2Modern Design Talk - Modern Furniture & Design Blog

The K Workstation

Miso Soup Design

Think Inside

This woodworking studio combines a modern aesthetic with traditional woodworking skills to think actually outside the box.  Think Inside, new on the scene since April 2009, brings years of experience to the table.  The duo of Cal Kelly and Luke Cacciapaglia have old school attention to detail shown in their innovative designs that solve spatial challenges.   One of my favorite concepts is the murphy bed, which Think Inside interprets with a nod to the past and a whimsical look to the future. The warm colors and combination of woods, which they clearly love, create an inviting room. 

I love the wall unit that separates the space and hides a staircase creating interest and functionality.

Debut of their furniture line with coffee or side tables, is just the beginning.   Inspired by an old French car, the Citroen DS, we call this line the DS Collection.  These two tables are called Dip with two more in the collection, Split and Dive in prototype stage.

Walnut top with beech legs;

and  zebra wood with wenge legs.

They are surely ones to watch. Visit http://www.thinkinside.com

Have an infinitely modern day!

2Modern Pillow Blowout Sale!

2Modern is offering super savings on select pillows! These samples and discontinued items are limited in quantity, so get them while you can.

I Love Lamp...

We all love flat pack objects! They are eco-friendly with reduced packaging and we can assemble them ourselves and feel more involved in initiating the life cycle of the object. Not to mention, I'm obsessed with seeing how things are put together.

Check out the Flat Lamp...

"The lamp arrives at your house flat, with the few components ready to be assembled by your skilled hands. Within minutes, your world is illuminated not in 2D, but in wonderful, round, living 3D. You have the option of choosing what kind of light to see your world in - Light Veneer, Dark Veneer, White or Red."

Material - Stainless Steel, Veneer Polypropylene

You can grab it here.

via

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A Glimmer of Hope

Most likely...if you are reading, this you are a designer of one sort or another...if not, you are at least design-minded. I can not tell you how many conversations I have had with designers who are frustrated, burnt out, weary, tired, uninspired and otherwise on the verge of giving up in this economy. Resources are limited, clients are overly conscious of budgets, jobs are scarce and... 

"It's tough out there. So many huge problems in the world, so much noise, so hard to know what to do and where to begin. All of which means—it's a great time to be a designer."

In comes the Glimmer Manifesto. Think of it as your first sip from the fountain of designer-immortality. The fire under your feet. As designers (and, honestly, just as contributing members of society...) it is our job to create transformation within the world, to improve it...for everyone. This holds true in the toughest conditions even more so. I stumbled across Creativity's write up on the book earlier this morning and I am definitely adding this to my next Amazon shipment! Click here to read the write up.

 

Warren Berger is the author of Glimmer and the editor of the blog GlimmerSite.com

Its another awesome source of inspiration and I highly recommend checking it out!

Book Tree

Check out this awesome tree bookshelf by Shawn Sho. I would totally put this in my office!

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Now you see it, now you don't!

    As a creative person and also one that needs a more formal work space occasionally, I have always been a fan of extremely adaptable and responsive work environments. Yesterday I stumbled across Clive Wilkinson Architects revamp for the VCU Brand Center in Richmond, VA. 

    Their work is idea driven and primarily architectural but they definitely know how to create an effective interior and graphic statement within their spaces. Most of us can attest to the fact that an improved work environment can have a multitude of impressions on the efficiency and communication that goes on within its walls. For this particular project, they did an excellent job of creating informal breakout areas throughout the original building and new addition. Hop on over to their website to check out the full project. What really caught my interest was the "folding" conference room that literally reaches out from the rafters to accommodate a fairly large table for gatherings, meetings and classes.

 

 

 

The New Hilton

Just under three years old, the Matthew Hilton furniture line speaks highly of hand crafted work and rest comfortably between modern minimalism and nostalgia. I hope that you pop on over to his website for a slew of gorgeous images. Produced in small quantities, his growing collection of high quality work could find a place in almost anyones environment.

Everything Has Its Place

Ironic coming from someone who is chronically disorganised, but if anyone needs an extra little nudge to put everything back where it belongs, it's me!

As someone who also has a habit of hiding away my decidedly un-sexy yellow trace in an ingenious location that I can never remember when I actually require said yellow trace, Place for Trace is possibly one of the most useful inventions around.

Better yet, the clean lines make it an ideal informal dumping ground for those of us with partners who insist upon dumping the entire contents of their pockets/wallets/bags onto the firstsurface they find when they stroll in the door.

If organisation by way of colour-coding is your thing, Felissimo and Social Designer have teamed up and done the work for you! 500 Colored Pencils is a great subscription program where every month for 20 months, a new set of 25 pencils will be delivered to your doorstep.

With delicious names like Tea With Milk, Apple Pudding and Rasberry Souffle, the pencils can be displayed in specifically designed cases, unless of course you want to buy 34 Place for Trace  holders (letting 500 pencils roam free is not recommended!)

And if all else fails and you need to keep track of your favourite coloured pencil or where you hid your last roll of trace, why resort to scribbling on normal sticky notes when you can procrastinate with Origami Sticky Notes? 

That way, if you have to be organised, you can always file your notes by animal; squirrels for To Do lists,  parrots for telephone memos, and goldfish for Very Important Things That You Must Not Forget. Perfect!

Who needs manilla folders anyway?

Hand Knotted

The beautiful collection below was created by the multi-talented Amy Helfand. Born in the Chicago suburbs, she struck out on her own to earn a BA in both Photography and American studies from Hampshire College and then continued on to recieve a MA & MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago! Her passion for abstraction of the natural world around her is extremely evident in the pieces below. She started off with illustrations and now her work is available in the form of divine, hand-knotted wool & silk rugs! Hop on over to Amy's website to view the entire collection and some of her earlier illustrations. Enjoy!