Half an hour ago I deleted all posts of all Studio Job projects on my blog. The trigger was Gabrielle Kennedy from design.nl who wrote an article of a recent TV appearance of Job Smeets , the founder of Studio Job, which is not just embarrassing but also shocking in terms of ignorance. I instantly watched the Dutch TV program and it’s really sad. How can he even dare to be pissed off that the Groniger Museum doesn’t want to present a tablecloth that is obviously inspired by concentration camp motifs. I mean, I would give you that, Job. One tablecloth is ok. Even of you says that it is justifiable in context of your work, which is bullshit, because I don’t see any context, which leads to another question: Where is the context of the copy of the Buchenwald concentration camp you are making for one of your dearest private collectors. Who is it? Geert Wilders? Sorry, I forgot, you don’t like to answer questions. You like avoiding them. You are obviously not thinking further than ‘nice patterns, think big and sell well’. You must be stupid. I am disappointed.

Poznan’s town hall at the Old Market Square

Last month was an eventful month in Poland. The School of Form, a design school that combines humanities and design co-founded (some would say initiated) by trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort. On top of that Concordia Design, a unique center that aims to combine design with business, officially opened on the same weekend. The focus is a new approach of Polish design.

At the opening Li Edelkoort hold a speech about the potential she always saw in Poland, how she got on touch with the Polish culture through Zuzanna Skalska, Senior Consultant Trend Research at VanBerlo Eindhoven, and Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka who has curated many exhibitions supporting Polish design. Li thinks good things shouldn’t be rushed and that we can expect good things from a new generation of Polish designers.

Ewa Voelkel, president of Concordia Design, wants to create an arena linking designers and entrepreneurs and creative agencies with business. Also outside of Poland. Her father, Piotr Voelkel, is the owner of the School of Form. It is located just 5 min walk away from the refurbished historic building of the old printing house in which Concordia found its place. I appreciate when people preserve old buildings instead of building new ones. The town hall pictured above for example is now used as a museum.

‘Designing the future’ – big words. Will they come true?

Champagne and work by Polish designer Oskar Zieta and his team. He has definitely something to celebrate at the moment. Not just because he is the head of the industrial design department of the School of From, also because Tokujin Yoshioka has nominated him for the Audi Mentor Prize.

Klara by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso

Part of the opening of the new center is the exhibition ‘The Mothers of Invention’ of Patricia Urquiola and Patrizia Moroso. It is the first time that they present their work together in one show curated by Li Edelkoort.

The Spanish designer and the creative director of Italian brand Moroso have been working together since eleven years. Both became good friends in this long time. Patricia Urquiola designed a complete house for Patrizia, which was one of the topics they presented during the lecture.

Both women are part of the new curriculum of the School of Form. They will be the godmothers of the Domestic Design Department. They have so much energy together. It was a real treat to watch them talking about their work. Apparently the joint lecture was one of the first they did together.

Termo by Tomek Rygalik for Noti

There are also two more exhibitions dealing with Polish design, which should be pointed out. “Comforty – Real Industry” by Tomek Rygalik, Art Director of the furniture brand Comforty focuses on products walking the paths of industrial furniture tradition.

The other show is called, ‘Polish Design’ curated by Dorota Koziara. Some people would say it’s not an in depth title. At least it’s obvious what you get. =) The lamps above are designed for Polish brand Schattdecor.

Another piece by Oskar Zieta, which is similar to the Architonic Pavilion he did for the IMM Cologne couple years ago. Maybe it’s the same. I should find out.

After a long, eventful day a lovely dinner is necessary; together with the head teachers of the School of Form, the Architect of the ‘Stary Browar‘, an impressive shopping mall combined with cultural institutions, and his wife, journalists, all trend forecasters and supporters that are involved including their entourage. Things are happening in Poland, people!

