2modern.. 2furious

I've recently started blogging for 2modern on a weekly basis. So check out my post over at the 2modern Design Talk every Tuesday.

Special thanks to Holly at decor8.

7th Annual Milan "time to get get giddy" Design Week 2007

This years Milan Design Week had outstanding coverage in the blogosphere. Thanks to Moco Loco, Core77, Designboom and Pan-Dan I felt like I was actually in Milan for the fair (minus the great food, hot women and gelato). There is a lot to process after the world’s biggest annual design fair, but I’ll list a few things that made me giddy…

Flos brings in the big dogs, Marcel Wanders and Phillipe Starck, to make their lighting solutions even more dazzling.

“Sky Garden” by Marcel Wanders for Flos

"Tribe" by Phillipe Starck for Flos

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Moooi “The Unexpected Welcome”

In an exhibition setting these are impressive, but I bet isolated in a domestic context they will be overwhelmingly impressive.

'Non-Random' lights by Bertjan Pot for Moooi

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I posted on the Fatboy furniture line recently, Patricia Urquiloa’s “Fat Sofa” is the Banana Republic to the "Fatboy" furntiture’s Old Navy. But they do look deliciously plumperific. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Alinata' shelving system by Satyendra Pakhalé for Erreti are a pretty cool design for a boring old shelf. And the stragetically placed legs on all sides lets you place the shelf to your needs.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Left or Right BIG lamp by Julian Appelius is a perfect combination of lighting solution and book storage as a reading light that can sit bed side or chair side and hold all you reading material as part of it’s structure. A smaller version is also available to be mounted on the wall or for table tops.

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Lamps No1 & No2 by Nicolo Taliani are based on science lab equipment. The beaker style base of the lamp holds the chord as it coils up to create a unique look that relates to how much lead is needed on the chord to plug in the lamp. Simple and amazing!

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Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec's "Pol" sofas just look kick-ass !---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peter Marigold's cool and practical shelving solution is modular and can be customized according to individual requirements.

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Last, but definitely NOT least, I have to give a shout out to Karola Torkos and Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino for their fun and innovative line of table ware called Topoware.

"This set, made of bowls, salad plates and dinner plates see the lines reappear in playful ways to label your dining habits. Each piece addresses a different issue or poses a different question. Are you hungry, very hungry or done? Are you modest or greedy? Do you have a mom/dad or child portion?". See more here on the Topoware Flickr page.

Dirty Sanchez

This past weekend was a “rock star” weekend as Sydney hosted the MTV Video Music Awards. Since J-Dizzle is the head of Talent/Artist relations she asked me to help her out by being a talent escort for Dirty Sanchez. I was warned that these boys are gonna be nuts and that I will be super stressed out with their antics while trying to smoothly escort them during the live filming of the show. Also, I was warned that they would probably urinate on me or staple their peni to my leg. However, the boys were amazingly friendly and professional. They were cooperative and despite being completely shit-faced during the whole weekend they made it very easy for me. Not only that but I got to hang with 4 of the funniest guys I have ever met in my life. Granted that when the cameras are on they electrocute each other and swing heavy objects off their reproductive organs, but just hanging out and drinking they are like any other group of best friends who are having a blast. They rag on each other and make fun of stuff trying to make each other laugh. All in all, it was a great time and it made me a bit envious of their lifestyle. Hopefully I will get to hang with them again because it was ridiculously fun.

I had to physically remove myself from the room during their media interviews because I was laughing so hard. I will try to see if I can get footage of the interviews for you guys to see,

Some of the other celebs I saw during the filming of the show and the after party:
Good Charlotte, Fergie, Nicole Richie, SilverChair, Perez Hilton, Kristen from Laguna Beach, 30 Seconds to Mars and a bunch of other OZ celebs…

Fatboys are the new black...

Designers are finally starting to show some love for the subcontinental giant sized population… ta da… the Fatboy Furniture Collection.
via iliketotallyloveit
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I have just been introduced to the amazing work of Kim Westad. She is a graphic designer turned ceramicist. Not only is her work great but her story makes me want to quit my 9to5 as a graphic designer and pursue my passion for ceramics. Kim if you somehow read this, give me a holler… I wanna pick your brain.

from ohjoy!
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Since RSJ is no longer blogging, I have to go out and find my own tips for making my internet/computer usage more efficient. For all you Firefoxers out there, this post by Life Hacker is awesome. Peep it…

We bout to blast ooofffff.

