AAKKOSET Shelf / Room Divider by Kayiwa, Finland

A press release from KAYIWA came in this morning. It's hard not to blog when you see something that you genuinely like. :) Here's AAKKOSET Shelf / Room Divider.



It takes a meticulous 4-week to build one AAKKOSET, uniquely combines the very latest manufacturing technology with traditional craftsmanship. In brief, Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) is fed through a 5-Axis Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) router. It is thoroughly glued, pressed and primed before a deep rich paint job is first mechanically applied and then hand finished. AAKKOSET comes with a 3-year limited warranty.



You may use AAKKOSET to hold your things, or leave it empty as a room divider. It comes in in black, blue, green, orange, red, violet, white and yellow. Plus, you could choose your own color, size, material or special finish with KAYIWA personalization service. Nice. How about using mirror for AAKKOSET? ;-)

Cristian Zuzunaga

I've just received a newsletter from Alexandra of J’ai flâné pour vous (a great French blog, btw), and noticed the work of Cristian Zuzunaga, a Spanish-born designer based in London.




Among his numerous projects and exhibitions, his Pixellated fabric designed for Moroso in 2007 (top) is definitely one of my favorites. Other faves would be his PIXEL wrapping paper collection for Lagom, done recently in 2009 (middle), and the Shanghai fabric that he designed for Ligne Roset in 2008 (bottom). Never thought I'd say something like this on pixels, but hey, pixels + colors + good design is a gorgeous combination.


(via J’ai flâné pour vous)

Boca do Lobo, Portugal

Here's one company out of Portugal that offers some drool-worthy furniture, Boca do Lobo. Their furniture are all handmade in Portugal by the best artisans, aiming to satisfy even the most demanding admirers. *oooh yes..., I looove what I see. :)*





From all my years in blogland, I honestly have to say, Boca do Lobo has the most fashion-forward furniture collection I've seen so far. Their designs, their chosen colors, details and finishings are all high(!) on style. Wouldn't you agree? :)

For those of you in Milan, you could visit Boca do Lobo at the collective exhibition of Portuguese brands, to be held at Zona Tortona, Via Tortona 32, Milan, during Salone Internazionale del Mobile, until April 27, 2009. And for all of you in US, they'll be at ICFF, New York, from May 16 till 19, 2009. Enjoy!




Thanks, Rute!

Canape by Jang Lila

Is it a piece of furniture, or is it an artwork? Well, it has all the ingredients of a furniture; wood, cloth and foam. It's a rather unusual furniture, but yet, it is still visually appealing. It's an artwork by a korean artist, Jang Lila. To me, Canape is like a reminder to always look at things or matters differently. Whether you favour it or not, sometimes the outcome can be equally pleasant. :)

Curiosities

Below are few curiosities I had lately. The first image is a hand-colored photograph. Do you remember the latest MAAD's newsletter I posted not too long ago?


It was the Painting a Photograph workshop by The Meeting Point that brought me to MAAD. It sounded too exciting to be missed. :) The photograph, dyes, and brushes were provided by The Meeting Point. With just S$8, I got to learn how to color a photograph and bring the colored-photograph home. I felt like I had scored the best deal ever(!). Seriously. I was a bit puzzled when Gwen of The Meeting Point asked me to sign on the photograph and bring it home. The first thing came to mind was "what??", then "why??". But of course, it'd be silly to ask her those, so I just gladly obeyed. :-)

The other curiosity I had was a furniture design workshop at Raffles Design Institute. Not exactly an interest of mine, I just wanted to know and understand the process of designing a chair and making a scaled model using balsa wood.


The above left picture was taken by the lecturer, Eric Lim *thanks, Eric!*. I'm at the far left on the pic, and yes, I think I was the oooooldest participant there. *haha*. There were a nice young couple and two newly-graduated high school students participated in the workshop as well. The above right picture is the scaled model I did. It's not exactly turned out like I wanted it to be, but hey, it's the perfect size for my origami papers! *another haha*. And... believe it or not, the best design from that workshop was produced by one of the newly-graduated high school students. Which made me wonder... what kind of things they teach in high school nowadays? :-)

bonluxat

I stumbled upon bonluxat not too long ago while searching for chairs. And it look like a directory of furniture and furnishings to me. It has everything(!) from sofas to rugs to lamps. It has product descriptions, pictures, names of the designers and manufacturers of every single item.


(left) Eero Aarnio Tipi Toy from Adelta
(right) Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien Charpoy from Moroso

(left) R'Pure Studio Fiftyfifty Floor Lamp from Gallery R'Pure
(right) Alfredo Häberli Nais Chair from ClassiCon

(left) Alessandro Dubini Le Roi Cabinet from Zanotta
(right) Ed Annink Birds Rug from Driade

Too bad there's no details on the people behind bonluxat. Whoever they are, they sure have done a terrific job. Above are some great items you could find at bonluxat. Happy Browsing!

chair-chair, Japan

chair-chair is a Japanese shop selling new and vintage furniture, cameras, toys, and soft furnishings. I stumbled upon its blog while searching for Sdi Fantasia. I had fun browsing through all the pictures at chair-chair blog, where the seller displays the items in a hilarious way (note the toys!). Pretty good sense of humor, don't you think?



