Chair of the day: Arad’s Rover

The Museum of Modern Art, in NYC, has opened an exhibit featuring the work of architect and product designer, Ron Arad.

This is one of this first designs, which he created a bit out of desperation. He quit his job and was working on his own. Should we call him a Maverick? Some night say, “You betcha!”

You can read Roberta Smith’s review of the show by following this link. I think she covers Ron’s work and attitude perfectly.

Have a nice weekend everyone!. I’ll be back in full force on Monday.

Friday Favorite: Gretchen Langner’s fabrics & bags

Fine artist, Gretchen Langner’s life is a “tapestry of art and movement.” Her paintings hang in both public and private collections. She has recently been inspired to delve into the world of fabrics for interior design. Her online shop sells fabrics as well as cute tote bags and note cards featuring images of her artwork.

All of Gretchen’s patterns, like Bud,¬† are large in scale. I love this trend. Make it big!

Double Dot is intended to coordinate with Gretchen’s other designs. She makes a single dot, too.

Gretchen’s Spiral comes in eight colorways. Each design is shown on furniture, so you can determine the scale.

I like this one best. Flower, like all her prints, is hand-screened.

Her bags come in two sizes. Medium bags are $80. Large are $90.

You can buy Gretchen Langner’s designs printed on four different fabrics including cotton/linen and sailcloth. The fabrics sell for $89 per yard and there is a ten yard minimum. That’s a rather large minimum order, in my opinion. She needs to add a swatch option, too.

As I said, I love the large-scale prints I’m seeing. How about you? Do you like the big stuff?

The Conundrum of Modern Bicycle Design

Ah, the bicycle. Ubiquitous, green, efficient.¬† Designers are always trying to “improve” its basic design, which hasn’t changed much for over 100 years.¬† See?¬† Here’s one from 1898.

Doesn’t look much different from something you’d find at the bike store down the street.¬† That basic shape has been improved over the years so that today, it’s light, strong, and durable.¬† Some designers don’t think that’s enough, and decide to “reinvent” it. Such is the case with Mark Newson’s Biomega MN1.¬† Voila:

Yes it looks groovy and “modern”. But here’s the problem. Mark’s re-imagining of the bicycle frame does nothing to improve upon that which we’ve become used to. It’s neither lighter, nor more efficient, nor easier to produce.¬† Hence the outrageous price: It costs $7,800.¬† (But you do get to pose around and tell people you’re riding a Mark Newson designed bike).

So what’s a designer to do?¬† One route is to leverage everything we’ve learned about making great bicycles,¬† – and execute it perfectly.¬† I can think of no better example than one of Vanilla Bicycles’ masterpieces.¬† Like this.

Here’s a detail that shows the craftmanship.

Beautiful, no?  Craftsmanship costs money, and Vanilla Bikes are quite expensive Рthough not nearly as expensive as the Biomega Mark Newson MN1.

Alright, so where does that leave a designer who wants to build something beautiful that most people can actually buy?

Here’s a great solution by Michael Young. Here’s his “City Speed” designed for Giant Bicycles. Lovely, modern, light, efficient, and affordable.

I particularly like its tail light – most bike tail lights are pretty cruddy looking pieces of plastic.

You really need to visit his site to see all that he’s designed. The guy’s a real talent.¬† The bicycle’s just an example of his work, but I think it illustrates a couple of things.¬† One, that you can take something utilitarian and make it beautiful – without making it look designed (like Newson), and that you can do it so that most people can actually afford to buy one.

Thumbs up to Michael Young from a cycling (and design) fan.

Patricia Urquiola and me

If you’re wondering where I’ve been – I’m in New York touring the International Contemporary Furniture Fare (ICFF). It’s a pared down version of the Salone, in Milan.

Last night Molteni held a party in honor of Patricia Urquiola. I finally got to meet my design hero. That’s me on the right with the goofy grin.

We had a nice chat about the challenge of raising children while working full time. I can now report that Patricia is not only a very talented designer, she’s also just plain nice.

I’ll be travelling home tomorrow and will start posting about the show on Thursday. I’m exhausted. But it was well worth the sore feet.

Dwell Interview with Patrizia Moroso

There’s a fun interview with Moroso owner, Patrizia Moroso over at Dwell’s Blog. Patrizia is the brains behind this cutting edge Italian furniture company. The world’s most talented designers line up to work for them. She has a good eye for new talent, too. At last year’s Salone, Moroso premiered work from Patricia Urquiola, Ron Arad, and newcomers Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien.

Here’s the start of the interview:

Creative director of the storied Italian furniture manufacturer Moroso, Patrizia Moroso was in San Francisco on Thursday morning at the Dzine showroom to chat with the press about the history of her company—founded by her parents outside Milan in the 1950s—and what we can expect in the future.

A disarming, unpretentious woman, Moroso chattering about this Parisian showroom or that trip to India or how this is her first ever visit to San Francisco. Dressed in a colorful top, loose pants and flat shoes, with short burgundy hair and chunky glasses, she looked like any Italian mother and seemed at greater ease than the bubble skirted, pastel tied and perilously high heeled in attendance. We spoke after things quieted down and I found her pleasant, personable, and happy to chat.

To read the rest of the interview, scoot over to the Dwell blog here.