I was sad to learn today that the job I applied for at our local Design Within Reach was really an “oops” of a listing. The open position is really in Burlingame, CA, not Birmingham, MI. So, to anyone in or near Burlingame, have at it!
While I was perusing the DWR website, I learned two new things.
First of all, Design Within Reach sells glue sticks. Not just any glue sticks. True to DWR’s format, they offer a thorough (and rather entertaining) description:
“The CDT Glue Stick (2006) is encased in a pale green semi-gloss plastic casing that aesthetically coordinates with the rest of the system. Craft Design Technology (CDT) is a Japanese company that’s very much an expression of today’s global design culture. A collection of objects that were designed to enrich lives through their enhancement of the working process, every detail of the CDT line has been considered – from well-crafted production to the innovative and cohesive packaging that was conceived by Tyler Brûlé of Winkreative. Populate your desktop architecture with this complete system of workspace tools.”
So, in addition to the glue stick (satisfaction guaranteed at $7), you can also purchase coordinating file boxes, staplers, erasers and pens.
I take you now from the ridiculous to the sublime, as DWR is also introducing a new line of pre-fab outdoor “rooms” called the Kithaus K3, designed by Martin Wehmann and Tom Sandonato. The Kithaus is a 9′x13′ structure which comes to you ready to assemble in several days. Using eco-friendly materials and with several customizable options, I think it would make a rather terrific reading room / santuary / idea incubator / getaway.
I think I must be in a woven wire mood today. Sarah Jane Brown, an English artist, creates the most darling little sculptures from knitted wire - cats, dogs, reindeer, little women on hills. She creates each piece by hand, primarily using knitted wire (plus other wire & little metal details) and the result is really special. They’re such happy little sculptures and I always smile when I see them. [Pictures are from Sarah's website, which you can visit here; also, be sure to take note of her cute handwriting!]
I got so inspired by Sarah’s pieces that I once tried to knit wire. It so didn’t work. Right, so, anyway, let’s take a look at something else from Sarah! I think the cow (below) may be a newer design.
She also creates small, elegant framed boxes of abstract wire flowers. Rob had a handful at his store, and the “dill” frame (pictured on the right, below) is my favorite, favorite, favorite. I’d love it if Sarah could also make just the wire flowers - I think they’d be gorgeous in the right vase, with the added benefit of not having to water them!
Filed under: textiles
It is always such a pleasure to go back through stacks of old magazines. Between Rob and I, it seems a constant battle to keep the stacks in reasonable control. The part that’s most interesting to me is trying to figure out why a page was dog-eared - was I really interested in something on that page, however many months ago? Maybe someone else borrowed the magazine, surely, and it was that person’s dog-ear. Many times, I simply cannot figure out what I must have found interesting; instead, I find so many other pages and articles of new interest (and thusly wonder - how could I have missed this before?!)…
So it was with delight that I came across a not-very-old House & Garden (miss you dearly!) featuring the stunningly elegant woven metal fabrics of Sophie Mallebranche. I dog-eared the article when I first read it, and it was such a treat to come back across Sophie’s amazing work. (Pictures shown are from Sophie’s website, which you can and should visit here.)
Her fabrics, wall hangings and installations are described as “dazzling” in the H&G article, and I can’t come up with a better descriptor. Woven fabrics primarily in silver, but also gold, and red/orange warm tones, seem to shimmer brilliantly when they come into conversation with light. Some are even bejeweled (as in the top image) with glass and crystal. Sophie begins by creating small samples - research - by hand.
The larger fabrics and installation pieces are also built by hand - in a 245-year-old hand-weaving factory in a small town in the middle of France. Can you even imagine?! I would just love to see the raw materials - enormous spools of metallic threads? - being woven by a dozen French workers into brilliant textiles.
Some of the pieces remind me a project in college that involved creating a sculpture and lighting it, with lights cued to music. Having unearthed enormous bolts of stainless steel fabric and erosion cloth from some dark corner in the theatre, I draped and swooped them from a 20′ grid ceiling. It was rather blob-like at first glance, but it was a thrill to light it and create motion. I lit it from the inside, at sharp angles, and from below - and then programmed the lights to bring it to life. The entire thing was easily one of my favorite lighting installations, particularly because of the way the stainless steel (combined with the heavy open weave texture of the erosion cloth) responded to light. [Psst - you can find some of your own stainless steel fabric in different gauges at Metalliferous... but find a less expensive source if you want a lot.]
But, seriously, back to Sophie! Enjoy!
