MODEFABRIEK Design
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Urban Beekeeping
Extraordinary creatures: by law of physics it should be impossible for bees to fly, yet they do. Another thing they do is pollinate a whopping 67% of all plants and a byproduct of this process is liquid gold which makes Winnie the Pooh behave like a certified crack head.
Bees in cartoons are usually portrayed as friendly creatures and they are: Bees pose no threat to us humans, as they are only interested in pollen. In fact, the declining global population of bees is a serious threat: If those 67% of plants are no longer pollinated, imagine what that would do to our environment. No plants means no seeds and no fruit means no food for birds and mammals in our surroundings and that makes a pretty boring concrete jungle if you ask me. Take it a step further and within four years we might be facing extinction, according a quote (falsely) attributed to Einstein.
Enter the world of urban beekeeping:
New York, Paris and Gent have preceded Amsterdam as beekeeping cities (Amsterdam actually already tried in 2004 with contemporary art piece ‘de Bijentafel’ by Frank Mandersloot, to no avail): Now there is a colony of 20.000 bees on the roof of the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. The city hosts a variety of city gardens and with the growing trend of urban gardening on balconies, it should provide an excellent harvest ground for the honeybees.
BEECOSYSTEM
At last years Dutch Design Week I encountered the Beecosystem concept by Michele Liu. It combines tangible objects for the real world like modular honeycomb shaped planters with an online community and interactive map of where to find other- and place your planter, which in todays Facebook age makes total sense.
URBAN BEEHIVE
The Microbial Home Project by Philips consists of various concepts to challenge conventional design solutions regarding energy, cleaning, food preservation, lighting and human waste. One of these concepts is the Urban Beehive. It looks like a futuristic ant farm and even comes with a device to release smoke into the hive to calm the bees down so you access your private stash of honey.
More information on how to be an urban beekeeper can be found here.
Milan Design Week 2012 – The honouring of craftsmanship and storytelling
The Milan furniture fair (Salone del Mobile) has grown enormously, it goes far beyond the sale of furniture, and even beyond the product. It’s more and more about the concept, the ideas behind. For me, the most inspiring part are the activities outside the fair called FuoriSalone, this means wandering from the city center to industrial ares like Zona Tortona and Ventura/Lambrate, giving an interesting mix of fresh and upcoming designers and established companies. There were a lot of collabs between traditional companies and designers to preserve craftsmanship and to brand nations. And this is inspiring me. It’s all about communication.
HANDMADE – WALLPAPER
For the third time Wallpaper organised a stylish exhibition under the name Handmade in a side street of Via Montenapoleone, in the Palazzo of the Italian suit company Brioni. In July you can buy Wallpaper’s August issue to check out these creative collaborations and their stories behind yourself.
SPAZIO ROSSANA ORLANDI – LI EDELKOORT CURATOR FOR RUBELLI
Another place I never miss is Spazio Rossana Orlandi. This venue – a former tie factory- has spaces around a green courtyard and is a pleasant place to have coffee and cake while you see the design world passing by. The aim of Rossana is to promote upcoming designers. The gallery and the design store are opened the whole year. During the Salone, the fabric manufacturer Rubelli, founded in 1858 in Venice, showed how the design world can integrate with the decorating world in an austere installation. One of the gallery’s spaces was transformed into a dark vision of romantic beauty, reflecting two important trends in design: the revival of textiles for interiors and a focus on black. As part of an ongoing collaboration, Lidewij Edelkoort was asked to select textiles and contemporary design, upholstering the space and previewing a revival of the gothic movement.
Edelkoort feels that black resonates in today’s world; “Becoming the order of the night, the guardian of dark humour and the romantic troubadour of cynical songs. Whether dozing upon a daybed, draped against a male torso or piously kneeling on a gothic chair, it is all more beautiful in black.The Rubelli family of brands is conscious of the newest societal trends exploring the darkly romantic and sometimes even surrealistic side of interior design. Design will embrace black and faux-black in every texture, for a black-on-black celebration of glorious gloom and doom, in an audacious and eccentric enactment of the night, where all is a majestic sombre monochrome of soft shadows lit by the full moon.” The design on display included a special edition of Maarten Baas’ Smoke! armchair produced by Moooi and dressed in Rubelli’s Les Indes Galantes fabric, a chandelier by Piet Hein Eek, re-upholstered modernist armchairs by Gio Ponti and Franco Albini, furniture by Donghia, and a mysterious new flock of birds by Guus Kusters & Maarten Kolk.
