Rowdy is a new seating system from David design (a company which I founded back in 1988, and ran until I left it in the mid 00s). Rowdy is designed by Peter Andersson and Matti Klenell.
The idea behind the product is simple; with inspiration from various examples of how the fashion world succeds in combining design value and brand experience with a competitive price, Matti and Peter created a simplified, almost geometrical set of seating tools. The different blocks can be combined in many ways thus creating a seating landscape.
In order to obtain a price positioning that would allow more people to buy the chair the design is simplified, almost unsophisticated by purpose, in order to minimalize use of material and to make it uncomplicated to produce and transport.
The character and the design of the chair, aswell as the concept in itself, is well described through the product name; Rowdy means
row·dy (rou’dē)
n. pl.row·dies
A rough, disorderly person.
adj. row·di·er, row·di·est
Disorderly; rough: rowdy teenagers; a rowdy beer party
Don´t get confused, NoEarlyBirds is not a newly discovered species. It is the name of a new Swedish furniture manufacturer and the result of a 10 year old dream of architect Per Söderberg and creative director Peter Simonsson to create a brand that reflects their personal believes regarding design and lifestyle.
With over 20 years of working experience in the fields of interior design, architecture and the fashion industry, they now felt the time was right to realize their vision based on the values emotional, inspirational, uncompromising and honesty. The first collection by NoEarlyBirds goes by the name of “New Habits”. A system of shelves, tables, benches and a stool based on an ingenious cross-leg structure inspired by the distinctive shape of a birds leg.
The almost obvious, yet innovative design and the ambition to create an extensive and coherent collection with interesting colours, materials and detailing – this is what makes the whole just as interesting as the parts.
“With the New Habits collection I wish to encourage new ways of furnishing homes and public spaces, while at the same creating timeless furnitures that age with beauty”, says Per.
We want to be able to control every step of the production and we have been extremely careful in the choice of materials and finishes regarding quality and environmental impact. To produce in Sweden was therefore a natural choice.
Per Söderberg holds a degree from the Domus Academy, Milan. Among his former projects you’ll find the storage system Funk, private houses, shops, restaurants and office interiors for clients such as Moschino, J.Lindeberg and Orrefors. Peter Simonsson has formerly worked at David Design, Adidas and Björn Borg among others. Design agency Kurppa PHA and photographer Peter Gehrke are also involved in the project.
The innovative design company Muuto works with the leading Scandinavian designers to add new chapters to the strong Scandinavian design tradition. With the introduction of Muuto Talent Award, the Scandinavian design company has now called for the next generation of designers to give their perspective on New Nordic design.
In spring 2009, 20 design schools from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland were invited to participate in the contest and with an overwhelming number of participants, the first Muuto Talent Award exceeded the company’s expectations.
The winning design has now been chosen and it was graduating design students from Konstfack in Stockholm, Petter Thörne and Anders Johnsson and their KEEP Table made from leftover wood and waste material who won. The surprising and eco-friendly material choice combined with the simple, yet undeniably Scandinavian design were among the jury’s reasons for choosing Anders and Petter’s table.
“The designers and Muuto have a joint mission to put Scandinavia back on the International design scene so we are thrilled that so many young designers were interested in the Muuto Talent Award” – Kristian Byrge, Director, Muuto.
“The Muuto Talent Award is a great acknowledgement, especially since it is coming from a young and innovative company like Muuto.” – Petter Thörne and Anders Johnsson.
Furniture made for children are ether small versions of furniture for adults, or they tend to have strong colours and crazy shapes that leaves little space for imagination. These different design categories became the starting point for a new furniture concept. The aim for Please design was to create furniture that could work in a space that adults and children share while keeping a playful spirit. Giving the furniture strong characters without being gender orientated.
MyAnimo bench and A4 screen wall are lightweight furniture for children from 3 to 6 years old. They are inspired by the way children see the world. MyAnimo’s abstract shape wants to encourage imagination and can be a hippo as well as a cave. They can be connected together to create a longer curved bench or a tunnel.
