Ford&Ching

RS-Barcelona Makes a Splash at the Kim Sing

Andrea — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:30:37 +0000

The forecast calls for rain in Los Angeles tonight, March 6th. Perfect timing to unveil the newly arrived samples from RS-Barcelona including the Drops Tables.

Drops Tables

Our friends from Spain who brought us the RS#2 Foosball table,

their super slick foosball table, have been getting all kinds of attention for their whimsical designs. The crate’s been unloaded and Ford&Ching is representing RS.

You can view samples of their designs and furniture at the KimSing and soon at selected retailers in the U.S.

Greg Bergere from GO Build Studio Steps Out

Andrea — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:05:06 +0000

Greg Bergere heads up Go BUILD STUDIO, a contemporary furniture company founded in 1998 and based in San Francisco. The eclectic collection celebrates simple and useful design with the varied influences of plain Shakers, mid-century moderns, and high-low cosmopolitans.

Greg’s headed down to Los Angeles to debut the new Wavelength Series and the newly redesigned Zebra Series on March 6 at the FORD&CHING showroom. The Wavelength Series is a seating group inspired by the motion of waves and the movement of shorebird legs. The basic form is designed to cradle the derriere on a simple repeatable shape. Each piece features tightly upholstered seating with thin padding, and may be ordered in Walnut, Oak, Maple, Espresso, and with or without Ebonized legs and trim.

The Zebra Series of casegoods features highly graphic Zebrawood (a sustainable veneer product made of plantation-raised Poplar) framed by dark Oak, and sophisticated touches like bronzed pulls, and dovetailed drawers.

These pieces are available for purchase and viewing at the Kim Sing Theatre in Los Angeles.

Tanya Aguiniga Designs for Ford&Ching

Andrea — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:43:32 +0000

Ford&Ching is extremely happy to add Tanya Aguiniga to their roster of designers.

Tanya has designed a beautiful, tactile line of pillows available exclusively through Ford&Ching that exemplify her organic modernist approach to design.

Fold Pillow Closeup

Using a process called nuno felting, raw wool is naturally adhered without adhesives to hand-died gauze.

Loop Pillow Closeup

Those familiar with Tanya’s Wool Lace Necklaces will recognize the technique used on the Loop Pillows. 100% wool yarn hand laid to create a lacy/loopy pattern then stitched to retain its shape.

Gauze Pillows

The Gauze Pillows also utilize nuno felting combining natural raw wool with hand-died and pulled gauze. These are really beautiful in person.

Tanya’s pillow line is launching at the next Ford&Ching event at the Kim Sing Theatre on Saturday, March 6th, 8 – 11pm. Tanya’s line of handmade pillows is available through Ford&Ching for $180 each and soon at other select retailers.

db_3seater

Andrea — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:14:18 +0000

db_loveseat

Andrea — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:17:00 +0000

Fade Lounger

Andrea — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:08:31 +0000

Gauze Pillow

Andrea — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:55:35 +0000

Fold Pillow

Andrea — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:50:58 +0000

Loop Pillow

Andrea — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:33:51 +0000

TANYA AGUINIGA

Andrea — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:21:27 +0000

Spring Cocktail Party and Launch

Andrea — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:36:00 +0000

RS Crate is in LA ready for party…

Andrea — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 00:25:22 +0000

Trendspotter – LONDON FINANCIAL TIMES

Andrea — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:10:40 +0000

Laminated Blok Bench

Andrea — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:35:31 +0000

Corten Console

Andrea — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:29:07 +0000

OUT IN THE ELEMENTS

Andrea — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:07:08 +0000

Standard Console enduring environmental patina

Last week I visited one of our East Coast designers, Eric Slayton, at his studio in Brooklyn. (Some of you know, I probably had some ulterior motives for being there as well) I got to preview his latest version of the standard console; a series of pieces with a portfolio of time lapse photos showing the “rusting” will accompany each piece. Each piece will be located in different environments from urban to wilderness. Today, we’re at day 17, so these photos were taken on day 12.

Beautiful affect of the patina on solid Corten steel

Amazing contrast between day 1 and 12.

Day 1

View of the side of Eric's studio building

RS BARCELONA (formerly RS-Life) HITS THE SHOWROOM

Willard — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:18:02 +0000

Kengo just got back from fighting in Japan (victorious) to unpack a huge shipment of samples to share with you at our Spring Launch on March 6 (rsvp early as it will be packed). If you cant wait until then or want a more intimate preview, please call 310-800-3999 or come by open hours on Wednesday or Saturday.

