I am pleased to announce that we been very busy co-curating an exhibit for DesignPhiladelphia called "Four Corners: Design From Philly Surrounds". I am co-curating this exhibit with writer Caroline Tiger at Minima Gallery, set to open on October 10th. The exhibit will be highlighting (50) fifty design objects from Philadelphia and the surrounding area that represent the region's best examples of industrial design, manufacturing, and craft as well as art. The exhibit will be a re-enactment of a lived in loft, using all the objects to tell stories about Philadelphia's design heritage alongside more current trends. Classics like Florence... Continue reading

Jerry Helling, President of Bernhardt Design, always has a vision for adding new furniture to his already thriving and successful business. Over the years he has tapped the nation's most talented industrial design students to partake in the process of bringing product to market. This time around, however, Helling looked to the past to find inspiration and ultimately a new product launch. "I've always been fascinated by Charles Pollock. He created such a significant product, yet very little has ever been published about him. Given our fascination with mid-century American designers, this lack of information seemed remarkable to me," says... Continue reading

Designer duo Jee Levin and Randall Buck were already successful with their burgeoning wallcovering company Trove when they happened upon Dorothy Cassonas, Creative Director of Knoll Textiles. Cassonas became enamoured of the couple's line of wallpapers known for their large scale photographic and impressionistic qualities that are mainly organic in nature. What ensued is a new collection for Knoll Textiles that was a collaboration between Trove and Cassonas, called "Vivid". The Vivid Collection features three patterns (Sweve, Sway, Swoosh) in multiple colorways - including the striking black and white one shown above. All patterns have a painterly expressionistic effect and... Continue reading

Announcing our blog's new Tumblr, bringing you more immediate and more informal posts about your favorite topics in design, materials, and products. Check it out now and often. You can follow us at: http://repeat-norepeat.tumblr.com/ Continue reading

Boomerang pattern, part of Haveli tile collection Ann Sacks, the go-to source for specialty surface finishes, just released "Haveli", a painted terra cotta tile line that is making quite the impact. Haveli is a bold patterned tile collection, designed by Neisha Crosland, and handmade and hand painted in Italy. Crosland, a textile designer, was inspired by Native American weavings. She used geometric motifs to create the patterns, then colored them with bold combinations to give the tiles their graphic quality. Italy is of course known for centuries for their terra cotta tiles, but this new collection challenges the notion of... Continue reading

In this Post-Neocon review, we will focus on cool ancillary furniture introductions that made a big splash at the show. Ancillary furniture is what us corporate interior designers refer to all the other furniture that doesn't make up workstations, offices, filing, or task seating. It's all the guest and lounge furniture, often found in the more public areas of a company, as well as othe furniture that supports the companies other amenities such as conference, training and dining. So while finding the perfect worksettings for your clients is critical, so is finding the appropriate ancillary furniture which more often than... Continue reading

Another Neocon has now past, and for thousands of design professionals this is the mac-daddy of trade shows for learning about the latest products and trends that have already surfaced or about to make an impact on our industry. For three days in June, I and about fifty thousand other people descend on the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, home to the greatest furniture spectacle on earth. We are all looking for answers to similar things: What are the new shifts in the workplace and what furniture can support them? What new furniture is on the market that we can use... Continue reading

Humanscale's new LED wall fixture uses wireless power Earlier in the week ICFF was in full swing, but it has now wound down and left many of us excited for next year's show. What has become an annual tradition in NYC, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair has been on everyone's watch list for up and coming design as well as more cutting edge products. Mix in some design classics and student talent and you get a nice snapshot - albeit a small glimpse - into today's design scene. ICFF has been criticized in recent years for not catering enough to... Continue reading

"Tune In" and "Tune Out" tiles - Goccia by LEA According to musician, actor, and now designer Lenny Kravitz, designing interior spaces or products is no different than writing songs. The creative process for him is the same, and this can explain his foray into creating his own interior design firm. Already having designed products for Swarovski, Flavor Paper, and Kartell, Kravitz is branching out into materials to compliment his own firm's projects. Luckily these products are available to the trade as well. LEA Ceramiche, an Italian tile manufacturer, has collaborated with Kravitz on a new collection called Goccia (meaning... Continue reading

The Milan Furniture Fair, called i Saloni by the Italians, happens each May in Milan Italy. It is one of, if not the most, prestigious furniture trade shows in the world due to the prominence of Italy's place in design history and current product offerings that continue to delight the rest of the world. The show is now over, but we were so lucky to get a glimpse into the show and see some of this year's top introductions by mainly Italian and other European manufacturers. The show itself is situated on Milan's fairgrounds, which is quite large and offers... Continue reading

Very exciting to be posting from Milan, the design capital of the universe (at least this for this week). The beauty about Milan Design Week is that it is not just about i Saloni, the main trade show that showcases all types of Italian and European furniture, bath, and kitchen products. The entire city embraces design and participates in the festivities, making design a veritable "cause celebre" and indeed one of Italy's great exports. Before heading to the Saloni at the fairgrounds, I visited one area in the hip Zona Tortona that is part of the city's extra events called... Continue reading

Lately suspended light fixtures have captured our imaginiation, and so you can imagine our delight in meeting a new pendant fixture from Spanish manufacturer Marset, called Tam Tam. Designed by Fabien Dumas, Tam Tam takes its inspiration from the idea that a cluster is almost always more pleasing than a single unit. This concept of organized chaos is the basis for Tam Tam, which takes its shape from a drum/percussion instrument as well as the shape of the universal basic lampshade. Tam Tam has multiple individual shades, each which can be positioned at a different angle to create a more... Continue reading