A4 screen wall has got it’s name and proportions from a standard paper. The different cuts gives a playful expression and makes them easier to carry. The screen wall can give privacy for bedtime stories or become a house or a fort during play.
The felt is a good sound absorbent and has a warm tactile feeling. The material is mouldable polyester made from recycled PET. Both A4 and MyAnimo can be stacked tightly and take little space when stored away.
As a part of the concept a kids book was developed together with illustrator Ingrid Wållgren. The book tells the story about MyAnimo and A4 and encourage children and adults to recycle PET bottles.
Celebrated designer Michael Young is showcasing the world premiere of his latest industrial innovations during the ART HK 09 Hong Kong International Art Fair.
This new concept viewing will be hosted by The Pawn, a modern British bar & eatery, the installation will be debuted on May 14. Young’s installation called ‘LINK’ is an inventive system designed to capture and exemplify the strengthening of ties between local industry and design. It also demonstrates that local industries can build their brands through quality and creativity.
The installation is being acclaimed as a ‘stunning example of Chinese industry awaking to the importance of working with creative minds’. It is the prototype of an evolving artwork that is scheduled to tour the world.
‘LINK’ is also being produced in very limited quantities as a table concept in co-operation with advanced aluminum and carbon fiber component manufacturers in South China. Essentially a table to begin with, LINK can be grown organically into vast structures.
Milk is a stool inspired by traditional Scandinavian craftsmanship but is manufactured largely by high tech computer aided 5-axis milling. Swedish designer Staffan Holm is interested in making design that focuses on emotional sustainability rather than practical function. Staffan is exploring the possibilities of making design that becomes precious for people and makes us want to keep it for future generations. In Milk stool, there is nothing more important than the meeting between the legs and the seat and it’s all the effort being put into the details, that makes Milk precious. Staffan will be exhibiting Milk stool in Milano Salone Satellite where he will be guest exhibitor of Norwegian designer Daniel Rybakken (winner of the Forum AID student award) Visit them in stand D22.
At the end of the post is a nice movie showing the manufacturing process. Movie is made by Carl Johan Engberg/Stavfel produktion.
Jeffrey Gerlach is an Industrial and Interaction Design student at Syracuse University in the USA. Together with fellow design student Andrew Stanley, they have been designing around themes of urban life, DIY, and sustainability. The images show their DPW ADK furniture.
It’s born from a spontaneous need and evolved from a simple vision the department of public worth adirondack chair is true upcycling a modern and sustainable take on the classic adirondack chair all that is needed is the rearranging of some nails when we don’t have much we make much more of what we have now go show your public worth.
Muuto, the quite young but internationally successful Nordic design company, strives to add fresh perspectives to Scandinavian design and thereby put the region back in the lead on the international design scene. Muuto now launches a new collection called Raw by Swedish designer Jens Fager. The concept which consists of a chair, an armchair and a candlestick is rather unique with its intuitive take on everyday products. All pieces are made by hand and therefore totally unique. Sort of a limited-edition series in a wide range of colours.
The Raw range by Jens Fager for Muuto fits quite well in the Cooltural trend I’m describing in my latest trend report called 5 Key Design Trends. If you have note been able to read the report yet, please do! It’s the most comprehensive report so far with its 44 pages.
With an innovative combination of design and materials, the honeycomb structured extendable K-bench allows to be shaped according to one’s need. The poetic of origami blends with modern materials in a perfect mix of tradition and modernity. The bench is only 16 cm thick when contracted. It is assembled in no time with big paperclips and can take many forms. The bench is made out of 250 pages of polypropylene and comes in 6 colours; white, grey, orange, translucid, pistache and light blue. UV-treated it is ready for indoor and outdoor use. At the picture above a series of K-benches have been put side by side in a long row.
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