Warehouse Staff

To Be Discovered

Watching Kengo Work

Almost Done

See the online catalog for RS Barcelona here.

Wave Stools

Andrea — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:06:46 +0000

Split Wave Bench

Andrea — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:06:27 +0000

Wave Bench

Andrea — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:05:59 +0000

Six Zebra Dresser

Andrea — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:05:16 +0000

Zebra Dresser

Andrea — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:04:53 +0000

Zebra Junior

Andrea — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:04:31 +0000

GO BUILD STUDIO

Andrea — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:03:58 +0000

ANDREW RIISKA – WHO IS THAT MASKED MAN?

Andrea — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:23:06 +0000

“Rub the belly…” were some of the first words spoken to me by Andy Riiska when we first met. I obediently rubbed the underside of his belly table and what a delight. The sensation took me back to Junior High. It was like corduroy, but it was wood. The underside of the belly table, which resembles the ceiling of a cathedral, is carved by a CNC, while the legs are carved and mortised through the top by hand. The CNC creates grooves as it carves out the shape which give it a unique tactile quality.

Belly Table

Andrew Riiska – Who is that masked man? When you uncover the mask, you find a good-humored, multi-faceted man. By day — he’s debonair while coffee drinking and cream puff eating. By afternoon, he might be found at Sci-Arc’s wood-shop teaching kids how to keep their fingers out of the chop-saw.

The many faces of Andrew Riiska

If anything can be said about Andrew’s designs, it’s that they’re evocative and that they have to be seen (and often touched) to fully appreciate them. He craftily blends old world woodworking techniques with modern to create his responsibly produced designs. He uses only re-purposed materials and takes great care in creating beautiful objects out of what some would call trash. The Dragon Table plays with scale and texture. It’s two separate 7′ tables with a continuous bubble pattern underneath and his signature crosses on the top. It’s a stunning 14′ piece of sculpture.

Crosses used to reinforce stressed areas of wood

Marshmallow boxes were a hit giveaway at the 2009 Dwell on Design event in Los Angeles last June. Each box carved out of scrap Douglas Fir to create a toasty home for your marshmallow.

Marshmallow box bottoms

Marshmallow box lids

Ford&Ching laser branded marshmallows

While function isn’t necessarily a prerequisite with his designs, Andrew also makes some extremely useful pieces as well.

Fold Chair

Chair

Four legs wasn’t enough, so Andy pushed the limits and literally pushed sixty-nine maple legs through the Douglas Fir top. The leg pattern inspired by the visual you get as you drive by a field of corn.

69 Leg Table

Andrew’s working on new pieces to be launched shortly, so stay tuned.

db_chair and ottoman by 100Xbetter

Willard — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:54:59 +0000

Downtown Los Angeles based 100xbetter just launched their new line of flat pack furniture. Many of us familiar with flat pack pieces have had the luxury (or discomfort) of putting together an IKEA cabinet most likely. When searching the market for current flat pack options, the guys behind this company thought they could do 100xbetter. Started in 1999 as a design/build studio combining CNC manufacturing technology with high quality materials (unlike IKEA) and a minimalist sensibility.

Check out the photos below of how easy and beautifully all the pieces come together………

Flat packed out of the box....

Base slides into side supports

Seat bottom slides in

Set the bottom down on the ground

Slide in the back panel

Admire your work. You've just put together the frame for the db chair.

Apply your cushion and take a load off!

The db chair and ottoman are part of the db series which includes a loveseat and three-seater. They even make one perfect for kids or your height-challenged friends. Each comes flat packed with a choice of wood finish, cushion style and upholstery.

db chair with leather contoured cushion

db loveseat with fabric button cushion

db 3 seater with fabric button cushions

kids db with fabric button cushion

With a price point that starts at $725, everyone in the family can have one.

EVERYONE HATES PUPPIES

Willard — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:30:52 +0000

722 FIGUEROA is the showroom that reps LUDWIG. I own it with Chris Josol, former domestic sales manager at LUDWIG. Alongside LUDWIG we wholesale HUFFER, SLVDR, REBEL8, 9GRAND, KEEP, ATELIERS ARTHUR, ACROPOLIS, and AMPAL CREATIVE. The showroom has been gaining steam as the place to sell your brand on the West Coast, mostly for our friendly, laid back, and competent presentation. Ever wonder what makes us so special…well, it’s puppies. Loads of them.

Bandit was on my desk helping out with Quickbooks.

