January 27th, 2012
The Styleture editorial team is always on the lookout for creative furniture designs; especially ones that make use of recycled materials that many would consider trash. Bike Furniture Design (BFD), based out of Marquette, Michigan on the shores of Lake Superior, is a design and manufacturing studio specializing in contemporary/modern furniture made primarily from recycled steel and aluminum bicycle rims, handlebars and frames.
BFD founder Andy Gregg, working within the vernacular of classic modern furniture design, has continued to refine his craft of making comfortable and durable bike-based furniture since 1990. Since they created the original Bike Chair, BFD has grown to include a wide-ranging collection of high-quality tables, bar stools, loveseats, and more chairs. Some designs, in addition to utilizing the bicycle, also utilize components from other transportation industries. BFD has created furniture designs from train and automobile windows – used as tabletops – and surplus automotive seatbelt webbing for seating upholstery. BFD upholstery options are wide ranging and include: leather, rubber, cork, clear and colored acrylic, and vinyl. So what made Gregg decide to make furniture out of bikes? He’s been influenced by his years spent in bike shops and on bikes. BFD has been featured in a variety of publications including Momentum Magazine.
As huge fans of Gregg’s work, the Styleture editorial team picked out a few of his pieces that particularly captured our imagination:
Modulus Side Table
Modulus Side Table
The Modulus Side Table is made with strategically bent and welded chrome-plated bicycle rims. The table is topped with a choice of either glass or acrylic.
Vector Lounge Chair
Vector Lounge Chair
The Vector Series Lounge Chair frame is constructed of aluminum bicycle rims. This chair is available with custom padded vinyl cushions in a choice of colors. The rims that serve as arm rests on this chair can be fitted with your favorite mountain bike tires or with inner-tubes only. They can also be fitted with a simple pad. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bike Furniture, Chairs
January 25th, 2012
Bay of Fires Lodge, Tasmania
Tasmania, an island and Australian state situated about 150 miles south of the continent, is one of those rare destinations that even many seasoned world travelers never get to experience. But for those who do make it there, a stay at the Bay Fires Lodge is an opportunity to experience one of the great architectural masterpieces of the entire region. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Bay of Fires Lodge
January 23rd, 2012
Eva Zeisel, Industrial Designer
The Styleture editorial team has many heroes in the design world; perhaps none have been more of an influence on us than the late Eva Zeisel. Ms. Zeisel, a Hungarian-born industrial designer known for her work with ceramics, passed away on December 30th at the age of 105. As admirers and fans that are simply in awe of what she contributed to the design world, we’d like to take this opportunity to remember her.
Zeisel was born in Budapest in 1906 to a highly educated and intellectual Jewish family; her mom was the first woman to receive a PhD from the University of Budapest, one of her brothers was a sociologist and economist and the other a chemist and philosopher of science. Zeisel on the other hand, was more drawn towards artistic pursuits. She learned ceramics through a local guild and worked for several German manufacturers. In the late 20’s, she became a designer at Schramberger Majolikafabrik and began creating unique and geometric designs for tea sets, vases, inkwells and other ceramic pieces. Her designs were influenced by the architecture of the times. Her life was actually quite glamorous; she spent time at cafes and parties among big city intellectuals and artists. She eventually moved to Russia to work in the country’s ceramics industry, but in 1936 she was falsely accused and arrested for participating in plot to kill Joseph Stalin. She spent 16 months in prison – how’s that for suffering for your art? When she was released from prison and deported to Austria, she met up with her future husband. Shortly thereafter, they had to leave for the U.S. when the Nazis invaded the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Ceramics, Eva Zeisel, industrial design
January 16th, 2012
Murakami Chair designed by Rochus Jacob
Maybe your grandma has a rocking chair. Maybe she sits on it and crotchets, or reads magazines about crocheting. Or maybe not. But the fact is, rocking chairs ain’t just for grandma anymore. The Murakami Chair offers a modern twist on the age-old furniture piece – it’s a rocker with a built-in OLED (organic light-emitting diode) lamp that’s powered by the rocking of the chair. That’s right – rock this puppy and you get to be a human power plant.
