product design

Monday, July 13, 2009

Interview – Paige Russell

Canadian designer Paige Russell – she’ll be showing her beautiful ceramics range this week at Designboom Mart in Melbourne!

North American Wild Life Series of stoneware vessels

The Spout Collective – I love these so much… they have such personality!

You know how when you go to a Design Market or trade show in Melbourne, it’s great to see so many fab Australian designers in one place, and you always find lots of goodies to spend your cash on… but sometimes (and don’t take this the wrong way…) there is just a little niggling feeling that you’ve seen a lot of the stuff before? …and then you begin to get an insatiable hankering for something NEW!?

Well, that is where Designboom Mart comes in! Designboom Mart is run by Milan-based super-site Designboom. It’s a cross between a design market and a group exhibition – and presents a unique opportunity to meet 40 international design professionals personally! Visitors can purchase intelligent, quirky designed pieces from their makers – and participating designers have the opportunity to meet new customers, manufacturers, distributors, press and curators. It’ll be at the Melbourne Exhibition Building in Carlton this weekend, in the same location at Design Made Trade. So you can get your fix of local design and international talent all in one place!

Designboom has curated annual mart exhibitions in New York and Tokyo since 2005. This is their first time in Melbourne!

Canadian Ceramicist Paige Russell is one of 40 international designers who’ll be showing their wares at Designboom Mart in Melboure this week, and I feel very lucky to give you a sneak peek of her beautiful work, and an interview with the designer herself!

Paige Russell is online here
She also has an Etsy store here
and a fantastic blog here

So much bookmarking to do. But make sure you visit Paige at Designboom Mart in Melbourne this week! In addition to the stunning range you see here, she’ll also be unveiling some brand new products for the first time…

Tell me a little about your background – what path led you to what you’re doing now?

Growing up I was always busy making things; cookies, cakes, snow forts, cardboard cat apartments and air band instruments, newspapers, and flower arrangements. My sister & parents were very supportive and involved, sharing their creativity with me. I feel so lucky for that.

When I graduated, I moved from Kelowna to Vancouver and did a fine arts foundation program. From there I went to Parsons School of Design in NYC for Product Design. It was there that I met production ceramics and here I am today, still loving it.

What have been some of your favourite products, special projects or collaborations?

I usually say the Spout series is my favorite, but today, just a few days after Canada Day, I’m feeling a tad patriotic and I’m going to say the Bad Beaver vase. To me it represents a bit of Canadian Mythology. And a recent special project that I had so much fun doing was the 3D sheep cracker project I did for my guest writing on Design*Sponge 2 months ago. I think I would also be perfectly happy being a food stylist…

Bad Beaver vases – cute!

3D sheep cracker project for Design*Sponge guest blog! Love it!!!! (Very Marije Vogelzang!)

Many designer/makers often say they love the creative side of the job, but struggle with ‘business’ and ‘salesperson’ side of things… how do you balance the creative work with the day-to-day tasks involved in running a small business?

I wish I could say that I’m the exception and that I have it all together… but the truth is that like many creative minds, I find it a challenge to wear all the hats that owning/running a business requires. I’m still learning how to navigate that and am going to be taking some delegation steps very soon that will hopefully help out with the balancing… But for now, ‘one foot in front of the other’ is how I make it work.

Where do you turn for inspiration – books, magazines or the web etc?

There are definitely a few magazines that I rely on – Living Etc., your Australian Vogue Living, and Dwell. When I have time online I check out Bloesem, Design*Sponge, Grain Edit, and Oh Joy. (Your blog was an exciting new find to add to my list!) My shelves of vintage finds whispers things to me from time to time. And if all else fails, my go-to spot that never lets me down is the shower. Water + me = direct line to the collective consciousness idea pool!

And if that doesn’t work and I’m really really stuck, I take twenty minutes and watch Elizabeth Gilbert’s talk from this year’s TED conference on nurturing creativity. (She’s the author of Eat, Pray, Love) It’s brilliant. And SUPER inspiring.

Some of Paige’s earlier work

Which designers, artists or creative people are you inspired by?

Anyone following their dream is a hero to me. It’s not an easy path! But the ones who amaze me most of late are Hella Jongerious for her prolific playfulness, Piet Hein Eek for his clever reclaimations, and Christien Meindertsma for her soft & thoughtful explorations. And searching for images of Christien’s work is how I found you, so I’m extra grateful to her!*

*aww thanks Paige! :) I’m so glad Christien introduced us! – Lucy

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

Most days I start with checking and answering my emails, doing the daily post for my blog paige + modern, and then I grab my amazing assistant, who also happens to be my mother, and it’s up to the studio to whistle while we make.

