Drop by the Strong Sports Gym at the Kim Sing Theatre for conditioning training every Tues/Thurs 7:30am.

While many Americans associate Spain with sunny vacations, paella and Gaudi, a recent resurgence of young designers are shifting their countries focus away from tourist haven towards a design mecca. Leading the pack with their eclectically playful designs is furniture company RS Barcelona. Already a Spanish sensation with products like their Sake Pouffe stools, Fields sofa and Sunset bookcase, RS has exported a taste of their whit and whimsy to the United States with a select line of products. Currently stocked in the States are such items such as the Eiffel Stools. Originally a pure pulp and recycled paper stool that are remarkable for its durability, flexibility, lightness, the Eiffels have recently been introduced in additional colors and finishes to match any room. Also ready to ship for the holidays is the new RS#3 foosball table, a lighter more cost effective version of the popular RS#2. Need a quick and quirkily last minute gift? RS Barcelona has you covered with their Wall Champions Coat Racks, a decorative item which is also useful, with a sporting, friendly spirit. Be sure to contact agents Ford&Ching to get ahold of the sundry selection of works by La ciudad condal’s young creatives.

Brandon Williams is an accomplished metal artist based out of Phoenix, Arizona but his journey as an artist traces back to the north side of Chicago where his love of metalworking was born. After attending a welding class, Brandon was left exhilarated and inspired. “I had been making small interior home accessories for 6 years and had just lost my passion as an artist. So while the business was successful, it became a never ending, mindless repetition.”

With this passion for metalwork, Brandon took a rundown warehouse space in Wicker Park, Chicago and founded a steel studio. Here, Brandon was able to hone his craft and turn concepts into objects. Not only was this home to the creation of his art, but he graciously shared the space with other steel artists, creating somewhat of a steel artist community. Being able to cultivate relationships with fellow metal artists turned out to be a critical step in the birth of Modfire. Current partner Marty Young and Modfire’s current West Coast Sales Director David Dorn Weesner were amongst the community of steel artists in Brandon’s studio.

David and Marty grew up together in a small town in Indiana where both fathers were contractors. They spent their early childhoods picking up nails, filling drywall cracks and eventually building houses.

Referencing these past experiences, their earlier company, Stēl Objekt, developed. That early company focused on custom, upscale, one-of-a-kind installations for restaurants, businesses, and residential loft spaces in North Chicago. Most of these early projects involved Brandon spending time in the individual spaces and designing objects that complemented the architecture and lifestyle. It was an excellent lesson in melding the softness of space and light to balance the heaviness of the steel.

After one too many cold winters in the unheated Chicago studio, warmer weather enticed Brandon’s move to Arizona, Marty to Florida, and David to Los Angeles.

For Brandon, the change of scenery inspired a change in design aesthetic. Industrial lofts were replaced by 50s ranch houses. Stark spaces with bold accents were replaced by the smooth organic shapes of mid-century modern. And the Stel Objekt designs adapted, became more subtle, more nuanced.

In this desert landscape, the concept of Modfire was born. But to take Modfire from concept to operating business, Brandon made calls out to Marty Young and David Dorn Weesner to help put the pieces together. Two months after making those calls, Modfire LLC was born.

The road that Brandon traveled as an artist to arrive where he is today was not an easy one. In many ways it parallels his outlook toward his craft:

“Simply put, it’s difficult work, but this is what we do to make beautiful, compelling pieces…Weld, grind, sweat, repeat, I realize metalwork isn’t for everyone, but I couldn’t imagine doing anything else and my clients are thrilled with the end result.”

Brandon on his artistic process:

“I have a soft spot for beautiful things. I love order. Clean lines and great design compel me. I create with a minimalist perspective that has been shaped by years of distillation. The most useful lesson of my life was learning how to simplify. My execution, however, is always the opposite: thunderous, messy and highly charged. A cacophony of sounds and implements of creation being put to hard use. The howl of a grinder and sparks of steel start to fly. Talk about satisfying… It‘s that strange juxtaposition I find so interesting in what I do as an artist.”

“At the drawing table I’m a designer with great ideas and grand concepts that speak to me and fulfill my need to bring beauty onto this earth. But, when I’m in the shop, I’m a craftsman with metal in every pore of my being and the guy who regularly gets mistaken for homeless and offered change or a hot meal (true story).”

While fashion may have been the primary focus of the 722 showroom’s Fall 2011 Launch Party, Foosball wasn’t very far behind. Check out the video courtesy of The Video Mouse to see the RS#2 in action! See what else happened here!

More Foosball anyone? After introducing the stylish RS#2 to design savvy consumers a few years ago and the first all-female Foosball table Ella late this year, the designer at RS Barcelona were left with a challenge; how do you modify an already successful design to suite everyone else? The answer is the new RS#3.

“Every time we looked at the RS#2 we thought everyone should be able to enjoy a football table like this,” explains table designer Rafael Rodriguez. The whole RS Barcelona team then got involved in this new project: converting the RS#2 into a football table for a wider audience. In the offices they began to shape their formative ideas into drawings. The drawings were then taken to the workshop where they began to work with new thicknesses of metal and different finishes followed by stress tests, hammering, bending and welding. All of the teams’ efforts and labor were rewarded with an all-terrain, lighter, more colorful and more economical foosball table.

The RS#3 makes it easy to play anywhere. The RS#3 is perfect for both interior and exterior, giving both the recluse and the outdoors lover the chance to up their game. The RS#3 shrugs off inclement weather and the passing of time. Not sure which room gives you the best playing chi? At 20 kilos lighter, the RS#3 can be moved from room to room with ease. In addition to its diet, the RS#3 redesign of its lines and structure has made it more manageable to transport. Weighing in at 69 kilos (152 pounds for you imperialists) the RS#3 is the champion of the lightweight division so you can keep the shots coming with all the passion and strength you can get from your wrists.

With all the modifications and the weight loss plan, the RS#3 comes to you with a smaller price tag than its cousin, making it the ideal stocking stuffer. The RS#3 is available and ready to ship for the holidays through A+R in Venice, the Conran Shop and by contacting agents Ford&Ching.

“I do not design to fulfill a practical function. I design to communicate, to tell a story, to relate what I find in the mountains and wilderness and what it is to be human” explains lighting and furniture designer David Trubridge. At first glance, any one of Trubridge’s perennially highly stylized designs evoke the beautiful complexities of nature; giving merit to  his claim. It is only when you understand the creative and manufacturing process each pieces undergoes do you fully become aware of his intentions.  While many designers regard the issue of sustainability as an afterthought, Trubridge believes it to be of paramount importance and makes sure his company abides by his environmentally honest code of ethics.

""My ideas come from wild places, edges of turbulence and renewal, where seas break on beaches and headlands, where land and air meet on mountain ridges."

David Trubridge graduated from Newcastle University in Northern England in 1972 with a degree in Naval Architecture. He then spent the better part of a decade in Northumberland where he taught himself furniture making while working part-time as a forester on a private estate. It was during this time that Trubridge ameliorated his own designs which later exhibited around Britain. The nation took notice and many commissions followed, most notably from the Victoria and Albert Museum, St Mary’s Cathedral Edinburgh and the Shipley Gallery Newcastle. While the commissions greatly aided his career as a designer, Trubridge’s next move would transform him as an individual and shape his philosophy indefinitely.

"I am not interested in trends or fashion. That will turn you into a follower. I try to find my own heart and to have the confidence to speak from it, with integrity and in my own voice. "

In 1981 Trubridge, along with his wife and two children sold everything they had and bought a yacht which they named ‘Hornpipe’. The family then set out on an open ended adventure around the world. For five years they sailed through the Caribbean and Pacific, stopping to work for a while in the Virgin Islands and Tahiti, making furniture for expatriates on Tortola and Moorea.

They arrived in New Zealand in late 1985 basing themselves in the Bay of Islands from where they continued to sail on ‘Hornpipe’. The families Pacific travels proved a preeminent source of inspiration for Trubridge, resulting in a series of chairs made like outrigger canoes: light flexible structures fastened with string lashings held graceful canoe forms as seats. The Canoe Chair is now in the entrance foyer of the New Zealand embassy in Tokyo.

As the years passed by, the realities of parenthood loomed and ‘Hornpipe’ was sold in order to provide the children with high school education. The family moved to Hawkes where Trubridge became an Artist-in-Residence at Hawkes Bay Polytechnic (now EIT). While here, Trubridge developed a series of works derived from the East Coast landscape and its fractured friable rocks. This along with the family home which Trubridge had designed gained the designer further architectural commissions and local notoriety.