It is now like half a lifetime ago that I met Czech designer Daniel Posta in Vienna. He was one of the selected designers for Passionswege, a concept that brings designers together with Viennese shops and manufacturers, during the Vienna Design Week. In 2010 Daniel teamed up with the traditional steel merchants Lorenzi, who produces all kinds of tools for the household, especially knives since 1835.

Instead of just focusing on the various tools, Daniel’s main interest was the company’s unusual and long family tradition and their social connections. They have more than 30 Lorenzi steel shops across the globe and celebrate a big Lorenzi family reunion every August in Northern Italy. All together. It must be a big party. Daniel was invited to join the party. He got closer to the family. From some of the Lorenzi’s he requested the personal objects that symbolised the tradition of the family, which he presented, together with a series of illustrations of a befriend artist, in a shop window across from Vienna’s very own Lorenzi shop.

I have to admit that I almost forgot about Daniel Posta and his project until an accumulation of coincidences. First of all I started making a list of content, especially of drawn interviews that I want to publish until the end of the year and second I decided to spend Christmas in Poland and New Year’s Eve in Czech Republic. After sending an email to Adam Stech from Okolo requesting some information about Prague, Daniel came into my mind. I am actually curious if he forgot about our encounter. I will find out soon.

Owner Elvira Lorenzi herself talking to a customer. The 15 m2 shop is filled up with Lorenzi steel products. Most of them knives, keys and shaving sets. You can find the historic shop at Siebenstergasse, Vienna. Have a look at the beautiful historic images of the shop here.

Draw yourself

Describe yourself in one word

Draw your favourite objects

A honest smile from Max at the back of his studio

I remember when I took a picture of Max Lipsey underneath his coathooks in 2009. His work was exhibited at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Milan. That was shortly after I met him at Maarten Baas in Eindhoven, where he used to work as a freelancer. Max is from Aspen, USA and came to Eindhoven to study at the Design Academy, which he completed in 2007. He stayed in the country, not just because he met his Austrian girlfriend, also because he wanted to establish himself as a designer.

Max answering the drawn interview

One of his biggest obsession are bikes. Not just for the principal means of transportation, but also because of the history and the aesthetics. He made a series of furniture called ‘Acciaio’, which is Italian for ‘steel’ and launched it in Milan this year. To make the concept complete he presented it at Rossignoli Cycles. The first series of the colourful seating made of steel bicycle tubing was a great success for him. He made his devotion and his workshop skills into a series of products with distinctive shapes. Obviously Matter must have thought the same when they say the pieces and commissioned him to make new work, that they presented at the Quibique in Berlin fair last month.

Models of Acciaio Series: Stage 2 for Matter

Max gave me actually a hard time several months ago. I asked him to come to Basel shortly before we opened the Depot Basel, a place for contemporary design. First he refused and told me straight away that he is working on many projects, like the Copy Nature and Mass exhibition for Dutch Design Week. He underlined that he wanted to finish them all off to a good standard. It took me a few Skype conversations until he agreed to come to Basel for the first occurrence and to build some pieces we needed for the first infrastructure for our space. When it comes to Max, I just instantly knew that he suit this project. First he is a honest, hard-working person and then, after adding all his skills, he is a designer who is able to not just make functional products, but also aesthetically pleasing objects.

Acciaio Lounge chair at DMY, 2010, from the first stage

Acciaio Series: Stage 2 at Mass during Dutch Design Week

Concentration chair for Depot Basel, 2011

Benches for Depot Basel, 2011

Work in progress at Depot Basel, 2011

Draw yourself

Describe yourself in one word

Draw your favourite object

Design Museum London put their current location on sale. The museum will move from their top notch location at the Thames to the former Commonwealth Institute. All this will happen in 2014.

This is actually old news, but I found the pictures that I took begin of November of this newspaper articles today and feel like to share them. When I am in London, I commute from very far East to Shoreditch and read a free copy of Metro in the train. You can find daily news, a huge gossip celebrity section, theater reviews (so typical London) and the usual bits like Sports. On the 2nd November I was amazed how much ‘Design News’ you can find in one single issue of the paper. Here is what I found our or already knew that day.

