Trend Alert? Puh-leeeease

This coral fabric pillow ("Trieste," by Manuel Canovas for Cowtan & Tout) is one of the examples used in a recent spread in Elle Decor magazine, labeled "Trend Alert: Coral!"

Trend alert? Coral? REALLY? Hasn't coral been a trend for at least the last five years? I know that I posted my "Coral Corral" list on ThisNext in February, 2007, and let's face it, I'm not exactly the first person to know things in the design world.

Please don't get me wrong. I like coral. I love it as a color, and I like its use in design. The Manuel Canovas fabric is woven and wonderful.

But I think it might be time to graduate coral from a trend to a classic design motif. Induct it into the Fashion Hall of Fame, as it were. Coral is just not current enough to be a trend, in my humble opinion, but it does have demonstrable staying power. Coral is one of nature's fractals and, as such, is bound to be pleasing to the eye in a way that does not get stale.

Elle Decor, nice spread. Silly title. Love your mag.

tags:
Coral
Manuel Canovas
Cowtan & Tout

A River Blue: Art By Children of Northern Uganda

A River Blue describes itself as an "art empowerment project for the children of Northern Uganda." These children are living in IDP (internally displaced persons) camps in Alepdong, Aloi and Amoro. A River Blue is a project of Barefoot Workshops,

a non-profit, media-based educational and development organization. Barefoot has attained a building in Alepdong to be developed as a rehabilitation and vocational center for young people, giving them the opportunity to express themselves through the arts so that they may begin to heal themselves and one another, as well as educate the international community about their situation, and acquire occupational skills for their futures.

The artworks above are by Ongora Innocent (left) and Okwir Nickson (right), while those below are by an unidentified youth artist (left) and by Ojuka Maxwell (right).


The artwork speaks for itself, and speaks volumes about the project's power and value. I thank my flickr buddy "Gadjo Dilo" for bringing it to my attention.

tags:
Northern Uganda
A River Blue
Barefoot Workshops

Must-See Blog: Woogle Works

Woogle Works is a blog by product designer Wai Lam Wong, which focuses on design for people with disabilities. Oh, my, what a GREAT idea!

The picture above is of a design called "mouth artist." It is for people who have no hands but can use their mouth to hold an instrument for writing, drawing or painting. How many product designers even think of this population?

I am passionate about the topic of design for the disabled. This springs from two experiences I’ve had with being disabled--or, in my case, having a temporary loss of function. The first was when I was twelve years old and broke my leg skiing. I spent the better part of forever on crutches (my bones are slow to heal). My biggest problem at first was getting up and down stairs, a process that would have been made easier by Wong's "rocking crutch," which has a "foot" that flexes as our own do:

I also couldn’t do certain things while walking, such as carrying things in my hands. Every act of taking something somewhere involved removing my backpack, putting the object in, and putting the backpack back on. As an impatient twelve-year-old, this was incredibly frustrating. I would often ask someone, “Would you please carry this for me?” This resulted in a comment that I’d certainly become dependent since the accident.

*sigh*

Things like this really make me appreciate Wong’s addition of functional features to, for example, an arm sling:

Where you see the panda’s head poking out, there is an actual pocket sewn into the sling, allowing small objects to be carried. What a great idea!

My second loss of function was about five years ago when I had a very bad fall while hiking and shattered my wrist. As it healed, I had to do a lot of things one-handedly—and with my left hand (I am right-handed). When I could use it again, the wrist was very weak. So for a long time I couldn’t do things that take two hands. I couldn’t open the child-proof cap on a medicine bottle. Actually, I couldn’t even open a new box of cereal, a new music CD, or certainly not an electronic device encased in the plastic packaging they use these days. In short, I lived in a world designed for people with two functional hands, and I only had one.

All of this makes me appreciate some designs Wong is working on for doing things with one hand, like opening a pop bottle with a twist-off lid . . .













. . . and even riding a bicycle!

