Happy New Year 2012
I wish you all a great start into the New Year, good luck and all the best for 2012.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
I wish you all a fantastic Christmas and hope that you will get something with good design as a present... ;)
Amazing 3D street art
You probably came across the odd street art here and there but have you ever seen 3D street art 'live'?
Philips LivingColors
Do you like coloured light? You can either set the colour according to your mood or let them change through a colour spectrum automatically.
Vintage haberdashery drawers
I really like the perfect mix of old and new, contemporary and antique, metal and wood. I feel that it's the opposites which attract each other and make a fantastic, unique mix.
Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Every Day Things
We use them every day. They influence our lives. They number in the billions. They are so common that we rarely even think about them.
Niterói Contemporary Art Museum
It looks a bit - or quite a lot - like a stranded UFO. But I think it is a cool landmark.
The Devil by David Mach
Isn't this look out of these yellow eyes just, well..., devious, amazing, spellbinding? I just can't get enough of it.
I wish you all a great start into the New Year, good luck and all the best for 2012. To many more posts to come (and a bit more frequently again… ;)
Thanks a lot for following my blog!
Klaus
Art by .
I wish you all a fantastic Christmas and hope that you will get something with good design as a present… ;)
Thanks a lot for following my blog and sorry that there haven’t been any post this month. More to come after Christmas.
Art by .
You probably came across the odd street art here and there but have you ever seen 3D street art ‘live’? I certainly haven’t. If you view 3D street art from the right point it creates the optical illusion to be three dimensional. Artists which have mastered this art are Julian Beever, Kurt Wenner and Edgar Mueller. I’m sure there are others but these are the once I know.
Julian Beever has made pavement drawings for over twenty years and he worked all over the world. His art is most of the time fun chalk drawings playing with perspective and hight.
Kurt Wenner actually used to work for NASA before he pursued his love for art. His pavement art has often a Renaissance classicism style which can remind you of Italy and is sometimes a bit dark.
My favourite though is Edgar Mueller who was inspired by Julian Beever and Kurt Wenner. The German creates is creating is own style though. He paints over large public areas. From the right angle his work looks extremely realistic. He then let’s passers-by become part of the scenery. It’s extraordinary art which I love.
Find books about 3D street art at eBay.
Site of Julian Beever
Site of Kurt Wenner
Site of Edgar Mueller
For copyright details please check their sites.
You might also be interested in my post
about the Girl in the Banksy tunnel.
Art by .
Do you like coloured light? You can either set the colour according to your mood or let them change through a colour spectrum automatically.
I’m an absolute fan of these. If you need a bit of a mood lift on a grey day, switch the lamp to a sunny yellow/orange. You want to relax, put it on a leafy green. It’s entertaining time, the automatic colour changing mode (only with some models, I think) is perfect.
Apparently the new models are even more colour intensive. They also can be synced to other Philips LivingColor lamps, so they show the same colour. Now they even come in different shapes and housings.
I think I need one of these. Well, it’s soon Christmas (hint, hint).
You can find Philips LivingColors at eBay.
You might also be interested in my post
about the Artichoke light.
Lamps by .
Right, if you follow this blog for a while you might have realised that I love contemporary design. However, what I really like is the perfect mix of old and new, contemporary and antique, metal and wood. I feel that it’s the opposites which attract each other and make a fantastic, unique mix.
But it feels like vintage furniture is quite sought-after and there are only a few places you can get it. That doesn’t make them that affordable. But I would love to own nice vintage haberdashery drawers. They are great for the living room, study and bedroom. If they are not the once with the glass at the front you will need a good memory though…
There are a few shops with websites which sell these kind of vintage furniture at a premium:
Loran and Co
Elemental. antiques – vintage furniture
If you are lucky you might find a good looking haberdashery cabinet at eBay.
Please let me know if you find a better source to find vintage furniture. I’m always on the look out…
Cabinets by .
Hidden Heroes – the genius of everyday things. We use them every day; they influence our lives; number in the billions, and are so common that we rarely think about them: the Hidden Heroes of everyday life. Whether it’s a wall plug, a tea bag or a zip, these objects are classics.
They are typically based on an idea that was both simple and ingenious, they have often remained essentially unchanged for decades. Basically an everyday classic.
