AMEICO will be showing at the New York International Gift Fair / Accent on Design January 29 - February 2, 2012 Booth 3734. We have lots of new products this show. Please stop by, or download our new product listings here. We wish you all a happy and successful 2012!
The Massachussetts Museum of Contemporary Art was the subject of an AMEICO company field trip last month. In the midst of the our "busy" season, Peter packed us into our cars and we took the 2.5 hour trek north, through some of the most beautiful New England scenery and towns, to North Adams, home of MASS MoCA. This unforgettable place was a former factory of Sprague Electric, set on 13 acres. Its importance to the town was obvious--the town grew up around it, and when Sprague shut down in 1985, it put a third of North Adams out of work. With sensitivity and respect, the architects preserved a sense of the industrial activity that once went on its buildings, while creating a stupendous space for contemporary art and performance.
If the design of objects stirs something in you, architecture most probably does it, too. We responded to the massive multi-storied walls of bricks which has been patched and altered over the years as the factory's need for space evolved, layers of peeling paint and posted bills still evident. We responded to the machined trussings to reinforce the roof in the room where floors had rotted through in the years of de-industrialization. It's a powerful feeling to understand the space that surrounds you, and even more so when the space is infused with history and its walls still show what happened there. If you're ever passing through, don't miss MASS MoCA--it doesn't matter what is on exhibit there.
Flexform is a maker of high end contemporary living room furniture from Italy which is perfectly paired with Produzione Privata's minimalist, artisanal glass lamps. Enjoy the images from the new showroom at 155 East 56th Street, NYC which opened to the public on December 6th, 2011.
Shown in the window is the Metafisica (2010) and Bonne Nuit (2009) table lamps by Michele de Lucchi, both being suited for energy efficient or the old-fashioned incandescent bulb. The Flexform showroom currently has the US's largest selection of Produzione Privata lighting, and is open to the public.
Santa and Cole and premier Spanish lighting designer Antoni Arola have created a collection of non-glare functional LED light objects called BlancoWhite. Using Korea's Fawoo Lumisheet technology, BlancoWhite is available as tabletop cases, shelves, wall lamps and lighting box composition systems.
A finalist in the best new Table Lamp category, Blanco White was celebrated at Interior Design Magazine's Best of Year 2011 event on December 1, 2011 at Frank Gehry's IWC Building in NYC. Congratulations!
Dan Friedlander is retiring and closing down LIMN one of the giants of contemporary design in San Francisco which has been around for 30 years. LIMN had vision and commitment to authentic design and great people on staff. AMEICO salutes this company and thanks LIMN for 30 great years of helping to grow the public sensibility to good design. This is precisely why we believe good design will prevail into the future, as more and more Americans understand and seek it, and appreciate its value. It's up to everyone of us to share our views of what is good design and to value ethically-produced products that respect the designer. It was a good day on Cyber Monday when the Feds had shut down 150 websites peddling counterfeit goods and cheap replicas and asked for greater public awareness of where we shop and what we buy. So take heart, LIMN. There are others to help carry forth the torch you held for so long. Thanks for blazing the trail.
On the bright and beautiful morning of October 20, 2011 AMEICO and Purdy's Fine Furniture received Oliver Barker, curator of the Albers Foundation at the Purdy' workshop in Bridgewater, CT to review the development of several pieces from the Josef Albers furniture collection.
While none of the original furnishings from the reception room of Walter Gropius's architectural practice in Weimar which Albers designed in 1923, survived the war, early photographs, careful prototype reconstruction by the Foundation, and scholarly knowledge of Alber's approach and are the basis for the pieces AMEICO is producing for 2012 with the close collaboration of Oliver Barker.
Oliver Barker, Strother Purdy and Peter Kahane discuss the details of the design of wall-mounted folding seats which were originally presented in a row of 5 seats along the end of the reception room, which also housed the Albers bookshelf (visible on the right). Below, a preview of the frame of the Albers Tea Table waiting to be fitted with white Italian glass. A third piece in development is a ladies' writing desk.
In the morning hours of March 11, 2011 at 2:46 am a powerful 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit the east coast of Japan followed by tsunami waves, causing enormous damage. The number of dead and missing: 20,000, and the injured: 6,000. An estimated 125,000 structures were destroyed including homes, businesses, infrastructure, including several nuclear stations.
The shock was global for weeks after the event, but the work to rebuild homes and communities will last for years. Though the Japanese government has pledged funds and support in the rebuilding, many coastal communities have not been prioritized, as the authorities hope to mitigate future losses by moving the population inland, related UK Architecture for Humanity representative Katherine McNeil. Many traditional fishing villages may be forever abandoned.
Punkt. and its creative director Jasper Morrison keenly felt the tragedy, not only because of Morrison's location in Japan, but in addition, as the AC01 clocks are manufactured by Seiko Corporation. In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Seiko employees worked over-time to complete production of the Punkt. clocks for their worldwide launch in April 2011 at the Salone in Milano.
Over the summer, an effort to support the rebuilding effort in Japan crystalised with a fund-raising project. In a manner so typical, Jasper Morrison designed a most astoundingly simple tribute to the Japanese people in this limited edition of 500 units of the Japan AC01 clock. Proceeds will be directed to Project Maeami of Architecture for Humanity to rebuild a small fishing village and restore the livelihood of its inhabitants. Please visit the Punkt. website for more information and to follow the progress of Project Maeami. A limited quantity of clocks were made available to AMEICO for the USA and Canada, and are now available for purchase at the cost of $ 246 USD at the following retailers: A+R Store (Los Angeles), Ideal-Carefully Curated Goods (Bellingham, WA), Minimal (San Francisco), Switch (Atlanta), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis), and Artworks (Edmonton, Alberta), and shortly, through the AMEICO website.