And what does this have to do with F&C? Absolutely nothing…enjoy!

Cody is very fashionable so matched his coat and shoes to Elizabeth.

Brutus stole Richie's lunch money.

Bandit stealing Adem's identity.

Spook tells Geoff he'll make more sales if he stops smoking cigarettes.

GENEVA ROCKS OUT WITH THEIR DOCK OUT

Andrea — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:10:29 +0000

GENEVA SOUNDSYSTEM MODEL - S

Our Swiss friends at Geneva have done it again. This little beauty puts other ipod docks to shame and makes them look (and sound) like toys.

TOUCH LIGHT CONTROLS

The Genvas Sound System – Model S is the smallest hifi ever. It puts out serious sound and it’s priced at an affordable $299.95. At less than 6″ with full-sized high fidelity. It’s got an optional (but included) stand, programmable digital alarm clock, digital radio and power dock for your iPod/iPhone.

You can try out the new S model as well as the full Geneva line at our showroom at the Kim Sing. (bring your iPod and rock out with your dock out)

Cork Bowl 1

Andrea — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:30:52 +0000

LET’S POP SOME CORK!

Andrea — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 01:18:31 +0000

Geneva Sound System – Model S

Andrea — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:57:33 +0000

Geneva Sound System – Model M

Andrea — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:15:16 +0000

Geneva Sound System Model – L

Andrea — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:45:15 +0000

Geneva Sound System – Model XL

Andrea — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:45:46 +0000

GENEVA

Andrea — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:52:04 +0000

Geneva Sound System – Model XXL Home Theatre

Andrea — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:44:31 +0000

Geneva Pedestal for Model L Sound System

Andrea — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 01:50:48 +0000

Geneva Pedestal for Model XL Soundsystem

Andrea — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:55:34 +0000

LSD AND GUNS MIX

Willard — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:44:53 +0000

Check this out…

NICKEL DINER

Andrea — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:31:50 +0000

disappointing

Overcooked poached eggs, lumpy polenta and maple donuts crumbled with bacon that you couldn’t taste. Willard always complains about not having decent food choices when he comes up to SF, so this is what downtown LA has to offer? Come on!

QUEEN KWONG: “LOVE IS A BRUISE” AVAILABLE NOW

Willard — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:18:17 +0000

If you read this or my posts over at Ludwig you’ll know I’m not-so-quietly impressed by Carre Callaway and her band Queen Kwong. You may remember last year when the band headlined our Dwell on Design after-party and impressed the typically nonplussed design crowd with their powerful mini-set of rock songs.

QK at the Kim Sing Theatre's Dwell/Vice Party

Carre Callaway doing her job.

Well, her new EP was just released on Sugar Baby and can be downloaded here for only $2.75. “Love Is A Bruise” is full with Carre’s exceptional storytelling, musical arrangement, and deft guitar playing (and keyboards and other instruments on the record…she pretty much does it all except for guest appearances by a selection of music industry heavies). I’ve watched QK numerous times and something remarkable happens when Carre plays music. The normally quiet and withdrawn young woman opens up to reveal a unique voice that is beautiful, unique, and unerringly human. Her lyrics are nasty, mean, and vindictive yet somehow sweet and melancholy. I’m doing her a major disservice with the above description, but just know her skill and talent combine into something worthy of your attention. Do yourself a favor and download “Love Is A Bruise” now and visit her website for more information.

Love Is A Bruise

I’ll be at her Spaceland show tonight at 9pm sharp, quietly wishing I could do anything half as well as Carre Callaway plays music.

JOIN OUR FRIENDS AT 722 FIGUEROA

Willard — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:54:39 +0000

Join us this Wednesday at the Shortstop on Sunset for another 722 Figueroa event. While F&C is not a sponsor, many of our friends will be in attendance. This event is on the younger side so please be prepared…

LENTUS CHAIR BY CERNO

Willard — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:47:37 +0000

Laguna Beach design group CERNO just launched their line of plywood furniture at the recent FORD&CHING winter event earlier this month. Hundreds came to see the chair in the Kim Sing Theatre and were very surprised when the chair turned out to be incredibly comfortable despite it’s hard appearance. Design purists rejoiced at the thought: A visually innovative piece of furniture that was not an occasional, but a full fledged member of the living room.

Ladies Love Cerno

The lounger and ottoman are made from solid Baltic Birch plywood that is CNC milled and hand finished. The standard finish is a pre-catalyzed clear lacquer but there are a variety of other finish options. Price is a very reasonable $2,900 for the Lentus and an additional $500 for the ottoman.

