We’re not good at keeping secrets, and in the case of Jason Koharik, who collects and fabricates objects in his Echo Park garage under the moniker COLLECTEDby, we can’t keep quiet.
Koharik designed a weirdly elegant, Mouille-esque line of lighting that’s been making appearances around LA recently. His furniture collection, however, came as a bit of a surprise. Koharik has long been accumulating vintage furniture (mostly chairs) from the likes of Eileen Gray, Tobia Scarpa and Bruno Mathsson. Over time, he amassed a singular collection. Rather than leaving the pieces in their original, mostly unusable condition, Koharik meticulously retooled each object, leaving the essential structure and design unaffected, but contributing his own sleek, hewn-by-hand signature to the upholstery and finish.
The resulting collection is a warm, textured exploration of the merging of leather and line, metal, wood and otherwise, all observed from a reverent by reimagined viewpoint. His collection, which also includes new luminaires, handmade furniture, and original artwork, debuted at a public sale in November, 2012. Red dots came quickly.
Hopefully, the warm reception will carry his works beyond the confines of a draft warehouse on Glendale Blvd and into the foreground of contemporary design.
Visit collectedby.com to see Jason Koharik's latest work.
Photographers with a knack for experimentation fashion DIY pinhole cameras from coffee cans, shoe boxes and pretty much any other recycled material they can get their hands on. But Elvis Halilović, the Slovenian industrial designer behind the ONDU pinhole camera, takes a more exacting approach. For his line of six cameras, Halilović uses only locally-sourced chestnut and maple wood, and shapes each camera body in his family's wood shop. His design uses strong magnets instead of visible screws, and he finishes the wood with a natural oil varnish.
Moments of information addiction are inevitable. If you find yourself stuck in a technology loop, endlessly bouncing back and forth between email and Twitter and whatever else you need to check, designer Chelsea Briganti's Blokket bag could help slow you down. The bag's fabric is made of a nylon and silver blend that blocks cell phone reception while keeping your phone out of sight. Although leaving your phone in the bag all day might drain your battery, a few minutes of peace wouldn't hurt. [via BLTD]
Chelsea Briganti is the co-founder of the New York product design studio The Way We See The World. Blokket is in stock at the MoMA store. 
For some of us the aughties were all about the emergence, or re-emergence, of dance punk (summed up by James Murphy as "live drums and synthesizers") and no one did it better than DFA, the New York record label founded by James Murphy, Tim Goldsworthy, and the often unsung Jonathan Galkin. Directed by Max Joseph, the vid does a nice tidy job of summing up the label and its sound, artists, and attitude with brevity and a sense of humor—and also gives us a gimpse inside the label offices and studio.
From the same technology that is used to design buildings, Hot Pop Factory, the jewelry line known for its 3D-printed style, has produced yet another interesting collection. The Boreal collection is made with recycled cherry and polymer wood from the Boreal forest in Canada. The collection is as unique as the forest itself; the chain and closure on each necklace appear exceptionally delicate when paired with the bold design of the wood pendant. There are eight different styles available from $74-$98.
The Boreal collection is now available online from Hot Pop Factory.
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