things change
photos by Alejandra Laviada, from her series “Hotel Bamer.”
Once in a while, I find something that’s so beautiful it hurts a little.
Today, it’s this work by Caroline Slotte.
Something created, from something broken.
posted by Maria Moyer (via Erik Scollon)
Boundaries Blur Between Designer and Consumer
by Maria Moyer
Heads Up! There’s a movement building toward hackable, make-it-your-own design. A kind of collaboration with our favorite designers, taking their inspirations and making them work for us.
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Brooklyn-based lighting designer, Lindsey Adelman (love her!) distributes step-by-step DIY instructions for creating a “You Make It” chandelier. Find instructions, materials list and resources here. See what other people are making using Adelman’s instructions at le beouf. (Photo shown above, via TheBrickHouse.)
Yves Behar’s curatorial debut of “Technocraft” at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in SF, tells the story of designers using technology to create a new economy based on craft, individualization and customer participation. The photo above (courtesy of fuseproject), is an iconic Eames dining chair DCM hacked and personalized for a little person’s dining pleasure.
Fashion designer Natalie Chanin’s line, Alabama Chanin, is grown-to-sewn in the US and is entirely handmade by artisans in Alabama. One-of-a-kind pieces are available exclusively at luxury retailers, like Barneys New York. To make her line accessible and affordable while promoting sustainability and the preservation of depression-era stitching techniques, Alabama Chanin’s kits and books help turn fashion followers in to maker-advocates.
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What other examples of hackable designs do you see? We’d like to hear from you.
Brothers, Collaborators
Somewhere between art, fashion and craft, you’ll find Brooklyn based brothers
We love their statement of values:
Spend your life doing what you love.
Be focused and disciplined.
Collaborate.
Their collaboration with video artist MAK places the Brothers Ladd inside their own created environment: terre du lac video.
What other collaborators should we know about?
Girls on Bikes
By Maria Moyer, Bureau Chief
Rob Forbes. Know him? You should. Please, allow us. . .
Meet Rob Forbes, the guy who founded Design Within Reach aka “DWR.” Though Rob left the company a few years ago, he has been noodling a new idea: Bikes. Specifically, his new company is called PUBLIC Bikes and it launches in a few short weeks.
While the PUBLIC Bikes’ just-launched website says their bicycles embody style and design principles of classic European commuter bikes (sounds retro-cool), made with modern, lighter materials for all sizes and ages–men and women–we happen to know there’s another goal: getting women in cities comfortably riding bikes. The Bureau can get behind that!
Rumour has it, some of the bikes are designed to make it easy for us to get around on a bike while (get this) dressed like a girl. Imagine a quick trip to the store, gym or to work–just as we are. Even if that means, riding a bike while wearing a dress. The bike I have now requires me to dress down and gear up (closed-toed shoes, peg-leg pants). Making it less likely I’ll ride my bike, unless I’m planning a power ride and a return trip home to change before going, er, public. My bike also puts me in a neck-straining position that’s probably more aptly designed for racers (I don’t race), this one’s in an upright, look-around kind of posture.
As Rob says about his new company, “Any modern design solution that increases our mobility while improving public spaces and communities will have our support.” We like this guy.
Nuf said. Check out these bikes. I’m putting my mountain bike on eBay. I want the white one. Or maybe the blue one. I have a few weeks to decide. There are several mouthwatering colors from which to choose and they’re pretty reasonable at $650-$1200.
For more about PUBLIC Bikes, sign up for the PUBLIC Newsletter or be a PUBLIC Bikes facebook fan. ..or both.
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