"I do not want to produce the equivalent of a superficial pop song that may be the rage today but is forgotten tomorrow – it is my dream to create something like Bach's music that is not just remembered but can still be inspiring hundreds of years later."

Trubridge became a regular in the local design community, frequently participating in design competitions. Taking inspiration from their much loved boat, the colorful Hornpipe Bench was made for a national Design competition using Radiata Pine, which it won as well along with a number of other awards. The bench went on to exhibit in Hannover at ‘Ligna’ and London, and was included in the International Design Yearbook. While the international accolades were significantly advantageous to Trubridge’s career, the greatest part of the whole experience was the prize. For winning the design competition Trubridge was sent to Japan, where he combined a short residency at Kyoto College of Art.

Trubridge, now adjusted to life on terra firma, began immersing himself in projects including a series of figurative works that retained expressive tool-marks from the making process and also incorporated wood block prints. What is noteworthy about this project is that it was funded by Creative New Zealand (Arts Council) grant, further cementing Trubridge as a New Zealand designer.

In 1999 David curated a national exhibition called Furniture in Context for the Hawkes Bay Cultural Trust, which later travelled to the Dowse Art Museum. For it he made the first Body Raft 98 designs, which were exhibited with blue-prints of yacht designs. The second version of the Body Raft was shown at Salone Satellite in the 2001 Milan Furniture Fair, where it was picked up for manufacture by Cappellini. This drastically affected Trubridge’s fortunes, life style and business model. His role had developed from that of a local designer/maker to an internationally known designer running his own design and manufacturing business with sales all over the world.

"Art, craft and design: all are equally important parts of the whole creative process. All the way though this process we try to be as caring and sensitive to the environment as possible, and to pass on that sense of care within the object."

While Trubridge still has his studio in the garden of his home, the work with Cappellini allowed him to also have a larger workshop nearby at Cicada, where much of his work is produced. Trubridge uses the facility as his own manufacturing workshop and as an incubator for design graduates. The works designed and manufactured from this facility have been featured countless times in publications and exhibited around the world.

In the last few years Trubridge has exhibited at 100% Design in London, nine times at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, and four times at ICFF in New York. His ‘Body Raft’ design is currently being manufactured by Cappellini, and was voted ‘an iconic New Zealand design’ by Urbis readers. His design ‘Raft’ was the only piece of furniture in the finals of the Japan Design Foundation’s International Competition 2001, and was also selected for the International Design Yearbook (IDYB). Snowflake light won a Silver Leaf at ISDA Japan. He has been selected for five IDYB entries. In addition to these Trubridge’s work has been exhibited in the Pompidou Centre, Paris and at important design shows in Zurich, Gwangju (Korea), Taipei, Singapore, Sydney, Dubai. It has been used in shops as part of displays supporting fashion designers Kate Moss in London’s Top Shop, and Stella McCartney in Printemps Paris, and on the catwalk in Milan fashion week. It can be seen in luxury resorts around the world in such places as the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Fiji. And it is used in bars, restaurants, airports, and company foyers everywhere, even the Swedish Stock Exchange.

With prolific exhibiting came a myriad of press. Over recent years Trubridge’s designs have been featured innumerable times in publications around the world, from Portugal to Lithuania, Ireland to Taiwan, Iceland to Ukraine, including the influential Italian magazines Abitare, ddn and Interni, plus Time, Wallpaper, I D magazine, and even the Financial Times. His work and writing have appeared in a number of design books and his designs have featured on the cover of two eco-design books.  For two years in a row Abitare picked out one of his designs for their preview of the best things to see in the Milan Furniture Fair. In 2006 the French editors of Elle Décor magazine judged his lighting to be the best of the year. And in 2008 another French magazine Express listed him as one of the top 15 designers in the world. In various recent European articles his work has been identified as internationally trendsetting in a new form of “raw sophistication”.

"I do believe that we need great works of art as they extend what it means to be human. Art is so important: it is constantly questioning, pushing our boundaries of perception and experience -- probing for that edge, its friction keeping alive the spark of life."

Also an accomplished speaker Trubridge has presented at conferences in Auckland (NZ), Sydney, Adelaide and Perth (Australia), Mexico City, San Francisco, Edinburgh (UK), Dongguan (China) and regularly gives public lectures all around the world. He has run four Vitra Design Museum summer design classes in France and worked with design students in Iceland on a project to do with whaling. He was the international judge at the 2006 Queensland Design Awards.

With such a distinguished career, it is no wonder that in September 2006 Trubridge was the ‘Wornick Distinguished Visiting Professor’ at California College of the Arts in San Francisco for 2 months. His artwork ‘On Thin Ice’ has been shown at the Natural World Museum/UN exhibition on global warming in Oslo/Brussels/Monaco/Chicago in 2007/8 where it won the award for the best sculpture. In 2007 he was given NZ’s highest design award, the John Britten Award, by the Designer’s Institute on NZ for his contribution to NZ design, which came on top of many New Zealand design awards. While many designers would capitalize on their achievements by any means necessary, Trubridge is adamant in maintaining a sustainable operation.

In all management, design and manufacturing operations, Trubridge works to minimize his impact on the environment, people and future generations, leaving a delicate footprint at all times. In order to achieve this everything Trubridge produces is made to the highest possible standards of craftsmanship and materials, designed to last a maximum lifespan with no regard to ephemeral fashion, and to be finally easily recycled (preferably by David Trubridge Designs ) or safely disposed of. Further, all timber used is from sustainably managed plantations either in Australia, NZ or USA  meaning no rainforest timber will even be found in any of Trubridge’s designs. Other sustainable practices include: use of organic non-toxic natural oils with no harmful solvents, all waste from the factory is sorted and sent to separate recycling facilities, designs are packed flat and kitset for easy and low energy freighting and among many more, nearly 70% of the electricity used is renewable hydro-electric.

“I would like to find a way to bring cultural nourishment into people’s lives without using up precious resources and energy” explains Trubridge when speaking on his designs and their production. “We have far too much ‘stuff’ in our homes, which is little more than junk food designed to leave us only craving more. How can we create real and lasting nourishment without the clutter of useless objects that waste precious resources and damage the environment?! Design that does not address this issue is, I believe, both irresponsible and irrelevant.”

The Land Shark Bicycle company story reads like a biography of its founder, John Slawta. A Los Angeles native, Slawta had early ambitions to become an artist. While he did receive a degree from the Pasadena School of Art and Design, Slawta soon became preoccupied by hobby of bicycle building. Although an artist’s studio would have been ideal for the graduate, Slawta’s parent’s toolshed had to make due. The operation may have seemed extremely amateurish however the final product was anything but. His frames attracted a cult following among cyclists who admired his precisely brazed frame joints and exotic paint jobs. The only thing left at this point was a name.

Why Land Shark you may ask? If you have heard that term before but do not remember where it is from, you have think far back to 1975 in which SNL debuted Chevy Chase’s Jaws parody, the Land Shark (which is still You Tube-able if you do not get the cultural reference). Even with a funny name, Slawta’s products were far from a joke.

A pivotal year for the company came in 1986 when Slawta was asked to build several frames for a group of professional riders, including Andy Hampsten, Roy Knickman and Steve Hegg. Up for the challenge Slawta went on to build some of the most sought after frames of the year.

1988 was the year that cemented Slawta and Land Shark’s reputation in the industry. Andy Hampsten, riding one of Slawta’s Land Sharks went on to win the Giro d’Italia. To say thank you, Hampsten’s bike hangs on the wall in Slawta’s Land Shark fabrication shop with the message “Thanks for the bitchin’ bike.”

Word soon spread to everyone from professionals to weekend warriors about Slawta’s award winning frames. Clients now include actors Harrison Ford, Woody Harrelson, Michael Nouri, Olympic volleyball great Karch Kiraly, ex-Laker Billy Thompson, former SF 49er Dwight Clark, along with hundreds of cyclist enthusiasts.

With larger demand came the need for a much larger studio. Slawta soon packed up his Los Angeles shop and settled in Medford, OR back in 1991. What didn’t change with the company expansion was Slawta’s input on every frame. Many are surprised to find that Land Shark is something like an army of one. “They ask me if I’ll tell the painter how to paint it,” chuckles Slawta, “and I tell them that I’m the painter, too.” Riders appreciate being able to talk directly to the man who’s building their dream machine. “You tell him what you’re looking for,” says Land Shark owner Glen Gann, “and he knows what to do.”

