Portugual-based designer Daniel Duarte’s Time Machine seems appropriately named as I could imagine getting mesmerized and transfixed watching the layered bars rotate around as time passes. The abstract clock will hypnotize you as the constantly shifting geometric patterns change and evolve as the minutes tick away.

The yellow-tipped bar represents the hour, while the orange-tipped one signifies the minutes.

Metaproject, the student challenge created by designer and Rochester Institute of Technology professor Josh Owen, is back again for another round. Last year’s focus was on using glass in partnership with the Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG), but this year, Owen partnered up with hip New York-based company Areaware to present the students with the challenge of working primarily with wood and creating contemporary wooden toys geared toward adults. Areaware, who distributes some of Owen’s own designs, has had great success with its wooden products, like David Weeks’ jointed toys.

Throughout the semester, students researched wood and examples of culturally specific historical and contemporary toys to define the meaning of Universal Toy. Then, each student develops his or her own toy, and one will be chosen by Areaware to possibly be manufactured and sold by them. The projects will be on display this year during ICFF.

Areaware Creative Director Laura Young spent a significant amount of time with the students throughout the process. “I visited with the class several times over the course of the semester, which included a rigorous concept critique where I reviewed collections of drawings and models from each student and addressed the students as a whole on what worked, what didn’t and why.”

“She [Laura] was heavily invested in the outcomes and as such became very attached to the students of the course. This was a treat because the students built a relationship based on mutual admiration,” said Professor Owen. He believes that working with an actual client is an excellent experience for students to prepare them for the industry. “Metaproject adds into the mix the tenants of ‘good design’ espoused by the Vignellis’ teachings which further guides the students towards making sustainable choices. Strategic placement of the class output in the ICFF in NYC further positions the students to connect with potential employers and with media contacts. When viewed as a constellation of assets, the course offers an elegant immersion into the field, under expert faculty guidance.”

I asked Professor Owen why wood was chosen as the material. Josh explained that wood is ideal because it can be easily manipulated and student models would “closely approximate their would-be mass-produced counterparts and can be tested as such.” I respect his answer when asked about the possibly disadvantages of using wood: “In my view there were no disadvantages. As designers, we typically focus on the brief we are given – we are in the business of defining opportunities.”

This year’s winner was James Paulius, whose design was called Blockitecture (both photos above) is a collection of hexagonal blocks that nest together in various formations, allowing them to counterbalance each other and create unique cantilevers found in modern and contemporary architecture. Blockitecture is a toy that allows users to enhance their understanding of physical laws by using their creative and imaginative processes.

The other winners included Jay Liu (second place), Katharine Beyerle (third place) and runners up Megan Lin, Blair Prietz, Jaclyn Jacobson, Jeffrey Burrell, Nanxi Yu.

Here are all of the student designs:

Alexandro Flores

Alexander Cloutier

Aaron Jackendoff

Blair Prietz

Ashley Valenti

David Buchanan

Gonzalo Ciurlizza

Jaclyn Jacobson

Ian O’Neill

Jay Liu

Jeffrey Burrell

Kathrine Beyerle

Kevin DAmico

Lindsay Randall

Sean Petterson

Rob Fish

Ryan Erbe

Megan Lin

Nanxi Yu

Nicholas Kelemen

Paula Garcia

Get more information on all of these designs on the Metaproject website.

Standard Socket is a new lighting company founded in 2012 by Dawna Holloway, Brian Beck, Darin Montgomery, and Hillary Rielly, debuting their first collection at WantedDesign 2013 in NYC during Design Week.

Standard Socket started with the idea of connecting talented designers with a Seattle based lighting manufacturer. Brian and Dawna have years of experience as UL certified lighting manufacturers and the owners of Eastbay Sculpture and Lighting in Seattle, and wanted to create a line of contemporary lights. So they partnered with Darin and Hillary to help complete the team.

The debut collection of pendants, sconces, floor lamps and chandeliers includes works from Jamie Mclellan, urbancase, Grain, Fruitsuper, Ladies & Gentlemen, Trey Jones Studio, Spry Design-Workshop, Cathrine Baekken, and Moorhead and Moorhead.

Arper has long been one of my favorite Italian design companies because of their consistency and simple modernism. With the introduction of new products in Milan 2013 this year, they surprised me with their colorful upholstery and whimsical wall storage.

Ply stools and tables by Lievore Altherr Molina

Ply is a series of tables and stools with a triangular shape and engineered to create a continuous line from top through legs.