Above left: View of Jasper Morrison's studio shop in London, UK.
Right: Peter at the Japan:Still Time to Help press launch
Look what is in the London Design Museum! It's the Braun ET 55 Pocket Calculator designed at the height of Braun's design and manufacturing prowress by the revered design team led by Rams and Lubs. Someday, AMEICO would love to carry an authorized new production of this icon of the early 80s.
The London Design Museum is a small private museum conceived by benefactor Sir Terrence Conran, located on the South bank of the Thames, right near the Tower Bridge. Dedicated to telling the story of the design of manufactured goods, one can view icons of British and international 20th century designs, as well as contemporary works.
The story of Braun is fascinating to us, and not least because we are now directly involved as importer and distributor for Braun timepieces. The well-loved products from the golden age of Braun manufacturing when it was still all made in Germany have been re-edited, re-released without trying to replicate the originals. Turning the clock back to 1980 is not commercially possible, but 1980 wasn't all that long ago. It's been fascinating how many folks have called us to repair their vintage Braun watches, clocks and appliances (which we cannot help with, sorry.) No doubt this brand has the power to rebuild its customer base as it moves forward respecting the original Braun ethos in design and production.
It has been a long time since AMEICO has stopped in London, but was a great pleasure it was to visit the Victoria & Albert Museum to see the installations curated by Murray Moss, imbedded among works of former centuries. Here is the great Bed of Ware, a bed of lengendary proportions and much folklore in which it was said that 20 couples could fit at any one time. In this case, 20 pairs of 21st century 3-D printed shoes are left neatly next to it.
The exhibit was entitled Industrial Revolution 2.0 and it makes interesting commentary on how we've come full circle. Before the Industrial Revolution, most things were made one piece at a time, and each time it was reproduced, could be made slightly different, or improved. With mechanization, came mass production. With the digital revolution, came 3-D scanners and printers, and the ability to manufacture in small and unique production runs is again a possibility. Juxtaposing the old with the very new, Murray Moss succeeded, with humor and the collaboration of artists from the fashion and design world, together with the Belgian technology firm Materialise, to illustrate the interesting state of contemporary design and manufacturing.
When I arrived, I did a store check in downtown Copenhagen. Illums is the most prominent of the department stores and I was happy to see how well &Tradition was displayed, both the Topans and the FlowerPots. The Topan is really very beautiful in its simplicity, soft colors and finish. I am amazed how many Tom Dixon pendants are sold and how few of the original Verner Panton Topan is sold. I guess it is all about marketing. In any event, the displays at Illums are beautiful – maybe something we can try to replicate at our US trade shows.
The next day, my first stop was the Rosendahl booth at the Copenhagen Jewellery and Watch Show, where they were prominently displaying the Arne Jacobsen table clocks, including a re-edition from 1939 (LK Clock far right, designed for Lauritz Knudsen), and the Station clock of 1941 (second from right). We will be launching these in the States in October.
I then went out of town north about 40 km to the hamlet Fredensborg, the home of &Tradition. The trek was well worth the effort. Their offices, a white structure both on the exterior and inside, are in a beautiful park-like setting. There is no question in my mind that &Tradition is the Nordic design brand to take more and more seriously. Here's an image of our &Tradition bestseller, the Sofie Refer (2000) SR1 Bulb interspersed with white BH1 and BH2 Spinning lights by Benjamin Hubert (2009). The products in their pipeline, which I am cannot divulge quite yet, are very impressive. This young company is definitely going places.
AMEICO will be at Accent on Design booth 3841 at the New York International Gift Fair August 15-19, 2010 with a good number of new products to show you. Here are some new products making an AMEICO NYIGF début: Roll Fire | 2009, Sieger Design | Conmoto City Lights | 2009, DeKoop | DeKoop Adonde Stoneware | 2005, Gutierrez + Serin | Adonde Spinning Lights | 2010, Benjamin Hubert | &Tradition Nesting Tables | 1926-7, Josef Albers | J+A Albers Foundation
Sponge Pong | 2010, Fredi Brodmann | Brodmann Blades™ Galileo Telescope | 2010, Odoardo Fiorvanti | Palomar Wine Bottle Tealight Holder | 2010, Jette Scheib | Side by Side Square Bank | 2010, Gläser & Eilts | Side by Side Gorgeous Helen | 2007, DeKoop | DeKoop Shuffle Table | 2010, Mia Hamborg | &Tradition Humphrey Coat Stand | 2005, Paolo Rizzato | Danese Romer watch | Arne Jacobsen, 2009 re-edited | Rosendahl Recycled Beer Glasses | 2009, Kapshop | City of Winterthur Gourmet Trio | 2008, Jean Marc Gady | AMEICO Mein Kleines Dorf | 1960s | Gollnest & Kiesel Festa Breakfast box | 2008, Liliana Bonomi | Serafino Zani Bakelite Lamp | 2008, Hubert Verstraeten | Tamawa Green Grass Notepad | 2009, Tät-Tat | Tät-Tat Liev Bowl | 2010, Jehs & Laub | Carl Mertens Noa Menor Shelves | 2010, Carme Pinós | Santa & Cole
Santa & Cole showed for the first time at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York in May 2010, opening with an impressive booth featuring both indoor lighting and outdoor furniture. In the foreground, a new and exciting modular LED system called Cirio which makes use of the warm translucent quality of porcelain.