Slow → articles tagged with design

Rop van Mierlo &
Remco van der Velden

Into the wild universe

We recently met up with Rop (/Rob) van Mierlo and Remco van der Velden to speak about their brand Wild Animals. Having just moved into a new space in the north of Amsterdam, which opened the week before our visit, they explained how a new phase is about to start. Having just introduced two new directions of products that will be available next season named Patterns and Flowers, for the first time moving beyond depictions of animals, they are ready to show the wide range of Rop’s signature wet-on-wet aesthetic.

The current moment also marks the end of a period that was dominated by three major brand collaborations, out of which the H&M kids wear partnership had by far the most impact on the duo. It introduced their work to a global audience, but at the same time (for the first time in their existence) it alienated some of their core followers that didn’t appreciate the fast fashion affiliation. Now, they are ready to move on, with a myriad of new insights, and with the space (financially and time-wise) to finally start growing their Wild universe into new realms. [ Continue reading ]

Together

A chair is made for sitting

A few years back we’ve featured Koen Tossijn’s work on his Wardrobe project, a contemporary menswear brand bringing high quality basics. Koen was always charmed by simple things, things that don’t scream for attention but balance between presence and absence. The things he makes reflect the beauty of natural materials and deep knowledge of the best craftsmen in their field.
Recently he shifted into furniture design together with Studio the Future and Sugi Kojo in Ukiha, Japan, in a projected called ‘Together. A chair is made for sitting’ where he designed a chair and a table. [ Continue reading ]

Wild Animals

Tiger Merch

Earlier this year Rop van Mierlo and Remco van der Velden launched their collaborative project Wild Animals with the first edition called Tiger Merch. A beautiful collection of products consisting of mugs, sweaters, art prints, t-shirts, socks, a pyjama, a rug and even wrapping paper, all with the characteristically painted Tiger by Rop van Mierlo. [ Continue reading ]

For the Rest of Us

Imagine a more preferable material future

Over the course of multiple years, both industrial designers Hank Beyer and Alex Sizemore, explored parts of the American Midwest researching eight material origins and their associated processes and history. Resulting in this highly aesthetic project called For the Rest of Us: A Journey into the Intangible Values of Regional Materials and Personal Computing. They’ve travelled extensively, interviewing dozens of people, collecting artefacts and taking pictures. From each material Beyer and Sizemore created a computer, providing a point of familiarity to an alternative reality. [ Continue reading ]

Task Light

by De Studio

Last year we met with Tim Hooijmans from De Studio, a Dutch design studio focussing on ‘honest objects with more attention and consideration for the world around us.’  Designing products that have nothing to hide, completely stripped down, relentlessly honest, to the core of what that product should be. In a believe that things can be simple, undecorated, raw and even imperfect they created their first product, the Task Light. [ Continue reading ]

Empirical Spirits

Fuck Trump and his Stupid Fucking Wall Blend

As big fans of Noma, we’re interested in everything connected to them. So when we found out about Empirical Spirits it didn’t took long before the first bottles arrived in Amsterdam.
Empirical Spirits is a flavor company founded in 2017 by Restaurant noma alumni Lars Williams and Mark Emil Hermansen. [ Continue reading ]

AEANCE Collection 3

In Collaboration with Konstantin Grcic

Back in 2015 we covered the launch of AEANCE with their first collection here on Another Something. Earlier this year they released their third collection underlining their brave move away from the fashion cycles of multiple collections a year, and building on a non-seasonal basis in collaboration with well known designers. Starting with Hien Le on collection one and Steven Tai on collection two, it was now time to collaborate with the acclaimed industrial designer Konstantin Grcic on collection three. It marks an evolution from the brand’s signature performance apparel, into technical yet tailored ready-to-wear. The luxurious silhouettes in the 9-piece collection reflect AEANCE and Grcic’s understated, timeless and functional approach to design. Collection 3 will be available this May/June. [ Continue reading ]

Aesthetic Memories

A NewWerktheater Edition

As one of the last features of this year we wanted to share this special project we did at NewWerktheater. Parallel to our collaboration of last month with Lennard Kok, the Fallen Bird, we’ve been busy in our other role at NewWerktheater and …,staat to work on another collaboration we’re extremely excited about; Jupe by Jackie x …,staat.

The idea behind NewWerktheater Editions is to explore disciplines beyond those that are generally our own. To create great things with great people. To see what we can get from the ground and where we could end up if we walk a road unknown. 'Aesthetic Memories' exemplifies precisely this. This body of works took us somewhere we never could have imagined beforehand. We were drawn to the mastery required for this ancient technique. First, we fell in love with the craft, then we met the person behind it and fell in love all over again. Meeting Jackie was one of those instant clicks. You know the type.