The Science Museum presents a new show called ‘Hidden Heroes’ focusing on daily things we use that are so common that we rarely think about them, for example teabags and scissors

Lovely Libby Sellers opened a show called ‘Granmateria’ on her new gallery location in West End. And there is a ‘Designbazar‘. I actually just checked the website and I am don’t think that this belongs to this ‘Design News’ post, because what I found is quite kitsch, graphic and jewlery focused, but that might be interesting for someone else.

True colours by Lex Pott

For the Dutch Design Week 2011 last month the curators Rachel Griffin and Elise van Mourik invited 10 designers to deal with methods, materials and manufacturing thoroughly in order to design a new project. All 10 Netherlands-based designers have a complete different approach. Some of them analysed surfaces or developed new material, some came up with new types of moulds and others worked intuitionally with the idea of ‘power of making’ in their heads. This process can lead to innovations, which are the grounds of the show. Find some images of MASS below and make sure to check every designers website for more details on their projects. Have a look at Niek Pulles vertical movie of all designers. I find it strange to watch a movie from this angle.

True colours by Lex Pott

Stencil by Julien Carretero

Job Dispenser Francois Dumas & Erasmus Scherjon

Job Dispenser Francois Dumas & Erasmus Scherjon

Acciaio series 2 by Max Lipsey

Acciaio series 2 by Max Lipsey

Reformed objects by Adrien Petrucci

Void Vessel by Jonas Lutz

Void Vessel by Jonas Lutz

Video by Niek Pulles

BCXSY: Sayaka Yamamoto & Boaz Cohen

I was invited by BCXSY to participate at the ‘Neofarm’ exhibition they curated for the Łódź Design Festival. It was their first show. Boaz and Sayaka made a selection of 23 international designs. For them ‘placing works side by side’ is like building their very own farm. That’s why they choose the title ‘Neofarm’. During the opening weekend both hold a lecture about the 23 choices they made, describing every single piece. It was a pleasure to listen to their aesthetic sensation and to be a part of their show. Thanks again!

Overview of the ‘Neofarm’ exhibition

‘Caution this is rodeo’ by Ika Kuenzel

‘Potato music box’ by Juliette Warmhoven

‘Wood stove’ by Yanes Wühl

‘Coathooks’ by Max Lipsey

‘Tableware’ by David Clarke

‘Chimney light’ by Benjamin Hubert

‘Sarpaneva pot’ by Timo Sarpaneva

‘Great Camp Chair’ by Paul Loebach
together with ‘Daddy would be proud’ by me

‘Still lives’ by Kraud

The proud Wera Modzelewska at the Łódź Design Festival

Once I arrived in Łódź for the Design Festival last month, people told me about an armchair of an Polish design pioneer, that was introduced to the world in the exhibition ‘Chcemy Byc Nowoczesni’ (We want to be modern’) at the National Museum in Warsaw this Summer. I haven’t seen the mid-century Polish design exhibition myself but it is described as ‘featuring the most important examples of polish design, rarely seen in the west’ and ‘exemplifying the richness of Poland’s design history’. I was curious, even hungry to get to know more. That’s when suddenly an old lady asked Małgorzata Żmijska (Programme Director of the Festival) and me, if she can sit next to us at the table in the coffee bar. Here she was, the woman that lost her husband in 1997, eating cheesecake and telling me about her beloved Roman, who in her eyes, was the most talented man in the entire world. Not just because he designed a revolutionary armchair.

She pointed at her ring with the big amber stone and said’ this precious piece is also made by Roman. He was able to do anything’.

The armchair was displayed before, for example at the Cold War Modern: Design 1945-70 exhibition at the V&A, but attracted even more attention since announcing that there will be a retrospective of the late designer in 2012 who was also sculptor, artist, teacher, jewelery designer – and boat builder. He was also one of the first artists in Poland experimenting with plastic. Revolutionary in the 50s! Modzelewski presented the first two prototypes in 1957. I was amazed, when Lady Wera told me that Le Corbusier was interested in buying her husband’s patent of a plastic armchair. Le Corbusier’s idea was to to implement the design into mass production. Wow!! ‘Unfortunately back in the days a cooperation between Poland and France was practically impossible’ Wera tells. ‘They tried many years until they had to give up their plans’. That’s when Roman Modzelewski put his chair design aside.