Who says matchbooks have to be boring and old school, well I do. I’ve never seen a matchbook and said to myself “that’s a cool matchbook,” to think of it I’ve never seen a matchbook and though anything because they are irrelevant in my life. Some how the folks at Feel Addicted figured out my feelings (or non-feelings) towards this object and completely made it a fine designed object that has taken center stage. The Lucifer match dispenser allows you to shake out a match, and as you pull it out of the dispenser lights it. No more fumbling around and hiding in the corner to light it, you pull out an already lit match…. and it looks bad ass to boot. from notcot

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Marge: Look Homer! The number on the house is spelled out in letters!
Homer: Get used to it Marge, from now on we're going to spell everything with letters

That’s right, tired of being caught in the never-ending battle of choosing spelled out house numbers or scripty non-spelled out house numbers… well break the mo(u)ld with Umbra’s new number system. These numbers are pretty sweet looking, and they have adjustable tabs so you can punch the holes you need for your address. Also, since only 3.25 people read this friggin blog, I guarantee that no one in your neighborhood has these.

from iliketotallyloveit via umbra

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I remember as a small child, wait sorry I was never small, as a young child I used to love stacking mom and pops furniture to make cars, boats and the occasional rocket. Well, apparently so did Janus et Cie because her design of the Obelisk Chair does just that. A set of multi-purpose furniture pieces made of polyethylene with a powder-coated aluminum frame that can be stacked to make a giant rocket/storage formation when not in use.

from gizmodo

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This laptop sleeve is perfect for protecting your shiny little laptops and still adhering to the company dresscode.

via coolhunter

Honeycomb Hideout...

Grommet Hole Accessories.

Belkins grommet hole covers bring all the nerds to the yard. These things are awesome. Grommet holes are such an eye sore in your fake wood desk. But now, thanks to Belkin, we can utilize these eye sores with a nerdy, IT twist. Belkin has designed grommet hole covers with a built in iPod docking station and another version with 4 USB ports ( angled and flat ) This would be a great highlight when you put photos of your desk in with On Your Desk

from popgadget

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Honeycomb Shelves.

I’ve been designing a new shelving unit for my bedroom. Something customized for my wardrobe area because normal people shelves hold about 2 Subcontinental Giant sized shirts.

While looking around for other designers solutions I virtually ran into the folks at Unto This Last.

I thing they have some great, contemporary solutions for shelving. I especially like the Honeycomb shelves.from itotallyloveit.com
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Herman Miller Design history

I’m bitter, this is the equivalent of every design history class I ever took across the span of 2 friggin’ higher education degrees. Oh well, now you can get a little dose of design history.
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Origami Plate Set

Fun, innovative and well designed… that’s how I like my tableware. Robin Platt executes this perfectly in his new Oragami set.

from yanko

I think I wanna wife her....

My Future Wife

This has to be the nerdiest design thing ever. And guess what… I friggin love it and plan on ordering the set of The Ladies of the Baseline ! Typographical genius. Kudos to Matt Sutter for being my hero.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hackney Shelf

Here’s an ingenious idea that blurs the boundaries between furniture design, graffitti and conceptual fine art. London designer Ryan Frank strategically places white boards at various points in east London and waits for illicit decoration to begin. Frank leaves boards out for weeks until they have sufficiently “matured” into colorful pieces of street art. Once the boards have matured, they are removed and transformed into these colorful mobile shelving units - juxtaposing street art with interior environment. For the collectors out there: every piece is a completely unique slice of “recycled” Hackney street art.

from inahabitat

Hackney Lite

Hackney Lite is the follow-up design from Hackney Shelf. The range displays a pure white front without the graffiti and includes a large & small floor standing unit.The ‘clean canvas’ gives consumers the freedom to add their own graffiti/graphics in the privacy of their home.

from bouf

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The boys over at SOZ are taking DIY furniture to the next step with their new furniture range, Re:mo. The mini carpenter’s blocks can be locked into each other to create any form that is needed. The beauty of this range is the instant availability that it offers.

Say you and Bob are lounging around in your Re:mo chairs, then suddenly Tim shows up with no where to sit. Being the gracious host that you are, you take Bob’s chair and break it down into two stool so that everyone has seat. This can apply to shelves, tables, stools or whatever you need to change to fit your current needs.

Plus they remind me a lot of the Puzzle! Plates that were created by yours truly.

from yanko via coolhunter

SF V WK

Holy Hell! My Head Just Exploded with JOY !

