Odds and ends
Liberty made fabric from the patterns of revered Dutch graphic designer Karel Martens? Yes
,it’s coming soon,and it’s fantastic. UPDATE: The collection, printed on apparel-appropriate Tana Lanwn fabric, is available as of this morning via wholesale accounts in the UK and Australia. Keep your eyes peeled Stateside.In a case of “saw it but didn’t really see it,” I am time-delay freaking out over this house—specifically the media room, which I covet—that Elle Decor published last summer. (Fire-resistant!) architecture by Shubin Donaldson, interiors by Jamie Bush, and styled by pal Tessa Watson.
Favored coven (the sisters behind Block Shop Textiles, to ye mere mortals) noted this sculptural children’s toy in their weekly newsletter. It’s tactile yet visually sharp, and a perfect item for raising your own little design snob. I do, in fact, mean that as a compliment! For those committed to that vintage lifestyle, here’s an original one from 1982 for 4x the price.
Bauhaus-inspired cocktail garnishes? I’ll drink to that.
Last month we discussed bolster pillows, and these from Beklina are tubular par excellence. (If your color is sold out, sign up for the re-stock on Beklina or visit the designer’s site for alllll the color combinations.)
Anjulie Rao (one of the realest ones!) on the original Whole Earth Catalog and bringing utopian ideals into the present day, for Untapped Journal.
This is old news internet age, but have you been following the collective meltdown over storied Finnish glassmaker Iittala’s fashion-y rebrand? The company put together a video charting the evolution of the wordmark in a non-responsive response to the outcry. My theory is that a new logo would have been more palatable if the art direction and copywriting weren’t so insipid.
Old editorial habits die hard, part 14: Godfrey Dadich, an SF-based creative agency comprising mostly former magazine people, posts an occasional grammar series on Instagram unpacking contronyms, homonyms, an ode to the em dash.
Reader advice
A friend in New York (an extremely knowledgeable person in her own right) wrote to me with a query on lounge chairs—specifically lounge chairs that swivel, but any possible combination of seating that works for a smallish, open-plan living room. We nixed a daybed, which is great functionally and visually but terrible on 40-year-old backs, and landed on a mismatched pairing of a stationary armchair and a swiveling lounge. No, not that one.
That brings me to Gillis Lundgren, a Swedish industrial designer whose work you already know in the form of the now-ubiquitous Billy bookcase. He designed in-house for Ikea for most of his career and even designed the logo. All of which is great, but let’s see the lounge chairs, shall we? They are legion.
A glow-up of historic proportions
Precisely one bout of pneumonia ago, I was in New York for work and had the opportunity to go glasses shopping with preeminent vintage hunter Christene Barberich. She took me to Selima Optique—lower Manhattan’s HQ for vintage frames—and steered me in the direction of a fabulous pair by the intriguingly named “Vito of Paris.” I immediately started researching, as one does, and found Vito (né Victor Bitchachi)’s obit and the one article published on his life and work, which charmingly explains how he’d draw glasses shapes on his model’s faces, kind of a couture mode for spectacles.
Shoppy shopping
I’ve been doing a not-small amount of research on branded merchandise and packaging designs for work, and one venture I keep returning to “Souvenirs” by Ash, the New York-based hotel group that runs singular boutique hotels in cities like New Orleans and Baltimore. Each property is idiosyncratic—they fit the vibe of each place coupled with a distinctively Ash design POV. And instead of having a hotel shop in each, they group all the branded merch, alongside lifestyle goods—a candle in the base of a Doric column, wooden candlesticks, a piped velvet pillow chair—into one e-comm experience.
For further reading on the aforementioned topics: Feed Me’s audit of the current brand merch landscape + art director Chloe List’s Substack on food packaging design.
Enfin
I worked on another Phaidon book, Designed for Life, which comes out next month. Pre-order here! My four-year-old daughter has already picked her favorite piece from the 100 designers represented; she also now knows the word “postmodern.” Next thing you know, she’ll be reciting Ralph Caplan and Enzo Mari quotes.
That’s all for this month. Thanks for reading!
Kelsey
That pillow chair with the red piping. A dream!!!
Need to check out that vintage glasses shop - just visited one here in Paris last week but didn't find anything perfect. The problem is I need readers, and lose them frequently!