Roman and Wera Modzelewski together at an opening of an Art exhibition. Lady Wera had a little photo album in her handbag. She showed me many private snaps together with her late husband. There were also some images of unpublished work that will be on show next year in Warsaw. Some of them were surprising, not all of them were my taste. I guess, if the situation in Poland in the 50s would have been different, people all other the world would sit or eat on furniture pieces by Modzelewski now. But back than the boundaries didn’t allow it to be spread.

In the mid-1970s Modzelewski designed and built a yacht to be made completely out of plastic named ‘Amulet’. It was a great success and became a legend in the Masurian lakes. He worked on another boat called ‘Talizman’ in the 1980s. I guess after the disappointment with the Le Corbusier collaboration Modzelewski was looking for a greater challenge, which he obviously put into practice. Now Lady Wera Modzelewska takes care that the artistic heritage her husband left will be unforgotten. I am delighted and I fell honoured to have met this gracious woman.

Armchair fully made of plastic by Roman Modzelewski, 1956, on a postcard from the National Museum Warsaw for the exhibition ‘Chcemy Byc Nowoczesni’ (We want to be modern) June 2011

Switzerland-based designer Linn Kandel did a very personal presentation of her work and her everyday life routine at my Depot Basel last month. Watch it to found out more!

Video production by Simon Denzler, Basel

Miya Kondo recently graduated at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. The Canada-born presented her project ‘Composition Light’ at the Graduation Galleries during the Dutch Design Week last month. The five different lights have a simple but highly aesthetic appearance that satisfy the eye. I’ve got a notion that these lights should get into production. We need something aesthetically pleasing like Miya’s work in our homes.

Bashko Trybek is a Art Director who lives in Warsaw. He decided to become a designer one year ago. Fascinated by form and colour in not just two dimensional shapes this seemed to be a logical consequence. Since he presented his first projects at SaloneSatellite in Milan this year, the blogs and magazines were full with his Serpent shelving and Anti-Stress chair. In September the chair was also presented at Maison & Objet in Paris, where I met Bashko the first time.

Bashko, who is educated in Architecture and Photography and made an surprising turn into Product Design, was suddenly standing at Gallery Bensimon next to me and was happy to hear me talking Polish. That’s how easy people from the East connect: just through recognising homeland. Last month I saw him again at the Łódź Design Festival, where he was selected for the exhibition ‘Young Polish Design -Selected objects’ with his playful chair that fits 240 anti-stress balls. One for every working day in one year.

You can take every single anti-stress ball out of the frame. You can change the order of the balls and even the colour if you are up for it.

Draw yourself

Describe yourself in one word

Draw your favourite object

Kasia Jeżowska, curator of ‘Design Faction’

I got to know Kasia Jeżowska in London this year, where she works as assistant at Fumi Gallery and studies History of Design at The Royal College of Art in London. Last week Kasia started opened their exhibition called ‘Design Faction’ at the Design Festival in Łódź. The Poland-born told me that she wanted this exhibition to be a mood-board that presents not only the final stage of the concepts’ development but also the main part of visual and verbal research that designers undertook. Instead of listing all exciting 12 projects here, I send Kasia couple images of the exhibition and asked her to commented on them. Read what she said about them below:

Inspired by Aby Warburg’s extraordinary collection on renaissance. Here’s a photograph from his Mnemosyne Atlas from the 20s.

Marek Kultys

Otomixer designed by Marek Kultys would enable in the future to regulate our hearing abilities. By adjusting the density of the colorful liquid it would be possible to control the duration of the toxic intervention so that it can be everything from a daily wellness pill to a life-long vaccination against noise.