All of these things are wonderful. But one that is exceptional Wong’s commitment to inspire others to design for the disabled. He is working to put together a design competition in this area, and has already assembled a formidable team of judges for the event. What’s needed now is a sponsor, and I wish him the best of luck in finding one.

So today, kudos to Wai Lam Wong, a pioneer in a field that needs one!

tags:
Woogle Works
Wai Lam Wong
disability design

Jun Kaneko: Advice to a Young Artist

Q. What advice would you give a young artist?

A. Well you know, it's pretty simple. To be a visual artist, you have to make something visual. To make something visual, you have to spend your energy. Make your own statement with whatever materials you want to use -- clay, steel, wood or whatever -- and just keep on doing that. There are a lot of complex issues that come up. Once you make it, you have to have the ability to evaluate your own work and increase the part you like about each piece. The pieces will get better and make better sense for you.

If you start talking about the value of art, this is a confusing thing because there is no set value. It is wise to stay with your intuitive feeling and value judgment of your own work and always start from there. We are not driven by ourselves in this world. Other people's opinions will start influencing us. But in the balance between the artist's self to other people's opinions, I think it's wise to stay with your intuitive feelings to evaluate your own work. ... There is no magic; it is hard work, like anything else.

- Jun Kaneko

lastplace.com

tags:
advice
artist
Jun Kaneko

Kudos to Ikea

I'm diggin' Ikea today, and it's not just because of their pretty Arv Idyll bowl (above), or their lovely Alvine Flor quilt cover and pillowcases (below).























It's not because of their Bibbi blanket (which I'd love to see unfolded),
























or their PS Lomsk swivel chair, also available in blue.
























Why am I diggin' Ikea today? It's because of this:


That's right, the compact fluorescent lightbulb, or CFL. The CFL has gotten a lot of press lately due to its incredible energy-saving ability, resulting in lower costs for consumers and fewer demands on the environment.

Now, Ikea didn't invent the CFL. They aren't promoting the CFL. And I have no idea how their CFL prices compare with those of other retailers.

What Ikea does that other retailers do not is this: Ikea recycles the bulbs.

You see, CFL bulbs contain a very small amount of mercury, a neurotoxin especially harmful to children. Now, I really do mean a very small amount, especially compared to the mercury thermometers we used when I was a child. But enough that their presence in the garbage is, in some places, illegal, and regular curbside recycling programs won't take them.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approached a number of major retailers, including WalMart, encouraging them to accept the bulbs at their stores for recycling. So far, the only one that has started such a program is Ikea.

So kudos to Ikea today. I wish they had a store closer than 108 miles away from me. But what the heck--some things are worth the trip.

via NPR's All Things Considered.

tags:
Ikea
Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb
recycling

Comments: An Invitation

The blogosphere is on fire with the issue that bloggers wish their readers would leave comments. Here I go and throw my hat and two cents into the ring. I think this great t-shirt from ThinkGeek sums it up. "I blog, therefore I am. Comments(0)"

Yup. We blog because we have this need to put it out there. We share our passion for the things we love, and it makes us feel more alive. And far too frequently, Comments(0).

We know we're being visited. We have these traffic tracking gizmos that we check (in my case) upwards of 30 times a day to see how many visitors we've had, where they've come from, what they've looked at and where they went when they left. Sometimes (for me, lately) these stats are a wonderful thing: I've got readers, therefore I am! Again, though: far too frequently, Comments(0). That's the disheartening one. That's the one where when we check our e-mail upwards of 50 times a day and don't have any alerts that someone has left a comment--that's the let-down.

So we're asking--I'll say, inviting--those who read to click on "Comments" and say a few words. You don't have to know me and you don't have to be a blogger and you don't have to say anything profound and you don't have to take a lot of time with it. But if you see something you like, something you're glad I shared, click on "Comments" and say, for example, "Cool!" I invite you to do this both because it fuels my passion, and because I've met some of the most wonderful people from all over the world simply because they left a comment.

Some are suggesting a poll or a contest to get people to participate. I love this idea. My biggest fear is that I'll announce a contest and have a lovely prize for the winner (hint: I sell used books, and some of them are awesome) but no one will participate. And then I'll feel like the kid who's picked last for the ball team. I'll feel like, "I blog, but still somehow I'm not."

