Los Angeles freeways inspire Jeni Tu's curvy new Linea chair

Few would revel in sitting in gridlock a single moment more than necessary, but Jeni Tu's new Linea chair just might bring a little appreciation for L.A.'s freeways. Introduced recently at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York, the Linea chair takes its inspiration from aerial views of L.A.’s freeway system.

“I was interested in exploring how a continuous 2-D strip of material can become a 3-D form," Tu said, which then led to thoughts about how freeways curve and twist over and under themselves.

Tu, 32, grew up in San Diego, studied literature at Harvard and began pursuing a career in design three years ago. Her Linea is made of powder-coated steel topped with a Wilsonart walnut laminate. The chair’s surprise pop of cherry red may remind some of Christian Louboutin's signature red undersoles. For Tu, it references the endless ribbon of freeway taillights.

Bend's Geometric Trophy Heads: cool minus the kill

Hunting-lodge taxidermy may have outstayed its welcome as the ironic home accessory of the last few years, but at least people looking for a different animal-inspired design to hang on the wall have a new option — no rifle required.

Marina del Rey-based design firm Bend just introduced geometric wire animal heads at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York. The collection, called Geometric Trophy Heads, is made of powder-coated iron. No stuffed fur, no glazed eyes, just the animal kingdom evoked with clean and simple lines. At least they look simple. “They're actually created with bends and angles that are based on complex formulas,” Bend founder Gaurav Nanda said.

ICFF 2011: Indie designers stand out at furniture fair

At the 2011 International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the nation's most important showcase for modern home decor, independent designers and artisanal producers stood out from the Javits Center pack. The New York convention center floor was filled with pieces such as, clockwise from top left: a chair from Akmd collection, a collaboration of Michael Dreeben and Ayush Kasliwal; a Sami Hayek table in the style of traditional black Oaxacan pottery; Ameico's Trash Me lamp, a Victor Vetterlein design made of paper pulp reminiscent of egg-carton material; and Hayek's Mestizo credenza, which combines traditional Mexican bead work with a modern glossy red finish.

Cindy Dampier reports from New York with the full assessment of the 2011 International Contemporary Furniture Fair.

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New York Design Week: New Finnish Design Scenarios

New York Design Week: Matt Gagnon's Prototype lamps

New York Design Week: A hammock named Hammy

Milan furniture fair 2011: Newest looks for top designers

New Finnish Design Scenarios exhibit has a light touch

Contemporary Finnish designers presented their work last week at a show in Manhattan's meatpacking district titled "New Finnish Design Scenarios," held to coincide with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and New York Design Week.

The Finnish designers created spare and simple furniture, rugs and fabric made from paper yarn. Perhaps because they spend a lot of the winter in darkness, they seemed obsessed with lights, even figuring out a way to integrate LEDs in a rope swing, above, designed by Alexander Lervik.  

The firm Innojok displayed a line of table and floor lamps called Innolux Design, which included pieces by Eero Aarnio, the man behind the iconic 1960s Bubble and Ball chairs, and reissued midcentury classics by designers Yki Nummi and Lisa Johansson-Pape.

Most intriguing: Innosol, a collection of lamps that have been certified as medical devices to provide bright light therapy to those who suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

The lamps come as flat panels, globes and designer shapes, including Aarnio's Kubo and Manhattan. (Both are pictured at right; the skyscraper-inspired Manhattan is the more shadowy light on the far left.)

Each provides 10,000 lux, the measurement of light intensity. (Outdoor summer light is rated at 50,000 to 100,000 lux.) 

The designer, Mari Isopahkala, was also on hand to explain a prototype of Kurki, an aluminum floor lamp with the profile of a minimalist sculpture: five 360-degree pivoting arms that emit LED illumination, shown below.

"I wanted to create a lamp for the user to choose how much light they needed and where they wanted the light to be placed," she said. To turn it off, she added, "You line up all the arms. To turn it on, you just move the arms to where you want them."

Matt Gagnon and his Prototype lamps light up the NoHo Design District

For the young and crafty like Matt Gagnon, above, Brooklyn had been the center of the universe during the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, the modern design show that anchors New York Design Week. But now all the action has moved to Manhattan's NoHo, the North of Houston neighborhood that hosted a number of events and exhibitions last week showcasing work from Brooklyn to Berlin.

Furniture at the NoHo Design District exhibitions looked familiar and fatigued: Some concept pieces took designers too long to explain, and uncomfortable metal and plywood cube chairs caused one onlooker to remark, "These designers are the children of Donald Judd."