Inside Paige’s studio in British Columbia

What are you most proud of professionally?

I think being part of the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum’s ‘Inside Design Now’ triennial in 2003 is the list topper for me. It was pretty exciting to see my work in that environment, in the company of such amazing designers!

What would be your dream project?

One would involve going back in time to build a Mid Century ice fishing village with Walter Widmeyer on structure duty, Charles & Ray Eames on furniture, Alexander Girard on textiles & other bright décor bits. I would make custom hot beverage sets & fireplace tiles. Yes!

A (slightly) more realistic one would be to start a design camp on one of the Gulf Islands that would have kids & college students workshop-ing together to create tree forts, sustainable forest based products, and other such goodness. And all without (gasp!) computers. They’d be kicking it old school Macgyver style.

My inspiration for this is Gever Tulley’s Tinkering School. They are making some serious magic happen down (up for you) in California for a few kids. BC could use some of that goodness!

What are you looking forward to?

I can’t wait to come down under for the State of Design show and see how you guys get it done in the Southern Hemisphere! I love experiencing new places and styles and from the great bits of Australian design I’ve seen, I won’t be disappointed!

British Columbia Questions!

What do you love about living in British Columbia?

The trees, the lakes, the mountains. She is a beauty she is.

And to see what I love about living in Kelowna, check out the city guide I did for Design*Sponge. (here and here)

Paige’s ceramics studio in British Columbia

What/where was the last great meal you ate in your local area?

Ooooh, it was at local Kelowna favorite, Raudz. They use mostly locally grown/raised ingredients and put lots of creative thought into the taste combos & presentation. Very yum.

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

Working my one shift a week at a local tea shop, owned by a high school friend, called Chai Baba’s. I do it to get out of my studio and interact with the public. It’s also just a great space to spend time in.

British Columbia’s best kept secret?

Definitely the Gulf Islands, with their big rain forest trees, very talented back-to-nature folks, and rocky beaches. They are worth a visit!

Designboom Mart

Trade only days – Thurs 16th and Fri 17th July – 10am – 5pm
Open to the Public – Sat 18th, Sun 19th July – 10am – 5pm
$10 entry (includes entry to Design Made Trade)

Melbourne Exhibition Building, Nicholson st, Carlton

Thanks so much for your time Paige! Very much looking forward to meeting you soon! x

Posted by Lucy at 9:00 pm
Categories - Craft, International Design, Interview, international people, product design Comments (4)

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Interview – Nipa Doshi

Nipa Doshi

Principessa daybed for Moroso

Sketches for the My Beautiful Backside couch for Moroso

My Beautiful Backside couch for Moroso

State of Design is nearly upon us! As you know I will be attempting some kind of design festival attendance world record, and will be posting daily festival coverage here (most likely multiple posts each day actually) for the next 2 weeks! In addition to reviewing and recommending design festival events, I also have some fabulous interviews lined up with some of the festival’s very special international and local guests!

But of all the events, openings and meetings I’m preparing for, today’s interview is perhaps the most exciting! I cannot quite believe that Nipa Doshi had time to squeeze this is… but I feel extremely lucky to be sharing it with you. Ms Doshi is perhaps the famous-est designer I have ever interviewed! I am quite star-struck.

If you are not familiar with the incredible work of London design studio Doshi Levien, get ready to be enthused! Nipa and partner Jonathan Levien have amassed the most vibrant, varied body of work since they first burst onto the UK design scene in 2000. Their prolific output spans furniture design, product design, interaction design and even shoe design! Clients include Intel, Nokia, Tefal, Moroso, and John Lobb.

Read on for an insight into the wonderful, colourful world of Nipa Doshi!

Myth and Material installation in New York – here Doshi Levien reference India’s multilayered modern culture, emphasising how opposites coexist harmoniously – sensuousness with the spiritual and austere; functionality with creativity and imagination.

Myth and Material installation – New York

Tell us a little about your background – what path led you to setting up Doshi Levien, and how has the business evolved since you first set up your studio with Jonathan in 2000?

I grew up in India, in a very diverse environment full of contradictions, where seeming opposites co-existed, a world full of creative possibilities. I studied design at NID Ahmedabad followed by a Master’s degree at the Royal College of Art in London, where I met Jonathan. After graduating we both worked for other design studios, but after 3 years we decided to be masters of our own destiny. We gave up our jobs, got married and set up Doshi Levien.

