In this private collection based in Geneva, the chairs are not an assembly of objects of everyday use. They are a congregation of creatures eluding their primary purpose as seating. Like a pendulum swinging between design and art they do often permit this purpose, but metaphorically exaggerated height and disassociation transform the chairs into individuals, or sculptures exploring the uncertain boundaries of physics. The book's generous layout allows readers to immerse themselves in this cabinet of curiosities and give their imagination free rein. Nicolas Polli and Jean Vincent Simonet use their photographic essays to interpret the exhibits originating from well-known artists and designers. The texts illustrate the collection in terms of the friction between art and design, they explain the collection's significance in the life of the collector, and they discuss the general motives that lead to a passion for collecting.

Maria Campos Carles de Pena, a leading expert in furniture history, has undertaken an exhaustive project of research into the large and varied production of furniture made in Peru in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries - the colonial period - for churches, convents, monasteries and private collections. Over eleven chapters she provides a thorough description of this type of furniture, which was inspired by artistic styles ranging from Mannerism to Neoclassicism, with their many variants and creators. Her analysis allows for an appreciation of the way vice-regal furniture in Peru is a valuable witness to its time: an example of a syncretism of varied and different cultures, endowed with symbolism, iconographic meaning and enormous beauty."

Introduce children to the craft of woodworking and watch their executive function skills thrive. The Guide to Woodworking with Kids is a culmination of craftsman Doug Stowe's four-decade career in woodworking and nearly twenty years of working with students K-12 in his Wisdom of the Hands woodworking class at the Clear Spring School in his hometown of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This comprehensive guide offers step by step instruction for teachers, parents and grandparents to offer safe woodworking opportunities to their students and kiddos as a way of developing a wide range of valuable life-skills. Based in part on the philosophies of Froebel's Kindergarten and Educational Sloyd, this book illustrates the importance of doing real, hands-on activities in school and at home that enable students to: Think things through for themselves Develop skill, originality and inventiveness Explore their own self-interests Plan, organize and execute meaningful work Prepare to profitably employ leisure time Be handy and resourceful Develop both character and intellect Create useful beauty to benefit family, community and self The Guide to Woodworking with Kids is more than a woodworking book, it's gives parents, grandparents and teachers the confidence, encouragement, and the insight needed to safely engage children in life-enhancing creative arts.

In recent years, there has been a great deal of interest in 'design classics', both in their increased availability and affordability through re-issues, and in their widespread re-interpretation by contemporary designers and artists. Focusing on chairs, this book examines this significant aspect of contemporary design practice. It does so, not only in terms of works by well-known designers, but also relative to ubiquitous designs such as the monobloc, Thonet number 14, and Ming chairs. These varied examples of re-imagining and re-working are examined from an international perspective as designers and artists across the globe seek to bring new formal, material, and narrative interpretations to these iconic designs. Renewed interest in do-it-yourself, together with the growth of hacking, open-source design and digital fabrication, have all contributed to an expansion of the concepts of re-imagine and re-make in the new millennium. Embraced by professionals, amateurs and companies alike, these developments further attest to the diverse practice of re-interpretation in contemporary design. Bringing together key examples of the re-issuing, re-imagining and re-making of design icons, the book draws on observations from designers, artists and manufacturers in order to understand the varied motivations behind these activities. It places the works within their historical and cultural context, and considers the boundaries between art and design. Further, the book interrogates the issues of authenticity and authorship and the ethical and legal rights to copy and to alter iconic objects that are raised by these re-interpretations.

