Rattan evokes the glamour and exoticism of the Riviera, grand yachts, and tropical verandas. It appeared in Impressionist paintings, and dazzling celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Gina Lollobrigida were photographed lounging on it. Now, rattan is regaining its allure and becoming increasingly fashionable in interior design and fashion spreads a reflection of beauty, craftsmanship, and sustainability. Heywood-Wakefield furniture from the nineteenth century is highly collectible, as are pieces created by giants of modern design such as Josef Hoffmann for Thonet, Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Jean-Michel Frank for Ecart, Renzo Mongiardino for Bonacina, and Arne Jacobsen for Sika. Paul Frankl and Donald Deskey designed sleek Art Deco rattan furniture. Rattan pieces have become iconic and highly prized, including Hiroomi Tahara s Wrap Sofa, Franca Helg s Primavera Chair, and the many iterations of the Peacock Chair. The glamour of rattan shines through in seductive and beautiful interiors Madeleine Castaing s house in Chartres, Michael Taylor s California beach houses, the Titanic s Cafe Parisien. The book also showcases tastemakers who have embraced rattan, from Marella Agnelli and Cecil Beaton to design leaders of today, including Jeffrey Bilhuber, Veere Grenney, Axel Vervoordt, and Bunny Williams.

For around 300 years, the harpsichord was the leading domestic musical instrument and often a highly fashionable piece of furniture as well. Usurped by the piano at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it was taken up again with the first revival of early music at the beginning of the twentieth century. Over the past 40 years, makers have been getting closer to reproducing examples from the historical past. Now, " The Art of Making a Harpsichord" gives its readers the chance to discover this challenging and rewarding pursuit in a way that is rarely possible without working with an established builder. Beginning with an overview of the instrument, its schools and workshop traditions, the author--himself an experienced maker and researcher--explores the various models and types before leading the reader through the manufacture of an Italian-style instrument, while describing historically-based working methods which are applicable to all traditions. Just as in the seventeenth or eighteenth century, there is no need to rely on large power-tools. This book has been designed to provide assistance to all harpsichord makers, whatever model they choose to make. It is lavishly illustrated with line drawings and photographs, the latter taken--wherever possible--from antique examples that give the reader as full an understanding as possible of the quality of these beautiful instruments.

taken specially for Conran Octopus by Si mon lee: 28 below, 29 below, 37 above, 44 I: TElEPHONES above, 45, 46 below, 53 below, 65 below. AND PENS 23 We would like to thank the following for their cooperation: The Conran Shop Cousins Design, New York Design Museum Environment Bridget Kinally Lisa Krohn and Tucker 2: DESK Veimeister, Smart Design, New York ACCESSORIES 3S Lefax Plus Corporatlon, Tokyo SCP Seccose, Milanfldeas for Llving, London Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and we apologize in advance for any 3:0FFICE unintentional omission and would be pleased to insert the MACHINES 49 appropriate acknowledgment in any subsequent edition of this publication. AUTHORS' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to thank all those manufacturers and designers who answered queries and 4: FURNITURE AND searched through their archives, the supportive and professional lIGHTING 61 staff at Conran Octopus and Sir Terence Conran for his personal mterest and guidance. NOTE TO READER Names of objects and designers printed in roman or bold type BIOGRAPHIES 72 denote that a photograph of the object or a biography of the designer can be found elsewhere In the book. INDEX 80 6 HOME OFFICE WORK/NG FROM HOMf Working from home is on the increase in Europe and North Americo. A convergence of new technologies, economic changes and social demands is dramaticolly reshaping the living patterns which have dominated much of the twentieth centu

Introducing a new woodworking series in the tradition of Tage Frid...a series filled with essential information required by woodworkers today. For the first time ever, all the techniques and processes necessary to craft beautiful things from wood have been compiled into three comprehensive volumes: The Complete Illustrated Guides. Highly visual and written by woodworking's finest craftsmen, these three titles -- Furniture & Cabinet Construction, Shaping Wood, and Joinery -- will establish a new standard for shop reference books.

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Furniture & Cabinet Construction is the ultimate reference work -- a graphic, step-by-step presentation of basic furniture-construction techniques. Expert woodworker Andy Rae brings organization, enthusiasm, and more than 20 years' experience to this essential book. Readers will acquire a working knowledge of woodworking materials, a higher level of control over their work and tools, and an understanding of basic design principles.