Dizzie tables by Lievore Altherr Molina

Dizzie is a demonstration of something that may seem obvious but can have unexpectedly pleasing results: a sole change in color or material can radically alter appearance and attitude.

Catifa cover by Lievore Altherr Molina

New fabrics and covers for Catifa 46-53 are now available. Learn more about the Catifa collection here. Available in Kvadrat fabrics, these cushions are designed for both comfort and warmth.

Aava seating collection by Studio Antti Kotilainen

The Aava chair was born from Arper’s first collaboration with Finnish designer Antti Kotilainen, takes this chair form into wood. It also includes a stool version. He explains that “structure-wise the aim of the collection was to compose a seat component that would work perfectly with a whole range of different bodyworks––technically as well as aesthetically.” Read an interview with Antti Kotilainen here.

Saya chair by Lievore Altherr Molina

Saya chair, upholstered, by Lievore Altherr Molina

Saya, which was released last year, is reimagined in a few different versions this year. The addition of a sled base makes it a more contract-frienedly option. Additionally, an upholstered version adds to the functionality and comfort. And a “mini” Saya is created for the little ones.

Wing coatrack by Lievore Altherr Molina

Wing is a wall-mounted coat hanger that animates the wall with its striated arms, twisting out like a sculpture.

Song freestanding coatrack by Lievore Altherr Molina

Song is my new favorite coatrack of all times. Coats and scarves and hats form a harmonious song when placed upon the eight music note-shaped arms. It’s available as free-standing or wall-mounted versions.

Song wall coatrack by Lievore Altherr Molina

Cuscini cushions by Lievore Altherr Molina

A selection of nice, graphic-driven designs to complement the rest of this collection.

But that’s not all. I’m very excited to announce that Arper will exhibit for the first time at Neocon in Chicago June 10th-12th with a new permanent exhibition space at the Merchandise Mart. Go visit them at Space #339 on the 3rd Floor!

Pietro Russo is an Italian designer who recently exhibited a large body of work in Milan during Milan Design Week. We couldn’t pick favorites, so we decided to just share all of it!

Piuma Table (also pictured in top photo)

Yps Lamp

Scintilla Lamps

Otto Lamp

Voliera Shelving

I also had to share this 2012 design: Romboidale Bookshelf divider – love it!

Kenny is a new roundy curvy armchair made out of folded simple strip by Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay of Raw Edges for Moroso. Using a simple pattern and a single linear strip of fabric, they created a volumetric shape that becomes like a cocoon in which you sit. This project is all about the effortlessness of its geometry.

To emphasize the simplicity of a rectangular strip being turned into this rounded curvaceous armchair the designers used Kvadrat Hallingdal 65 textile, a ‘warp and woof’ fabric, where two different colored yarns are woven perpendicular to each other. By pulling out the warp, the longitudinal thread in a roll, more of the woof’s color is exposed thus creating a linear graphic that emphasises the shape and geometry of Kenny.

Product photos by Alessandro Paderni, process photos courtesy of Raw Edges.

Judy Ross is a New York based designer and artist who developed a passion for the centuries-old chain stitch hand embroidery technique during a trip to India in the late ’80s. Judy Ross Textiles produces two collections each year and designs custom pieces for interior designers, architects, and major hotels, and has worked with the same group of artisans for two decades. She also produces a line of hand-knotted rugs, produced by expert weavers in Nepal, that are made of hand-dyed Tibetan wool and Chinese silk. Let’s have a look at what inspires her for today’s Friday Five.

1. Ellsworth Kelly
I love his simplicity and directness with line, form, and color.

2. Faber-Castell Artist Pens
I love all the different shades of grey and the black ink that allows my drawings to come alive. I can take them with me wherever I go. There are more then fifty shades of grey!

3. Eres
I love to start my day deciding which of my ever-growing collection of Eres lingerie to wear. I love their richness of color and design against my skin.

4. Indochine
Indochine is one of those New York City dining institutions. After 29 years it still has the mystique and allure as the day it opened. It is a place where I can go and always know I will have a great time and meal there. It is my extended living room, to meet friends or just a simple meal with my boys.

5. Japanese Scissors
I love my Japanese stem cutting scissors; it is such a beautiful handmade object in its form and material. My boyfriend Charles Masters always buys me beautiful flowers and got these to cut the stems. It makes having flowers an all over beautiful experience.

I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to share this post with you. I love finding new little tricks and programs that help ease through the creative process, and Sherwin-Williams’ Chip It! is one of them.

