The Peppermill Collector

One of the most impressive private collections of Dansk and Danish peppermills I've ever seen.

Via teak pepper, via the brick house.

Watch: The Story of Eames Furniture: An Interview with Marilyn + John Neuhart

The Story of Eames Furniture: Marilyn Neuhart with John Neuhart - Interview from Gestalten on Vimeo.

The Neuhart's revealing first hand account of working with the Eames, and a behind the scenes look at the trials and tribulations of the Eames Office.

"The Story of Eames Furniture is an insiders account of the workings of the Eames Office from its founding 1943 and its closing in 1988. The book extremely detailed and gives real insight into the relationships between Charles, Ray and some of the people who worked in the office, like Harry Bertoia, who let it be known that he would quit working everyday at 5:00pm, much to the surprise of his co-workers and greatly upsetting the Eames's Calvinist work ethic. The book also examines some of the tensions in running a design office: many Eames Office employees were never really sure if they had full-time employment, and often felt that they were not properly given credit for the design they created."

Via yatzer, and daily icon.

Vitra's Hidden Heroes

Visit this amazing site and learn about all the brilliant things we take for granted.

"The Vitra Design Museum, in association with Hi-Cone, presents "Hidden Heroes", an exhibition dedicated to these common objects that we use on a daily basis — coffee filters, ear plugs, bottle caps, clothes pins, etc. — without ever knowing their history, their inventors.

This exhibition introduces these everyday heroes together with patent drawings by their inventors, with historical and contemporary advertisements and films, and also with design and art objects that have been inspired by them.

The exhibition has an online presence through a beautifully crafted website designed by Grimm Gallun Holtappels."

Via vitra's facebook and cpluv.

A Visit to Herman Miller's Design Archives

Lish Dorset takes us along for a visit to Herman Miller's Design Archives.  This is a true time capsule of design history: untouched Alexander Girard fabrics, vintage advertisements by George Nelson and Associates, original blueprints, and of course amazing furniture.  Check out the seat cushion on the George Nelson MAA chair, and right beside it, is that a red suede upholstered Eames DCW?

The most interesting photos are of the original molds for both the George Nelson DAF chair and the Eames Armshell, which should dispel any myths that they are no longer in Herman Miller's possession.

All photos by Lish Dorset via craftzine, thanks Elke for the link.

Watch: MoMA in 30 Seconds

These 30 second shorts with Paola Antonelli and Sean Brown are part of a an ongoing series created by Thilo Hoffmann, who worked with MoMA members and staff to create short films based on their ideas and experiences in and around the museum.



See the rest of the series so far here.

Via swiss miss.

Good Design Never Grows Old

Beautifully designed 1950's instruction manual for the Olivetti Lettera 22. 

"The Lettera 22 was the pinnacle of 1950s typewriters (MoMA even have one in their permanent collection), a true luxury item, and the manual testifies to this. The copy is peppered with proud sentiment, and includes gems like ‘The Olivetti Lettera 22 is quite clearly a portable typewriter of the most up-to-date design and fine workmanship’ and ‘A few minutes spent in reading this book will enable the novice and the experienced typist alike to get the very best out of this excellent typewriter’. It refers to itself as a book! You almost get the impression Olivetti decided to print a manual that people would actually want to keep and not throw away once they got used to their new typewriter. The whole thing could have been printed entirely in black, but pale greens, reds and turquoises pop up throughout, giving the manual a sense of luxury that elevates it from being just a utilitarian document."

Probably designed by either Max Huber or Giovanni Pintori.

Via designdig via wemadethis.

Creative Spaces: Yoshiro Nakamatsu (is a Modern Willy Wonka)

You may not know the name, but his products have shaped modern society. Yoshiro Nakamatsu (whose inventions include the CD/DVD, floppy disk, taxi-cab meter and the karaoke machine) is arguably one of the greatest minds in human history. Quite a character and still actively developing products at 81, take a look into his fantastic world.

Via Joe is the New Black.

 

Spotlight: Gadi Gilan of B4ItWasCool

Visit with Gadi Gilan, owner of New York's B4ItWasCool Antique Gallery, and see his passion for the American Industrial aesthetic.

Presented by ACL x Cole, Rood & Haan Co. from Michael Williams on Vimeo.