Luke Hughes & Company's enduring and meticulously engineered furniture, an eloquent response both to the architecture it inhabits and to the true Arts and Crafts spirit, has been placed at the forefront of the 'craft-led renaissance in British manufacturing.' Flexible in use, commercially viable and environmentally sustainable, the work furnishes many of the world's most distinguished buildings, from Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and most of the Oxford and Cambridge University colleges to the Keystone Academy in Beijing and one of New York City's most vibrant synagogues. Through an introduction to the studio and 25 case studies, Furniture in Architecture explores the company's place in the Arts and Crafts tradition and examines the philosophy and work of founder Luke Hughes. Aidan Walker sheds light on how the studio balances modern manufacturing technologies with abiding craft values, rendering the small furniture workshop a relevant and profitable proposition even when fulfilling large-scale commissions. This fascinating survey defines the elements of successful design and addresses the meaning of craft and craftsmanship in the digital age.

As featured in Bookforum, ELLE Decor, and Interior Design Magazine The first and only monograph on the life and work of the iconic Danish-American mid-century furniture designer Jens Risom - an unsung hero of Mid-Century Modern design Jens Risom, a key figure in mid-century modern design, was one of the first designers to introduce Scandinavian design to the United States and his highly collectible original work is currently selling for large sums at auction. In 1942, Risom's designs formed the majority of the inaugural collection of original furniture for the iconic Hans Knoll Furniture Company and many of his key pieces are still in production today, by leading manufacturers including Knoll, Design Within Reach, De Padova, Camira, and Ralph Pucci. This, the first authoritative biography of Risom, spans his education in Denmark, early collaborations with Georg Jensen and Hans Knoll, the creation of his own company - Jen Risom Design - his celebrated prefab house on Block Island, RI, as well as his legacy and presence in the 21st century. With unique access to a plethora of never-before-seen sketches, photographs and ephemera, this book proves, as the immortal slogan in his iconic ad campaign shot by Richard Avedon tells us, 'The answer is Risom'.

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.

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.

Svelte and seductive, the Spine chair, shown on the cover of this book, is one of the most renowned objects in contemporary design. Its creator, Andre Dubreuil, after initially pursuing a career of antique dealer and a painter-decorator, became one of the leading figures of new English design in the mid-1980s, with Mark Brazier-Jones and Tom Dixon. After first working his magic on the rebar, Dubreuil tackled traditional forms, breathing new life into them. This return to citation, ornament, and to "craftsmanship" was carried out without qualms. For him, invention is what counts above all. The history of styles has never caught hold of him because he does not know where his craft will lead tomorrow. It is a craft which, through random experimentation, has been the catalyst for 400 enigmatic furniture objects from 1985 to today: chairs, chests of drawers, mirrors, cabinets, clocks, lanterns, etc. in which dreams, invention and mystery prevail over function.

Today, Italian architect and designer Carlo Mollino (1905-73) is known chiefly for his furniture designs. He is famous also for his erotic polaroid photography of the 1960s, which has been subject of many exhibitions and has lost nothing of its great appeal to the fashion world today. Much less attention has so far been given to Mollino's architecture, and a comprehensive critical study of his work in this field has been lacking. Yet his built work, although relatively small, constitutes a seminal contribution to modernism that is uniquely marked by a strong relationship with Surrealism. Based on years of research and drawing on rich archival material as well as on Mollino's own writings, this new book is the overdue tribute to an extraordinary personality in 20th-century architecture. It features an exemplary selection of his key designs, both built and unrealised, lavishly illustrated with images and reproductions of previously unpublished plans, drawings, and documents. Rounded out with scholarly essays by expert authors, this is a long-awaited addition to the library of architecture lovers, professionals, and scholars.

The modular did not have to be invented: it can be found everywhere. We divide surfaces into grids, spaces into parts, and time into rhythmic units. Modular structures are also increasingly being recognized as a way of communicating, where the aim is not to construct a universal principle but to facilitate interplay between different systems. Building on the visionary design system that architect Fritz Haller and engineer Paul Scharer developed in 1965 for Swiss furniture company USM, Rethinking the Modular brings together specially commissioned essays and interviews with leading designers, architects and thinkers to present the wide-ranging importance and influence of modular design over the past fifty years. In revealing the broad possibilities created by balancing structure with flexibility, the timely publication redefines the place of modularity in modern design history, and offers a rich resource for designers today.

Kumiko is a delicate and sophisticated art created by assembling small wooden pieces into beautiful patterns, and Matt Kenney's latest book offers step-by-step instructions for 10 patterns, with a level of detail that cannot be found in print elsewhere. Also included are cutting diagrams for several original decorative wall panels that make use of the patterns taught in the book. In The Art of Kumiko you'll learn Kenney's methods for making Kumiko, which combine the accuracy and efficiency of modern woodworking equipment with the precision of hand tools to create beautiful pieces. You'll also learn how to incorporate Kumiko in both furniture designs and as stand-alone framed panels that pay homage to this centuries-old craft.

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.