1616 ARITA AND SCHOLTEN & BAIJINGS
Also my favourite Dutch designerduo Scholten & Baijings had a presentation at Rosanne Orlandi’s place. They showed their collaboration with 1616 Arita, one of the oldest (1616) Japanese porcelain manufacturers. For the collection of 1616 Arita, Scholten & Baijings prepared a colour analysis involving historical masterpieces. Typical Japanese colours, such as aquarelle blue, light green, red-orange and yellow ochre, were the ones that played a prominent role. The results are layered colour compositions, executed in different shades of glass, in combination with the natural porcelain colour. The latter has a special delicate grey-white hue, which makes it unique in the world. By applying the compositions to an extremely functional service, a splendid dialogue has been created between applied art and everyday use. The combination of this traditional craftsmanship and Scholten & Baijings’ recognizable signature style has resulted in a unique mix of Asian and European culture.
JAPAN CREATIVE
That Japan has a long-cherised tradition of highly-skilled craftsmanship and has an enterprising spirit, was reaffirmed at the presentation Japan Creative. From old artisans to the latest technologies and international creativity. This exhibition themed Simple Vision, showed the ability of design as a manner of innovation, how it can give an economic bust to a country that has suffered and about the importance of roots and branding a nation. First of all, it was the beauty of the designs that attracted me, so it was great to discover the stories behind, the different layers. Because that’s where it is all about today in my speciality as communication consultant. Therefore I like to end this post with the following Simple Vision text:
The earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, made us realize one thing: true wealth in life does not lie in material affluence. Since the old days, the Japanese have valued the aesthetics of simplicity – that is, the beauty lies in what is simple, space-efficient, multifunctional, and multipurpose. Incorporating the wisdom of past generations, and in collaboration with designers worldwide, we have begun to express our vision and propose a new lifestyle. The theme of the exhibition, ‘Simple Vision’, represents a door to a future world, were we rethink and redefine the role of designs in our lives.
Untouchables Retouched
The Salone di Mobile in Milan is the place for designers young and old to present their latest wares and mingle with the design crowd. While most events take place either at the Salone itself (the huge commercial trade fair on the outskirts of Milan), or at one of the other designated design districts, Dutch Invertuals opted for a more secluded spot close to Garibaldi station.
Based on the Untouchables show presented during Dutch Design Week, Untouchables Retouched sees the collective revisiting its projects through upscaling, upcycling or completely new work.
What binds the twelve creatives/studios seems to be their fascination for pure and honest materials which are thoroughly researched before they are used to create interesting products and projects. The theme of this show was the beauty of vulnerability, something that could be found in many different forms. Raw Colour for instance presented a cryptographer allowing visitors to text a message which was then ‘translated’ into code. The code itself can be printed on fabric, resulting in a scarf whose code is only known to the wearer.
For the show Jetske Visser deepened her research into soot and looked to ancient Chinese tradition for inspiration. Stumbling upon the lost art of ink tablet making, Visser created an entire tabletop which can be used for that purpose. The cracked tabletop seems to relay a poetic message to its user, as over time the layer of carbon will gradually diminish, leaving no ink left to write with.
Two new Invertuals were also added to the group exhibition: Maurizio Montalti and Kirstie van Noord. Montalti offers a critical view of our design world as he looks at ways to reduce our earth’s plastic waste problem by using living organisms in the form of fungi. These improved life forms decompose plastics while simultaneously turning them into bioethanol which in turn can be used as fuel. Van Noord has researched the mining process of porcelain and discovered that one kilo of pure white porcelain equals six kilos of waste. By using proportions (6:1) of this orange-coloured residue in her work, the designer shows its beauty through texture and colour.
Many other interesting, thought-provoking and sometimes rather strange projects were on show at Dutch Invertuals, definitely worth the journey out.
http://www.dutchinvertuals.nl/
COLOUR ONE for MINI
Surrounded by an abundance of design at Milan’s design week and Salone Internazionale del Mobile (the global benchmark for home furnishing), I found some products and presentations that, without doubt, stood out to me. One of them was the COLOUR ONE installation for MINI by the internationally renowned Dutch design duo Scholten & Baijings. This interpretation of the MINI is simply breath-taking. Not only by means of its presentation, but also because of the refined display of the design process. This is the car that I’m dreaming to buy. In fact, in my beloved dreams, this is the car that I actually already drive.
But what I saw here, was not yet an actual car. It was Scholten en Baijings’s stylistic interpretation who, in close collaboration with the MINI design team, gave rise to their fresh perspective on car design. Layer-by-layer, the designer duo questioned virtually every aspect of the design possibilities along the way, and complemented the stripped parts with colour and texture. This form of creative thinking I find most inspirational.