When we started discussing designs, deciding on form, translating our inspiration for color, we soon found ourselves entering the territory we set out to find – challenging tradition. Hand-embroidery is traditionally decorative, traditionally representational. But, what if we worked with abstractions? What if we clashed the intricacy of the handwork with geometric elements? [ Continue reading ]

Fallen Bird

Another x Lennard Kok

From the moment we worked with Utrecht-based illustrator Lennard Kok for the rebrand of Travelteq in 2015, the ambition was set to collaborate again. Eventually it took another year to really sit down and discuss it. At that point Lennard confessed he wanted to explore new terrain in his artistic practice and shared his ambition to reach beyond illustration. Through our consensual admiration for certain inspirational artist editions, we set the bar at next level and eventually came to the conclusion this would mean we needed to take Lennard's clear lined flat signature and find a way to translate it into the sculptural. More so, as paradigms continue to shift under the pressures of digital globalization with significant fractures ahead of us that seem to usher in a new era, we searched for a statement that (at least in our heads) would mark the specific moment of creation.

In the dialogue that followed, we kept returning to a series of crashed vehicles Lennard had made earlier that year. When we finally started seeing the airplane out of that series as the ultimate symbol, we knew we had found our subject that represented everything we aimed for. From that moment Michiel Verweij joined the project to bring Lennard's vision to life in 3D and soon Suzan Becking formed the last element of the equation as we wanted to materialize the sculpture into the perfect paradox: a crashing plane made out of porcelain. The final quest for perfection started, and eventually took a little longer than we hoped, but Friday the 13th, at last, graphite on paper was transformed into a black porcelain sculpture which we named 'Fallen Bird'.

We are extremely proud to present the result of our shared endeavor and are very thankful for this inspirational experience alongside Lennard, Michiel and Suzan. Now it's time for this 'Fallen Bird' to find its way all over the world again... We are ready for the next one (stay tuned)! [ Continue reading ]

Park Groot Vijversburg

Park Groot Vijversburg is a beautiful park located in the small town of Tytsjerk, in the northernmost province of The Netherlands named Friesland, which has been open to the public since 1892. Throughout the year, the park hosts events such as art exhibitions, musical performances, church services and excursions. With a rich history of inhabiting a variety of flora and fauna, the heart of Park Groot Vijversburg has always been a neoclassicist mansion in the center of the park. With the  number of visitors growing significantly in the last two decade, six years ago Tokyo-based architect Junya Ishigami and Marieke Kums of Rotterdam practice Studio Maks were given the assignment to design an accommodation next to the villa that would enable Park Groot Vijversburg to host the bigger crowds.

Last May was the official opening of the new addition, next to other significant changes and additions to the park, resulting in an inspirational new face for the public area, having become one of the more beautiful spots in the country. But above all, what stands out within the reinvigoration Park Groot Vijversburg is the extraordinary vision that was materialized by Ishigami and Kums, which consists of three intersecting glass corridors that grow out of a sunken, triangular-shaped visitors centre — forming a deeply inspirational structure that, in the words of Ishigami: "melts into the environment," and is among the most impressive we have seen erupted in The Netherlands in a long time. [ Continue reading ]

MTO Ex­o­tique Col­lec­tion

Bonsoir Paris for Dior Homme

This week, we discovered another very inspirational set of creations that came to life in Paris, when it was presented by the brains behind it; renown creative studio Bonsoir Paris, who shared the extraordinary mod­u­lar trav­eling re­tail cases they have designed for the Dior Homme Made To Order Ex­o­tique Col­lec­tion 2016 two weeks ago on their website. Handcrafted exclusively from different types of exotic leather, the exquisite Dior Homme collection — a brainchild of creative director Kris van Assche — consists of jack­ets and ac­ces­sories, and needed a set of traveling cases that would preserve and protect the luxurious collection, while at the same time touch the same level of luxurious excellence and elegantly tease viewers with glimpses of the exclusive creations within. To create something that is safe, refined and has a teasing quality in its design, may sound like worlds apart — by moving into the futuristic aesthetic realm that reminds us of space travel, combined with playfully implementing storage and presentation elements, and maximally using the cosmetic elements of the sturdy materials in the most creative ways, Bonsoir Paris' work for Dior Homme is among some of the most inspirational we have seen in years.  [ Continue reading ]