The 20th century furniture is hot. American Furniture Designers: 1900 to the Present highlights the furniture produced by the 20 most important American furniture designers of the 20th and early 21st centuries plus a selection of the best-known European designers whose work is sold by Knoll International and Herman Miller. The designers are organized into five chapters. Introductions to each section summarize the evolution of furniture design as it evolved through the 20th and early 21st centuries. The book begins with the Arts and Crafts era before World War I; moves into the interwar period when Modernism gained a foothold in America; continues through the Postwar heyday of Mid-century Modern; highlights the furniture from the 1970s and into the 21st century with a focus on the foremost promoters of modern furniture, Knoll International and Herman Miller; and concludes with a selection of the top Studio Furniture makers and their innovative creations. The book focuses on the leading American designers from each of these periods including Gustav Stickley and Charles Rohlfs during the Arts and Crafts movement, Paul Frankl and Gilbert Rohde in the interwar period, Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for Mid- century Modern, and Wendell Castle and George Nakashima for Studio Furniture to name just a few. All their furniture is explained and profusely illustrated with 280 color photos. For anyone curious about the modern material culture that surrounds them, the book will explain everything about American furniture from 1900 into the 21st century: when it was made, where it was made, who made it, what it was made of, how it was designed, how long it was in production, and how the furniture related to its contemporaries.

A smartly designed and beautifully illustrated look at the life and work of an elusive and influential designer and architect Eileen Gray (1878-1976) was a versatile designer and architect who navigated numerous literary and artistic circles over the course of her life. This handsome volume chronicles Gray's career as a designer, architect, painter, and photographer. The book's essays, featuring copious new research, offer in-depth analysis of more than 50 individual designs and architectural projects, accompanied by both period and new photographs. Born in Ireland and educated in London, Gray proceeded to Paris where she opened a textile studio, studied the Japanese craft of lacquer that would become a primary technique in her design work, and owned and directed the influential gallery and store known as "Jean Desert." Gray struggled for acceptance as a largely self-taught woman in male-dominated professions. Although she is now best known for her furniture, lighting, and carpets, she dedicated herself to many architectural and interior projects that were both personal and socially driven, including the Villa E 1027, the iconic modern house designed with Jean Badovici, as well as economical and demountable projects, such as the Camping Tent. Published in association with the Bard Graduate Center Exhibition Schedule: Bard Graduate Center Gallery, New York (February 28-July 12, 2020)

Visionary furniture design from Vienna In 1938, Vienna lost its best and most creative minds. This rupture was manifested in all of the arts and sciences and its mark is felt to this day - not least in the field of furniture design. With inexhaustible creativity the Jewish furniture designers who were forced to flee Vienna continued to work while in exile. They taught at the best universities and spread their ideas and vision throughout the entire world. Their creations became classics of twentieth-century furniture design, the epitome of mid-century modern style. This book honors the memory of the exiled designers with a thorough overview of their work. It details their life stories and their visionary designs, which remain as relevant and contemporary as ever, and brings to light new aspects of the history of Viennese furniture design. A new history of Viennese furniture design, with 27 detailed biographies Numerous previously unpublished photographs and sketches Including works by Friedl Dicker-Brandeis, Martin Eisler, Josef Frank, Friedrich Kiesler, Richard Neutra, Bruno Pollak, Margarete Schutte-Lihotzky, Franz Singer, Ernst Schwadron, among others

Moving Objects deals with emotive design: designed objects that demand to be engaged with rather than simply used. If postmodernism depended upon ironic distance, and Critical Design is all about questions, then emotive design runs hotter than this, confronting how designers are using feelings in what they make. Damon Taylor's original study considers these emotionally laden, highly authored works, often produced in limited editions and sold like art - objects such as a chair made from cuddly toys, a leather sofa that resembles a cow, and a jewellery box fashioned from human hair. Tracing the phenomenon back to the 'Dutch inflection' that began with Droog designers like Jurgen Bey and Hella Jongerius, Taylor conducts an analysis of the development of Design Art and looks for its origins in the uncanny explorations of surrealism. Offering a critique of Speculative Design, and an examination of the work of designers such as Mathias Bengtsson, whose work involves 'growing' furniture inside computers, Taylor asks what happens when the tangible melts into the datascape and design becomes a question of mobilities. In this way, Moving Objects examines contemporary issues of how we live with artefacts and what design can do.

