“TGIF everyone! And what better way to celebrate the end of the week than with the a menagerie of baked goods inspired by some of our favorite electronics, tech tools and online websites and shaped into cakes that almost look too keen to eat. Almost. [For more click here].
By Gregory Han.”
This story appears in partnership with Unplggd, a site for people who embrace technology and design in their home.
Where we’ve been this week…
1. Gizmodo Great on all things techy. Where to start: Their coverage of the Apple products that were launched this week. Also check here.
2. Swiss Miss I’ve posted about her before but designer Tina Roth Eisenberg’s blog is a joy to wander through. Beautifully designed and well-written. Where to start: Office in the forest post.
3. Core 77 We’ve mentioned them before too but it is worth going there again. This online design magazine has opened an online and bricks and mortar store. Where to start: At the shop of course. Love those Ninja magnets.
4. Rolling Stone Because it is Rolling Stone and it’s online presence is actually very strong. Plus you need a break from work every now and again! Where to start: The behind the scenes shoot on the Mad Men set. Love the pic of the Apple laptop on set.
5. Color Lovers An inspiring look at color. Where to start: The modern muted home office.
Fast Company posted about Apple’s product launches yesterday – as did just about everybody else on the planet! The thing that caught our eye about the Fast Company coverage was Cliff Kuang’s focus on the brand and how thoughtful the family of new products were with their truly consistent design language. It rang true for us here at Herman Miller. We apply that same kind of discipline and coherency to everything we do. It was inspiring for us to see another company doing the same thing.
I also really want Apple TV. Unlike the iPad I can see exactly how I’d use it!
1. Burnt Orange Coat Rack by Merkled, $525 Welcome clients or guests and their jackets, coats, hats, and even umbrellas using this lightweight stand’s three powder-coated aluminum panels. Get it: Supermarket
2. Saturn, contact vendor for pricing Sculptural Saturn by E. Barber & J. Osgerby can even handle formal occasions: on every arch are two metal hooks to hang items on conventional hangers. Get it: classicon.com
3. Tra Coatrack, $250 Made of just six pieces of wood, the Tra from designer Tomoko Azumi can hold several pieces of fall and winter wear. Get it: Design Within Reach.
4. n.a.l. coat tree, $79.95 This surprising lamp-like stand has a “shade” that contains eight hidden hooks. Get it: CB2
5. Coat Tree by Sidse Werner, $1,211 Danish designer Sidse Werner’s cheerful, hardworking stand is rumored to be able to hold an astounding 48 overcoats. Get it: Hive Modern
Herman Miller has a long and illustrious history with designers like Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson. It’s a relationship that casts a long shadow – one that I think often masks the extraordinary stable of contemporary designers the company currently works with. Among the new guard is Swiss-born, US-based Yves Behar. His work for Herman Miller includes the Leaf (below) and Ardea light. There’s another design of Behar’s that will be released later this year – but I can’t tell you about that yet!
The Huffington Post recently announced a new column called Design Thursdays and the first post focused on Behar and his work at Yerba Buena. The Eames hack highchair below is part of the design exhibition at Yerba Buena. The exhibition runs til October 3.
It’s the perfect post just before the holiday weekend: our latest Playlist, compliments of Gregory Han, managing editor of Apartment Therapy Unplggd, is jam-packed with goodies—podcasts, tech recommendations (naturally), cool music picks, and even some downloadable desktop images. Happy almost end of the summer!
What do you listen to while you work? What I’m working on usually determines what I’ll listen to. Since most of the time I’m either writing or editing, the majority of my daytime music is composed of instrumental tracks. Ambient, classical, shoegaze, chillwave, jazz, hip hop beats…anything that won’t interject unintended lyrical influence. If I’m in Photoshop, then the whole library of 20,000 tracks is usually on shuffle and can bring up anything from Iron Maiden to Charlie Parker.
How do you listen? Since both my girlfriend and I work at home, I’ll regularly don my noise-canceling Audio-Technica QuietPoint headphones if I want to listen to anything beyond the lower end of the volume dial. They do a great job of drowning out the sound of traffic in the background and the cries of our cats for snacks in the foreground. When I’m just listening while browsing online, then a pair of Bowers & Wilkins MM-1 speakers do a fantastic job of filling in the small closet-size home office space I work within. They’re superb desktop speakers, though the low end probably would do well with the addition of a separate sub.
And for just relaxing or while cleaning the house, then I’ll turn on the vintage Bang & Olufsen system and put on a record to listen to. Our collection is a mix of my girlfriend’s Northern Soul/girl bands and my 80’s-90’s hip-hop albums, so you never know when they’ll be an impromptu dance party in our living room.
Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? The Quiet Sounds. These podcast mixes are made for late nights with the lights out, except for the glow of the monitor illuminating your room. If you’re into Brian Eno and Angelo Badalamenti with a splash of Washed Out, I’d highly recommend a listen to a few of these hour long mixes. Gorilla vs. Bear is another favorite music blog alongside the Kitsune Noir Mixcasts, while Cocaine Blunts is where I check in for new and old hip-hop tracks, and The Funky 16 Corners for yesterday’s diddys.
Does music influence your work? I don’t know if music evidently influences my work for Apartment Therapy and Unplggd, but a recent extended headphone-listening session on a slow evening led to me creating a couple desktops or my personal blog.
Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? I usually discover music in the same way I research topics for work and leisure, meandering between Tumblrs, music blogs, friend’s tweets, Facebook mentions. I’m sort of all over the place when it comes to musical interests, but I would admit the cinema heavily influences what I’ll actively investigate. Lately I’ve been falling back in love with Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound production, thanks to a recent screening of the documentary “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector.” Last night I watched a surfing film, Sipping Jetstreams, and now I’ve got the combination of music and imagery floating in my head, egging me to call it a week and enjoy some summer sunshine. Surf and skate films are definitely a goldmine of good music.
GREGORY’S PLAYLIST
Mysterious Skin soundtrack, Robin Gurthrie & Harold Budd
Wouldn’t It Be Nice, The Beach Boys
Honey, You Know Where to Find Me, Morrissey
The Black House, The Blue Sky (Stars vs. Montag Mix), Stars
Wet Hair (Japandroids Cover), Teen Daze
He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss), Grizzly Bear
Trap Door (Ft. MF DOOM), Jake One
As It Is When It Was, New Order
Michael, the Lone Archer of the North Shore, Deastro
Symphony No. 9 In D Minor (Ode To Joy), Ludwig van Beethoven
The Want And The Waiting, The Six Parts Seven
All of the Signature Sounds, Volume 1, DJ Premier
Images: Gregory Han
“Many people are going bonkers for the iPad. It’s a device that has definitely changed the mobile computing industry. While Apple released the iPad earlier this year, many other manufacturers are planning on releasing their own version pretty soon. The question is, should you buy one?
1. First Generation Product
While I agree that the iPad is a nifty device, there are probably a few kinks that will get corrected when the second generation of products will be released. I always wait at least for the 2nd generation, that way I make sure that my tech will last.
2. Product Lifespan
It’s hard to justify spending that amount of money on a product that will get an update within a few months. You’ve probably heard the rumors. The next iPad will most probably have a camera, which is sorely lacking from the 1st generation, and bigger screens. This means that if you’ve bought an iPad this year, you’ll probably be tempted to buy a new one next year.
3. Consuming Media
While you do consume media on your laptop and/or desktop, you’ll probably consume more on the iPad. You’ll download books, subscribe to magazines, watch movies and TV episodes, etc. All of these things will cost you money.
4. Apps
A lot of apps are free, but you’ll most likely spend a bit of money on apps. There are apps for almost everything, and it was a stroke of genius when Apple used the app store model to sell their software. The other thing is that you can’t really install programs that don’t come from the app store. That is a deal breaker for a lot of computer enthusiasts.
5. Spotty 3G Service
Yes, we’ve heard the problems with the AT&T 3G service, but that’s not the only issue. On top of already paying a monthly fee for your cell phone, you’ll end up paying another one for your iPad. These devices can get expensive very quickly.
By Range. Image by Joelle Alcaidinho.”
This story appears in partnership with Unplggd, a site for people who embrace technology and design in their home.
Heather sent over this link to Lizzie Garrett’s Design Watcher blog and her “down time” post. Yes, that is Charles Eames reclining on a molded plastic chair at Santa Monica beach.
A behind-the-scenes slideshow from Dwell sparked my interest so I contacted Amanda Dameron, Dwell’s digital content editor to find out more. She was visiting Herman Miller Headquarters with senior editor Aaron Britt to interview designer Susan Lyons about her work with us. The pic above by Amanda shows one of Lyons’ current projects. She is looking at new colors for the Eames plastic molded chair. “Here, pieces from the original offering in fiberglass are considered. The chair shells, once made of fiberglass-infused plastic, are produced in environmentally friendly polypropylene, a decision made by the company almost a decade ago.”
Tell me about your visit. How long were you there? We were only in Michigan for one full day, but I think we made the most of it. It would be hard to pick a highlight, because I’d have to say the trip was near perfect. The weather was gorgeous, there was so much to see and capture, Susan Lyons and Mark Schurman couldn’t have been better guides. I think the whole group—which also included our filmmaker Gary Nadeau and his assistant, Jason—was just so excited to be there, to get this special glimpse. It’s really a remarkable place.
The Marigold Lodge was the greatest—I loved seeing George Nelson’s old hangout in the back! I like to imagine him back there, designing and carousing.
You spent time in archives. What was your favorite piece there? My favorite nook of the archives was the drawers that held the Girard textiles—they were so incredibly vivid and well preserved. The catalogues and print advertisements were a kick to see as well. We had so many places to visit and film that day, and there wasn’t much time to spare. It was such a shame to leave…I could have happily stayed there all day.
Can you share your impressions of Susan Lyons’ work at Herman Miller? Susan’s talent astounds me, her nuanced treatment of color is fascinating. After listening to the color of the Eames chair, I am not going to venture a guess—I leave that up to the expert (Susan).
1. Grande Specchio Digital Frame, $650 Martin Szekely’s understated creation for Parrot DESIGN becomes a mirror when turned off (and proves that digital picture frames don’t have to look so tech-y). Get it: Design Public
2. 7-inch TFT LCD Screen Digital Photo Frame, $33.65 In addition to displaying your favorite images, this well priced silver design also supports video and audio. Get it: chinaecarts.com
3. Putman Digital Frame, $450 Designed for Parrot DESIGN by Andree Putman—the leading lady of Frenchart—this stunning digital frame offers wireless and Bluetooth connectivity for easy photo transfer. Get it: Design Public
4. Appstand for iPhone, $24.99 Make your iPhone work even harder! Just slide it into Appstand, where you’ll have full access to its touchscreen, Home button, and ports. Get it: appstandstore.com
5. Ality Moderna 8-Inch LCD Digital Photo Frame, $39.99 This frame comes equipped with a clock and alarm that lets you wake up to a photo, music, or video. Get it: Amazon
Images linked to their sources within the numbered text