So, consider this an open-house and come on in. Your presence will be welcome, and you'll be part of this small community, if only for a moment. And our hearts will both be warm and fuzzy.

Passion Works

Above is a painted Passion Flower from the Passion Works Studio website. Passion Flowers are hand painted by artists with developmental disabilities.

The vision of Passion Works Studio:

To create and live out a best practice model for collaborative art making between artists with and without developmental disabilities. This new mindset demonstrates that creativity is innately a part of all people and recognized that art enhances the quality of life and strengthens communities.

All profits from the Studio go toward the continuation of arts programming.

How cool that the product is so original, funky and immediately on my wish list. How cool that the process and proceeds do so much good in the community.

So many of us create art or crafts or design, so I'm sure we can relate: there is nothing like looking at something beautiful and thinking, "I made that!" It feeds the soul.

via art for housewives.

tags:
Passion Works Studio
developmental disabilities
community

Are We Delightful?

Eclectic Detective has finally been in existence for the three-month period required for submission to Delightful Blogs, an "edited directory of blogs that are personal, passionate and, of course, stylish."

This is important why?

Well, most of the blogs I read are ones I discovered there. The blogs they list are reviewed before being added, and they really do weed out a lot of the crappy ones. I admire many of the blogs that are listed, and would consider it a feather in my cap to be included in their number.

Also, it would boost traffic. And, let's face it, blogging is a lot more fun if people are reading what you post.

I chose the category "Design," because it seemed like the best fit. More of my posts are tagged "Design" than any other label (see list, page right). However, Eclectic Detective that I am, I cringed a bit at choosing a category. I like to think of myself as in a category all my own. (Then again, I also like to think of myself as 5'8" tall and blonde, which is also not so very reality-based.)

Apparently Delightful Blogs is rather overwhelmed with submissions, and it may take up to two weeks to be notified whether I've made the cut. I'll be chewing my fingernails.

Won't you chew yours with me?

That is to say, please send good thought karma energy my way, if you would!

tags:
Delightful Blogs
blog directory
blog traffic

Lily van der Stokker

Lily van der Stokker is a Dutch artist who does work such as this:


















and this:

















and, occasionally, this:













Ms. van der Stokker is highly controversial in the art world. Critics argue whether her work celebrates girlish doodles, mocks them, or celebrates them by mocking them. They write page upon page questioning whether she is worthy of our attention.

Ms. van der Stokker seems to keep them guessing. One the one hand, she makes statements such as, "Where is it written that art has to be deep and good? Can't it just be bad, or nice and cheerful?" On the other, there are pieces such as the one above, which she sent as an invitation to a showing of her work.

As for me, I like her work tremendously. I love buildings covered with doodley flowers in their own right.

(As for me, I really had to post the picture of Viktor and Rolf.)

tags:
Lily van der Stokker
art critics
doodles

Design "Musts" - A Very Short List

There is not much that I insist upon. It is, as I said, a very short list.

1. Typeface must be readable.
2. Websites must be navigable.
3. Objects to be worn, including jewelry and women's shoes, must be comfortable.
4. Good design must not be valued less because it is affordable.
5. Scarcity of a well-designed object must not be intentional.

tags:
design
value
scarcity

Presentation Matters

What a cool ring. I love this piece, the "wing ring," from Burcu Buyukunal's "wingy" series. Don't you?

But what was the first thing you noticed in the photo? For me, it was the little piece of putty holding the ring up. I was able to get past it, but I'm not sure I should have to.

Now, I'm not a photographer and I'm not a graphic artist. I'm someone who plays around with Photoshop Elements because it's fun to. Over time I've acquired a few rudimentary skills, and that was all it took to make the problem go away:





















It took about five minutes.