Why do I post about such every day things? Because I believe that it’s the ambition of every designer to create products who’s design is long-lasting. And I think that you only can achieve this if you combine design and functionality. This is clearly the case with these still highly relevant products.
The exhibition Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things includes 36 everyday classics, telling you about their history and demonstrating the significance they have today. Here you can choose your little superman, and learn who designed it, how and when.
You can find the exhibition Hidden Heroes, The Genius of Everyday Things online, but it is also coming to the Science Museum in London. And I can tell you the Science Museum is fun. It is an educational playground for kids and adults alike.
Science Museum London
09/Nov/2011 to 05/Jun/2012
Open daily from 10am to 6pm.
Tickets:
Adults: £6, Conc.: £3.50 (students and children), Family (1 Adult, 2 Children): £11, Family (2 Adults, 2 Children): £16 / Free entry to the rest of the museum.
Every Day Items by .
Nov 11
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Niterói Contemporary Art Museum
Are you planning to go to Rio de Janeiro either for the Football World Cup in 2014 or for the Olympic Games in 2016? Don’t forget to plan a visit to the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói – MAC). It looks a bit – or quite a lot – like a stranded UFO. But I think it is a cool landmark at a fantastic location.
The museum was designed by Oscar Niemeyer and was completed in 1996. His critics
say that his designs look great but their practicality is often comprised by the design. As an example, apparently the cargo lift wasn’t properly designed, so art work has to be carried in through the outside pathway. Also, there is a shortage of wall space for hanging pictures. Hmm, doesn’t sound too functional to me.
By the way, Oscar Niemeyer was also the principal architect of Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, which apparently doesn’t have any sidewalks.
Read more about the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum at Wikipedia.
You can also find more
You might also be interested in my post about the
Metropol Parasol – world’s largest wooden structure.
Architecture by .
Oct 11
30
The Devil by David Mach
Awesome and amazing are the adjectives which popped into my head when I checked out the Matchheads from David Mach the first time. Sculptures just made from matchsticks, how cool is that?
My favourite out of the match-head sculptures from David Mach is The Devil. Isn’t this look out of these yellow eyes just, well…, devious, amazing, spellbinding? I just can’t get enough of it.
Not sure if I would like to have such a sculpture at home though. It’s not exactly fire resistant. David actually has set the devil’s head alight which caused a bit of controversy. That might have to do with the fact that he also set his Jesus matchstick head sculpture alight recently. Read more about it on the BBC site.
The Scottish artist David Mach also produced a lot of other amazing art. You might have seen his gorilla, purely made from coat hangers. I will write about that another time. But do check out David Mach’s website.
You might also be interested in my other posts in the category Art.
Art by .
Oct 11
28
Coffin couches for Halloween
Seriously? Come on! That’s what you always missed; a couch made from a recycled coffin? Isn’t that pushing recycling a bit too far? Just so you know, these couches are made from 18 gauge steel used coffins. But you might be glad to know that they weren’t used for a burial. Well, let’s not go into details.
Is that morbid enough for you? But they’re a bit too big for storing them in the loft when Halloween is over, right? Or can you picture your in laws sitting on them when they come to visit for Christmas? Anyway, I can’t wait to hear what you think. Please keep your comments flowing.
Oh, if you don’t want to go for the full monty you can find
And if you want to see a few different coffin models check out Green Interior Design or Coffin Couches.
Happy Halloween!!!
Couches by .
Oct 11
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Magazine racks
A colleague of mine recently asked me if I knew of any nice magazine racks. So I did some research and found quite a few ugly racks. But there were also some which I really liked and thought it was worth a post. They come in all materials, forms and shapes. Even though I love brushed aluminium, I prefer wood for a magazine rack in my own home. I put together a selection of different magazine racks which I like. Let me know which is your favourite.
The stand I actually own (twice) is a ’3 tier coffee table’ which comes in oak and birch. You can find it at the Futon Company. I think the design is very clever. However, if you have children I’m not sure if it will last very long. You also will need to treat the wood to prevent marks.
The Alessi Blow Up Magazine Holder
And here comes a not that cheap Print Magazine Rack designed by Fabio Lombardo and Guisi Scavuzzo. It is made from transparent methacrylate and is produced by Casamania in the colours amber, blue, orange and red.
Small Furniture by .