Lately I’ve been looking to inject a little color into my home, but wasn’t sure in what direction I should go. I knew I wanted to paint this dark, weighty bookcase to lighten up a drab corner of my house – it’s a nice piece, but not helping my situation. From there, I needed a little help.

I started with what I have: a lot of chunky woven textures, and a very neutral palette. That immediately brought to mind the work of New Friends – a collaboration between Alexandra Segreti of Weird Friends and Kelly Rakowski of Nothing Is New. Together they create graphic weavings that are true works of art.

I scrolled down their website and came across this piece:

Bingo – it perfectly captured where I wanted to go. The palette had the same tans, grays and whites that already exist in my interior, but with a pop of bright pink that would bring a little life into the room.

From there, it was a piece of cake: I uploaded the image to Chip It!, which matched the colors in the photo to Sherwin-Williams paints. Chip It! suggested 10 colors from the photo, which I then dragged and dropped to create a 5-color Chip Card. There’s even an option to tag your Chip Card, if you’re an organization nut like me.

You can then print your Chip Card to bring to your local Sherwin-Williams, but I just accessed the Chip It! website from my smartphone while I was at the store. The Sherwin-Williams staff was unbelievably helpful and even assisted me in choosing the right paint finishes and supplies: eggshell for the base coat, high-gloss to make the pink really stand out, and semi-gloss for the rest.

Once I was home, I started by painting the entire bookcase in a base coat of Extra White (SW 7006). I then taped off and painted small sections with the remaining colors until I felt it was evocative of the New Friends work I used as inspiration.

Voilà!

This post is brought to you by Sherwin-Williams. Turn your inspiration into reality with Sherwin-Williams Color Selection Tools.

A-Lounge is a design I didn’t think I needed until I saw it. I used to love to sit on the floor when I was younger, but now, it’s just harder to get comfortable. However, I think this might help me stretch out my floor-time.

Designed by Assembly (Pete Oyler and Nora Mattingly), the A-lounge is kind of like a sofa substitute for your floor. It’s basically a giant backrest and seat cushion you can lean up against and get comfy.

The design is made up of three parts: an upholstered wedge, a quilted camelhair cushion filled with buckwheat hulls, and a natural sheepskin throw.

An Assembly collaboration with Misha Kahn. Photos by Mike Garten.

Inspired by the unusually-shaped sea creature it’s named after, CIRRATA, a suborder of octopuses, is a glowing, delicately formed lamp designed by Markus Johansson that is meant to light up the “darkness of the ocean.”

The tentacle-like base creates the illusion that the fixture is floating across the surface it sits on, or the ocean floor where the idea was born.

Who would have thought this lamp was made from Corian®, that solid surface material most often used for kitchen and bathroom countertops?

Segment Table is a minimalist design created by San Francisco-based design firm Box Clever. The conception of their name came from the term “boxing clever,” a reference to how the best boxers win not only with their brawn, but with their wits as well. As designers they take a similar approach: to identify opportunities, learn from and respond to any challenges that arise, and execute flawlessly.

Segment Table comes pre-designed with channels built into the surface in order to accommodate wiring and functional accessories. The table’s surface, which is constructed of multiple parts, was inspired by the ever-shifting tectonic plates sitting underneath San Francisco. These four separate slabs come together to form the basic structure of the table.

Narrow openings are left between these slabs in order to create a unique system for a set of three accessories designed alongside the table. The accessories include a copper dish, a brass bowl, and an aluminium tray. Each of these objects can transform from lifestyle sculptures to utilitarian accessories. For example, the copper plate can be used as a pivoting platform for a computer monitor, while the aluminum tray can serve as a dock for the phone or tablet.

Gabriel Scott, newcomers at last year’s ICFF, will introduce some new products this year including a fantastic modular light fixture called Welles. The modular light can be designed as a single pendant or an enormous chandelier, with an interior finish of nickel, copper or brass. You can stop by their booth during ICFF and make your own Welles using paper models. I will make one and name it Orson.

They’ll also be showing their table lines Dean, Grant, and Marx. Loving the new smoked glass with brass option for Dean:

A while back I was invited to create an illustration for their ICFF tote bag, which was super exciting for me because I had no idea what I was designing for. I was just told they were making a modular, geometric light. This is the design I came up with and I have to admit that it’s pretty close to the Welles design! Stop by their booth #1662 and pick one up for yourself and check out the new Gabriel Scott designs.

You can purchase Welles at Suite NY.