We started out designing tableware and cutlery for Habitat in London thanks to Tom Dixon who championed young designers. We have worked on a very diverse range of projects and immersed ourselves in the world associated with curiosity and the aim to learn without fear of failure. This has earned our studio a reputation where clients come to us because they want something different.

Mosaic Cookware for Tefal

Graphic Mosaic cookware base patterns (ie for the underside of each Mosaic pot!)

Your work is extremely varied – from installation design to furniture design, product design, interaction design and even shoe design! What have been some of your favourite or most memorable projects?

I don’t see how furniture design is so different from shoe design or interaction design. They are all products and objects we use on a daily basis. In interaction design you are interacting with virtual products! We never set out defining our creativity in terms of what we are designing. We spend a lot of time doing research before we embark on any design project and we have enjoyed each one. Some were harder than others due to the steep learning curve, but that made them even more challenging and fun!

Doshi Levien collaborates with traditional bespoke shoe manufacturer John Lobb

Drawings for John Lobb ladies shoes

One of Nipa’s finished shoe designs for the Apprentice range. Too beautiful.

Which designers, artists or creative people do you admire?

Frida Kahlo, Shadi Ghadirian, Bharat Sikka, anonymous street artists in India, set painters, unsung, untrained designers who have created most of the products I love and use everyday, Charles and Ray Eames, Cristobal Balenciaga…there are too many.

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

A lot of thinking, circling around a project to find the right way in, dreaming, sketching, answering press interviews, and inevitably some business related admin too (which I wish I never had to do).

Sketches for pillows (for the Moroso Charpoy daybed)

Moroso Charpoy daybeds

What would be your dream creative project?

Design a house, be involved in an urban planning project for a city and a wellbeing spa.

What are you looking forward to?

To becoming the Minister of Culture in India!

5 of your favourite things…

The old market in Ahmedabad,
my bespoke crocodile shoes from John Lobb,
Monsoon rains in India,
Alphonso mangoes,
Goyard bags.

Stethoscope and doctor’s bag for the Wellcome Trust window installation

More custom props for the Wellcome Trust window installation - these are medicine jars

Nipa Doshi will be speaking at Design Capital in Melbourne this Friday, July 17th.

For booking information, visit the State of Design website.

Thanks so much to Nipa for her time with this interview!

Posted by Lucy at 9:00 pm
Categories - International Design, Interview, Textiles, furniture design, product design Comments (5)

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Interview – Tamara Maynes

Tamara Maynes in her studio

Patchwork dress by Tamara Maynes for Inside Out magazine

Tamara Maynes is a designer and maker specialising in product design and development, soft props, and custom craftwork. From her Bespoke Workshop studio in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Tamara creates all kinds of unique handcrafted gorgeous things – from custom props comissioned by publications such as Inside Out Magazine, to soft-funishings and ceramics for iconic Sydney retailer Orson and Blake.

Recently Tamara launched a fun new project – the Six Week Boutique is an online store which will stock limited editions of craft and interior-based products, with a new collection launched every six weeks! The current range is a family of gorgeous hand-dyed macrame owls (pictured below), entitled ‘to john denver, with love’. They were featured on Design*Sponge earlier this week though, and are soon to grace the pages of Inside Out and Frankie Magazine… so better snap one up now because it won’t be long before they disappear!

Rebecca Wolkenstein has also written a lovely little post about Tamara on her blog, in which she describes Tamara as a ‘crafter extraordinaire’, and ‘Sydney’s best kept secret’… Not for much longer!

Tamara also has a great little studio blog showcasing both personal and commissioned crafty projects here.

Read on to learn a little more about Tamara’s background and prolific creative output!

Tell me a little about your background – what path led you to what you’re doing now?

Born into a family of craftspeople, I was frequently exposed to raw materials and various mediums. This coupled with my idealist tendencies made me a likely design candidate!

As a child in the 70’s I experimented heavily with the popular crafts of the time while my teenage years were all about fashion – designing, making, illustrating and styling.

Moving to Sydney at 18, I began signwriting for a record store while I pursued fashion. From there I worked in fashion merchandising eventually starting my own clothing label. This led to a collaboration designing accessories that was picked up by Kookai.

I stumbled into homewares when I was asked to design and produce a range for a Versace exhibition. This shift in focus, resulted in the launch of my self titled range of wholesale homewares and personals. Orson & Blake approached me during this time and I happily began designing and developing their self branded products.

Left – custom pin-cushions for Inside Out magazine, right – woven cushions for Orson and Blake.