The perforated body work, a neon yellow steering-wheel, light blue wheels with light coloured tires and car glass that shows a projection of the landscape at speed.., it is simply beautiful!
The Paper Movement
This month The New York Times is named best selling iPad application. The newspaper still in print, which was founded by Henry J. Raymond and George Jones in 1851, decided to release their online version as an application for the first time in April 2010, handing their readers a more easy way of reading while traveling and gaining a bigger audience worldwide. Ever since the first iPad was released, the number of printed publications launching their own app has increased enormously with Apple’s Newsstand Application gaining over $70.000 in sales a day.
Perhaps it can be said that online will be the future in publishing. On the other hand it can also be said that even though online is gaining much more power, printed publications will never disappear. In the current bookstores we are seeing new magazines pop out of the blue each month. Between the emergence of these new magazines and papers, we’re also discovering some papers focused on fashion, and are wondering wether making a fashion-paper rather than a fashion-magazine is a way to stand out or if we may be facing a whole new generation of papers.
Let me introduce you to my personal favorites:
ACNE PAPER
A well-progressed desire that developed into a cult-hit and one of today’s most intelligent fashion papers around. Founded in 2005 by Acne’s Creative Director Jonny Johansson, CEO Mikael Schiller, Editor-in-Chief Thomas Persson and Fashion Director Mattias Karlsson. Their goal was to create a magazine that wouldn’t feel or look like anything on the market, a publication that was about style rather then fashion and journalistic integrity that would balance between historical as well as the contemporary aspect in all creative fields.
Seven years and thirteen issues later the bi-annual selling paper is an established name in today’s art as well as the fashion industry and respected for its very own signature. Their latest issue, #13 The Body Issue, can now be bought in a number of bookshops and stores around the world, as well as through their website acnepaper.com
GLAMCULT
The Style Paper started as an underground tabloid which was distributed by hand to a select group of stores in the Netherlands. Founded in 2003 by Rogier Vlaming and Wiebe de Ridder, the now-a-days Independent Style Paper can be found in most bookstores, cafes, clothing stores and schools through-out the country. With a circulation of 40.000 issues a month the Style Paper became
one of the coolest publications in town and will hopefully spread their wings abroad any day soon. In the mean time you can visit their website to stay updated, glamcult.nl
MANUSCRIPT
The quarterly-printed mens journal created by Editor & Publisher Mitchell Oakley Smith, Design Director Nicholas Adamovich and Fashion Director Jolyon Mason may put its main focus on the new generation of fashion-forward-thinking men, but with their high-end advertisers and top notch names in the magazine, this paper is likely to become an instant hit sailing our way from Australia. For more information you can visit their website manuscriptdaily.com
MR. PORTER
Are men the type of customer to be shopping online was the question. Mr. Porter – the husband of Net-A-Porter – proved anyone thinking this way wrong, shipping their products to over 117 different countries and selling more then 42.000 shoes, to merely mention their success. With over a thousand images being shot for their website’s Journal, it was a matter of time before the online hit would be taking to print welcoming ‘The Mr Porter Post’ in Fall 2011. In the printed publication you will find anything that comes along when talking about style, ranging from the best boots for the season to combining neutral colored items in your daily wardrobe or how to organize your closet. The Mr. Porter Post is send to anyone subscribing through their website, mrporter.com
Designers Plus Ten Exhibition
Holon in Israel is the setting for an impressive overview exhibition which opened this week, featuring work by some 42 Israeli designers.
Inside the spectacular structure that is the Holon Design Museum – designed by Ron Arad – we find a crisp and clear exhibition with work by just some of the young talents Israel has to offer.
Among them a mix of every kind of design from comics to fashion, industrial products to textiles and typography. The exhibition shows at least two works by each designer, one from their graduation in 2000-2003, the other a recent project from the past year.
Although situated in the Middle-East, design-wise Israel would prefer to see itself as an extension of our North-Western aesthetic, focussing more on innovative use of materials and production methods than standalone craft. This is evident in the many product and industrial designers featured in the exhibition.
Among some of the stand-out designs are Yaron “Jewboy” Shin who as a graphic designer believes in beauty his materials. Designing, amongst others, posters for Pecha Kucha nights, he is a master of repetition, changing only a small detail in each of his editions to create a big effect.
Fashion design in Israel goes hand-in-hand with the designs of the outspoken duo Frau Blau (Helena Blaunstein & Philip Blau). Helena deals with the fashion side of things, the cuts, the shapes and the garments themselves while her partner Philip goes in search of ancient fabrics, buttons and interesting prints which he turns into digital prints for the fabrics. Although it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, the enthusiasm and creativity behind the brand is absolutely irresistible.
