallery: Haute Green

Enjoy!

Somewhere out there a bunch of state troopers are missing their eyewear. At first glance, I thought this lamp was simply made of silver disks, but when up closer, I realized it was aviator sunglasses. Those Austrians are so darn clever!

The lamp is called “Ray” and it was created by element design. Switched off it is totally chrome-plated, switched on the lampshade becomes lucent. I’d love to have it around as an homage to Ponch and John.