Marek Kultys

Hearing trade-off tests questionnaires were part of the first presentation on Marek’s End of the Hearing project. They revealed that 1. we believe that future can be shaped through design, 2. we can adapt to future soundscapes, 3. it is difficult to say what role noise plays in our lives.

Studio Duho – Hina Thibaud & Olivia Decaris

The hat designed by French duo Hina and Olivia from Studio Duho aim to provide a bit of privacy when traveling by public transport. The acrylic lace that cover wearers eyes was inspired by carved wood latticework characteristic for oriental architecture.

James Auger & Jimmy Loizeau

The audio tooth implant that was voted the invention of the year 2002 by the Times Magazine, is a project with a fascinating narration that seductively blurs edges of fiction and reality.

Vilma Jaruseviciute

Vilma’s project is an alternative for an aesthetic surgery – small prosthesis can transform face in a quick and effective way to make it closer to the ideal of contemporary beauty. I keep wondering how different they are from using triple-extra-4d-volume mascara or nail tips?

Revital Cohen

What if we could replace the vermiform appendix that actually has lost its functional significance with an electrocyte appendix that would generates electric energy? According to the forecast, in the 2050 humans would be able to design their own evolution (Homo-Evolutis) and the energy would be necessary for survival. Therefore the new organ converting blood sugar into electricity, that mimic and improve the electrocyte mechanism used by electric eels, sounds like a genuine user-centered solution.

Exhibition overview of ‘Design Faction’ at the 3rd floor of the Lodz Design Festival. The other 6 projects that are not mentioned here are by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Dominic Wilcox, Gerard Rallo, Gunnar Green , Ludwig Zeller, Sitraka Rakotoniaina. The show has been developed in partnership with the British Council.

‘A proud 5 year old’

Tomek Rygalik, who worked in NY for a while and then did a Masters degree at the RCA in London, opened a design practice exactly 5 years ago. That’s why, for the Łódź Design Festival, it was time to celebrate with a party, where everyone was invited and welcome to join the festive occasion.

Usually the studio operates in two locations. They have a tidy and clean office space in North Warszaw and the brick house workshop in Łódź, where they focus on specific prototype work. Tomek says it’s a project space devoted to experimentation. That’s where the party was last Saturday.

The guests were served Polish Wodka and homemade Sake by Tomek’s dad. The glasses were filled with alcohol on the second level and were let down by his wife in a wooden tray to the ground floor, where the dancing guests grabbed one of the drinks.

Whomus, an invention of Tomek’s brother, was the snack for the evening. The pots were attached on a white board and the crowd was dunking a stick with a piece of bread in the Houmous. Obviously any buisness stays in the family. Now I actually wonder what his mum does to contribute.

The team of Designalive, popular design news blog from Poland, also celebrated their one year existence. Ewa Trzcionka (editor in chief), Marcin Monka (editor), Bartek Witkowski (Art Direction) and Tomek were pouring the good old Polish Wodka for a ‘Nazdrowje’.

All outdoor furniture are the result of the “Prowizorka (engl. for ‘makeshift) open source” workshop before the party. The Trabant is owned by Ernest, one of Tomek Rygalik’s studio members. The practice consists of 7 people. Additionally they invite the Design students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warszaw, where he teaches since three years, to contribute to the workshop.

See Tomek Rygalik’s Drawn Interview HERE

Artistic Director Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka being interviewed

I got lucky and got invited to the 5th Łódź Design Festival 2011. The city in central Poland hosts the probably best known design festival in Poland. This year’s theme is ‘Change’ and in my opinion, underlines the aim of the Polish culture to be more recognised among the design scene in Europe. Here are some impressions of the first night.

The opening ceremony took place on Thursday evening. The organisers have done a good job; the huge industrial location was filled with design and culture interested people. Director Krzysztof Candrowicz and the main supporters from the community in Łódź were holding a speech thanking various institutions who made this event possible.

