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Designer Focus | Tom Dixon
Design Information, Designer Focus, In Store, Staff Picks | Published on May 10, 2010
A self-taught designer-maker from London England, Tom Dixon has combined the creative with the commercial throughout his career.
_He fell into design by accident when he found himself with “time on his hands” while recovering from a motorcycle accident. As an art school drop-out with no technical training, he taught himself how to become a designer-maker in 1983 after discovering welding when trying to repair his motorbike.
Dixon’s D-I-Y approach to design matched the post-punk mood of the early 1980s. Having made his name – but little money – by making and selling limited editions of his welded furniture – chairs such as the S Chair and Pylon Chair(above) – he tried his hand at retailing, by opening a shop, Space, to sell his products.
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Yamagiwa Lighting
Brand Focus, In Store, Staff Picks | Published on May 8, 2010The Yamagiwa brand has been bringing high end lighting to the masses of Japan for decades. Established in 1923 the received high acclaim for their 2007 Lighting Design exhibit in Milan for their works with well renowned designers and architects.
Working with a wide range of range of materials they focus on the beauty of the light itself and how it works with people and its environment. Many projects have focussed specifically on how lighting affects the way people work.
With products designed by Toyo Ito, Tokujin Yoshioka, Ross Lovegrove, Naoto Fukasawa, and Shiro Kuramata to name a few the collection is varied but well curated.
Purchase Yamagiwa lighting from informshop.com
Above the TEAR DROP table and pendant light by Tokujin Yoshioka is a beautiful glass orb hollowed out to encapsulate the light inside.
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B&B Italia Outdoor
In Store, Staff Picks | Published on May 1, 2010As the weather starts to warm and summer draws nearer, we all start to spend more time outdoors. This includes barbeques with friends and family or just plain relaxing alone on our balconies, decks and patios.
B&B Italia has some of the most beautifully designed and exquisitely built outdoor furniture to make you feel like you’re at a top class resort while being at home.
Springtime Collection
If you’re into warm minimal design and spectacular craftsmanship than this is for you. Designed by Jean- Marie Massaud the line has soft organic tables made from Crystal Plant mixed with dramatic day beds and chaises and sofas. The frames are made from aluminum and are powder coated in a weather proof polyester for years of durability, there is even a weather proof Mahogany table top.
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The legendary Concrete floors of 50 Water
Design Information, In Store | Published on April 22, 2010
www.danamacconcrete.comInterestingly enough, we receive quite a few questions from our clients on the beautiful concrete floors of the 50 Water St. showroom.
Danamac, one of the companies who worked on our floors has put together a great post on the finish.
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Gastown Spring Shop Hop – April 22
In Store, Inform News | Published on April 17, 2010
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Book: The Genius of Design by Penny Starke
In Store, Staff Picks | Published on April 7, 2010This book takes a unique, original and engrossing approach to design. Whether or not we are consciously interested in it, design is omnipresent; it affects and influences us all in every aspect of our lives.
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Book: Reinventing the Automobile
In Store | Published on March 31, 2010Reinventing the Automobile – Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century
MIT Press by William J. Mitchell, Christopher E. Borroni-Bird, and Lawrence D. BurnsThe cars we drive today follow the same underlying design principles as the Model Ts of a hundred years ago. In the twenty-first century, cars are still made for twentieth-century purposes. They’re well suited for conveying multiple passengers over long distances at high speeds, but inefficient for providing personal mobility within cities—where most of the world’s people now live.
The authors reimagine the automobile, describing vehicles of the near future that are green, smart, connected, and fun to drive. They roll out four big ideas that will make this both feasible and timely.
Four Big Ideas That Could Transform the Automobile:
- Base the underlying design principles on electric-drive and wireless communications rather than the internal combustion engine and stand-alone operation
- Develop the Mobility Internet for sharing traffic and travel data
- Integrate electric-drive vehicles with smart electric grids that use clean, renewable energy sources
- Establish dynamically priced markets for electricity, road space, parking space, and shared-use vehiclesPost by Nancy Bendtsen
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Visit, relax, and enjoy our Library
In Store | Published on March 30, 2010
Not everyone knows or has a chance to enjoy our little gem of a library.
Tucked behind the floating staircase on the main floor of our 50 Water location, the library houses volumes on architecture, industrial, furniture, fashion, interior and a slew of other design fields. Even added to the mix are interesting and notable editions of art and cook books.
Curated by Nancy Bendtsen and staff, the library is constantly changing with new additions.
Peruse the latest magazines or flip through the bio of your favourite designer.
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Introducing D-Line Hardware
In Store, Inform News | Published on March 29, 2010In 1973 D-Lines first product the Ø 14mm U-Shape handle was manufactured and has since been the defining visual language for the rest of their design.
Click here to view and download catalogues
For decades they have been producing precisely machined hardware for both home and contract use. Made from stainless steel the collection consists of a range of door handles, pulls, passage sets, hooks, and a variety of other architectural hardware.
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Shawn Place Works
Brand Focus, Design Information, In Store, Inform News, Staff Picks | Published on March 24, 2010Early last year Shawn Place came to us with a prototype of his rocking chair. With a several more of these prototypes (one currently at my family home) he came to the beautifully proportioned SP210 rocking chair.
The frame is made of rift cut white oak with a soap finish. The seat and back are hand caned by Shawn in his Prince George workshop.
A great piece of Canadian design and craftsmanship. Try it out in store today.
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