12.19.15

Saturday Selects

Week of December 14, 2015

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: A killer new objects line by a Danish graphic designer, new wall-coverings by two Sight Unseen–approved artists, and a timely primer on James Turrell — for all your Hotline Bling–inspired holiday party chatter needs.

More

12.18.15

Up and Coming

Melbourne Ceramicist Leah Jackson and Her Mega-Giftable Mugs

Working with clay is a tactile experience; the sensation of creating a functional object from one’s bare hands is unique. Melbourne ceramicist Leah Jackson believes everyone has a natural affinity for the medium, but we think hers exceeds the norm.

More

12.16.15

Up and Coming

Brooklyn’s Cofield Is Scaling Up

Though Sara Ebert and Jason Pfaeffle studied in the same industrial design program at Pratt, it wasn’t until they started working together on a post-grad project for West Elm that a partnership developed. As they started spending more time together, they would often ask each other’s opinion on personal projects. They soon realized they shared a creative point of view; love blossomed and their design studio Cofield was formed.

More

12.15.15

Sighted

Junpei Inoue’s Technicolor Wall Hangings

Being multi-taskers ourselves, we have nothing but admiration for people like Junpei Inoue — not only does he split his time between Brooklyn and Tokyo, he spends his days toggling between running and designing an art magazine, designing websites and logos for other people, and creating illustrations for textiles and fashion. Not such a stretch —until you consider his art practice as well, in which he creates intricate yarn-based wall hangings that are dyed using careful applications of acrylic paint.

More

12.14.15

Up and Coming

Meet Frama, the Studio That’s Reinventing Danish Design

Copenhagen-based Frama is forging a new direction in contemporary Danish design, giving its clean lines and mid-century shapes a new sense of warmth and sophistication. In addition to producing handsomely understated products — some designed by its in-house team, others commissioned from top Nordic talents — the studio has recently begun to branch into interiors, infusing them with character by blending old and new contexts, materials, and influences. Simply stepping into their showroom and studio, which is housed in a centuries-old pharmacy with original woodwork, you can easily see how effortlessly they meld the two together.

More

11.05.14

From the Library Of

Sight Unseen: Jewelry By Architects

Until about six months ago, there was only one Munari we idolized: Bruno, one of our favorite 20th century designers and design theorists. (If you haven't read Design As Art, we suggest you hop to it!) But then, one fateful day this past spring, we were wandering aimlessly around the internet when we stumbled on what is perhaps the biggest editorial coup we've scored in years, and thus began our love affair with Cleto Munari — the Italian designer, who as far as we can tell is unrelated to Bruno, commissioned a dream-team of architects like Ettore Sottsass and Peter Eisenman in the early '80s to create a jewelry collection for his eponymous company, and the project had almost no coverage anywhere on the web. We immediately snapped up a copy of the incredible out-of-print book that documented it, which we're excerpting just a small portion of here.

More

12.13.15

Saturday Selects

Week of December 7, 2015

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: A hot tip on a stealth sale of Barber Osgerby goods, ideas for ultra-design-y stocking stuffers, and a new collection of understated wood furniture by French studio Dessuant Bone, pictured.

More

12.11.15

Up and Coming

Kim Thomé, A Norwegian Designer By Way of London

Think of the London-based, Norwegian designer Kim Thomé’s playful approach to design as a Venn diagram of sorts: On the one side is a fondness for color and geometric pattern play, and on the other is an affinity for reflection and creating optical scenarios that can change at the viewer’s discretion. Where the two overlap is a creative region in which the designer thrives.

More

12.10.15

Studio Visit

The Brooklyn Ceramicist Behind the Insanely Popular “Boob Pots”

Even with its door wide open, Isaac Nichols’s Greenpoint studio is easy to miss. Walk past, look around, turn back, and there it is, tucked inside a cavernous, garage-like space that’s served as a creative home base for Nichols (who works under the name Group Partner) and a wide circle of artist friends for the past two years. The studio, unassuming from the outside, hums within: music plays; the stretch and tear of packing tape is constant. All around, laid out on makeshift surfaces and shelves, are Nichols’s signature pieces in varying stages of completion: ceramic pots molded to mimic breasts, each adorned in a hand-painted outfit, and his famous face pots, each with one of three appointed names: Adam, Rory, or Pat.

More

12.09.15

Up and Coming

Concrete and Brass Housewares By Studiokyss

As Studiokyss, Sydney-based artist Kenny Son makes small-scale concrete, copper, and brass objects for the home — reminiscent of the ubiquitous Futagami pieces but with a delicate style all their own.

More

12.07.15

Excerpt: Exhibition

The New Wave of Los Angeles Design, On View Now at Our Site Specific LA Show at Austere

When the folks behind the airy Los Angeles design showroom Austere asked us to create an installation in their space, the theme was a no-brainer — we'd showcase the new wave of L.A. design, inviting 11 of our favorite studios to install a selection of their work. The result is Site Specific L.A., which opened on Saturday and runs through February 14, and is like a mini, localized version of our New York show, Sight Unseen OFFSITE.

More

12.07.15

Excerpt: Magazine

Soft Baroque in PIN-UP No.19

Up until recently, there were only a few chairs, mostly vintage, that I'd consistently dreamed of decorating an entire room around: Vico Magistretti's green Selene stacking chairs for Artemide come to mind, as does the sheepskin coziness of Hans Wegner's Flag Halyard chair for PP Mobler. But in Milan last spring, I found a new contender: Soft Baroque's Enzo Mari–inspired, infinitely changeable New Surface Strategies armchair, available only in electric blue.

More

12.05.15

Saturday Selects

Week of November 30, 2015

A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. After spending the week culling our gift guides to just 75 items, we're still including a Shopping section — there's just too much good stuff! Plus: a sneak peek at our LA show, a mega-design auction preview, and Oyyo's new rug collection (above) styled by one of our favorite photographers.

More