An authoritative and insightful study, surveying the life and work of "the greatest of the English artist-craftsmen" This study of the renowned designer-maker Ernest Gimson (1864-1919) combines biography with analysis of his work as an architect and designer of furniture, metalwork, plaster decoration, embroidery, and more. It also examines Gimson's significance within the Arts and Crafts Movement, tracing the full arc of his creative career, ideas, and legacy. Gimson worked in London in the 1880s, joining the circle around William Morris at the Art Workers' Guild and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. He later moved to the Cotswolds, where he opened workshops and established a reputation for distinctive style and superb quality. Gimson's work influences designers today and speaks directly to ongoing debates about the role of craft in the modern world; this book will be the standard reference for years to come.

The Chippendale cabinet-making firm, founded by Thomas Chippendale senior in about 1750, became famous partly through the successful publication of The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker's Director (1754, re-published 1755 and 1762), but also through the fine furniture supplied to a number of illustrious clients. Chippendale senior ran the workshop for just over twenty years and his eldest son, Thomas Chippendale junior, continued the business for over forty years; the first two decades in partnership with Thomas Haig. Chippendale senior's work has been well documented but Chippendale junior's work has never, until now, been thoroughly researched. The Life and Work of Thomas Chippendale Junior repairs the omission. His patrons included members of the Royal Family, aristocrats, landed gentry and antiquarians; he was adept at satisfying their demands, whether they required lavish gilt or simpler, often mahogany, pieces. Where family archives and original settings survive, as at Harewood House, Paxton House and Stourhead, they reveal the variety and quality of Chippendale's output. An analysis of client's invoices, even when the furniture can no longer be traced, for the first time provides a colourful view of what customers chose and what prices they paid.

If you take even the slightest interest in the design of your toothbrush, the history behind your washing machine, or the evolution of the telephone, you'll take an even greater interest in this completely updated edition of Industrial Design A-Z. Tracing the evolution of industrial design from the Industrial Revolution to the present day, the book bursts with synergies of form and function that transform our daily experience. From cameras to kitchenware, Lego to Lamborghini, we meet the individual designers, the global businesses, and above all the genius products that become integrated into even the smallest details of our lives. Alongside star designers like Marc Newson and Philippe Starck and major global brands like Braun and Apple, lesser-known and newcomer entries such as Brompton Bicycles and Enercon wind turbines attest to product design's restless pace, as well as to today's most pressing challenges and priorities to which it must turn its creative invention. About the series Bibliotheca Universalis - Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe!

An Assembly of Iconic, Forgotten and New Vitra Characters During Milan's Design Week 2018, the Vitra exhibition "Typecasting," curated by Robert Stadler, presented 200 objects in the former sports hall La Pelota in the city's Brera district. In addition to generous photographic documentation of the event, this eponymous publication , designed by Zak Group, critically investigates how design evolves under the influ ence of social media. By presenting the objects as characters, "Typecasting" is as much about furniture as it is about ourselves. Whereas furniture's practical function is a given, its representational role has dramatically evolved: furniture and objects become props for self-staging on social media and online.

When you step into the headquarters of Fritz Hansen in Allerod, northwest of Copenhagen, you breathe in the spirit of a company that has made design history. The showroom, a mecca for students of design and architecture, displays pieces that have become icons, including the Series 7 chair, the Swan lounge chair, and the Lissoni sofa. A recurring theme in the history of the Danish furniture maker is its collaborations with big-name visionary designers like Arne Jacobsen, Poul Kjaerholm, and Piero Lissoni. With these influxes of fresh energy and an unwavering commitment to Fritz Hansen's core values of creativity, the finest craftsmanship, and the utmost attention to even the smallest details, the company has succeeded in placing its products in the collective consciousness of humanity as well as in the offices of the President of the UN General Assembly, the Crown Plaza Hotel in Bangkok, the Banquet Hall of Oxford's venerable St. Catherine's College, New York's Museum of Modern Art, and private homes all over the world. With over 150 breathtaking photos, this thoughtfully designed coffee table book recounts the history of an exclusive brand, the marvellous pieces of furniture that has made it so revered, and provides examples of how a single piece of furniture can beautify an entire room or building, and fire the imagination of those who live there. Whether you're leaving the world of Fritz Hansen in Allerod or closing this book, it will be with a wealth of new creative ideas and the knowledge that before sustainability became a trendy buzzword, Fritz Hansen was already practicing it in its purest sense, true to its motto of "Crafting Timeless Design".

