06/02/2009 05:20:16 PM
Dwell has a great interview with Emily Pilloton, one of our speakers at next week's Influx Curated Conference.

Emily is the force behind the Project H initiative, which encourages designers to work for social good and the author of a new book on industrial design.


Posted by Ed Cotton

05/01/2009 02:26:00 PM
The design world is under fire, for many its seen as frivolous and unsustainable.

This environment is tough for those involved in categories like furniture to respond.

However, the Finnish company, Artek had a brilliant response to the current environment delivered by Shigeru Ban.

At the furniture show in Milan, Ban unveiled his 10 unit modular furniture system.

Ban Chair Modular System for Artek

There are three reasons why it's great.

1. It's made from sustainable material- UPM (made from wood and recycled plastic)

2. It's modular and allows the user to build it themselves

3. It's easily to disassemble for transportation


Posted by Ed Cotton
Tags: artek (1) modulardesign (1) upm (1) ban (2)

04/28/2009 03:39:09 PM
Luxury brands have a big image problem on their hands and urgently need to re-position themselves to be relevant. They need to search deep within themselves to unlock the "truth" that set them apart.

At the recent furniture fair in Milan, Fendi made a step forward in the right direction.

It took over a space, brought in truck loads of scrap material and invited a dozen industrial designers to make objects live.


IMG_3424

For the opinion leaders Milan attracts, it was a good way for Fendi to immerse itself in the craft of making and to push against the frivolity of its fashion image.

Expect to see more luxury brands getting to grips with the substance over style story in coming months.


Posted by Ed Cotton
Tags: fendi (1) milan (2) craftpunk (1)

01/05/2009 02:35:37 PM
The Double Club in London is an exercise in the fusion of different forms of entertainment and culture around a single location.

The club is only open for a total of 6 months, but allows visitors to experience the Congo through its music, food (pigs trotters, goat stew and conger eels for example), and art.

Double Club-London

To make the contrast even more striking, visitors can alternate between The Congo and more traditional/expected Western club, art and restaurant experiences.

Of course, this is to ingenious to be a truly commercial concern and instead is the result of a collaboration between Fondazione Prada and the artist Carsten Holler.


Posted by Ed Cotton
Tags: congo (1)

12/16/2008 01:48:03 PM
Designed by The Company, for a writer and editor.
Brilliant Business Card

Posted by Ed Cotton
Tags: businesscard (2)

08/03/2008 07:17:03 PM
DJ Frank is a New York-based DJ and like any good DJ, he is on a constant quest to discover new sounds.

The difference is that he's not content with digging in old record stores and flea markets in the US, instead he travels to West Africa to find records, before they get destroyed.

This new documentary chronicles his journey.



Posted by Ed Cotton
Tags: djfrank (1) africa (4) music (18)

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