Peeping Kuuuuuooooomar

This week I have started to convert half my bedroom into my work space/studio. I want to keep doing creative stuff outside of the corporate 9to5. While trying to resolve some space division issues I stumbled upon this site, and I CAN"T STOP GOING THROUGH IT. The first 3 hours were spent just reading the posts sent in by designers, but now I am going through all of them. It might be one of the coolest sites ever. Does this make me a weirdo just because I like checking out other peoples work spaces ?

Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto

Now that I am back into the 9to5 grind, I have to go and buy an alarm cock. Here are 2 great solutions to the boring conventional clocks.

Dangerbomb Alarm clock

This alarm clock is a pretty clever design for people like me, no not because I am brown and my people love bombs, but because it is really hard for me to wake up in the morning (or during any part of my sleep cycle). I usually end up turning off the alarm and being late for whatever it is I need to be up for. But with this clock I have to actually get up and connect the 3 wires to stop the annoying buzzing.
more>>

Clocky

This this takes “interactive wake-up solutions” to the next level. As soon as the alarm goes off, Clocky takes off and runs around your room beeping and flashing until you get up and chase it down. Perfect… I might just have to order me a Clocky.

more>>

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I proudly present 2 of the coolest shoes to ever be targeted to our generation:

The Transformers X Nike Air Trainer III

more>>

Reebok Voltron Pack

more>>

I reall hope no one is planning to make a line of kicks for these guys

My piece bang cloth tables...

One of my former professors just got a mention in POL Oxygen magazine as one of the best and brightest designers. Kelly Freeman, of BernabeiFreeman, was a studio professor during my postgraduate course. She and her partner have been recognized for the design of the Cloth Table:

The versatile Cloth Table has a perforated tartan top that can be reversed to create a self-contained serving tray. Manufactured from aluminum, stainless steel and powder coated white, it is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.

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One of the other designs mentioned in the same listing of the best and brightest is the Zoe Chair by Lievore, Altherr & Molina. This chair looks way too comfortable to be “high design” and I guess thats why I want to give it a shot out. I would actually put this in my “Man Room” not just for aesthetics but for it's comfortable-looking functionality.
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I recently came upon a 2-way doormat which reads “Come In” one way and flipped over it reads “Go Away.” Pretty clever… and it will be available for purchase here.

Foooosball ? That's the Devil's game

Over the years I have been a big fan of graffiti artists that go beyond the call of duty. One of my favorite "art terrorists" is UK based Banksy. Last year Banksy went down to the West Bank barrier, and while being harrassed and even shot at by Israeli & Palenstinian "security" he managed to put up 9 satirical graf pieces on both sides of the wall. When interviewed by POL Oxygen magazine, he described the expereince as the "Ultimate Activity Holiday Destination for Graffiti Writers." more>>
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This next design takes multi-functionality to the next level. An essential for any bachelor pad ****whoville, I'm looking at you****. Now you can get a fooooosball table, pool table and dice football (not sure what that is but it sounds awesome) all in one table with a turnstile mechanism that locks and rotates each different gaming surface. Watch out sliced bread... more>>
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In a previous post I brought you guys the results for the "Ceramics for Breafast" design competition. Well if you cared and wanted to put the faces of these young,amazing designers with their designs then you're in luck. Here are some photos from the awards ceremony.

Only time you wear Burberry... to swim

Been real busy the last few weeks with work and a guest in from Laurel, MD. That's right, Ian was here visiting for the past 2 weeks, the second leg of his giant trip around world. He came here via Hawaii and is now headed to Asia. Had a blast with him, but it was hard getting up in the mornings to go to work when i was trying to be a good host and get drunk with him as often as possible.

Also, now that I am an official Master of Design.. I am no longer working part-time or contract jobs. I am now a full-time employee of Fossil Group Australia. It's cool because FGA is the only licensed distributor in Australia for a lot of big watch brands along with Fossil ( Armani, DKNY, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, D&G, Diesel, Breil, Zodiac, Adidas, Michele, Rotary, Dreyfuss & Co, Windmills) and I get to design ads, brochures, visuals and will eventually design store layouts for these brands. Another cool thing about working for an Australian company with it's HQ in the states is that I'm not just a designer... I am an "American" designer. So the first few weeks the company has made me attend a lot of conference calls with the folks over in Dallas ( HQ) so they can say here is our new "American" designer and we can finally understand what the hell you damn Texans are talking about.