Entry of the Festival Center on Targowa Street. It took them about 5 months to find this location, which is a real find. The 5 level building is an unutilised office space with spacious rooms. Unfortunately the location will be transformed into new offices end of the year. I am sure the Design Festival team will find a adequate replacement for 2012. Łódź is an industrial city with some industrial architecture and the festival contributes to transforming its poor industrial economy into creative economy.

Sayaka Yamamoto and Boaz Cohen from BCXSY curators of the Neofarm exhibition which presents a selection of European design in their ‘very own farm’

Next to examples of product, furniture, architecture and fashion design you find an exhibition of STGU, Association of Applied Graphic Designers Exhibition

Exhibition design by Warszaw-based studio 137kilo

Another picture of the exhibition design, because stretching shiny foil in between the pillars in this old industrial building was a great idea. Have a look at the website of 137kilo for more.

Entry area of ‘Must have’, a selection of 28 objects that are worth having, curated by Ewa Solarz

One of the four levels at the Festival Center

Gigantic billboard advertising for the festival

Weißwurst by Nic Stubbenhagen
‘Bavarian veal sausage’ (so German!)

On my way to Basel I stopped in Karlsruhe for the “kkaarrlls! Furnishings to come” exhibition, which has a better title in German that says “kkaarrlls! Perspektiven für den Hausrat von morgen”. That’s an excellent example for what can wrong when you try to translate titles.

‘bow bin’, by Cordula Kehrer

Have a look at names. They are to the point, mostly even funny and a nice exception, because they don’t feel the pressure to translate them in English. I mean, it’s a German edition collections and they stay true to their ancestry. I made this selection mainly because of their names (also aesthetics!) but even if Cordula Kehrer decided to use an English title, I simply love what she has done with this old bins by adding wickerwork. That’s why she is a part of this post.

Hochstapler by Silvia Knüppel
conman, but it means ‘stacking high’

The exhibition at the Badisches Landesmuseum in Karlsruhe runs until 8th January 2012.

‘bow bin’, by Cordula Kehrer

Zinfandel by Tom Pawlofsky
I am not sure what it is, to be honest. But it’s definitely German!

Explosit by Tina Becker
Third-person singular perfect active indicative of explodō. It’s latin. Also German is build on the Italic language.

Schlummerschlauch by Daniel Wandres
Dozzing hose could be a possible translation.

Kleiderspender by Silvia Knüppel
Clothing dispenser

In front of the museum

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky was the first woman who studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule (today University of Applied Arts Vienna). In 1926 she was also the person who designed the first prototype of the built-in kitchen, ‘The Frankfurter Küche’ or ‘Frankfurt Kitchen.’

This elegant and blue version of the Frankfurt Kitchen is on display at the Badisches Landesmuseum in Karlsruhe.

When people in Austria talk about Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky they call her the first female architect of Austria. Please, watch Robert Rotifer’s tribute to Margerete Schütte-Lihotzky in music video format here. He is telling you everything you need and even mentions the lightweight aluminum drawers.

Today it is hard to get a nice kitchen. Schütte-Lithosky’s aesthetics are classy and the blue is just perfect. Why don’t the kitchen manufactures take an example of this woman’s work!

v.l.t.r: Charlotte Dumoncel D’Argance, Martino Gamper, Julien Renault, Felix Baumsteiger, Jan Boelen, Fabia Zindel, Formafantasma, Theda Schoppe

A little side project. One day, before London Design Festival, I realised that I need new business cards. I usually put the portraits of the designers I met for Mat & Me on them but I wanted a change. I asked some designers directly, others via a Facebook status, if they fancy to design an ‘MK’, my initials for the backside of my cards.