Mirage

At the end of last month, American artist and filmmaker Doug Aitken presented his latest incredible creation to the public, which at this moment is our favorite work he has created thus far. Part of the unique Desert X exhibition, that features a curated selection of site-specific works in the Coachella Valley in the Southern California desert, his creation named 'Mirage' is a installation utilizing the form of a ranch style suburban American house composed of reflective mirrored surfaces. It distills the recognizable and repetitious suburban home into the essence of its lines, reflecting, and disappearing into the vast western landscape. As movement was the driving force behind the settling of the American West, and the long flat vistas that stretched toward the Pacific shaped the ideology behind this iconic embodiment of American architecture, Aitken found inspiration in the history of the site to create his vision on reflection. The specific California Ranch Style, which is unique to the West, was informed by the ideas of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who believed that architecture should be both in and of the landscape.

In the 1920s and ‘30s a small inspired group of architects working in California and the West created the first suburban ranch style houses, fusing Wright’s fluid treatment of spaces with the simple one-story homes built by ranchers. After World War II, the ranch style’s streamlined simplicity gained popularity and commercial builders employed a simplified assembly line approach to create this efficient form, matching the rapid growth of the suburbs. The mass-produced ranch home became a familiar sight across the country, the style filling the American landscape as quickly as each new subdivision was built and was reinvented for the 21st century by Aitken as the ultimate tool for reflection on the rich past of this area. For those visiting Southern California before the 31st of October make sure not to miss this unique work in the middle of the desert, offering a unique perspective in a place where you are doomed to meet yourself anyway. [ Continue reading ]

Moments of Magnification

...,staat for Cartier at De Bijenkorf in Amsterdam

With Joachim's decision to merge Atelier Joachim Baan with his frequently collaborator, creative design agency ...,staat, and myself taking a position at the newly formed Amsterdam-based cinema juggernaut New Amsterdam Film Company since the beginning of 2017, there very likely will be a significantly broader scope of projects we worked on that will be passing in review here. (Next to all the exciting exclusive Another Something projects that will take shape in the coming months, of course.) The first hugely exciting project (that Joachim worked on) comes from ...,staat, who just presented an extraordinary creation for French luxury house Société Cartier at their corner window at luxury department store De Bijenkorf.  [ Continue reading ]

Here There Nowhere

Studio Job at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris

We have been off to a slow start here (not elsewhere), but with some very exciting meetings ahead in the coming months (stay tuned!), there will be an even stronger overal shift to ‘Less but Better’ in this year. Nevertheless, we will start picking up the pace from here, still sharing those things that continue to move us — today putting focus on the infamous Studio Job once more. As part of the Carpenters Workshop Gallery's ten-year anniversary programme, last week the gallery with three locations worldwide opened its Parisian space for the public to an exclusive exhibition by Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel, which might very well be the most impressive display of their holistic practice till date.

Entitled ‘Here There Nowhere’ the exceptional solo show presents new creations, some of the most emblematic pieces that the duo created over the last few years and, very excitingly so, for the first time it opens up the drawings that form the basis for most physical creations to the public. The result is a highly diverse constellation of the fascinating creatures, iconic hybrid forms and ironic objects that punctuated with iconographic references — forming a kitsch and fanciful world where the object transcends functionality with everything bound together by the ‘Neo-Gothic’ aesthetic, masterfully championed by the Dutch power duo. When in Paris, ‘Here There Nowhere’ in a must visit! [ Continue reading ]

Bang & Olufsen BeoSound

The last time we were excited about a speaker lays some years behind us, but last week a new piece of elegantly designed technology was presented to the world, which we really appreciate. Beside the Unmonday Model 4.3 in 2014, which had a more sturdy (heritage-like) design, Danish technology frontrunners Bang & Olufsen first hit the right nerve with us when they released three new additions to their BeoLap series in 2013, of which —to this very moment— the subwoofer still forms one of the most elegant creations in its sort. Last week, Bang & Olufsen returned once again with a new release, this time with a series of (one of the two wireless) speakers named the BeoSound 1 and BeoSound 2; being one of those scarce moments in which an applied technological object truly rises beyond its pragmatic function and aesthetic discours into something excitingly new.

The futuristically sturdy (for instance perfectly fitting recently created interiors like Voyager Espresso or the redesigned Siam Discovery — hopefully indicating a new trend in design which we really appreciate), yet elegant aluminum design profile of ‘BeoSound 1′ and ‘2’ forms a promising new chapter and remarkable step forward in its field. Through its conic shape they can be placed anywhere, allowing the remarkable, sculptural forms to be very much part of the interior: on a shelf, floor, by the coffee table or even outdoors. The iconic bodies hover slightly above the ground, letting the thumps of the bass units out beneath. They are slightly open at the top for acoustical reasons, but apart from that with a uniform expression on the aluminum surface.