Now for the other cool part of getting this job... Fossil has agreed to sponsor me with a business visa for up to 4 years. That's right, I'm gonna go ahead and stay here until I'm sick of this place, and if I want to stay longer than that will be easy to achieve after I have lived here for 4 years. So the adventures of the Subcontinental Giant Down Unda will keep on continuing. Well, they will in theory but in actuality I am not going to be having too many more adventures now that I am working full time and not a student. Life is a bit boring, plus I've been here for so long now the novelty has worn off.

So this blog is gradually going to transition from crazy drunk celebrity schmoozing stories to a greater focus on what I am surrounded by now on a daily basis... design and watches.

But I'll sprinkle a few good stories. Here's one... MTV 's new show, "The Lair", premiered a few weeks back and J-dizzle is in charge of talent management, so it's basically her show. For the premiere filming I was asked to help out around the set and help manage the "talent." It was a good experience and I got to hang out with The Killers, Jet, Kasabian, My Chemical Romance and a few other random bands. Oh yeah, and there was a band there called Spank Rock there who turned out to be from Baltimore so we had a few laughs and Jaeger shots while discussing crab bombs and the domino sugar factory.

The Killers are awesome ! So laid back and all they wanted in their dressing room was 2 cases of VB and 2 bags of chips. Where as douche bag Jet had a ridiculous amount of requests and there posse of 40 + people were all at the height of douche bagginess ! But they had these 2 brown skinneded back up singers that made putting up with Jet's bollocks totally worth while.
Stupid Kasabian and My Chemical Squarepants are in some sort of "beef"... wait let me rephrase that because Emo P-hags can't be in "beefs"... they are in a bitch fest. But no one cared because no one cares about them.

Good times.

Milky Cereal....

I just returned after a 2 week vacation from Western Samoa. Man does it suck to be back into an office with pants and shoes on ! All i've worn for the last 2 weeks is flip-flops and board shorts but today I had to put on the dreaded shoes. My feet hate me... if they were a person they would take a baseball bat to my face for forcing them inside a pair of shoes.

Samoa was amazing. Paradise. Untouched, unspoiled beaches and forests. The people are massive ! I was average size there... and it felt good, I mean real good. Fell in love with the locally brewed beer, Vailima, so I wanted to invest in a Vailima shirt.
At the shirt stall the lady asks me what size shirt I need and I give my usual answer, "the biggest you got." So she replies, "ok, here's a 6x." it was a friggin' tent, so I said i just need a 2x and she's looks at me and smiles, "so you want the smallest size." Man it felt good to buy the smallest shirt in stock.

Lot's of beaches, lots of coastal drives, fire dances, fresh coconuts & seafood, traditional tattoo's, turquoise water and kava.

Will put up pics soon.

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I just discovered a great online show called Red vs. Blue. Might be one of the best concepts ever. The episodes average about 2-3 mins in length and the dialog is HIGH-larious. Check it out.

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I love creative and contemporary ceramic tableware! Here are some of the winners of the latest "ceramics for breakfast" design competion organized by designboom and MACEF. They are listed in the order that designboom and MACEF awarded them, however I disagree and have put my personal awards in place as well.

MACEF First Place.
SubcontinentalGiant 1st runner-up.
name of design : toasta (toast automatica)
design by : george watson from uk

Details here.



MACEF 1st runner-up.
SubcontinentalGiant 3rd runner-up
name of design : brick-a-bowl
design by : spitshuis lidewij from netherlands
Details here.

MACEF 2nd runner-up.
SubcontinentalGiant First Place.
name of design : Milk moments
design by : strasser laura + milia seyppel from germany

Details here.

MACEF 3rd runner-up.
SubcontinentalGiant 2nd runner-up.
name of design : parlez avec moi
design by : xinhe jiang + Zhuo Wang from france


Details here.

Check out all the entries here

Top Dubs !

Here are the 20 albums I rocked the most this year...

The Roots - Game Theory ( and possibly the best album art as well )
Ghostface - Fish Scale
Jenny Lewis w/ The Watson Twins - Rabbit Furcoat
Dj Green Lantern - Alive on Arrival
Kanye West - Late Registration
Flaming Lips - At War With the Mysitcs
Jedi Mind Tricks - Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell
Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
Big Boi - Got Purp? Vol. II (This was released in 2005 -- I didn't discover until early this year, deal with it.)
Little Brother - Seperate But Equal
Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldier
Jean Grae & 9th Wonder - Jeanius
Dilated Peoples - 20/20
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Girl Talk - Night Ripper
Bernard Fanning - Tea & Symphony
Beck - Information
Hill Top Hoods - The Hard Road

The album I think I played the most during my Master of Design program : Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot ( Demos )

If there is an album that i didn't list and you think I'm an idiot... hit me up and let me know.