In line with the works on decorators of the 1940s, '50s, '60s, and '70s, this book plunges us into the world of '80s and '90s. These have witnessed unprecedented experiments in the world of design and architecture. Composed of a rich introduction which gives a synoptic vision and 38 monographs that describe its many faces, this book makes and exceptionally creative period intelligible, and reveals through an abundant iconography, often unpublished, its formidable aesthetic richness. A new generation of designers stands out; among them Shiro Kuramata, Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Bob Wilson, Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti. All regenerate creation by refusing the elitism of their predecessors and by favouring the use of new materials. Some turn to recovery, such as the Creative Salvage group, and offer inventive and provocative furniture thanks to welding and assembly. Others, gathered in Italy around Ettore Sottsass and Memphis, combine unexpected colours and patterns to the playful use of plastic laminate. Sliding until the end of the '90s, the achievements presented in this book mark the desire for a dialogue between artistic references with a new relationship to the industrial aspect, at the dawn of the 21st century and its technological innovations. Text in English and French.

Following the huge demand in contemporary societies to decorate homes in a "green" style, this book offers a more environmentally conscious approach to design and production processes by presenting a wide range of eco furniture products made with natural materials as well as using recycling and more environment respecting technologies. It presents the latest eco-furniture pieces from the world's leading design teams, and aims to encourage more people, especially professional designers to consider a more environmentally conscious approach to their design ideas and processes. * A showcase of the most striking examples of product design in furniture. * A response to an increasing demand concerned with home interiors. * An excellent and inspiring resource for designers and artists. * Few competitor titles in the market: most books are focused on architecture, this one offers an in-depth study of a quite new area of eco-product designing.

A vivid company biography of leading furniture manufacturer Walter Knoll based on its formative figures Wilhelm, Hans, and Walter Knoll, and most recently, Markus Benz. Walter Knoll, the book, charts the one-and-a-half-century-old history of this remarkable furniture dynasty, tracing the evolution of its designs in relation to key cultural and historical developments. When the Thomas Mann House in Los Angeles was recently bought by the Federal Republic of Germany and transformed into a representative "transatlantic meeting place," it was Walter Knoll furnishings that defined its interior design and showcased German creativity and performance in arts and business. Based in Herrenberg, near Stuttgart, the 150-year-old furniture business is one of the most successful furniture companies of the modern era and a global leader in high-end furnishing manufacturing. Walter Knoll's impressively long history dates back to Wilhelm Knoll, the founding father of the Knoll dynasty, who first set up a leather shop in Stuttgart in 1865. Knoll rose from being a cobbler to the court purveyor to the House of Wurttemberg. When his sons, Willy and Walter, took over the company in 1907, they began producing chairs - introducing the first club armchair to Germany and becoming the industry's first exporter. Their advances marked a revolution in upholstered furniture. After founding his own company in the 1920s, Walter Knoll was a breakout sensation in the avant-garde interior design world with a landmark exhibition at the Weissenhof Estate in Stuttgart, under the direction of the Mies van der Rohe, in 1927. His son, Hans Knoll, went to the U.S. in the 1930s and himself founded his own company, Knoll Inc., and with it, re-wrote design history. In 1993, Markus Benz, the son of Rolf Benz, joined the Knoll ranks, continuing the successful cooperation with internationally-renowned architects and designers. This fascinating company story shows how the Stuttgart area, one of the strongest economic regions in the world, was also a wellspring of modern design and culture.