Designed by Rochus Jacob, an award winning product designer based out of New York City with essential interaction and strategy experience, the Murakami Chair brilliantly harnesses the kinetic energy that is created by rocking the chair and utilizes an advanced nano-dynamo technology built into the skids of the chair to power the reading lamp above the rocker’s head. The OLEDs require very little juice to power and if you happen to want to read without rocking, no worries; rock a while and the battery pack will store enough so you can read later while sitting still. Perhaps best of all, the chair looks sleek and cool, and it will never embarrass you. How did such an idea come about? “I was looking for opportunities to generate energy through activities we naturally do,” said Jacob. “The final result is a rocking chair that enables the user to experience production and consumption of electricity in a gentle and rewarding way.” Jacob also stated that in the future, “To have a drastic reduction of consumption the big challenge will be to make consuming less feel like getting more.”
A bit more about Jacob: He holds a master’s degree in product design and design research from the University of Art and Design in Offenbach, Germany. He gained international working experience at HTC Taiwan, One & Co. San Francisco andIDEO Munich by working with clients such as Microsoft, Samsung, P&G, Nike, Steelcase and Google. He uses a holistic and user-oriented approach that is dedicated to developing meaningful service, interaction and products that have a positive impact on peoples’ lives. Undoubtedly, his Murakami Chair embodies his noble work philosophy.
Tags: Chairs
January 13th, 2012
With January here, many of us are dreading winter’s long, dreary onset. It means shorter days, longer nights and spending time indoors reading, knitting or sitting fireside and catching up on movies. Dreaded nights be damned, as the Crawleys of Downton Abbey have returned to our midst. With the Great War upon them, we’re anxiously awaiting if Mr. Bates’s past will be unearthed and if Anna will accept him; whether Thomas will be revealed as a scheming cad and war dodger; and, most important, will Matthew and Lady Mary finally get it together? To commemorate the occasion, we thought these Victorian-inspired items might resonate with fans of the show. In fact, we’d be so bold to say that their addition could instantly elevate one’s abode from ordinary homestead to lavish manorhood. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: corbett lighting, Downton Abbey, GRAFF, Hudson Valley Lighting, Stone Forest, Television, THG, Victorian
December 29th, 2011
With the exception of the clothes you wear, nothing is more telling of your style than the couch in your home. A couch usually takes center stage in a room and is the first piece of décor people notice when they enter. They’re checking out its shape, color, fabric and pattern, and they’re also judging if it’s something they would like to plunk down on. So with that in mind, it only makes sense that you would want to adorn your apartment with the coolest couch, love seat, divan, chaise or lofabed out there. The Styleture editorial team, in our eternal pursuit of the perfect couch, offers you our picks:
Songololo by Haldane Martin
Songololo by Haldane Martin
Haldane Martin creates contemporary furniture that integrates, man, nature, culture and technology, with the human qualities of wisdom, love, and beauty. The Songololo Sofa is inspired by nature’s creepy crawlies. Its curvy sensual form is a reinvention of the classic 70’s sectional sofa by Ueli Berger. A patented pivot & bracket system allows Songololo to be made to any length and curved into a variety of shapes by the user. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Cool Couches, Furniture, Sofas
December 23rd, 2011
The Styleture editorial team has made no secret of our love affair with lighting design. We’re always keeping an eye out for new trends and products to tickle our fancy. When it comes to lighting design for 2012, the theme is undoubtedly bigger, better and brighter technologies, not to mention a shift towards softer and warmer design elements. Here are several trends and products that will shine bright in the New Year:
1. It’s a LED, LED, LED World
Disc by CSL (Creative Systems Lighting)
There is no escaping it – LEDs are the lighting buzz word for 2012. Since LEDs are so compact, lighting manufacturers are no longer limited to the same old forms for decorative fixtures. They can now design and fabricate fixtures in new shapes, sizes and configurations that they couldn’t do before with incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs. Best examples? Stiletto by Corbett Lighting and Disc by CSL® (Creative Systems Lighting).
Stiletto by Corbett Lighting
Read the rest of this entry »