Now check out this piece, the "Small Milagro Heart Ring" from Tere Hernández-Bonét of My Precious Studio:















It's a nice ring too, right? Maybe not a great ring, and not my favorite from this artist, whose work I like a lot. Why post it then? The reason is simple: the first time I saw it, I liked it very very much. I wanted to own it. I thought it was grand.

Over time it dawned on me that I was responding to the quality of the photo, perhaps even more than the quality of the ring itself. The reflection is lovely.

Well done.

Presentation matters. In marketing our work, the image must be at least as high-quality as the piece itself. It wouldn't hurt if it was even better.

Commercial photography is an art in its own right. It can be expensive, and artists are often living on a shoestring. They have to cut corners sometimes, even when they'd rather not.

Here's my advice: eat Ramen noodles. And pay for the very best commercial photographer your money can buy.

Or at least the best photo editor.

tags:
jewelry
marketing
commercial photography
Burcu Buyukunal
Tere Hernández-Bonét

The People's Choice

We have until October 16th to cast our votes for the Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Award, an impossible task if ever a task there was. "What constitutes good design?" asks the sponsor. "Is it form? Is it function?"

The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, part of the Smithsonian Institution, presents the yearly National Design Award, which is juried by experts in the field of design. But that jury's task is far easier: they cast their votes in each of ten categories, such as Fashion Design, Architectural Design, and Product Design. At least they've narrowed the field.

For the People's Design Award, anyone can nominate any design in any category from any time in history!


How does one vote in a competition where nominees include both the Slinky and the United States Constitution? The Fender Stratocaster, the Pez Dispenser and the printing press?

The task is impossible. Yet I've voted, and am pleased with my choice. And the exercize of choosing had surprising value: it forced me to think about design as a general concept, rather than design as associated with fashion or products or buildings.

I will reveal my vote, as well as my nominee(s), on October 18th, after the winner has been announced at the National Design Awards ceremony in New York City. I would love to hear what you voted for, and why!

Stay tuned.

Designer Water Bottles

This is my best response to the issue of designer bottled water: designer water bottles.

I drink a LOT of water, and typically carry around a used bottled-water bottle full of fresh tapwater. However, I have noticed that after a few days of use I will start to have soreness in my mouth, especially on my tongue. I wonder if it could be due to a fact I've just discovered here:

The bottled water you purchase is often in #1 PET or PETE bottles (polyethylene terephthalate), which may leach DEHA, a known carcinogen, if used more than once.

I've been poisoning myself.

The SIGG water bottles sold at reusablebags.com are described as a safe alternative. The fact that they offer a number of totally cool styles is icing on the cake.

My favorite style is this one:

But the one I'll probably buy to take to work is this one:

Worse and Worse

Yesterday we talked about the downside of designer water: the waste, etc. Now I've found something even worse: designer ice cubes made from "bottled" water, by AquaICE

"This patented innovation combines the purity of bottled water with the convenience of sealed trays that can be stored at room temperature and only need to be frozen prior to use."

Could anything be more useless and wasteful?

via chictogeek

Designer Water

They're having a field day over at NOTCOT with designer bottled water. See, for example, the 9/09/06 "Water Lists" and 9/28/06 "Wawali" posts at NOTCOT.COM.

My favorite example, posted on NOTCOT.ORG by RUGENIUS (post #1470) is this one:

















Other .org examples, from posts #1424 (notcot) and #859 (anonymous), include Fred water and a designer Evian bottle.



However, clever as these bottles might be, there is a darker side to designer water. As NOTCOT contributer "Oo" (Olivier Ozoux) points out on ThisNext , designer water is "the ultimate perversion from a product point of view."

On his blog, Ozoux cites a report from the Earth Policy Institute, which argues that the waste associated with bottled water is tremendous. This waste consists not only of empty bottles for our landfills, but also of the enormous amounts of energy used in their production and distribution.

The answer, Ozoux argues, is to drink more tapwater. I couldn't agree more. Of course, that's easy for me to do: the tapwater in my tiny town (Montpelier, Ohio) has won first place for municipal water in the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Awards.

In fact, the water here in Montpelier is so good . . . (wait for it, here it comes). . . they've bottled it.