The first comprehensive study of Knoll's innovative textile designs and the company's role within the history of interior design In 1940, Hans Knoll founded a company in New York that soon earned a reputation for its progressive line of furniture. Florence Schust joined the firm and helped establish its interior design division, the Knoll Planning Unit. In 1947, the year after their marriage, Hans and Florence Knoll added a third division, Knoll Textiles, which brought textile production in line with a modern sensibility that used color and texture as primary design elements. In the early years, the company hired leading proponents of modern design as well as young, untried designers to create textile patterns. The division thrived in the late 1940s through 1960s and, in the following decade, adopted a more international outlook as design direction shifted to Europe. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Knoll tapped fashion designers and architects to bolster its brand. The pioneering use of new materials and a commitment to innovative design have remained Knoll's hallmarks to the present day. With essays by experts, biographies of about eighty designers, and images of textiles, drawings, furniture, and ephemera, Knoll Textiles, 1945-2010 is the first comprehensive study devoted to a leading contributor to modern textile design. Highlighting the individuals and ideas that helped shape Knoll Textiles over the years, this book brings the Knoll brand and the role of textiles in the history of design to the forefront of public attention. Published for the Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture Exhibition Schedule: The Bard Graduate Center, New York (05/18/11-07/31/11)

The creation of an American furniture style at a crossroads of transatlantic trade American Furniture, 1650-1840: Highlights from the Philadelphia Museum of Art is the first publication dedicated to one of the finest collections of its type in the country. Best known for furniture by artisans from Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania, the museum's collection includes significant examples from cities and regions farther afield. Interpretive texts for each work focus on design sources, showing how early American furniture participated in an international visual language. A vibrant local economy was bolstered by coastal trade bringing Caribbean mahogany and European imports that continued to influence local production. By the 1740s Philadelphia had developed a distinctive idiom and led the developing nation in style and aesthetics. This volume provides an important resource for scholars of American furniture, illuminates the cultural and mercantile life of the fledgling nation, and offers a lively introduction to the donors, curators, and personalities who have shaped the institution from its earliest days to the present. Published in association with the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Industrial-style furniture is in fashion - bistro tables and chairs, lockers, mail sorting racks and jointed lamps are all common elements in today's interior design. In this book, Brigitte Durieux, an authority on the style, tells us the story behind fifty European and American objects that have made the surprising transition from factories to our livings rooms and become cult furniture. Featuring more than 250 images, Industrial Chic is a beautifully illustrated showcase that reveals the incredible reach, versatility and long-lasting appeal of industrial design. The remarkable histories of these distinguished objects - including the Gras lamp, the Singer stool, the Holophane reflector, the Brillie clock and more - accompany brilliant photographs by Laziz Hamani.

Our streets are enriched by a huge variety of objects, from water fountains and horse troughs to post boxes, signposts and more. Collectively, these objects are known as street furniture. From Roman-era milestones to modern infrastructure disguised as artwork, they tell us much about contemporary life. This book relates the compelling history of street furniture's design and manufacture, featuring notable architects and major ironfounders, as well as curiosities like King Edward VIII post boxes. It brings the story right up to date, detailing the new generation of environmentally friendly and digitally connected street furniture. The book also charts the dangers to our streetscapes, which are particularly vulnerable to change, with heritage street furniture at risk of being forgotten or lost. This book includes many fascinating images of surviving street furniture and vanished pieces, with archive material allowing readers to see long-gone items in use. It will appeal to those interested in social and transport history, in how we lived in the past, and indeed how we may live in the future.