With the first decade of the twenty-first century behind us, it is time to reassess the concept of "modern," a term that dates to the Middle Ages, when it signified current or recent events. Not until the eighteenth century did it become a stylistic term; more recently it has generally referred to the aesthetic that evolved from the Bauhaus and flourished in the mid-twentieth century. Though proclaiming freedom from the limitations of style, it became as formulaic as most of its predecessors, as Modern architecture and furnishings conformed to prescribed specifications: geometric forms, industrially fabricated, unadorned, and studiously ahistorical. Those guidelines are no longer relevant. As Midcentury Modernism has receded into history, Modernism has been redefined, reenergized, and in the process transformed. Today it embraces a cornucopia of design in an almost limitless range of materials: design studios are laboratories for experimentation; design concepts can be as important as finished objects; and furniture has crossed barriers to become a new art form. Tools and technologies never before possible have provided new approaches to decoration, and may incorporate influences from the past. The design profession has broadened its horizons; interiors and furniture are being created by architects, interior designers, furniture makers, industrial designers, artisans, artists, and even fashion designers. Design After Modernism offers an overview of developments in design over the past four decades-some evolutionary, some expected, and some extraordinary. It identifies the diverse influences that have generated new directions in design and illustrates many of the most characteristic, most noteworthy, and most innovative objects in this rich and variegated mix. All are representative of their time, and many of the earlier designs have already gained iconic status. Of the more recent ones, whether or not they will be admired in decades to come is something that only time will tell.

Unique in style, Chinese furniture has long been celebrated for its elegant, artistic lines and strong, durable structure. Ranging from pieces designed simply to display the beauty and texture of natural woods, to magnificent pieces decorated with lavish carvings, lacquer or precious metals and stones, Chinese furniture is an outstanding representative of the oriental arts. This book provides an accessible, illustrated introduction to the history, production techniques and rich variety of Chinese furniture, revealing the important part that this furniture has played in the development of China's culture.

The ultimate collector's resource, including hundreds of pieces by both well- and lesser-known designers from around the world. From armchairs and chaises longues to cabinets and nightstands, the period between the late 1930s and early 1970s was one of the most productive, inventive and exciting eras for objects and furniture in the home. Post-war optimism combined with new manufacturing methods and material techniques to create an explosion of new design and objects of desire. The appetite for mid-century modern remains as strong as ever, both for classic designs - many still in production since they were launched - and for rare, hard-to- find or out-of-production pieces from lesser-known designers. While numerous books surveying mid-century modern style have appeared over the years, no publication has been specifically conceived for the increasing collector's market in mid-century modern design, focusing on each piece of furniture as an object of formal invention, manufacturing intelligence and material innovation. This definitive book profiles hundreds of pieces in a substantial format perfect for reference in design libraries, studios and the homes of private collectors - or as an object of design in its own right. Each item of furniture is presented in detail, illustrated in colour and profiled via in-depth descriptive texts by Dominic Bradbury. The book's substantial reference section includes essays on materials (eg, plywood) and designer profiles. Work by a host of influential talents is profiled throughout, alongside lesser-known pieces by Piet Hein, Bruno Mathsson, Lina Bo Bardi and Alexander Girard.

From the white plastic bed for the Prisunic catalogue (1966) to the Culbuto armchair issued by Knoll, and from the Lip watch to the private apartments of the Elysee Palace, Paris, (1983), the furniture and objects conceived by Marc Held have been emblematic of the renewal of French design, following the line of Scandinavians such as Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen...With his gallery L'Echoppe on the rue de Seine, Paris, and then with his agency, the designer and architect Marc Held also took part in major projects for IBM and Renault. This book traces fifty years of design, whose success with the public at large has contributed to a great liberation in our style of life. The generosity of his vision has remained faithful to the humanist values that guided his childhood in Bagnolet, where he was born in 1932. Having settled in Greece, on the island of Skopelos, over twenty years ago, Marc Held still continues to build houses and furnish them with his creations, working closely with Greek craftsmen.

Add a touch of retro appeal to your stationery rotation with this off-beat refrigerator journal, featuring classic-cool colors, adorable illustrations, and a split binding that gives two distinct areas for writing! Everyday tasks, notes, and to-do lists can be recorded in the lower refrigerator section, while long-term plans and goals can be kept "on ice" in the freezer compartment. Show off your mid-century aesthetic and keep everything organized with the cheeky, on-trend Vintage Refrigerator Journal. This journal features: Split hardcover binding treatment; journal cover and interior pages are divided into two distinct sections that can be opened independently. Full-color illustrations throughout the interior. Matte laminate cover with spot gloss on "metal" elements.