What makes a Land Shark So unique you ask? Slawta mastered the art of tube-to-tube carbon construction, which is widely considered to be the best (also one of the most labor-intensive) methods of building a super-light, durable carbon frame. Along with patience, the process requires hand-mitering a custom, aerospace grade composite tubeset and bonding them together. Not light work by any stretch of the imagination. Further, each tube intersection is then painstakingly hand-wrapped with carbon. Finally, a carefully crafted process is applied to achieve the optimal carbon-to-resin ratio. What results are liquid-smooth tube joints that are incredibly strong, all weighing around 2 pounds.

As if this was not enough to spate a Land Shark Bicycle from its competitors, each frame is then given the highest level of finishing detail and custom paint, giving it the same iconic look that brought John Slawta and Land Shark notoriety back in 1986.

Last week, Ford & Ching and RS Barcelona hosted a Foosball Tournament in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the first-ever female foosball figure, “Ella.” All proceeds from the event went to the Keep A Breast Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to breast cancer prevention, early detection, and support.

Sixteen teams (many in matching outfits) competed for the coveted title of Foosball Champion, and only one – Team Farm Tactics – went home with bragging rights and prizes provided by RS Barcelona. Despite the intense competition and sore wrists, all guests in attendance had an AMAZING time.

If you missed out, check out photos from the event after the jump!

Team TWIN $I$TAZ, aka Meredith Hewson & Chelsea Miltimore

Open Bar Reception

Ford & Brady vs. Derelicte Showroom

Former 722 staffer, Karli Knott (far right), and friends

Keep A Breast swag

Raffle Tickets!

Game on! RS Barcelona’s foosball table is ready for action.

Our PR Director, Samantha Dueñas, manning the doors

Team 722 FIGUEROA, aka Richie Soto & Geoff Nishimoto (aka Soto & Moto)

Team Derelicte in action

FordBrady advances to the finals (taken with Richie Soto’s camera)!

Kyle Ng (Farm Tactics), Andrea Ching (Ford & Ching), Willard Ford (Ford & Ching/FordBrady), and John Brady (FordBrady)

Final Round: Farm Tactics (1st place) vs. FordBrady (2nd Place).

Farm Tactics shows off their team uniforms: WWF jackets and Hammer Pants!

How foosball champions are made.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.

RS Barcelona’s foosball table featuring Ella…

…the world’s first female foosball figure!

Ella shows off her athletic prowess.

It’s Breast Cancer Awareness month; of course the table is pink!

Bend it…like Ella!

Intense concentration (Team Derelicte).

One of the girls of TWIN $I$TAZ shows off her team spirit!

Game on: TWIN $I$TAZ vs. Farm Tactics

Getting warmed up.

Showroom Showdown: FordBrady vs. Derelicte

Good sports: Farm Tactics and Willard Ford (center) have some congratulatory beers.

Make sure to check back with 722 Figueroa and Ford & Ching, as there may be another foosball tournament in the works for October 2012. Will Farm Tactics defend their title? Will 2nd place team, FordBrady, go for the gold? Or will another team rise up from the ranks? Only time will tell…

This Friday marked yet another installment of the monthly creative lecture series Creative Mornings. Never heard of it? Creative Mornings is a monthly morning gathering of creative types. Each event includes a 20 minute lecture, followed by a 20 minute group discussion. The gathering begins at 8:30am with the topic presentation starting at 9:00am and everyone taking off for work at 10am, proving that inspiration can strike even in the early morning. Normally hosted in the Kim Sing Theater, this month’s installment was relocated to the Herman Miller Showroom in Culver City. As the masses entered the awe inspiring facility, they were greeted with a stunning array of mini muffins, mini bagels, orange juice, coffee and boxed water, all courtesy of Herman Miller and Boxed Water Is Better.  As everyone’s blood sugar and attention peaked, Creative Mornings Los Angeles chapter leader Jon Setzen introduced this month’s speaker, David Lai.

David Lai is the co-founder and Creative Director of Los Angeles-based agency Hello. Lai co-founded Hello with the simple goal to create quality work for diverse clients. After viewing a brief overview video of Hello’s past projects, it was clear that Lai had achieved his goal. With major clients such as Sony, USA Network, Herman Miller, MoMA, Toyota, and TaylorMade Golf, the Hello team have constantly pushed industry expectations and in doing so, ushered in a new era of company web presence.

Lai then explained how his company looks at the industry in a different way than most. Being around for 13 years (which is about 100 years in web years jokes Lai) Hello has been able to carve a niche in the industry as a company that works relentlessly to achieve a unique and personal web experience for their clients. To highlight this point, Lai gave a brief overview of one of their favorite clients, the Tillamook Cheese Company.

“I always make sure that I visit the factory or showroom of a client” explains Lai. He then moves to a slide picturing him beside a cow in the middle of a field and humorously adds “this was Tillamook’s office.”  He then went on to explain the thought process behind Tillamook’s recipes section. “Most big food companies like Kraft have hundreds of horrible recipes on their website that really devalue the product. For Tillamook, I wanted to find great chefs that already used Tillamook, so it would be as authentic as possible.”  If you scroll past some of the recipes on the site, you will see they are from celebrated chefs such as Dave Danhi, Heidi Gibson and Nick Wood. Further, Hello took Tillamook into a realm that typically excluded cheese, social media. “You have to change with the times, no matter what the product” explains Lai as he demonstrates the Tillamook Grilled Cheese Facebook app which allows users to submit a photo and watch it be “grilled” into a cheese sandwich.  Lai continues to explain how Hello’s out of the box web solutions have helped them get ahead in the industry. “Act as if you have nothing to lose and you will have the confidence to try new things” explains Lai.

A graduate from Cornell University and Andover, David has won numerous awards and recognition for his work including a Cannes Cyber Lion, Webby, One Show Pencil, and Flash Film Festival Arrows. His designs have also been featured in Communication Arts, I.D., HOW, Print and Graphis, as well as numerous other publications and books. He has taught at the Art Center College of Design and was on the Advisory Board of the AIGA Los Angeles. With over 15 years of experience, David provides strategic and creative leadership for the agency. Prior to Hello, David worked at award-winning interactive agencies, Studio Archetype and cow.

Before everyone could fully settle into their Eames lounge and Setu chairs, it was 10 am and everyone was out to tackle yet another work day.

Laguna Beach based lighting company Cerno is renowned for innovative lighting designs that are sophisticated and stylized. Designers Nick Sheridan, Bret Englander and Dan Wacholder may create exceptional lighting pieces but they still make time to surf and support their local taco truck.

“Cerno’s roots started growing when we were really young. Whether we were on the beach or at each other’s house, we were always starting the next project “explains Englander in a recent interview. The projects the team undertook were significantly varied including everything from making sailboats, to a huge palapa at their favorite beach, and even restoring an RV which they drove up to Canada, a far cry from Cerno’s current line up.

The missing link in this saga was the custom residential architecture firm Sheridan and his cousin began prior to Cerno. The firm was known locally for designed several exquisite modern homes in Southern California. Wacholder helped expand the boutique manufacturing firm from a small garage into respectable company with an international presence while Sheridan worked in land acquisition and marketing for several of the nations’ largest Home Builders. The operation proved successful until it gave way to the next big project in December 2008.

One December morning, the team woke up early and was on a mission to find some waves, but the ocean had something different in mind for them. After driving for several miles along Pacific Coast Highway the ocean was uncooperative and didn’t yield any surf. The three ended up sitting on the beach brain storming about how they were going to manifest their childhood dreams of working together into a viable business. It was a pivotal conversation that would quickly materialize into Cerno. After about 9 months of working nights and weekends the 3 left their previous jobs and started working full time just down the street from where their original drawings and prototypes were conceived. Nearly 3 years later the three are still motivated by the same passion for design that originally ignited the fire and desire to form Cerno. “We design what we want to see built and enjoy almost every moment of it” jokes Englander.

The team is comprised of fervent designers whom work relentlessly to materialize their concepts of good design. “Lots of thought just imagining different concepts, plenty of hand sketching, and tons of computer drawing and modeling is the normal routine” explains Sheridan. At any time there are a multitude of designs all with different iterations explored. As for inspiration often a specific need and a particular LED light source informs the design from the outset. A big point of inspiration is the desire to push the limits of the latest LEDs technology. The team then builds 1-5 prototypes in the shop as it gives them an opportunity to learn from the fabrication, and assembly that often leads to tweaks to the design. Final drawings are then created, and some are sent to their machining fabricator and the laser cutter. As for the rest, Cerno fabricates the remainder within their facility (wood parts, metal tube parts, concrete parts, etc.)

Cerno Start To Finish from Cerno on Vimeo.