My specialised make and craftwork service bespoke workshop evolved organically over the last five years as I began getting requests from stylists, showrooms and interior designers to make one off pieces and props for editorial, installations and private homes.

It seems I never actually chose an ultimate career path, I have simply done what I know and love!

Oh I love this one – the red dots especially! Fabric slippers for Mokum.

You’ve collaborated with some incredible brands and inspiring creatives – such as Orson and Blake and Mokum… Who have been some of your favourite clients and/or collaborators?

I have been developing products for Orson & Blake for almost six years now and have learned so much about areas I may otherwise have not been exposed to such as ceramics, lighting and furniture.

Working with Jen Murnaghan on particular commissions for Mokum such as the Liberty couture slip cover and the Osbourne & Little wallpapered house are favourites. As are various props commissioned by stylists for Inside Out Magazine.

Wallpaper house for Mokum

Tell us about The Six Week Boutique! How did this concept come about? What kinds of products can we expect to see in the boutique in the coming months?

The Six Week Boutique is my recently launched online store. Every six weeks sees a new collection of my limited edition craft based pieces for sale.

The idea came about after I relocated from Sydney to the Southern Highlands. I wanted my work to be available online in a slightly quirky way with collections of limited edition pieces, similar to an exhibition.

The first and current collection of macrame owl wallhangings is titled ‘to john denver, with love’. The second collection instore on July 31st is a range of pretty cool cross-stitch kits titled ‘the saturday night girls’.

‘to john denver, with love’ macrame owls

Further collections are still in the ideas stage so checking out the store and becoming a boutique subscriber is the best way to find out about what exciting things are coming up!

Where do you turn for inspiration – books, magazines or the web? Do you pay attention to trends in the broader design world like architecture, film, etc?

Magazines, books and the web! I am an imagery addict… although magazines are my big love. I don’t often pay attention to trends in the broader design world although they definitely play a part in what I do.

Which designers, artists or creative people are you inspired by?

Creative people who take chances and honour their vision inspire me most. Those such as design team Wary Meyers, photographer Tim Walker, the advertising prowess of textile and wallpaper designers Osbourne & Little, and my wise friend and stylist extraordinnaire, Glen Proebstel.

Left – spring stitching craftwork, right – wallpaper craftwork for Inside Out

Left – cushions for Inside Out, right – leather rabbits for Inside Out

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

Three days of my week are focused exclusively on Orson & Blake and involve sourcing new fabrics and suppliers, meeting with makers, managing production and lots of emails! I spend another 2-3 days on special projects for other clients which generally includes meetings, sourcing, design, making and again lots of emails! And of course now I also spend time designing/making for and managing The Six Week Boutique!

What are you most proud of professionally?

Launching my first wholesale homewares range in 2002. I gave it my all, crafting each piece by hand until absolutely perfect and summoned the courage to put myself out there and approach people I admired. The experience taught me a great deal about business, the workings of my industry and what my strengths and weaknesses are.

What would be your dream project?

Firstly, I have a big dream project that is very close to my heart, and since it is so dear and also requires finding a major investor to fund it, it shall remain a secret until I have discovered the means to make it a reality!

Secondly, I really enjoy the role of creative direction so being invited to work in this capacity for a visionary company or individual would also put a big smile on my face!

What are you looking forward to?

Seeing the beautiful design book I am currently planning published and on the shelves in my favourite bookstore. Stay tuned!

NSW Questions –

Where do you shop in Sydney (or the Southern Highlands) for the tools of your trade (ie fabrics, threads, sewing equipment)?

Greenfields in Surry Hills is my main supplier for most sewing needs and I keep in regular contact with fabric suppliers around Sydney such as Mokum, for the latest upholstery fabrics. Considering my projects are so varied I can also be found at Oxford Art Supplies in Sydney and my local Bunnings Hardware!

What/where was the last great meal you ate in Sydney / the Southern Highlands?

Relocating to a country town and adopting a Vegan diet doesn’t leave much scope for eating out! The last great meal I ate in Sydney was contemporary Chinese at The Mahjong Room in Surry Hills… delicious! And in the Highlands my husband’s home cooking beats any restuarant!

Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?

I do ‘project saturday’, where I spend a couple of hours on the Highlands op shop trail getting overexcited by yet another armchair to redesign and then I work on my latest personal project which, you guessed it… is often redesigning yet another armchair!

Sydney’s best kept secret?

I don’t think it’s such a secret these days but Mitchell Road Auctions was Sydney’s best kept… so many of my possessions hail from there!

Left – velvet slipper for Inside Out, right – couture chair for Mokum.

