Top 5 June Favorites
May 25, 2010 1. Mid-Century Modern Tiles
A designer sometimes comes along who is able to "do it all," and Laura Gottwald is one of those rarified wonders in our industry who can tackle a residential, commercial, or product development project with her studied style eye. We admire the new cement encaustic tiles she's designed (Material by Laura Gottwald, see below - available in color ranges including green, turquoise, cobalt, orange, violet, crimson, and ochre). It's good to know there will be a bit more panache underfoot from now on.
Cement encaustic tiles have a great history in the design world as both floor and wallcoverings. Click here for some book references and resources that will take you from the late 19th Century where these tiles got their start in Europe to the world's great modernist designers and artists, like Antoni Gaudi.
2. Inspiring Read
Christina Strutt is the founder of the wildly popular fashion and home decor line, Cabbages and Roses. You may have heard of her as she's been designing for over 15 years and has quite an international following. She just released her fifth book, At Home with Country, and it features fab beach homes from England to Long Island. It also boasts some gorgeous pictures of Tricia Foley's home. We can't wait to tear into it!
3. Ribbon Lamp by ECCO Design
The sleek, energy-efficient Ribbon Lamp is the first task lamp to feature Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lighting (CCFL) technology. Say "GREEN" a thousand times, and you'll get the idea in no time. It provides good lighting, but also dimming (from 12-100%) and color temperature changing capabilities. Such a range provides reduce eye strain and glare because you adjust the light to your surroundings, from a dimly-lit office to a naturally-lit living room.
Created by ECCO Design for 212 Lighting, the Ribbon Lamp’s form is both minimal and elegant. Its minimal features and intuitive touch-sensitive interface were designed specifically as a facile, user-friendly experience. We're impressed with the CCFL bulb that lasts 15,000 hours - 15+ times the life of incandescent bulbs - and with no liquid mercury. The lamp is also designed for easy post-use disassembly and 80% is recyclable. And it's very inexpensive at just over $100.
4. Spirit Houses
It's fascinating to see the small house sculptures that were created for spirits by different cultures around the globe. We have the Babylonian ceramic spirit house above and the Thai spirit house and the terra cotta Peruvian spirit house that Design2Share recently photographed, perched on a tile rooftop (see below). These objects can be appreciated both as sculptural works of art and as works of art springing from a higher spiritual impulse.
5. The Wallpaper Collective
We're loving many of the designs we're seeing from The Wallpaper Collective. They showcase a variety of wallcovering designers, and the variety is staggering. Here are some favs.
Lombok Lattice Bay (above) was created by Brooklyn-based ESKAYEL. Their beautiful, clever, and innovative wall covering designs are extracted from original paintings by artist Shanan Campanaro. The wallpaper is digitally printed on water-resistant IDBM latex and nylon fiber reinforced paper.
Betta (above) from JILL MALEK WALLPAPER is fueled by an interest to create rhythm in a controlled setting with synchronized movements and fluidity. Jill's design repeat patterns deliver a sense of energy and movement across a flat surface when several panels of the papers are brought together.
Maggie Mocha & Cream (above) is from The Marthas Vineyard collection, and was brought to life over many summers spent by the sea. This paper is manufactured with responsibly-sourced fiber and all suppliers adhere to one of the globally recognized responsible forestry or chain of custody programs.
Kaje-01 (above) from Chato & Co is part of a line of fairytale-like wallcoverings. We were awed by the vivid colors and imaginative design. Custom colors available. FSC certified and Recyclable.