Cerno’s lights have become an international success, attracting a global audience when they frequent trade shows such as Dwell on Design, ICFF and NYIGF. As the company pushes ahead and diversifies their line, the team are hoping they can squeeze in “a couple days at the beach as well.”

abc home&carpet serves to manifest a shift in the paradigm of retail, composing a revolutionary platform for offering cause related product through beauty, experience and magic. By giving their customers the ability to use their dollars, their values, and their individual self-expression as a way of voting to create a new green economy for a healthy planet and people, abc has created a truly unique shopping experience.

A daily practice at abc is to see a home as a mirror. The space they create around themselves reflects their personal vision, and when it is realized, it mirrors back a sense of wholeness and refuge. abc’s inspiration is for an integrative design of modern, timeless, cultural and spiritual elements that reflect balance and healing.

Back in 2003, abc began a transition to being a mission-driven socially responsible business. abc home & planet was developed to express a passionate commitment to offer choice at the cutting edge of design and beauty that, in its essence, is healthy and pure for you, your home, and our collective home.

Adamant to align their business practices with ecological responsibility, abc aim to source companies who share the same outlook, such as new Zealand designer David Trubridge.

abc forms a portal into collective creativity, integrating healing, education, sanctuary, theater, art, and interconnectivity to create the experience of a three-dimensional living magazine and interactive museum. abc aspires to manifest a universal exchange where spirit, sustainability, culture, currency and creation coexist; a holistic sensory experience to inform and inspire participation. Through the expression of passion with beauty as a tool, abc present commerce as a vehicle for insight and for action in the aid of creating a better world.

To commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Ford & Ching and RS-Barcelona are proud to host a one-of-a-kind foosball tournament and cocktail reception featuring “Ella,” the world’s first female foosball figure. All proceeds benefit Keep A Breast Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to breast cancer prevention, early detection, and support. Doors open early evening on October 6th as 16 teams compete for a chance to win special prizes provided by RS-Barcelona. An open bar will provide ample lubrication for the athletes and onlookers. The tournament consists of two-person teams drawn from the creative community. No experience necessary and 100 percent of the $100 team registration fee goes to a great cause. For more information, visit Keep A Breast Foundation and RS-Barcelona.

Having showcased their new line, Electrocentricity at this year’s Maison&Objet, Thailand based furniture and lighting company Ango have been attracting international attention. Before you book a flight to Paris to purchase one of designer and founder Angus Hutcheson’s dichotomic designs that are an extraordinary juxtaposition of nature and technology; just remember that they are available considerably closer to home.

Ango designs are available for view and purchase through Therien’s Los Angeles and San Francisco showrooms, or by contacting agents Ford&Ching. This

Lighting and furniture designer Brendan Ravenhill’s story is so far removed from convention that it reads somewhat like a novel. It began normally enough on the coasts of Maine where Ravenhill recalls his first creation: a raft. “I grew up always spending time by the water in Maine and in Cote D’Ivoire” recalls Ravenhill , “as far back as I remember I was always working on a craft of some sort.” After building his first boat from a set of plans, Ravenhill instantly realized the inherent power construction drawing. “Recreating a complex and curved hull from a couple of sheets of paper made me realize that I wanted the ability to convey three-dimensional forms to others.”  He then went on to receive a Sculpture degree from Oberlin College in 2001 and graduated from the masters program in Industrial Design at RISD in 2009. This is where the story begins to sway.

A few years ago, Ravenhill was coerced by his wife to participate in something she’d created on the site ETSY (an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies) called Mail Order Pals. “It was basically a pen pal for purchase,” Ravenhill explained to the online publication Sight Unseen. “People could buy you in order to receive a letter or a surprise package in the mail.” After someone “bought” Ravenhill, he went to the hardware store and whipped up an elegantly simple wooden swing-arm lamp overnight.

Upon seeing his creation, the designer’s wife convinced him it was just too nice to send. The pen pal ended up getting a wire sculpture of a penguin, and the couple began living with the lamp. In the months that followed, Ravenhill became obsessed with the design, refining and tweaking it in his head to the point that by the time he was approached to create a piece to show with the American Design Club at a trade fair in New York, he was able to fashion a prototype in a week’s time. The final lamp — composed primarily of porcelain, cast aluminum, a cloth cord, and a bare bulb — packs and ships flat and sells for less than $200 at places like The Future Perfect, cementing the young designer’s status as a rising talent to watch.

In addition to gaining him notoriety within the design community, the Cord Lamp bestowed upon Ravenhill the fundamentals to getting a design into production. “I made the first ones myself in cast plastic with this ridiculous two-part mold that had an incredibly high failure rate,” Ravenhill recalls. “I would wire the whole lamp and pour hot plastic over it. Sometimes the lamps would have air bubbles; sometimes plastic would go into the sockets and you’d have to dig it out with an X-Acto knife.” As the lamp began receiving more orders, Ravenhill eventually realized that this could no longer operate as an one man operation and began sourcing manufacturers who would ultimately save the designer hours and hours of wiring. Within a couple of days, Ravenhill had a caster in downtown Los Angeles, a porcelain guy in South Central, an electrician, and a powder-coater across town. All of Ravenhills subsequent designs now follow the multi-manufacture approach. “I rarely go into a project without three or four factory tours. Like right now, I’m working on a cast-aluminum piece and I’m constantly bringing things in to the guy going, ‘How was this built?’” No matter how many people end up manufacturing any one of Ravenhill’s designs, they must all first go through his meticulous scrutiny to achieve his iconic style.

“Utilitarian objects and buildings, particularly tools, wooden boats, and barns,” explains Ravenhill. “In my designs, I seek to find that beautiful balancing point where manufacturing methods, material properties, and economy are all equally considered.” A prime example of this is Ravenhill’s use of Edison bulbs for his lights. While they may not be as efficient as the smugly popular compact florescent bulbs, Ravenhill favors Edison bulbs for their beauty and unparalleled illumination; the crucial finishing touch to his works. While Ford&Ching will focus on finding dealers and distributors for Ravenhill’s lighting, it isn’t to say he is a one trick pony.

In addition to lighting design, Ravenhill is also a renowned furniture designer with commission works showcasing from coast to coast. Ravenhill has designed furniture for the Los Angeles restaurant Osteria La Buca. “Before I could even think about any formal considerations for the La Buca chair, I had to think about a material. It was for a restaurant that was going to order 80 of them, but they wouldn’t order anything if the chair wasn’t competitive with other restaurant seating.” The venture proved successful as Ravenhill was recently commissioned to create new versions of both the stools above and the La Buca chairs for a new outpost of an Italian restaurant in New York.

Lighting designs by Brendan Ravenhill available for purchase and viewing at The Future Perfect or by contacting agents Ford&Ching.

posted by Intern on September 19th, 2011 in Featured Items,Uncategorized

Showcasing at this year’s MAISON&OBJECT is Electrocentricity, a new lighting series by Thailand based furniture and lighting company Ango. While not much is known about the new series, Electrocentricity will undoubtedly adhere to designer and founder Angus Hutcheson’s dichotomic approach to design; often described as an extraordinary juxtaposition of nature and technology.

Hutcheson’s path to design was neither clear nor predicable. By the age of 11 Hutcheson’s interest in architecture was leading him towards a future in field; however a recent expulsion from school led many of his career advisors to believe refuse collection would better suite his “radical independent thinking.” Luckily, it was the same free thinking, along with several “rather naïve drawings” that won over the admissions panel at the Architectural Association in London, where he would eventually receive his AA.

Under the then chairman Alvin Boyarsky, Hutcheson gained indispensable knowledge about architecture, design and the creative process as a whole.  Recalling the experience, Hutcheson admits that “in terms of reaching my full potential” the education he recced under Boyarsky was “unparalleled” and truly a “privilege.” Victim to the too much of a good thing idiom, Hutcheson soon realized that the quixotic parameters of a class room did not translate into the working world.  He soon found out that he “wasn’t so good at balancing all the constraints and compromises involved in the process of architecture.”

Hutcheson’s artistic interests began to wane from architecture and were re-invested into furniture and lighting design. Unlike architecture, the new medians allowed Hutcheson to “set his own agendas” and realize them in a much shorter turnaround time. Hutcheson’s creative ambitions were realized in 2003 when he launched his furniture and lighting company ANGO.

Ango’s designs are nearly all lighting and describe a kind of allegory about nature and technology — a vision of an electric arcadia created with light. Their fusion pieces have already been showcased in the United States, Paris and Milan with accolades at every stop. And while the ascetics alone merit approbation, their choice of material is the real distinguishing element in Ango’s designs.