Posted by Lucy at 9:00 pm
Categories - Craft, Interview, Sydney, Textiles, Wallpaper, product design Comments (5)

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

Megan’s Milan press pack

Megan Morton’s press kit stash from Milan – love the bronzey coloured Tom Dixon bag..!

If I were a real journalist, I’m sure press kit fodder wouldn’t excite me much. But because I usually have to resort to sneaking my camera around and taking photos at trade fairs/shops/showrooms somewhat illegally, the idea of a press kit filled with great photos and endless eye-candy at my disposal seems so luxurious!

The super-fabulous Megan Morton (Megan is currently my most favourite person in the whole world – did you notice?) was generous enough to loan me her Milan press-kit paraphernalia for a few days last week whilst she was in town… so I could share all her goodies with you! She hadn’t even had a chance to look through it herself before handing it over for me to scan/copy to my heart’s content. How nice is that?

So here we have some of the contents of Megan’s gorgeous Tom Dixon metallic totebag. The Jaime Hayon for Baccarat catalogue is too perfect for words. The product, the photos, the colour palette, the layout. Ridiculous super-wonderful.

Baccarat catalogue cover with translucent red overlay. Love it!

Jaime wistfully dreaming up his next creation… hee!

I just can’t get enough of Jaime’s naive hand-drawn designs..! Why do I love them so much?!

Pagespreads – sorry not the best quality. Daylight savings is no good for blogging!

One of the other gorgeous things Megan picked up was this little wallpaper CD wallet from 39.22 – a new design collective founded and supported by Greek design company CARTECO. ‘STREET COLOURS’ is 39.22′s first range of wallpaper, inspired by the streets of Athens. 39.22. has sourced the street artists of Athens and invited them to create a series of unique wallpapers. Clever clever.

Fabulous original patterns and gorgeous ‘sludgy’ colours (as Megan would say)! Love the promo video too.

Maison Martin Margiela‘s white-on-white approach extended to their promo material… a precious little document encased in a flat linen envelope, slightly frayed at the top, and stamped with MMM’s 2009 theme – ‘Mat, Satine, Brilliant’. Classic and clean, with enough texture/detail to grab attention and encourage the journos to hold onto this keepsake, rather than discard it once they’ve penned their reviews!

Dedon‘s promotional material has some nice shots of their weaving in action… these designs are for the gorgeous Riviera Lounger Megan mentioned here.

Ok that’s all. No more Milan I promise :)

Posted by Lucy at 9:00 pm
Categories - Festivals, International Design, international people, product design Comments (5)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Walls Notebook

Did you see this over on the Inside Out blog? Instead of offering blank pages on which to scribble, the Walls Notebook offers 80 pages of New York city walls to spark your creative imagination.

The official website reads -

‘Not ready for jail, fines or involuntary community service, but still want to vandalise somebody’s wall? With the Walls Notebook you can exercise your creative mischief on 80 untouched New York City walls without fear of repercussions or reprisal’. !!

Great for the budding grafitti enthusiast! But mainly it just seems like such a fun way to free up your ideas… because sometimes it’s so hard to start drawing on an ominous blank page… ya know?

You can buy one here for just US$16.95. More info and pics here (including a cute little section where you can draw directly onto the Wall Notebook pages on their website…). This amazing little design was brought to you by US design duo the. (Yeah, they’re just called ‘the.’)

Thanks Grace Lee at Inside Out for this tip-off!

PS) After perusing their website, it seems that ‘the.‘ are clearly design geniuses. Their other creations include the often-blogged Anti-Theft Lunch Bag, the Speak-er (picture below – love it), and the fabulously simple New Lamp, based on my fave fave fave example of contemporary architecture, the New Museum in NYC!

Sheesh. These guys should be millionaires by now.

Speak-er by the.

New Lamp by the. I WANT ONE. Why is it US$1200?

Posted by Lucy at 9:00 pm
Categories - International Design, Lighting, in print, product design Comments (6)

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Hay Pinnochio Rug

OMG!

I don’t often use txt-message style abbreviated exclamations like this but sometimes only ‘OMG!’ seems adequate to describe my excitement!

How amazing are these hand-felted Pinnochio rugs by Danish design house Hay? Seriously fabulous. I wish I was brave enough to have one of these babies in my own home. And actually, the pricetag of 4,999 Danish kroners equates to around AU$1200, which isn’t too bad really. Not for a loungeroom covered in multicoloured felt pom poms.

I do worry about the dust though. Imagine vacuuming one of these! Jeepers.

Anyway. Love it.