Lighting designs, however, were a bright spot.

Los Angeles craftsman Matt Gagnon took over the front window of the NoHo branch of Future Perfect, the Brooklyn store that has long advanced both local and international design.

Gagnon and his assistants put on a show, cranking out about 40 Prototype pendant lamps made from fibers wound around metal armatures.

"It's part of my ongoing obsession with wrapping things," said Gagnon, who designed 18 components that can be configured in seemingly endless ways to create the frame for the pendants. The frames are wrapped in materials such as clear plastic surgical tubing, cotton rope or silk thread.

"Because the aerospace industry in Los Angeles has fallen off, they're happy to deal with weirdoes like me," he said, referring to aerospace fabricators that make the components for his lighting.

The lamps sell for $600 each at Future Perfect. Keep reading to see the lights of Lindsey Adelman, Omer Arbel and Roman & Williams, all displayed in the NoHo Design District.

Hammy hammock from Plywood Office steals the show at Model Citizens NYC exhibition

Now here's a hammock we can really get into. Southern California Institute of Architecture masters program graduate Chris Jamison, above, transformed the humble hammock stand into a modern lounger that he calls Hammy.

You can't improve on the lying position of a hammock, "but there's a lot you can do with the stand," said Jamison, founder of Plywood Office.

At 8.5 feet long, the Hammy's powder-coated steel frame is about 6 feet shorter than many hammock stands. Jamison's non-fading Batyline mesh sling doesn't give you that rock-a-bye sway, but it also won't flip over.

The Hammy's aluminum-and-white-oak base has an integrated planter. When you aren't lazing in it, the mesh still provides shade for low-sun flowers or herbs.

The wooden crossbars on the top are considerately rounded so "you don't get impaled by the frame," Jamison said. One has an integrated drink holder. The only thing missing is a misting fan.

The Hammy costs $1,900 and will be sold through the Plywood Office website. Jamison will bring it to Los Angeles for the Dwell on Design show in June. 

Jamison showed Hammy at the Model Citizens NYC exhibition at the Chelsea Art Museum, an event timed with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair during New York Design Week. The exhibition has grown to include more than 90 independent designers, ranging from students showing prototypes to established architects, founder Mika Braakman said. The show had a lot to admire beyond the Hammy, including a collection of Dutch designers' handcrafted objects whose expletive-laced title could be translated for this blog as, "How It's Made and Why It's So [Very] Expensive."

Keep reading to see more designs. 

2BR mod house with glass walls, solar, priced to sell

Rooftop solar panels power all the recessed lighting, and floor-to-ceiling sliding doors bring the outdoors in. Just don't leave your Emerson House out in the rain, though, because those wood floors will never be the same.

New York toy maker Brinca Dada showed a prototype of its latest plaything at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair this week, and the modern-in-miniature concept had the crowd chuckling. 

Co-founder Tim Boyle said the mod dollhouse, which swings open to access its six rooms, will begin shipping it in June. Furniture, to be sold separately, will be available in August.

Inspiration from the design came partly from Richard Neutra's Kaufmann House, the Palm Springs landmark whose eight-figure sale at auction fell through. Priced at under $300, Emerson House should be just a tad easier to move.

-- Craig Nakano

Photo credit: Brinca Dada

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ICFF 2010: Not your mother's wallpaper, though maybe it should have been

Some corners of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York seemed like wall-to-wall wallpaper, and the dominant theme this year was retro. The London studio MissPrint rendered dandelions, above, in a way that reminded me of a George Nelson starburst clock.

Some other looks from the show this week:

Châto & Co., the studio of Danish designer Pernille Picherit and French designer Geraldine Besnard, went a little Partridge family. Blue birds perched on white cages in a design called Kaje, above left. A chartreuse flock was poised against a plum sky in Oizo, above right.

 

Graham & Brown's new collections included the Field Poppies wallpaper, above, by Amy Butler. It's vintage flair for contemporary interiors.

My favorite at ICFF came from Trove, who delivered the vintage look with a wry smile. The New York studio re-created a historical photo taken inside Teatro La Fenice, the opera house in Venice, Italy. Destroyed by fire in 1836, the theater -- pictured here after the reconstruction -- is no more: It burned to the ground again in 1996.

Trove titled the wallpaper Fuoco, shown in detail below. It's the latest example of wall decor that essentially turns you, the homeowner or passerby, into the star of the show, surrounded by tiers of adoring fans.

At the Milan furniture fair last month, I saw new wallpaper by Konstantin Grcic and new wall tiles from Bisazza, both of which had embedded crystals that reflected light and simulated camera flashes -- your own paparazzi on the wall. 