“There is always a focus on innovation with new materials and processes” admits Hutcheson.  “Using these principles to create new light fantasies” is what Ango does best. Hutcheson and his team are always searching for a “magic combination” of light diffusion and form in their designs. Making the list are materials such as Mulberry tree bark, Silicone rubber and silk cocoons.  Recently, Ango has launched a light diffuser formed from an exciting new polymer, developed by Ango, that is totally derived from sea kelp. The project has proven so successful that Ango has acquired a piece of land where they actually grow some of the materials that are used in their creations. Always looking forward, Hutcheson also plans to create studios where visiting designers and artists can work developing new ideas, nurturing young design talent.

Ango designs are available for view and purchase through Therien’s Los Angeles and San Francisco showrooms, or by contacting agents Ford&Ching.

The Eiffel is truly intercontinental.  The stool was inspired by Paris, designed in Tokyo by Shigeki Fujishiro, and manufactured in Barcelona. It will support a full grown man, but has the uncanny ability to make every male insist that it will break under his weight.

Mainlining its inherent whit and whimsy, the Eiffel arrives at your home in a pizza box and cloth bag.  It is surprisingly easy to assemble unlike some other DIY furniture you may have purchased in your 20s. What’s best of all is that RS Barcelona gives you choice. Debuted at this year’s ICFF, the Eiffel now sports and indoor or outdoor suitable Chrome, Anodized and Painted White finishes.

Maintaining their beloved stack-ability, the new aluminum models complement the Eiffel’s classic black finish which is made entirely of pulp and recycled paper, making it Euro Trash, in the best kind of way. Still not enough options? Custom finishes are now also available for larger projects. Also the price tag will leave you with a big smile on your face, maybe now you can purchase that foosball table you’ve been eyeing.

“Creativity is not something with its source in the mind; it’s a gut feeling”- RS Barcelona designer, Rafael Rodríguez.

Located on the sunny palm tree laden Abbot Kinney Blvd in Venice California is home décor store A+R. British ex-pat and former film editor/self-avowed design junkie Andy Griffith (the A in the name) along with pop culture and style journalist Rose Apodaca (the R if you hadn’t guessed it already) founded the store late in 2005.

Originally located in tiny shop in the heart of the Los Angeles creative enclave known as Silver Lake, A+R were keen on sharing their excitement for great new design with anyone who would listen. Apparently they attracted quite an audience as the two followed their success up with an online store a year later. As if things weren’t going well enough, Andy and Rose moved to their current location in Venice California in fall of 2007.

The A+R approach is somewhat different to many retails. Andy and Rose obsessively seek out the newest products, aiming to offer them first, essentially cherry picking the best from the best manufacturers. Further, the two don’t settle for product simply available through domestic distributors. “Challenges be damned”, they joke when talking about how they import from anywhere in the world. “We never sell anything we haven’t personally handled. We love everything we sell.” Andy and Rose have bestowed their reach of love to designs by Urbancase, Tanya Aguiniga, David Trubridge Design & RS Barcelona.

If it isn’t already glaringly obvious, Andy and Rose are vehement design fanatics.  The two love talking about the designers they find locally and from afar, because it only goes to show that this brilliant and bold community is not so much distinguished by geographic or cultural boundaries but bound by the pursuit of aesthetics and innovative ideas.

Simplified A+R is Global design. Edited.

“We hope you find things you’ve been looking for all your lives, and stuff you didn’t know you needed. And, whether you’re a designer or enthusiast like us, if you come across anything you believe fits our world, please let us know.”

With the rise of mechanization in the design world, traditional crafted object are becoming relics of a relinquished handcrafted past. Despite this, Los Angeles based furniture/jewelry designer Tanya Aguiñiga dedicated herself to designing, hand dyeing, hand sewing, and hand crafting creating furniture that responds to the user’s spatial needs. Such practices result in a playful and organic modernist approach to form.

Tanya’s work is informed by border experiences: the interconnectedness of societies, the beauty in struggle and the celebration of culture. Her understanding of the dynamics of life results from a childhood spent traveling between her country of birth, the United States, and Tijuana, Mexico, the place of her upbringing. She uses furniture as ways to translate emotions into a three dimensional objects and tell stories trough color and touch. Her work encourages users to reconsider the objects they use on a daily basis by creating work that explores an objects’ unseen aspect, such as half chairs that rely on the wall to function and whose image is only complete as its shadow is cast upon the wall.

Tanya has also dedicated much of her time to using art as a vehicle for community empowerment. While studying design at San Diego State University, she began working as an educator at the San Diego Museum of Art and created collaborative installations with the Border Arts Workshop BAW/TAF, a bi-national artists’ group that engages the languages of activism and community-based public art. Through BAW/TAF she helped to build and run a community center in an impoverished area of Tijuana built on trash from the US. For the 6 years she worked there, she focused on bringing national and international attention to the community’s plight through arts only based programs.

After earning an MFA in furniture design from Rhode Island School of Design in 2005, Aguiñiga settled in Los Angeles where she continues to designs and hand makes all of her work. Still focused on her community outreach efforts, Tanya hopes to deepen her commitment to ethical design by working with traditional artisans to connect local craft traditions with a global economy. With such valiant achievements in the design world, international accolades were bound to follow.

Tanya has been an artist in residence at the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts and The Native Art Center in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her work has been exhibited from Mexico City to Milan and she was recently named a United States Artists Target Fellow in the field of Crafts and Traditional Arts. Further, Tanya has been included in major international publications such as Wallpaper magazine, “Pure Design, Objects of Desire” published by Monsa Editions in Spain, and has even made the cover of American Craft magazine.

Tired of casual Fridays? Then maybe it is time you consider Creative Fridays in the form of the monthly morning gathering of creative types known as CreativeMornings. Each event includes a 20 minute lecture, followed by a 20 minute group discussion. The gathering begins at 8:30am with the topic presentation starting at 9:00am and everyone taking off for work at 10am. Best of all CreativeMornings are free of charge!

Hosted in the Kimsing Theater, this month’s lecture series was a balanced dose of glamour and grit as celebrated photographer Brad Swonetz discussed his humble beginnings as a misguided student with a camera and how it lead him to his current position as photographer who has shot for the likes of The New York Times Magazine, Wired UK, L’Uomo Vogue, Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, Zappos, Google, and Verzion.

Swonetz began the lecture with a brief overview of early life; expeditiously told thanks to the coffee and pastries courtesy of Media Temple. Born and raised in Encinitas, California, Swonetz attended the University of California at Santa Barbara where he pursued two of his great passions – surfing and sculpture. It was only until the last quarter did Swonetz fall into the wrong crowd; photographers. Perhaps it was simply peer pressure, but Swonetz began taking photos himself and was instantly hooked. He immediately structured his life to suite his new passion and headed for Los Angeles.

Having arrived on a Friday without any idea of how the industry worked, Swonetz exchanged some small talk with a member at his new gym whom miraculously worked in the industry and further offered him a job that began the upcoming Monday. Looking back on the moment, Swonetz laughed at how inexperienced he actually was not knowing how any of the equipment worked but still managed to secure his job for a major national campaign.

His job assisting had opened up a new world him, literally as he soon traveled the world for several advertising campaigns. It was while on one of the company’s shoots that Swonetz met his wife whom soon assumed the role of his personal agent.

Despite the perks, the job was not idyllic. Swonetz and his wife fell into financial trouble and had to move in with his parents. The experience left Swonetz humbled and taught him to let his artistic guard down and accept jobs he would normally reject.

This was a pivotal revelation for Swonetz as he soon learnt that by accepting more jobs, he was opening doors and making connections that he would have otherwise missed. Further Swonetz was getting some very valuable on the job training which at the time he admits was desperately needed. From that point forward Swonetz has established a portfolio that includes Bill Gates, Steve Martin, Alice Cooper and many more.  As he concluded his lecture, Swonetz bestowed the advice of a man whom had pulled himself out of the metaphoric gutter and emerge as an established professional photographer: “Be as idealistic as you want but don’t go broke”

The KimSing Theater would like to thank Media Temple for sponsoring today’s event, Jon Setzen: The LosAngeles/CreativeMornings chapter leader for organizing the event, everyone that makes up the greater CreativeMornings team and Brad Swonetz for reminding a room full of aspiring design professionals that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Design Commission Gallery is pledged to raising awareness of contemporary design in Seattle and contributing to the artistic conversation in the local, regional, and digital realms. Dedicated to showcasing top designers from around the world,  DCG looks for artists whose projects push the limits of design and creativity and in doing so, give exposure to creators working in all mediums.

It comes as no surprise then that Seattle based Urbancase will be presenting a selection of projects and work that showcases their refined approach to furniture design. Founded by Darin Montgomery in 2002, Urbancase is based on the philosophy of designing objects and spaces that contribute to a simpler, pared back lifestyle focusing on basic aesthetic elements and functionality.