Exhibited in the same room yet of a rather different aesthetic Jonathan Hopp’s recent work features a series of understated ceramics. The small, cream porcelain objects with black-and-white print are a beautiful ode to the city of Tel Aviv with its Bauhaus architecture and resemble buildings found around town.
To see just a glimpse of what Israeli design has to offer, the Design Museum Holon presents the Designers Plus Ten exhibition until 19 May 2012.
Lex Pott Found by James video online!
In this video, I venture out to the industrial NDSM-Werf in Amsterdam to spend a day with Dutch designer Lex Pott at his studio, where we give you a special preview of the inspiration and process behind True Colours Miniatures.
If you want to know more about Lex Pott, his vision on design and his inspirations, read the interview I had with him last month.
Emma Francois: the anthropologist turned designer
Emma Francois, designer of the French label ‘Sessun’, prefers old things with a story over all things new. By adding her own imagination to them, she ‘recycles’ the object and creates her own story out of it. It may not come as a surprise that her house in Marseille is furnished with vintage furniture and antiques, mixed with neutral and warm earthly shades. She also collects souvenirs from long and far exotic travels. Actually, that’s exactly how the story of Sessun commenced.
She was 22 when she visited Latin America for the first time. Studying economic anthropology. Francois became acquainted with craftsmanship and the colourful culture of Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru. A life changing experience followed. Back in Paris she immediately started to knit and crochet small items from pure alpaca wool, as a try-out. She received positive reactions on the things she learned in South America. She worked from there and in 1995 Sessun was born: ready-to-wear clothing where urban culture and Paris chic are combined.
While urban was a big trait of Sessun in 1995, in 2012 the brand has matured and Francois designs more timeless, elegant pieces. It might have something to do with the fact that the brand reaches a bigger audience nowadays, which wasn’t the case in the nineties. Those are the terms of commercial success; summer 2012 with Sessun is like a young fresh girl strutting down the French Riviera. But instead of glamorous drapes of chiffon, this girl loves vintage, mixing female and male items and has a certain je-ne-sais-quoi attitude. It results in a warm colour pallet, with high waist shorts, skirts and dresses. As well as some male bow-ties and blazers. If you take a close look at Francois’ home-interior, you see the resemblance in her 2012 collection. Bringing the exotic to home and home to work, the anthropologist in Francois is still very much alive. Visit homedit to view Francois’ house in Marseille.
FASHION PERFECTION
Dutch photography duo Maurice Scheltens & Liesbeth Abbenes are masters in portraying fashion as still-life images. They re-arrange clothes, objects or accessories with such precision that a composition of ties end up looking like the ocean; a set of coat- hangers turns into the skeleton of a fish. They organise perfume bottles in such a manner that the end result resembles a work of graphic design, rather than a photograph.
Essential to their work is the process in the studio where they construct their settings. A laborious process, in which Scheltens & Abbenes continuously move things around, painstakingly join pieces together and adjust little details. During this series of steps they take numerous shots and study them together intensively in order to arrive at the right composition.
Their list of clients is impressive, for years now, they are working for the most prestigious in the business of fashion, design and media. New York Style Magazine is a fan of the Dutchies their work, as well as the French newspaper Le Monde, Fantastic Man, Yves Saint Laurent, Vitra and Hermes. In February they got themselves the even more prestigious infinity award from the International Centre of Photography in New York.
This month it’s time for the big homecoming. Till the 26th of august, a grand selection of their work is presented at Museum Jan Cunen.
Superbodies
There is no real reason that that takes us to Hasselt, Belgium. Well, there are a few sights, but their attraction leave a lot be desired if there was not the Fashion Museum Hasselt that currently shows SuperBodies.
In spite of its name, SuperBodies is not an exhibition about super-bodies and super-people. On the contrary, it is actually about just regular bodies. Because even though bodies are not all that extraordinary or perfect, they do wonderful things—they are, in fact, wonderful machines.
SuperBodies explores thus the fascination of many artists and designers for the way in which our body secretly moulds and shapes our experiences. The exhibition presents the body in all of its often half-conscious operations. A large, interactive ensemble of works from visual artists, choreographers and (fashion-) designers makes us see and feel the body as the source of our thoughts and emotions. Upcoming and internationally established artists and designers operate on the boundaries between disciplines to unravel the mysteries of the body.
Amongst others, participating artists are Martin Margiela (1957, BE), Naomi Filmer (1969, GB), Junya Watanabe (1961, JP) and Christoph De Boeck (1972, BE).
February 4th – May 27th,
2012
Modemuseum Hasselt
Gasthuisstraat 11
3500 Hasselt
Belgium
http://www.superbodies.be/