Thnx Abi for the link.

Classic Spaces: Verner Panton: Visiona II

Verner Panton's 1970 Visiona II was an entire "fantasy" environment designed for Bayer, for the Cologne Furniture Fair. It has since become an icon of Pop-era modernism.

"From the end of the Sixties to the mid-Seventies the chemical company Bayer rented a pleasure boat during every Cologne furniture fair and had it transformed into a temporary showroom by a well-known contemporary designer. The main aim was to promote various synthetics products in connection with home furnishings. Verner Panton was commissioned no less than twice to design this exhibition, entitled 'Visiona'. The 1970 'Visona 2' exhibition showed the Fantasy Landscape which was created in this environment. The resulting room installation consisting of vibrant colours and organic forms is one of the principal highlights of Panton's work. In terms of design history this installation is regarded as one of the major spatial designs of the second half of the twentieth century." - Evan at ColorLovers

Photos via Apartment Therapy.

Jens Quistgaard the Movie

From the Danish documentary film "A Saucepan for My Wife" Produced by ABCFilm.dk -Directed by Stig Guldberg. www.jensquistgaard.com

Watch: Polaroid SX-70 by Charles + Ray Eames

Polaroid SX-70 Promotional Film from Ekim on Vimeo.

A 1972 Polaroid promotional film by the Eames Office. Enjoy!

Modern Love 20th Century 6: Round One is now open for bids

20th Century 6 is the 6th annual online auction of design and decorative arts to benefit cancer research. A portion of every winning bid in this sale will be donated to the cause. Held in support of the Canadian Cancer Society, every item sold will help generate vital funding for promoting educational materials on prevention, and help fund emotional support programs for those living with cancer during all phases of their illness, from diagnosis through treatment and surgery, and well into recovery.



The 1st round of items are now listed on eBay.
The 2nd round comes December 2.
All item listings will close December 9.

Items currently active include this Stig Lindberg Leaf Bowl, an early Eames Rosewood Lounge + Ottoman, a Paolo Venini Inciso Vase, and a set of 4 Borge Mogensen Dining Chairs.

To see all items that are currently open for bidding, click here.

The see the complete online catalog of all items being offered, click here.

Via Modern Love.

Spotlight: Eva Zeisel

DWR's Design Notes has a great feature on the work and life of the 103-year-young master ceramic artist Eva Zeisel.

Click here for the article.

The collection shown in the photos is being offered next week in Modern Love's 6th annual auction to benefit cancer research and support programs.

Via SeeSaw Designs.


Update: SteveMinne sent a link to this slideshow commemorating her birthday.

Electric Dreams

Very interesting, thanks Anna.

Resurrected: Brionvega Radiofonografio

An icon of Italian Post War Design is brought back to life:

"The venerable Italian brand Brionvega thinks the 60s and 70s are worth bringing back, or that at least some of the design sensibilities of the era warrant new life. The classic, groundbreaking Radiofonografio, divined in 1965 by two of the three Castiglioni brothers, Pier Giacomo and Achille, is making a new entrance as RR226. In 1965, the 'musical component robot' was a home electronic marvel that in one sleekly designed device included a radio, amplifiers and a record player (for both 45s and 33s).

The modernized model has also a CD and DVD players but otherwise it is as close as possible to the original. The amplifiers are moveable which makes it possible to create different configurations both for visual and listening pleasure."

Via Cool Hunter.

Etsy Goodness

Handmade goodness from Etsy, that any modernist can appreciate:


Multifaceted gold-leafed candleholders from Jean Pelle.

Stainless steel envelope-shaped mailboxes from Theory and Practice.

Ceramics from Element Clay Studio.

Repurposed Burlap bags by Brin and Nohl.




P.S. the holidays are just around the corner....

A lost medium....

The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

From Portable Film Festival:

"True dedication is evident in the form of Paul Mawhinney who has given his entire life to amassing what has become the world’s largest record collection. Mawhinney has over a million albums in his possession, including the world’s 1st flat record made in 1881. Due to health issues and a struggling record industry, Paul is being forced to sell his most prized collection. Director Sean Dunne saw an opportunity to tell a larger story by telling the Paul Mawhinney story."

Via pacific standard