For me, the joy of Fuoco is the audience, people who came to see a show and ended up center stage.

-- Craig Nakano

Dandelion Mobile photo credit: Miss Print

Kaje and Oizo photo credit: Châto & Co.

Field Poppies photo credit: Graham & Brown

Fuoco photo credit: Trove

ICFF 2010: A wink on the wall, a green queen, punk teacups and some cocktail therapy

Certain design fans will roll their eyes, but exhibitors hawking some cheeky fun at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair did add to the event's positive vibe. 

British designer Deborah Bowness premiered wallpaper that reproduced her favorite framed artworks, each photographed in sections and reassembled David Hockney-style. (That's her above, "sitting" on a separate wallpaper sofa below her art montage.)

The wallpaper is silk-screened in black and white, by hand, then painted in color, again by hand. “They’re all from junk markets or second-hand shops,” Bowness said of the artworks. For her ICFF booth, the designer mixed 2D with 3D -- vintage postcards, framed needlepoint and other novelties picked up days before while thrift shopping in Brooklyn. Perhaps the best part? In the corner, the image of an office clock, set to 1 p.m. “Always lunchtime,” Bowness said.

More amusements below:

Above: The Solar Queen figurine from Kikkerland dutifully gestures to her subjects with a swiveling wrist powered by a tiny solar panel on her purse. Credit: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

Above: London-based Hanna Tonek Bonnett had some fun with her own 2008 design, giving dainty teacups a bit of an edge. Now a rim of white gold drips messily down into the tidy flowers below. Credit: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

Above: Urbancase, a Seattle design and build firm, launched the Emergency Cocktail Station, a wall-mounted bar for those times when first aid means shaken, not stirred. The design, by Darin Montgomery, includes a drop-down door that doubles as a miniature prep table. Credit: Urbancase  

Above: Jaime Salm, co-founder of the Philadelphia design studio Mio, snaps a picture at the request of visitors to his booth at ICFF. As fashion companies increasingly jump into home décor, Mio is going for a little payback. The firm, known for sustainably produced furniture, housewares and lighting, is designing Tyvek jackets and felt hats. The leap has some logic: Mio's early success came largely from felt bowls and felt lamps made by a milliner, who is producing the hats.

Above: Mio's hat wall at ICFF. Credit: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

Above: Mio also showed a new bicycle basket, left, and freestanding basket, right, that embodied the company's green objectives. The basket ships as a flat piece of steel, above right in blue, reducing packaging and shipping costs; customers stretch it into shape themselves. The freestanding piece could be used as an umbrella stand, perhaps, or lined with a bag for trash. The economy of design means there's little metal waste in the manufacturing process. Credit: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

-- Craig Nakano

Photo credit, top: Michael Nagle / For the Los Angeles Times

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ICFF 2010: A touch of craft, a hint of folk

Malene Barnett's Mehndi rug was just one example of global folk, craft and traditional arts interpreted into home designs for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which ended Tuesday in New York. Barnett said her woolen silk rug was inspired by a friend’s wedding in Mumbai, India, where her hands were dyed during a mehndi ceremony. The intricate lines of the henna pattern were translated into threads of Tibetan wool and Chinese silk, knotted by hand. Barnett, who runs her Malene B studio out of Brooklyn, offers the rug in a cream palette, pictured above, as well as an electric red.

 

To celebrate the 75th birthday of Artek, co-founded by the legendary Alvar Aalto, the Finnish company partnered with textile maker Maharam to develop new looks for Aalto’s classic 1936 Armchair 400. Pictured here: the embroidered linen of Sabine Steinmair, “whose origins in the Germanic South Tyrol bring an Alpine folkloric sensibility to her work,” according to the press materials.

One of the pleasant surprises of the show was the New Caribbean Design collection, whose traditional crafts carried a contemporary flair. Stella Hackett, a Barbados artist and graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, showed her hand-formed Coal Pot Bottles made of red clay. Traditional island cooking, Hackett said, is done in red clay pots with a cavity in the bottom for hot coals. She used  the same clay for her bottles, adding glazed interiors and stoppers to make them functional. The vessels’ simple sculptural appeal, however, was what kept stopping passersby.

Also part of the New Caribbean Design collection: Primitive yet sophisticated Maroon baskets made of hand-stitched coconut palm. They were designed by Ivelyn Harris, who runs Nanny of the Maroons Traditional Crafts in Jamaica. 

-- Craig Nakano

Photos: Michael Nagle / For The Times