Seeing Design Posts

Fulcrumcover.jpg

Met Home has a new magazine: Fulcrum. It’s geared toward designers, architects, and contractors, and if that’s you–get a copy. It’ll be your crib sheet for the latest projects, products, methods, materials, and the business of practice. But even as a design-phile and magazine junkie, it’s got a lot to chew on.

I’d never seen a layout like this. The cover, featuring Marcel Wanders latest hotel design, has two green text boxes hovering over the image, like a marked-up PDF. It’s a comment from their post-editor (who will change with every issue) and his square nuggets of insight are throughout the mag. Forget the cutesy Post-its notes and idea bubbles of women’s service magazines. These insights have the rawness of a blog comment but with the authority of an acclaimed professional. It’s meant to spark conversation within this insider community–and they aren’t shy about admitting it.

The final page closes with a quote:

These days, people use the phrase design hotel purely as a marketing vehicle, says Marcel Wanders, who just completed the Mondrian South Beach in Miami. But you can’t just put a fancy sofa in the lobby and call it a day; a design hotel is an experience that goes beyond, it’s a place to pour your ideas and your dreams.

And a call to action:
What hotel has prompted you to dream? Why? What were the most important elements: Furniture? Lighting? Service? Location? Okay, now start talking. Go to fulcrummag.com.

And even if Wanders’ words don’t get you typing, these stories are definitely worth checking out:
fulcrum_Kartell.jpg

Close-up: Lorenza Luti
The marketing and retail director of Kartell–the mad scientists behind designer plastic furniture–talks fashion, marketing and innovation.

Fulcrum_fabric.jpg

Pattern Recognition
A look at the graphic, almost electronic patterns and textures found in current design projects.

Etc

ClaireColes_CollagePaper

Whimsical and childish walk a fine line, but when a designer finds that balance–I’m charmed. Master seamstress and wallpaper designer Claire Coles‘  signature-move is to cut, layer and stitch vintage papers together to create pattern. The texture and 3-D effect really make her scenes pop and stick in the mind. Her latest wallpaper, Collages with its dancing ponies and blooming flowers is like a little girl’s fantasy land (or maybe mine) but the patina of the antique papers against a simple circular pattern somehow pass it off as sophisticated.

ClaireColesCollages.jpg

Claire Coles’ papers are all made to order and start at $800 for a three-meter roll. Expensive, but gorgeous.

Finds

WStore.jpg

I got Wish magazine/catalogue , the W Hotels new fashion and decor catalogue, in the mail this morning. I had never heard of it but when I opened it I was pretty impressed. Impressed not so much by the novelty of the items but how well they did their homework. The offerings were essentially an anthology of every “Editors Pick” page from every home design magazine to come out in the past four years–from classics like the Kartell’s Louis Ghost Chair to the ever-trendy Golden Banana Bowl. As far as pricing goes, you would think the W would include a boutique-hotel-style markup, right? Amazing enough I did a little comparison shopping and the W Hotel Store had some of the lowest prices offered online! Worth checking out, even if it’s to catch up on all the old magazines you missed.

WBananaBowl.jpg
lightstonescandleholder.jpg
These stainless steel votives by Danish designer Marcus Vagnby for $59 were my favorite fresh find on the site. Love the pop of red and the shiny smooth surfaces makes me want to hold them.

Places

ManDanishCrafts-Candelabra.jpg
The Light Plumbing candelabra by Chris Bjerre for Danish Crafts is made of pipes complete with accent knobs and valves.

In honor of Fathers Day, I have found some great man design. Dad may not mind be an outright fan of home design but I bet if he was presented with silverware cast from screwdrivers or a candelabra made of pipes, he may just change his mind.

ManDesignHiFive-silverware.jpg
The handles of this silverware by Hi Five are cast from screwdrivers, providing excellent grip and a look that any handy man can appreciate.

Etc Finds