Julien Carreterro

Here it is. That’s the outcome of 22 hours. Every single one was a truthful happy moment of my day. I carry them around in a little booklet and people that I run into get to make their own pick. Like a little artwork. Have a proper look at all of them on my website. Click here. Thanks again! I am happy to have them all! Lalala Btw. I am planning to print more once I gave all of them away. Feel free to send me an MK, if you are up for it. Send it to: matylda@matandme.net

Below: v.l.t.r: Tilmann Appel, Charlotte Dumoncel D’Argance, Moritz Firchow, Rob Truijen, Llot Llov, Sven Franzen, Tina Roeder, Victor Hunt

ps. No complains! I LOVE all of them. Check the website for all. This is just an extract of the project! =)

Tristan at Depot Basel

Scotland born and self thought designer Tristan Cochrane was part of the Prelude 01 event for Depot Basel end of August 2011. Tristan is an educated fisherman. Through various favourable terms he came across Maarten Baas in Boisbuchet where Tristan works as workshop assistant once a year. The Dutch designer was impressed by his skills and his way of thinking and asked him to work for him in Eindhoven, where Tristan was a part of the Baas & De Herder team for about two years.

Concrete podiums for Depot Basel

His extraordinary history was one of the reasons we decided to invite him to Depot Basel. The other one was that we believe in the potential of Tristan, who says that he is still confronted with a laborious process with several setbacks before he arrives at something he is even half-happy with. A common thing among designers. He found his desire to be a designer by a fluke and met his girlfriend the same way. Also at Boisbuchet. About one year ago he moved to Barcelona for a change, the focus on his own career and his girlfriend Paula Benvegnú. Shortly before he came to Basel the two of them made a lamp out of ribbons.

Concrete stand for Depot Basel

It was a spontaneous action, unplanned but fruitful. They started to like working together and people started liking their so called ‘jellyfish lamp’ that was suddenly featured all over the internet. Paula’s background is Advertising and Social Communication which complements Tristan’s self-thought skills in making things. I think Tristan is a great example for someone with great ambition who should keep on working until the next good thing happens to him. Time will tell.

Work in Progress

Concrete stools ‘Faultline stools’ 2008 at Gallery Fumi

Draw yourself

Describe yourself in one word

Draw your favourite object

Olivier Lebrun & Olivier Lellouche at the entry of the Past Vyner Street project space in East London. The two Paris-based Olivier’s brought the De Stihl Camp to London.

Olivier Lellouche checks the potatoes in the steamer

One week earlier they presented their project in Paris during Design Week in a huge space. Both told me that it’s interesting to see the same set-up in a new context just one week later at another location and another Design Festival.

Steamer

During the day they cut, steamed and bend the wood in or with their self-constructed devices in order to pay tribute to Alvar Alto’s three-legged stool. The late Finish designer developed the bent L-shaped leg in 1932.

Bending device no. 1

Being half-finish Olivier Lellouche must have decided to imitate the beauty of the patented craft and celebrate it during these two major design show-offs. As Alvar did, Olivier also used solid birch for his version of the stackable stool that was back than produced by Artek in Finland.

Bending device no. 2

At De Stihl Camp the workday starts early. First you wet the wood and than you put it in the steamer for a long time. This process takes a lot of time, but at the end you will have your very own l-shaped stool. Finally you get together with some good people around for some steamed potatoes accompanied by amazing extras and dips created by Maori Murota. All food is her recipe but unfortunately her parents came from Japan to visit her in Paris and she couldn’t come to London.

De Stihl Library

All graphics, posters and booklets are made by Olivier Lebrun. Him and the other Olivier form the core of De Stihl. The concept text is written by Laura Chenus. Designmarketo invited them to come to the London Design Festival and to become a part of their operations.

De Stihl Camp’s version of Alvar Alto‘s three-legged stool from 1933

My first encounter with Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Formafantasma was in October 2009 at their Graduation Show at the Design Academy. Back then I did an interview with them for Designguide.tv and a drawn interview. In between times I met them on various exhibitions they participated with. This time around we saw each other at Gallery Libby Sellers in London.