Covering the period from the publication of Thomas Chippendale's The Gentleman and Cabinet-Makers' Director (1754) to the Great Exhibition (1851), this book analyses the relationships between producer retailers and consumers of furniture and interior design, and explores what effect dialogues surrounding these transactions had on the standardisation of furniture production during this period. This was an era, before mass production, when domestic furniture was made both to order and from standard patterns and negotiations between producers and consumers formed a crucial part of the design and production process. This study narrows in on three main areas of this process: the role of pattern books and their readers; the construction of taste and style through negotiation; and daily interactions through showrooms and other services, to reveal the complexities of English material culture in a period of industrialisation.

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."

This stylish publication celebrates the impact of contemporary Nordic style on interiors, furnishings and product design. Its attractiveness lies in the simplicity, attention to detail and high quality of materials that have long been associated with Scandinavian design. This book features fifty notable interior and product designers from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. Whether they are well established or up and coming, the designers all share a passionate commitment to an elegant design style with widespread international appeal. New Nordic Design builds on the success of the author's earlier Fashion Scandinavia, in the same format, while also being completely new with great potential to reach a wide, global audience for whom Scandinavian living is a dream and an aspiration.

This book explores the history of the furniture manufacturer Harris Lebus from 1840 to 1970. Four generations of the Lebus family were engaged in the business which evolved from a family partnership into a public company. Oliver Lebus was chairman when the company ceased cabinet furniture manufacturing at Tottenham Hale in 1970. Using personal testimonies from those who were there, aspects of the story of 'the largest furniture factory' in the world are told through their eyes and using, in as far as possible, their own words. On a relatively, unremarkable North London Street, at Tottenham Hale, a set of railings stops short at a bricked wall on which a metal gatepost is affixed - this was the Ferry Lane entrance to Harris Lebus 'the largest furniture factory in the world'. Beyond the solitary post, a sloped, grass verge leads to a pleasant, low-rise housing built in the 1970's - Ferry Lane estate, and it is hard to imagine that this was once a bustling, energised furniture manufacturing hub. For seventy years furniture flowed on conveyor belts, and through a tunnel under Ferry Lane as the factory expanded in the fifties to occupy what is now Hale Village. During both World Wars the parts for wooden aircraft were made and assembled in huge workshops that were shrouded in secrecy. With the discovery of the factory underground war shelters in 2008 under what is now Hale Village and a subsequent Lebus exhibition curated by Haringey Local History Archives, interest was generated in this aspect of history and which has subsequently gathered momentum. Thousands of workers, each living individual lives came from near and far to spend their working days at Lebus. Many formed lifelong friendships, and just as four generations of the Lebus family spent their working lives in the factory, so too did successive generations of other families. Seemingly forgotten in the passing of time, they all left an indelible mark in this history. And in the case of some, their identities now emerge as their stories are explored; they are brought back to life telling their experiences in their own words. This is Paul Collier's first foray into authorship. In 2008, shortly after moving to Ferry Lane estate, Paul made a connection with Oliver Lebus, then in his nineties and who was the last family member of four generations at the company. They formed a special friendship and over several afternoons at his home in Kensington, Oliver introduced the author to his personal archives on which the foundations of this book were laid. Fully supported by both Haringey Local History Archives and members of the extended Lebus family, Harris Lebus - A Romance with the Furniture Trade, fully illustrated with over 200 photographs and images is a must read! His debut book appeals to a wide audience - interest in this history extends far beyond the locality of Tottenham Hale and Haringey, and will delight social historians and those with connections to the furniture trade, past and present.

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.

Joe Colombo (Milan, 1930-1971) was one of the greatest designers of the last century, visionary and ingenious, capable of giving shape to ideas that retain a striking relevance to this day. Trained first at the Brera Academy and then at the Polytechnic of Milan, Joe Colombo has expressed, in just 20 years of work, an absolutely innovative world view, placing man and his life at the centre of reflection, imagined a dynamic and transformable habitat both on a domestic and urban scale. A design in the round, aimed at satisfying every need - also thanks to technology and new materials - and to shape the space and its objects according to the different activities of the moment, be they working or social interactions. From here, the modular and dynamic furnishing accessories with futuristic lines, among which some pieces that have become iconic of Italian design stand out such as the Tube Chair, the Spider lamp (Compasso d'Oro 1967) or the Boby trolley (now at the MoMA in New York), the "monoblocks", such as the Mini-Kitchen or the Total Table with integrated dishes, up to the global housing unit, a visionary "machine", which encompasses all the needs of living. This volume constitutes the first catalogue raisonne of his work, of which about 180 projects are documented, divided between works still in production and historical works; introduced by the essays by Ignazia Favata - his historical collaborator - and Domitilla Dardi, it is completed by a critical anthology. Text in English and Italian.

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.

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.