Lizzy Caplan stars in this Viva Vena "art/fashion film" (or, as her friend informs her at the end, "just a commercial"). Lizzy looks amazing even as she parodies typical fashion promos and their overabundance of hip totems and props. At first we cringed realizing how thoroughly we've been taken in by the Virgin Suicides trend list, but in the end, this still has everything we treasure about the cliché videos: ombre hair, seashell collections, collages— it just adds a sense of humor. And hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, you might not want to watch this video.
Plastic is hardly en vogue these days with young designers. But that doesn't mean that the petroleum byproduct is going away. For decades, remember, plastic was the stuff of brilliant, forward-thinking design. You might call those decades the Kartell era.
Carbon polymers were never in better hands than with the Italian company Kartell. Founded in 1949 by a chemical engineer, the company's collaboration with designer Gino Colombini ushered in an era of award-winning and useful designs. The golden age of plastic had Anna Castelli Ferrieri and Joe Colombo designing for Kartell. More recently, the Starck Ghost Chair has revived that high level of chic utility that's the hallmark of Kartell. Taschen's latest book surveys the company's history decade-by-decade with an eye-popping array of historical shots.
On February 9 in celebration of New York Fashion Week, the Ace Hotel is hooking up with 3D printing company Shapeways, a select group of talented analog jewelry designers, and CAD modelers to show how digital technology can revolutionize the industry.
Designers including VeraMeat, Ursa Major, In God We Trust, and others will team up with CAD modelers thefuturefuture, Bits to Atoms’ Duann Scott, and Kostika Spaho for an interactive jewelry bazaar that lets visitors take part in the creation of their own custom-made pieces via MakerBot 3D printers.
But how will this whole thing work exactly? We asked Vera Balyura of VeraMeat for the details:
NoMA: How will the interactive part of the jewelry bazaar work? Did you have to prepare designs in advance?
VeraMeat: We did prepare and design a custom-made two finger duster ring. I think the original idea was to have our ring printed in front of the customer, but now due to time limitations the orders will be made after the event with the personalized custom details. We have fun working in this new way and are excited to get customer feedback once they receive their VeraMeat. We’re so excited to be a part of this Ace event as we love Ace. And it's wonderful to learn a new technique.
NM: Were there any materials that you normally use that you could not due to the 3D printing process?
VM: We use silver a lot and that was an option so we didn’t have a problem.
NM: You’re analog design process is intricate and on a smaller scale which makes your pieces special. Do you see 3D printing as a way to branch out and pursue further retail opportunities—more products for a larger audience?
We have three retail stores and an online store already—two stores in New York and one new store opening in Beverly Hills on February 12. So we have been able to grow the VeraMeat brand using normal casting technique. We have a lot of flexibility with this historic style. 3D printing is just another exciting option.
Local Designers Print 3D is open to the public Feb 9, 1-5pm in the lobby of the Ace Hotel, NYC.
Ace Hotel, 20 W 29th St New York, NY 10001; (212) 679-2222
Fans of shoegazer gods My Bloody Valentine were thrilled to hear the band's first new record in two decades this week. Critics weighed in, making sure to pay tribute to the legendary Loveless. But amid the hullabaloo, some of us were left wondering one thing: Is that really the cover art for the new My Bloody Valentine album? Frankly, it's dreadful. Not only that, but it makes us long for the quality control and artistic vision of the creative directors at the mighty independent labels of yore. DIY, in this case, may have done wrong.
For those that believe that's unofficial artwork, we hate to disappoint you but the band's site informs us that it is the real deal. "The vinyl and CD artwork is currently being finished and each format will have slightly different but similar artwork to the download artwork that will be attached to your download."
The van represents a carefree, mobile, active lifestyle to which we all secretly aspire—that plus a convenient place for make out sessions. Van Life collects images of blissful, adventurous, and often solitary vans—Vanagons, Microbuses, and custom Dodges in farflung, picturesque locales. This is one vehicle you'd be advised to start tailing.
While Meg Callahan makes these quilts in Rhode Island, her designs have more to do with her tiny hometown in Oklahoma than anything happening near her studio in Providence. The RISD grad draws influences from American Indian patterns and the "beautifully boring" landscape (her words) which surrounds her hometown of Edmond, Oklahoma.
How did she manage to snap a photo with her quilt as the backdrop to some epic wood chopping? She recently told Sight Unseen the photos were taken on a plot of land her sister's boyfriend owns in Oklahoma, and the man with the axe is his father, who frequents the plot to blow off steam by chopping wood.
Three Meg Callahan quilts are currently on sale at Matter.
Jon Gray of Gray 318 is a master of typography-driven book designs. We're huge fans of his bold use of hand-drawn lettering. You might know his distinctive and ebullient work on Jonathan Safran Foer novels, for example, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Gray gives so much personality to a book that it makes us want to drop everything, step away from the computer and read. No wonder he's in demand for major unit-moving, literary titles.
Julian Glander's work rarely stands still. The Detroit native's illustrations are hyperactive in the best way possible. Now living and working in Brooklyn, he uses almost exclusively bright colors and bold simple figures to give his animated GIFs, videos, posters, and branding work a distinctive look and humor. Glander's earliest design work was meant for T-shirts. Since then his subjects have included everything from Mountain Dew flavors to bears in headlocks and bummed-out, isolated humans. No matter the subject, Glander gives everything an ecstatic, clean look that betrays the influence of classic 8-bit animation.
Wildfang seems to be a new brand that's all about tomboy-centric fashion. This teaser video has us intrigued, but details are still hard to come by. Keep an eye on the Journal for an upcoming interview with Wildfang founders Emma McIlroy and Julia Parsley in which all shall be revealed.
High concept architecture is often good for challenging us with a whiz-bang, revolutionary design idea. In the case of Universe Architecture's "Landscape House" design, it's good for at least two. The concept includes a Möbius-inspired design that has walkways turning into ceilings and vice-versa. But even more intriguing is the idea of a 3D-printed house, which might just be a decade away if the pundits are to be believed.