The show begins with an opening reception on September 1st, First Thursday, 4 – 9pm. Click here for more details.

Truthfully, there is no better way to discover whom we really are than by getting out of our comfort zones and seeing how we exist in new surroundings. In laymen’s terms: traveling. Whether it be a leisure or business endeavor, leaving the our cultural, culinary and even linguistic familiarities helps one understand, at least in theory, the dynamic vastness of our planet which in turn bestows an appreciation of what we are fortunate enough to have.

As idyllic as the scenario may seem, there is a pervasive deterrent: us. Often time we romanticize about how any halcyon hideaway with its bucolic charms will miraculously transform us into cultural ambassadors in our own right, bereft of any of the daily trappings which plague us back home. The reality of traveling is that once we arrive, we are instantaneously struck with the realization that we are the exact same people, with the same ailments, dietary restrictions, and phobias, just placed somewhere else on the earth. Further, without any of our time restrictive activities such as school or work to give us a general reference of time, we come to realize just how many hours can fill up a day. This coupled with a limited knowledge of what our destination of choice has to offer in the form of entertainment results in entire days plans finished before 3 o’clock. As dismal it may seem, there is a solution to this conundrum.

In the summer of 2009, a passionate young group of travelers from a hostel in Brooklyn, NY were bound together by a common goal: to communicate the awesomeness of travel to their A.D.D.-ridden peers by creating something cool, fun and relatable that would inspire more young people to “wanna to get their asses out into the world and travel!” Thus, Off Track Planet was born.  Since then, their growing team has published a magazine, website and social community that now reaches over 1 million readers worldwide, quickly becoming a trusted  brand in independent and youth travel resources created for, and by GEN-Y.

Just what can you expect from Off Track Planet? The magazine and site truly run the gamut from the family friendly “The 10 Coolest Castles Around the World” to the raunchy “Sex in Brazil: A Guide to Getting Laid for Girls, Guys and Gays” as well as everything in between.

No matter what kind of traveler you are, Off Track Planet has you covered. With extensive guides to art, sports, nightlife, food amongst other interests, there is no excuse to not getting off your computer and trekking the globe.

Located in the world’s culminating design hub that is New York City is furniture showroom LEPERE. Adroitly reflective of the cities diversity and cognizant of true quality and craftsmanship, founder Dominic Lepere closes the gap between continents with innovative designs from Belgium, France, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain.

A purveyor of excellence, the showroom is exquisitely curated and boasts products by such design laureates as Jean-Marie Massaud, Patricia Urquiola and Piero Lissoni, among others. LEPERE delivers a multiplicity of options merging technology with artisanal craftsmanship, creating an environment for the way we live that is current and timeless.

Contract quality and hearth-worthy, LEPERE offers a selection of versatility and endurance which is ready to permeate through home and garden, institution and public space, recreation and industry. Paramount to this philosophy is Lepere’s personal lifetime affinity with aesthesis along with a sincere appreciation for beauty in all its texture, proportion, utility and ease.  With degrees in both art history and economics, alongside leadership roles at emblematic houses such as Bulthaup, Cassina and Dakota Jackson, Dominic Lepere adds his arsenal to best service his affably urbane clientele. Designs by ABR. and David Trubridge Design, represented by agents Ford&Ching, are available for purchase and viewing at LEPERE.

Select designs from Tanya Aguiniga will be on sale through FAB.com beginning August 10th. Not a FAB.com member yet? Request a membership here!

Sometimes the basic components of a story do not seem to add up to the overall outcome. Picture a scenario in which a history major finds himself at a crossroads in life; then without any prior experience, start a furniture company in the economically devastated North Carolina furniture industry only to arise as one of the top 50 young designers of the Americas (Young Designers: Americas, Daab, 2006) and a revivalist of the North Carolina furniture industry. While it may seem improbable it is in fact the ongoing biography of Jacob Marks of Skram.

Skram, founded in 2001 by Marks, is as he describes it “the intersection of craft—American craft—and modern design.” After viewing some of Marks’ works such as the Lineground Armchair or the Piedmont stools it instantly becomes apparent why Marks gained notoriety. Marks organic form language pays homage to the materials while the “proportion, line and visual weight” result in a cohesive modern furniture piece. His works are truly fusion pieces, tempting the naturalist’s palate while attracting the modernist’s attention.

What began as a one man operation has quickly evolved into a full workshop, operating out of Skram’s 17,000 square foot factory in Hillsborough, North Carolina. While Marks still controls all the design aspects, he now has a coterie of craftsmen assisting him with building, sanding and finishing Skram’s signature works.

As the company continues to redefining American craft in the context of modern design, Marks’ immutable dedication to good design and fine workmanship endure, establishing both Jacob Marks and Skram as pioneers in modern American craft.

It has been a very busy year for Portland retailers Vanillawood. Beside moving to their new 1238 NW Glisan showroom , husband and wife owners James and Kricken Yaker have juggled keeping and expanding their customer base,  recouping losses after some minor break ins, and most importantly the birth of their third son. Ford&Ching would like to express a very special felicitation to Vanillawood for such a momentous year. As a way to say you’re welcome, Vanillawood is offering a special anniversary sale on August 4th giving you a chance to save on wallpaper by Tres Tinas as well as lights by David Trubridge.

Oakland based MRCW can best be described by its two elemental factors: master builder meets fervent designer. Christopher Weiss, the master builder, has an educational upbringing that spans the globe; including UC Berkeley, the Architecture Association in London, The Royal Technical School of Architecture in Stockholm and The Art Academy in Berlin. After graduating, Weiss was able to demonstrate his woodworking skills when he apprenticed under Paul Discoe, founder of Joinery Structures. His woodworking prowess was immediately evident as he was assigned the job of lead carpenter and project manager for a private residence in Woodside, CA  inspired b y the 17^th century Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto.

Monica Reskala, the fervent designer, has a diverse and varied design background. Reskala’s story begins in her hometown of Mexico City where she earned a degree in graphic design from Autonomous Metropolitan University. The school curriculum, which was anything but conventional, allowed Reskala to study other disciplines including architecture, urban design, industrial design as well as the broader disciples philosophy and critical theory.  Reskala then used her passion of art and design to open her own studio. It was at the studio that she would often collaborate with now husband Christopher Weiss.  The two eventually decided to pool both of their talents and founded MRCW in 2002.

From the beginning, the MRCW’s mission was evident; “encourage the most important and valuable concept, sustainability.” To achieve this, MRCW distains from a “scrap and build” mentality and instead pride themselves on using the honest craftsmanship and building materials that test the passage of time.

MRCW puts this theory in practice by fusing Reskala’s contemporary design sensibility with Weiss’ traditional Japanese woodworking techniques. While the use of traditional Japanese woodworking techniques is paramount to MRCW’s iconic works, it is not the only factor. The collaborative approach found in Japanese architecture both past and present play a crucial role in every MRCW piece. The collaborative approach abandons the notion of a fixed beginning and end in the design and craft stages but instead favors an ever-changing and flexible process that allows for change, regardless of how far along the piece has evolved. By using this method, MRCW can counteract any variables whether they be naturally derived from the materials themselves or intellectually based from Reskala or Weiss.

As MRCW continues to evolve so too do the materials and processes used in crafting their furniture. Recently MRCW has introduced the Xochitl collection, a flower-shaped aluminum table and stool set available in five colors. While the material choice has changed, MRCW’s attention to detail and meticulous craftsmanship is alive and well.

New York based design house Lerival continues the spirit begun by the great modernist architects by bridging the gap between architects and product designers. Fueled by co-founder Dominique Gonfard’s passion for contemporary architecture, Lerival’s line exhibits elements of contemporary architecture’s advanced design sensibility  such as versatile modularity, personality-driven forms and high performance in one cohesive package.

Gonfard’s architectural background began at the Parsons School of Design where she earned a Masters of Architecture. During her time at Parsons, Gonfard placed strong focus upon material research and the design-build process which gave her a first-hand understanding of the importance of a comprehensive design, one in which materials, detailing, and end-use are considered throughout the design process.

Gonfard later moved on to become a Project Architect at nARCHITECTS, involved in projects ranging in scale from temporary installations and interior renovations with custom furnishings to city-scale urban planning. While she appreciated the fundamentals of architecture, Gonfard was aware of its possible drawbacks; mainly the cost and duration of projects which greatly limited its audience.

Lerival was founded when Gonfard learnt many contemporary firms were exploring furniture design alongside their architectural projects. This notion of designing from the inside out is a key element to Lerival’s overall philosophy, essentially translating an architectural mindset onto a much smaller scale which in the process allows a much larger clientele a chance to own a piece of design history in the making.