Shaw Contract, one of the largest commercial carpet manufacturers, has launched a color marketing campaign called COLOREVOLUTION. They have been presenting this in the form of a one-hour video for designers around the globe, with the the hopes of sharing color and design inspriation for all of us. The color forecast takes root in six different categories that define contemporary shifts in our world, whether it be political, ecological, sociological, technological, financial, etc. These dramatic shifts have left in it's wake six personas that exemplify each major societal trend, merged with even more timely trends in all design fields such... Continue reading

Shown above: "Lineage" by Carnegie Textile manufacturer Carnegie just launched a wonderful new collection that pays homage to the company's founder Bob Goldman. Bob (aka Mr. G) is the father of current company president Cliff Goldman, and the company couldn't be more proud to provide a textile collection that honors the legacy of one of their own. The "Tribute" collection consists of four textiles, and was inspired specifically by Mr. Goldman's 60-year old military jacket. The coat, along with the 1940's menswear, provided the backdrop for Carnegie's designers to think about a collection that bridges heritage with contemprary design, and... Continue reading

Durat is a new solid surface material on the scene from Finnish manufacturer Tonester Ltd. The material is polyester-based, contains 30% recycled content, is also 100% recyclable - it can be reclaimed from the field. One great feature of Durat is their extensive palette of 70 colors, many of which are clear and vibrant, and they can do custom colors. Also, all base colors are available in any of the particluate (speckle) colors - black, white, single or multi color. That makes customization pretty unique. Most of the solid surface products we are used to using and specifying are limited... Continue reading

A chair designed by the Danish master Hans J. Wegner is being re-introduced for a new wave of mid-century enthusiasts by Carl Hansen and Son. The CH33, originally designed in 1957 and only in production for ten years, is making its way back for another generation to discover Wegner's work as well as the hallmark of amazing Danish craftmanship. For a design that is 55 years old, the chair looks as relevant and fresh as any other wood chair on the marketplace today. With its organic shape and subtle countours that match the body at the seat and back, Wegner... Continue reading

Knoll had not one but two big announcements this week, including the exciting news that they acquired FilzFelt. The modern furniture giant purchased FilzFelt - a small woman-owned company based in Boston that has been selling felted wood textiles - in order to increase their portfolio of desirable goods and materials for both the commercial and residential markets. FilzFelt joins leather companies Spinneybeck and Edelman as Knoll-owned companies producing luxury goods for the A&D community, and it seems to be a smart pairing. The wool felt produced by FilzFelt is milled in Germany at a wide width (up to 71")... Continue reading

Bernhardt has not one but two new product launches from Dutch duo Kiki Van Eijk and Joost Van Bleiswijk. Kiki and Joost are not only married but share a studio, although they typically work on separate projects. Their launch for Bernhardt includes a large textile collection of forty fabrics comprised of five patterns and one chaise, aptly named "Workshop" after their love of craft and hands-on approach in their studio. The addition of the chaise was a fluke - Kiki and Joost created one just to display the fabrics at home, and Bernhardt loved it so much they added it... Continue reading

18KARAT is a cool company that makes contemporary planters along with furniture, kitchen and garden accessories, and decorative art objects. Usually it is pretty challenging to find such interesting yet modern looking accessories manufacturered in such a large size, so we took special note of these stunning floor standing vases. Perfect for hospitality, corporate, and residential projects. Continue reading

It is not uncommon to be a young, talented designer of international acclaim these days. But it is uncommon to be such a person and remain grounded, sincere, and connected to your beliefs all while maintaining a hectic career with highly visible clients. Such is the case with top industrial designer Todd Bracher. Todd is a hands-on designer, someone who carries a project through from start to finish with passion for both the process as well as the finished work, all with a big albeit humble smile. His work follows one basic tenant: that truth and honesty of an object... Continue reading

Eames mania is everywhere you look today, no doubt in part to the release of a new documentary on design's most famous couple. Eames: The Architect and the Painter was released in late 2011 in a small theater run, and then aired on PBS as part of their American Masters series. It is a fascinating in depth look at Charles and Ray as individuals and as a working couple, with questions about their contributions to both the design projects and the marriage. They were both on their own visionary artists, but together they were a force to be reckoned with,... Continue reading

What a year! With all the product releases and introductions, you would never know the economy is still slow. Manufacturers are meeting the demand for good design by consumers and end users, whether it be intended for personal use or on commercial projects. Good design is everywhere (Amen!), as evidenced by the slew of products that made their way across our desks and into our consciosuness. So what was the best stuff of 2011? Let's take a look back.... Row 1 (L to R): HBF - Nest, B&N - Infused Veneer, Allermuir - Octo, Bernhardt - Apel, B&B Italia -... Continue reading

Right on schedule, Pantone, the design industry's authority on color, has announced the 2012 Color of the Year. Last year it was Honeysuckle, in 2010 it was Turquoise, and in 2009 it was Mimosa. So what is the color of the year for 2012? (drum roll please.....) Tangerine Tango 17-1463 Tangerine Tango is a warm and vibrant red-orange, instantly energzing and optimistic. Intended to inspire us to look happily towards the future while keeping us going today, the orange tones of this color can be found everywhere - whether it be in nature, interiors, fashion, consumer products, and graphics. Designers... Continue reading