Not a Lazy-Boy

The Lentus and the rest of the Cerno line is available now at the FORD&CHING showroom. Look out for our feature on the Cerno design crew in the next few days.

Daniel Wacholder, Nick Sheridan and Bret Englander

100XBETTER: AT LEAST

Willard — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:21:02 +0000

William Rollins and Brendan Sowersby started 100XBETTER knowing they could do better (maybe even one-hundred times) than what was available at big box stores like IKEA. That Ready-to-Assemble (RTA) had to be cheap and disposable did not wash with them, so in 1999, they launched a design-build company with roots in fine art and cabinetmaking. Their core idea was to take RTA to its most elegant iteration with improved materials, workmanship, and basic design. The partners consider the name their mission statement.

The Talent

FORD&CHING launched 100XBETTER at our Holiday Party and the crowds warmed to the seating.

Three on a Two Seater

Mario from Kartell (Diva) and Vanessa (formerly from Twentieth) test drive the merchandise

New designer Charlie Ferrer (right) of MEIER/FERRER on the full size couch enjoying the limited edition red herrigbone fabric

After toiling with IKEA products (sometimes completely destroying it during the assembly process and discreetly hiding it in the trash…you know what I’m talking about) for the better part of ten years, I was concerned 100XBETTER would fall short of my expectations. However, once it was unpacked and easily assembled, I was relieved and impressed to see a level of workmanship and durability not available from the Swedish powerhouse. Not even close. The DB_CHAIR pictured above (with leather) and below (with red upholstery) was the first item tested. It arrived flat packed and assembles into a low-profile contemporary classic that’s equally at home in a mod house or a hotel lobby. Perfect for those on the run, it comes in six wood finishes (made of Europly), five fabric options, and leather. It was very easy to put together (see related story about the chair elsewhere) and will retain its functionality no matter how many times you pull it apart and put it back together. And it’s very affordable.

After

I spoke with Will and Brendan and reluctantly asked them to describe their design philosophy. Okay, I set a trap. I usually drift off right after I ask these sorts of questions. I go to my happy place. What’s for dinner or how much beer and beef jerky it will take before I feel part of the human race…Not because design is boring, but because designers are boring. They go on an on about incomprehensible ideas that intertwine this and that and it all comes out crazy to a layman like myself. And I’m talking about the smart, articulate, and talented designers! I was very relieved when Will and Brendan proved down-to-earth and easy to understand. Their basic philosophy is to reduce the amount of time devoted to fabrication while still making things that are beautiful and high quality. Their “design-first” mentality eliminates much of the finish work that requires endless hours in the shop, freeing them to design better products at affordable prices. These results are surprising given neither went to design school. Will is a family man who went to Cooper Union in New York and finished with a BFA degree. Likewise, Brendan received a BA in fine art at UMASS, Dartmouth and a MFA from CalArts. Go figure.

Before

So how could two art students possibly consider design and manufacturing before aesthetics? It seems backward. They don’t really see it that way, instead believing their art background has led them to creative solutions overlooked by the traditional design-build world.

100XBETTER produces other household items, inlcuding lighting and screens/room dividers. The lighting below is made from a single piece of Corian that is milled, thermo-formed in an oven, and fitted with high-grade electronics. Like the furniture, the end result is affordable and beautiful.

Affordable Luxury

The room dividers below illustrate 100XBETTER’s fine attention to detail.

Elegant solutions from 100XBETTER

Custom designs can be specified and length and width can be modified to suit your needs.

Choices

Finish work and hardware are top grade.

Devil is in the details

100XBETTER is available to see at FORD&CHING during our public hours on Wednesday (11am-6pm) and Saturday (11am-4pm) as well as by appointment. Don’t be scared when you hear Bear bark. Just hit the bell and soak it in.

Off!

Christmas releases from RS BARCELONA

Andrea — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:36:10 +0000

Our friends at RS just launched their new website www.rs-barcelona.com here you can find detailed information about all the different products in their catalogue and a broad selection of images. This is just the first phase and more are on the way: but we just couldn’t wait to show you.

Look for more from RS at Ford&Ching in the coming weeks.

db_chair and ottoman

Andrea — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:02:06 +0000

pm_lamps

Andrea — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:01:22 +0000

J9_shelf

Andrea — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:01:03 +0000

dk_desk

Andrea — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:17:08 +0000

Lentus

Andrea — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:39:47 +0000