Each Lerival design is developed within a contemporary mindset which evokes urban, elegant, confident, and forward-thinking sensibilities. With sculptural, strong personality forms, innovative materials, and meticulous fabrication, Lerival offers a true market alternative, ushering in a new era of independent, entrepreneurial and multifarious designers who want to elevate the design discourse in the US and beyond.

Designs by Lerival are available for purchase and viewing at Twentieth, Bobby Berk Home, Module-R, Switch Modern, and Smart Furniture or by contacting agents Ford&Ching.

The RS Barcelona story, which is paramount to the company’s ethos, is still being written. The company began humbly enough when founder Rafael Rodríguez Castillo decided to take the talents he had perfected while working as an old-style grafter, and start his own business in Viladecans, Barcelona. Eventually the company had grown to a point where it could become a family endeavor and Castillo’s two sons joined the business.

The newly formed family company did not fully come into its own until the launch of the their first ‘own-brand’ product: the RS#2, a metal football table. Immediately, the company’s quirky, fun and intriguingly iconic style was born accompanied by the philosophy that design is a one-way ticket to a world that remains unexplored.

With the release of their own designs came international notoriety and accolade from shop windows to traditional media attention. While many companies would objectionably parade their successes then fade into obscurity, RS Barcelona’s intrinsic humility guided them to be excited by every little success while still having the right to daydream about the next venture.

Always ones to explore new possibilities, the folks at RS Barcelona teamed up with the creative team of Stone Designs to produce a good share of their designs. The experience has allowed the RS team to see design from a different angle. Inspired by the process, RS Barcelona continues to shake hands with young designers to seek ideas and innovative concepts for furniture and objects.

While the RS Barcelona story is not finished, it is undoubtedly still being written with every new design and innovation, such as Ella – the first ever Foosball table with all female players. Although the next chapter in RS Barcelona story is unknown, it will certainly fall under the guise of the optimistic, imaginative and passionate approach to design Rafael Rodríguez Castillo has carried since his humble days as a metallurgist.

In such a consumer driven age most items are perceived as disposable. This wasteful mentality drives Southern California based industrial design and manufacturing company Cerno to blend form and function into objects of purposeful and personal value which ultimately have sustaining value.  To further this ideology, Cerno is accountable to their customers and our environment by building product to last, selecting material pallets responsibly and using energy efficient LED technology. The end result is a quality, performance and resource efficient product with modern design. Designs by Cerno will be featured in the Ford&Ching Pavilion (booth 406) during Dwell on Design.

We are very happy to announce that 722′s Samantha Duenas is featured on Mondette.com! Check out the article here!

There is more to works by MRCW than meets the eye. Accompanying their traditionally hand crafted-contemporary designed furniture is the philosophy that sustainability exceeds a “scrap and build” mentality. Utilizing traditional Japanese woodworking techniques, furniture from MRCW is highly refined yet utterly understated creating a timeless, iconic and enduring piece that will age beautifully and bring endless pleasure to its user. Works by MRCW will be showcased during Dwell on Design June 24-26.

This weekend all eyes are on the Los Angeles Convention Center as Dwell magazine hosts their annual Dwell on Design exhibition. The Dwell on Design exhibition features the latest modern design ideas from a range of product categories and is a must for any designer of design enthusiast. With over 200 brands showcasing at the event along side more than 160 leading design, sustainability, and culinary thinkers presenting live on stage, there is sure to be something that will inspire everyone.

Make sure to visit the Ford&Ching pavilion (see map below) to see the latest designs from:

Scale 1:1 : Booth 307

GO Build Studio: Booth 311

Cerno Group: Booth 406

David Trubridge Designs: Booth 408

MRCW Design/Build: Booth 410

June’s Creative Mornings lecture featuring media artist, programmer, designer Josh Nimoy, left the tangible world and entered the digital arena with live demonstrations of Nimoy’s computer programing prowess.

This months event was not held at its normal KimSing residence but rather  relocated to the more befitting headquarters of  the website hosting company Media Temple in Culver City.

Technology buffs and beginners alike were awed and entertained by Nimoy’s extensive collection of work.

Tired of  missing every Creative Mornings? Check out their website to find out when and where the next one will take place as well as watch videos of past lectures. Thanks to everyone at Creative Mornings for curating the event, Media Temple for sponsoring the location, previous Creative Mornings speakers BLIK for catering and Josh Nimoy for inspiring us on what would normally just be another work day.

If you can’t get enough of Creative Mornings be sure to attend the new Creative Mornings at Night series of lectures.

On Sunday, June 12 at 3pm, The Conran Shop throws open its doors to welcome customers and keen foosballers alike to take part in our Female vs Male foosball tournament. Introducing: Ella – the first ever foosball table with all female players.

Competition will be fierce as the winners of this epic event will receive trophies designed by the folks at RS Barcelona themselves. The tournament will start at 3pm in store, simply pre-register in advance via email (rsvp@conranusa.com), phone (212) 755-9079,  or surprise your opponents by signing up to play on game day.

Better practice your skills as you could be battling it out against a pro-foosballer with years of experience or simply a browser who has decided to get in on the action! The risk is yours!

Among the creative chaos that was the 2011 ICFF was the launch of Urbancase‘s classically cool yet undoubtedly contemporary Sidebar. Designed by Darin Montgomery and Trey Jones the handcrafted bar cabinets features a lateral sliding panel which reveals adjacent compartments for glassware and liquor storage, a drop front to store tools as well as a pull out holding peripherals.  The Side bar is available in both solid walnut and white corian both with an cabinet interiors incised with a pattern that refers to diamond tuck and roll upholstery and nods to vintage handbags and luggage. The Sidebar is currently a pre-order item that will be available in August 2011.

Cerno, a Laguna Beach based industrial design firm, will be exhibiting for the first time at the 23rd annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). ICFF will run from May 14th to May 17th at the Javits Convention Center in New York, where hundreds of the world’s elite designers will converge to showcase their latest products. Widely considered to be the largest and most prestigious design show in the U.S., ICFF will showcase 590 jury-selected exhibitors hailing from 43 countries and is estimated to draw 24,000 attendees. “ICFF is an amazing opportunity for Cerno, as we will have the most discerning eyes in the industrial design world on our product,” says Bret Englander, Director of Sales and Marketing at Cerno.

Cerno will be located at booth 840, exhibiting its purposeful inventive lighting solutions that blend form and function seamlessly into a line of products that clearly embody modern design. Recently, Cerno released a line of new pendants: “I am really looking forward to see how the pendants are received at ICFF,” says Englander. While in New York, Cerno will also unveil a new line of floor lamps that were collaboratively designed with Frank Carfaro of Desiron. “The synergies between Cerno and Frank Carfaro and his team at Desiron were apparent from the start. We approach design from a similar perspective and share a like set of values. At the core of those values is both companies’ mission to innovate quality American made products,” says Englander. He added that “this is a great opportunity to further develop Cerno’s bicoastal presence.” As per ICFF’s motto of “mapping the newest frontier,” Cerno aims to continuously introduce products that bring together the latest in LED lighting technology with thoughtful aesthetics.

May is a very busy month for New Zealand designer David Trubridge. David’s new GROW range and the Coral / Floral 400 (16” diameter) will be launched in the US at wantedDESIGN May 13-16, 2011. The show is a new event located in an historic warehouse space in Chelsea (25th / 11 Ave). There will be shuttle buses from the ICFF / Javits show to the venue and it is in a great location to see other galleries and spaces as well we walking distance to the MeatPacking and other design oriented locales in Manhattan. He then heads to San Fransisco where residents will be delighted to know that David Trubridge is returning to the city May 24th to present his new lighting collection at Propeller. Join him for a glass of wine, some treats and most importantly an exclusive unavailing by the designer himself.

If you weren’t taking note of the barrage of Twitter comments just left @fordandching, this morning the KimSing Theater hosted yet another Creative Mornings. Still aren’t sure what Creative Mornings are? Get with the program here. As the early birds gathered and indulged themselves with a sumptuous coffee and donut selection courtesy of Freshbooks, Creative Mornings Los Angeles host Jon Setzen made some last minutes checks and then took the microphone to graciously thank the eagerly audience.

Before announcing this morning’s speaker, Setzen was proud to announce that Chicago will soon have their own Creative Mornings chapter. For any of you reading this from the Windy City, you are in for a real treat. As everyone settled in their seats and let the coffee settle in, Setzen proudly introduced this morning’s speaker Ryan Honey.