Hip Hop is Dead ?

This post is strictly HIP HOP...

Nas is releasing a new album in a few weeks and it is boldly titled "Hip Hop is Dead"

Here is a PitchFork Media Interview with Nas.

Also, the new LP has a song with Jay-z called "Black Republicans." Pitchfork deems the song a battle between the "Insular basket case" vs. "Omnipotent archangel"... you be the judge
-- article --- song ---
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Ughh.com reports :

"Tony Starks is dropping another album this year. That’s right, 12/12 marks the date More Fish hits store shelves.

The album is an underground hip hop fan’s audible fantasy as the LP features Ghostface spewing shaolin sword techniques over instrumentals from Madlib, M.F. DOOM, Pete Rock and Hi-Tek. Guest appearances include Redman, Sheek (D-Block), and of course the Theodore Unit, but “More Fish” also introduces the world to Ghostface’s son, Sun God. If you watched the DVD that came with the Trife CD earlier this year, you already know the kid’s got heat (who could forget Ghost welcoming his son to the stage, “That n**** came from my balls”).

While many in hip-hop mourn the passing of the glory days, More Fish is another classic album from one of the genre's true legends, and one of its greatest talents. But for Tony Starks, it appears easy - like shooting fish in a barrel."

Still diggin Fishscale, can't wait to here this one.
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In the last 18+ months I have been trying to get into Aussie hip hop. After realizing that there is huge hip hop scene I found out that one of the first real hip hop head I met out here is blowing up on the Sydney Hip Hop scene.

Here's a bit from his interview with a local radio station:

Take a line of your lyrics from one of your songs. Tell us more! Where did that thought come from?
"You wanna talk heat? Tongue broke thermometers
You rappers don’t count like votes in Florida" - from Bad Education

I like that lyric because it serves the dual purpose of dissing weak mcs AND ‘cosmetic democracy’ at the same time. For those who don’t know there have been major allegations of ballot-fixing in the last two US presidential elections. In a country where voting is optional (note:voting is mandatory in OZ), I think every vote should be counted.

How good is that response?! This guy is on top of his shit... one of the smartest guys I've ever met and a very talented MC. He is destroying MC battle competitions and local shows.

Check out "The Tongue"

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Oh, and if you haven't worn out your copy of The Roots latest album, Game Theory, then you're an idiot because it is one of the best albums I have ever heard in my LIFE !

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And now some classics

Warning.Ready To Die.

Feelin' it. Reasonable Doubt.

One Love. Illmatic.

If You Design It... They Will Come.

This has probably been the longest hiatus that this blog has seen, but I do have a good excuse. I had to finish up my masters degree !

Yup it is official… I am a Masta of Mothafuckin’ Design ! What ever I touch instantly turns into an aesthetically pleasing, fully justified, functional marvel. Hey it’s a big responsibility, but I’m the man for it.

Over the past 3 semester I have created a lot of stuff,but these 2 objects are the ones I enjoyed conceptualizing and creating the most. Also, I became very involved with these 2 and that's why I am so satisfied with the end results.

Enjoy…

F209 Light

The design of the F209 Light is minimal in aesthetic and material use. The shape consists of 2 hollow conical forms that rest upon each other at the tapered ends . The seam where the 2 cones meet is connected with a piece of opal white perspex (plexiglass), which is in place to enhance the seam and accentuate the separation of the two forms through its illumination

The F209 Light is made up of completely recycled materials. The body of the light is created from old newsprint found at COFA. Once unwanted paper is collected, it is put through a pulping and reforming process to create the conical shapes that I used for the lamp. During the pulping process, the paper is mixed with an organic and non-toxic wheat paste that helps it reach a workable consistency. As a clay-like consistency, the paper is then reshaped by using a positive mould.

At the end of it's life cycle the paper forms can be broken back down to the original paper pulp state to be reproduced into another light or composted.

Puzzle !The Puzzle! Plates are tableware with an interactive twist. Most highly design tableware collections are serious and snobby. These plates break that boring trend by being functional and fun. The plates fit into each other from any side. The Puzzle ! line is constructed with stoneware ceramic and comes in white with an option of turquoise and lavender accents.

Stay tuned for more…