And I just had to post this picture below. I think it's a perfect(!) shot for a retro shop, like chair-chair.



oh, btw, don't miss the chair-chair original bikini pad! love it!

Sdi Fantasia, Japan

Sdi Fantasia is a children furniture manufacturing company based in Japan, founded by designer Toshimitsu Sasaki. A glance on their products page, you'll realize that Sdi Fantasia must be known for their innovative designs.




New Bambini (first row pics) serves a dual purpose, as a high chair or as a rocking horse. Cart (bottom right) is a wooden toy vehicle with adjustable height and adjustable steering wheel. And don't you just love that mini Carota chair? :)

R.O.O.M. Copenhagen

Seeing the LOVE pillows by Maison de Vacances on Three Layer Cake, reminds me of R.O.O.M. Copenhagen, Denmark. I went to R.O.O.M. on my second day in Copenhagen last June, and I saw the white LOVE pillow there.


R.O.O.M. Copenhagen is a fairly large store, occupying two storeys of home goodness. On the ground floor, you could find all the big pieces, like designer furniture and fabrics, and on its basement, you could find most Habitat products. Too bad I couldn't spend too much time there as I found the shop just ten minutes before closing time. :)

adam & viktoria at Tonic Home

When Linda of Tonic Home (Florida, USA) showed me these pillows by adam & viktoria on her email, I have to admit, it's love at first sight! Just look at these pillows, how could you not love them?!



adam & viktoria was founded in 2000 by two swedish designers, Viktoria Nygren, a fashion and textile designer and Adam Gistedt, an industrial, interior and furniture designer, who has worked with Habitat and Boije Design AB. Their designs are often eclectic mix of colours, patterns and shapes inspired by different cultures and times.

As described on Tonic Home, these vibrant pillows are made of velvet and linen are indeed works of art. And I couldn't agree more. Due to arrive in November, Tonic Home is accepting orders now. Click here.

Thanks, Linda!

Joanna Eriksson, Sweden

I saw Joanna's lace necklaces at the Nordiska museet last June, and dropped her an email last week when I couldn't find the pictures on her site. She replied, and few days later, she came back with a nice write up about herself and her work. Below is the story.


Joanna Eriksson is a 35-year-old product designer from Sweden. She's been working from a studio located at a small town in Småland, Sweden for about a year now. Previously, she studied Product Design and one term of Glass Design in Sweden. Her work is mainly about furniture and lighting products for public environment, but she also likes working with jewellery.


Her current project is a large sculptural bench for public environment, which is more like an experiment for her. She's trying to stretch her work a little further by challenging herself to work in a much larger scale than she used to. She's also in the midst of creating a lamp for a design competition in Sweden.



The jewellery pieces, exhibited at the Nordiska museet, are some of Joanna's experimental work by using lace, silver and pearls. She really likes to make things that she can produce herself, and jewellery is so much fun to work with, as she said.

To me, all Joanna's work are so aesthetically pleasant to see, making me want to own every piece she made. *too bad my wallet speaks differently*. It'd be hard to forget her work, because with such lovely pieces, they are surely making marks on everybody's mind. Well, at least on mine. :)


Thanks Joanna, and good luck in the competition!

Poppytalk Handmade: Call for Submissions!

Look what Jan has in store! It's Poppytalk Handmade, a new online street market!



It works just like a real street/flea market, where indie makers from around the world could rent a virtual table at Poppytalk Handmade for a month period. The first Poppytalk Handmade Street Market will open in early October 2007, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

Poppytalk Handmade Street Market is now accepting submissions until September 15, 2007. So if you make handmade goods in the categories of art (from mixed media to photography), accessories (belts & bags), ceramics, crochet & knitting, furniture, holiday themed items, housewares, jewelry, papergoods, toys, and vintage, you don't want to miss this opportunity! Click here for more details. Good Luck!


Thanks, Jan!

Giveaway: US$75 NOVICA Gift Certificate

Liz of NOVICA would like to give one lucky imedagoze reader a US$75 gift certificate. I'm sure some of you have heard of NOVICA before. They are known as a bridge between a consumer and artisans from all over the world. At NOVICA, you can find goods made by artisans from Andes, Bali & Java(Yay!), Brazil, India, Mexico, Thailand, and West Africa. NOVICA does provide international shipping, however large or oversized items, including furniture, are only available to customers in the 48 contiguous U.S. states.


To win the US$75 gift certificate, all you have to do is to pick one favourite NOVICA item, and list the url on the comments section of this post. This contest will close on Friday, August 24, 2007. The winner will be announced on Monday, August 27, 2007. With spoilt choices from furniture, mirrors, shawls, children items, sculpture, and more, it won't be hard for you to just pick one. ;-) Just make sure that you are contactable, no dead link on your name/username. Happy browsing and good luck!

(images are copyrighted properties of NOVICA)

Thanks Liz!