Libby opened their new space in Berners Street featuring the ceramic series, Moulding Tradition, and a new textile series, Colony, by Formafantasma. After four years of pop-up galleries and temporary spaces, she decided to settle down in Central London, in between the Art galleries and the Design manufacturers. ‘Just where I belong to’, Libby said on that night. She seemed to be very happy, like a confident woman, who knows what she wants and knows that she got it. Go and see yourself.

1:4 project by Phillippe Malouin

Who is Vera? Vera is a fictional person that came to existence through a staple of photographs that were found on a second hand shop in Brighton, England. The two curators of the show of Vera, Chapter One gave one of the pictures to a selection of designers who were asked to interpret a possible life for Vera.

Conch shells by Loris & Livia

Kirsty Minns and Érika Muller are KM and ÉM, let’s say the brains behind this concept. On the website its stated that the original idea came up in 2006 between Érika Muller and Adrien Pelletier but was never executed until Érika introduced the project to Kirsty. Thanks god good things won’t be forgotten.

Brush from the ‘Play it louder’ collection by Study O Portable

The location was carefully chosen. Vera’s life is displayed in a cozy basement apartment with a plush carpet and beige walls. All 13 pieces have their own little spot and are accompanied by a fictional text written by every designer that gave Vera an identity.

Strap lamp by Camille Blin

The exhibition seems to be in its first edition due to the title. It runs until Sunday in the Brompton Design District during the London design Festival. I truly look forward to the second edition!

Paperwight from the Aintree collection by Tomás Alonso

There were more designs on display. But I was there at the private view and due to the busy crowd I was just able to take some images. Check the website for more!

1:4 project by Phillippe Malouin

I came across Johannes Nagel‘s work couple months ago, when I visited Fumi Gallery. One of his recent pieces were exhibited on the main floor of the East London gallery.

I got really exited about the randomness of the stacked vessels. Plus it is porcelain, a fragile material that makes such a clumsy but precious appearance in Johannes’ pieces. Back then Bernadette told me that more of his work will be presented during the London Design Festival, which I looked forward to.

Entering the gallery 2 days ago, I wasn’t disappointed at all. The pieces are composites, consisting of various forms brought together into new ones. What I like most is that every shape surprises me. There is no ‘I have seen something similar before’. Just astonishment. It is also a relief, because they are allowed to look rough. He has also an eye for the colours he applied on his pieces. It is never too much or too less, it is just right.

The German porcelain improvisator’s pieces are on show under the title ‘Studioware’ together with Max Lamb and Studio Glithero until end of the month. Each designer has created projects in which they used their full potential of their own studios, says the press release.

Gisela Stiegler and Marion Friedmann

Marion Friedmann proudly opened her first temporary gallery space last Saturday. This year the Austrian-born and her two protégés are part of the Brompton Design District during the London Design Festival.

Marion Friedmann Gallery presents Austrian artist Gisela Stiegler and French-Mexican designer Thierry Jeannot. Marion had an eye on Gisela’s work for years. Once she came across Thierry last year in Mexico, she felt it was the right time for a show with both of them. Also to launch the first exhibition of the Marion Friedmann Gallery.

‘Enlighted waste’ presents two different artists that work with waste packaging material in order to create light sculptures. A poetic interpretation of what some people consider scrap and some as valuable objects. The chandeliers PET bottles are from the trash of downtown Mexico City, while the polystyrene boxes are from a fish market in Vienna.

Thierry Jeannot

Thierry told me that one of these chandeliers consists of 500 pet bottles. Some of the bottles are very rare, for example the big one in the centre. It’s production stopped. There is a video where you can watch how Thierry designs some of his lights.

I have been in the location of the exhibition last year. I wasn’t really impressed by the building because the space in the basement was really dark and you couldn’t see much of the colours of the exhibited objects. But this time the lighting exhibition nailed it. The dark wooden floor, the rough walls and the length of the room complement the selection of the exhibited work nicely.

Above and below: Total view and detail of chandelier made entirely out of pieces of PET bottles by Thierry Jeannot

Below and above: Total view and detail lamp sculptures carved out of polystyrene by Gisela Stiegler