Ryan Honey is Principal / Creative Director of the motion graphics company Buck. In the motion graphics world, Honey is a legend working on massively successful campaigns including Google’s new Google Offers advertisement. As with many of the greats, Honey had not formal education in the field. He laughed at the notion that he received a degree in economics which has yet to be put to use. His big break happened in the mid 90’s, the prime years of the dot com boom, when Honey decided to move to New York to work for an interactive firm. He comically added that he was the only employee assigned to an entire IBM campaign. Having an affinity for the field he formed Heavy.com which brought him prestige in the field up until the dot com bubble burst around 2001. After responding to an ad off craigslist, Ryan Honey was recruited by Jeff Ellermeyer and the two eventually formed Buck in 2004. Honey has come a long way since being a one man department. Buck currently employees 60 highly motivated, design driven artists who strive to push themselves with things that are new and fresh. The company has worked on dozens and dozens of motion graphic projects. Today Honey went into detail about four of them.

The first project Honey presented was the Got Milk campaign’s mini movie “White Gold: Battle for Milkquarious”. This retro inspired milk focused mini movie depicts the hilarious saga of the fictitious milk powered superhero White Gold who is trying to save a damsel in distress. Honey explained that for Buck’s contribution to the film, they sourced vintage equipment to make it as realistic as possible. Honey tracked down the last existing Scanimate machine, a vintage supercomputer the size of a small bedroom, to get the most authentic retro graphics possible. Check out the video HERE to see the Scanimate in action. The audience was in absolute hysterics when watching the intentionally archaic computer graphics. He then transitioned into something more modern.

Honey then played a clip of his Nike World Basket Ball animation which took the formats of a thirty second TV commercial as well as an extensive adverting campaign in New York’s Time Square. For this project, Honey explained the creative process by showing the original stills and storyboards, giving the audience an inside look of how a finished project comes to be. The biggest challenges of this project Honey explained were the politics. The creative team had to be mindful not to show any players actually beating other players as it could insinuate Nike’s preference for a specific team. This had to be obeyed while still showing a game being played. Another challenge was artist participation. Originally in the commercial, Jay Z pulled out last minute because he didn’t want to be represented as a cartoon, leaving the creative team to restructure the timing of the whole project. The commercial which can be viewed below was a mastery of computer graphics. For his third project however, the Buck team went completely analogue.

Nike Video

When Sundance approached Honey and the Buck team to create a short film for the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, the team was at a bit of a crossroads. The theme of the festival was Renewed Rebellion as well as Sundance Reminded which, as Honey described “urges festival-goers to look forward by looking back at the festival’s iconoclastic, anti-establishment origins.” To live up to this challenge the Buck team essentially worked backwards, creating a digital proto and then painstakingly creating it by hand with stop motion filming. Honey showed two variations of the film, one using paper as a median, and the other fiber optic lights. Check them out HERE. After showing the meticulous stop motion version Honey then showed the hassle free digital proto to which he humorously commented “It doesn’t look much different.” The techniques here were also used in the fourth and final project presented.

To conclude the presentation, Honey played his now viral Google Offers advertising campaign. The challenge of the project was that Honey and the team were not fully aware of what the product was, so they decided to play that angle into the commercial. Again Honey walked the audience through the creative process, showing them image boards and possible formats the commercial could have taken including a botched $1.5 million dollar live action full costume endeavor. The finished product was a synthesis of Buck’s CGI expertise and the stop motion technique they had mastered over the course of the companies history. The video played over a very catchy, folksy acoustic song mimicked a stop motion feel, with shaped continually changing and creating other shapes, but all made through CGI. To give it a more bespoke feel, the Buck team went back frame by frame to do some custom coloring and variations. You can see this one on Google or Here

The morning ended as always with an audience Q and A session followed by a one last meet and greet. Everyone then topped off their coffees, helped themselves to one last donut and left yet another Creative Mornings inspired and ready to tackle the work day. Everyone at the KimSing Theater would like to thank Ryan Honey for beguiling us with his immensely inspiring and humorous portfolio, Jon Setzen and the Creative Mornings team for organizing the event, and Freshbooks for their tantalizing donut selection. Make sure to check out next month’s Creative Mornings with special guest speaker Josh Nimoy, the software artist who has worked on countless films including the latest Tron movie. Make sure to check it out.

It seems every time you turn your head, David Trudridge has again fused natures aesthetics with interior decor. This time his focus is on the sea as he is set to release a smaller version of his infamous Coral Light at WantedDesign in New York, May 13-16, and at DoD in LA in June. Also set to release is the series Grow based of f aquatic life such as sea urchins and shrimp. Discover more by reading the article Here!

If you want to know why this guy is trembling just watch the video!

Here is a little hint: Foosball is not just for men anymore.

Tired  of being left out of the design decisions of your furniture? Matt Gagnon’s new scalable storage system gives you creative freedom by allowing you to create dozens of possible configurations. The user becomes a collaborator in design as opposed to merely a consumer.

Available Summer 2011

Have you ever looked at an armchair and thought, “I wish this were a lamp?” The people at Matt Gagnon Studio have had that question on their minds and will explore the possibilities at the The Future Perfect in New York. If you are curious to see how this will work exactly, head on over to The Future Perfect located at 55 Great Jones St., NYC, 10012 May 13-17 from 12:00-6:00 daily. Here Matt Gagnon and team will be manufacturing 40 unique Prototype Lamps onsite using a reconfigurable armature to explore infinite options of scale, form, color, texture, material, pattern and more. This is a real chance to see the creative process merged with manufacturing. Best of all, all lamps are for sale! So don’t forget to stop by to let the team know how they are doing and pick up a truly unique piece of art.

Andrew Riiska lives anything but a typical life. This became apparent to me on Monday April 11, 2011 when I tagged along a Taiwanese interview Andy was conducting in his Los Angeles studio. Located in the Arts District of Los Angeles, the inconspicuous grey industrial complex is juxtaposed to a recycling plant and a stones throw from the historic Union Station.

After being greeted by Andy himself, who was humbly gracious to see I had brought refreshments for the evening, I was given a tour of the building. The studio is quintessentially Los Angeles, a secret gem hidden among the industrial compounds of the block. The space which is shared by three other roommates is part studio, part showroom and part living quarters, all of which immerse you into the aesthetics of Riiska’s signature style.

The tour began with a look into Andy’s workshop. Tucked away in the corner of the studio, Andy’s workshop is crammed floor to ceiling with tools, materials and ongoing projects. Pushing aside some wood blocks Andy was working on for wallpaper company Tres Tintas, I took a seat and overlooked the video interview taken for the Taiwanese press. Andy explained to the press how the workshop is his haven from 10:30 am until about 4:00 pm when is due to teach at Sciarc just around the corner.

As the interview concluded, we all made our way over to the kitchen where a sumptuous salad and pizza spread was waiting for us on Andy’s Dragon Table. It really is a case of you have to see it to believe it. The tables are in most basic terms, massive. Ironically found discarded at the nearby recycling plant, the wood making up the Dragon Table was painstakingly restored and given Andy’s bonding and finishing look. I was honestly dumbfounded that the table tops were comprised of separate beams as you couldn’t see the joins for the life of you. Andy really knows his way around the material.

As the night grew closer, Andy took us up to the balcony to watch the sun set over one of the best views of Los Angeles I have ever seen. We pulled up a couple of chairs and began to pick away at the Andy that doesn’t design furniture and talked about Andy the teacher, the musicians and the writer, truly a renaissance man of the arts.

The night was similar to what others have said about hanging with Andy, a madcap laugh with a charismatic host. Thanks again Andy for the hospitality and the parting gift of one of the infamous marshmallow boxes.

Find it here!

Technology has drastically influenced our daily lives in the last decade.  Now we can boast that we have thousands of friends, even if we haven’t actually met any of them. To combat this wave of “veg-out-in-front-of-the-TV-after-work” ethos, Seattle based furniture company Urbancase designs furniture to simplify our lives without sacrificing our quality of life. Read the full Apartment Therapy article here!

Ford and Ching are always one’s for local cultural treasures. It is no wonder then that Ford and Ching sponsored the recent Obscura Day. Read the article HERE!

While browsing on Apartment Therapy’s Marketplace today, I was very gladdened to see that one of Maxwell’s Daily Finds is the Geneva Sound System Model S.  Described as “beautiful, tiny, and packing big sound”, the Model S is a space saving solution to all your listening needs. You can find the Geneva product line at Propeller, Park Life and Minimal in San Francisco, at Ron Robinson’s stores in Fred Segal in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, and at CB2 Stores throughout, or by contacting agents Ford&Ching.

Designer Matt Gagnon Merges Craftsmanship and Mass Customization in California Home+Design Magazine.  Read the full article here.