With function also on the highest level, as with all B&O's creations, we are super inspired by how a totally new silhouette was created, paving a incredible new path in speaker design very likely to be followed by many in the years to come. [ Continue reading ]

The aesthetic life of Michaël Verheyden

Visiting the immaculate world of Belgian designer Michaël Verheyden

It was a very long time coming when three weeks ago we finally met one of Belgium’s most exciting contemporary designers; Michaël Verheyden, in his beautiful home on the edge of industrial city Genk, in a green area towards neighboring Hasselt. Last year, Verheyden debuted as one of the names on Wallpaper* Magazine's Power List —underlining the widespread international recognition for his work— but even before that moment we were very curious to learn more out about his creative vision, basically from the moment we discovered his work in the beginning of 2015. The first appointment we made to get together dated back to March of this year, but time after time we were forced to reschedule due to different emerging obstructing circumstances on both sides. Eventually, we got in the car and finally traveled to the Belgian province of Limburg on a Friday afternoon in the beginning of June. Right after a period of extreme rainfall, which caused a lot of problems in the North of France and different parts of Belgium.

When we arrive Michaël is still in his jackboots, having just taken care of some minor water damage in his garden shed workplace –the one for heavier work– because of that rain. It is very clear that he isn’t too impressed by the damage though. In his mellow voice, speaking in the local soft toned accent and with lively eyes behind his spectacles, he tells us: “it will be fine.” A sentiment he continues to embody throughout our conversation during and after his guided tour of the wonderful house he calls home together with his wife and business partner Saartje Vereecke. [ Continue reading ]

The Mottainai Nº 1

Inspired by the Japanese 'Mottainai' (もったいない) tradition which is centered around the idea that every object has a soul and should never be wasted, we are beyond the moon, together with optical expert Bijan Azami, to finally present the Mottainai Nº 1: a timeless pair of sunglasses created to last a lifetime.

It has been a long time coming, as we first mentioned the project here over a year ago, but it turned out a bit of a long-term effort to finally share the passion project which is the result of a relentless quest for (our) perfection. Nevertheless, the big moment is eventually here and we feel beyond proud to introduce to you what we have been working on together with Bijan for the last three years. Hopefully this will be the first of more materializations strongly rooted in the fundament that was slowly built since the inception of Another Something & Co, with everything that has been shared and created in the last 9 years being its field of reference. It is safe to say that this project approximates synthesis of the different fields we aim to be positioned in as close as possible.

Less but better: the Mottainai Nº 1 is one single frame, carved from the horn of the Indian water buffalo by gifted craftsman in the world’s best natural horn atelier in the West of Germany. Every frame individually given a unique hand-finished distressed vintage appearance, which will continue to show an evolving beauty over the years of use. [ Continue reading ]

Olafur Eliasson Versailles

Opening today, the great Danish-Icelandic visionary Olafur Eliasson returns with another prestigious show taking the exhibition of his creative vision to the next level, being located in the most remarkable environment until date — having been the home of cutting edge art and design from different eras since the moment it was finished by French King Louis XIII in 1623: Château de Versailles. Herewith he follows the likes of Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Anish Kapoor, amongst others, who in the modern art program that started in 2008 have brought their vision to France's most famous chateau and gardens.

Earlier shows by Eliasson in contexts like the Louisiana and Fondation Louis Vuitton underlined that he is undeniably part of the most influential artists of this time — the show in the Versailles could be seen as a marker that he will continue to be seen that way even in the far future. Seeing the highly aesthetic creations full of narrative by Eliasson in the historically charged context, having (and still does so) housed centuries of French aristocratic splendor, forms a fascinating clash of representational icons of different stretches in space of time, without it feeling unnatural in any way. The different creations that can be found in the estate, partly having been created exclusively for the exhibition, came to life in Eliasson's head while wandering the grounds, sometimes alone at night, when no one was around. Among the most impressive creations is the structure named 'Waterfall', fulfilling an original idea of the 17th Century landscape architect André Le Nôtre, which couldn't be realized at the time when the Château and its gardens were originally constructed. Finishing a story which first grew in someone's imagination centuries ago and seeing the for the artist familiar immaculate execution of such idea hits a delicate nerve, which inspires us deeply.

Looking backwards, sketching out what lays ahead.

Make sure to travel to Versailles and step into this remarkable collision of past and future before the show closes on the 30th of October. We will. [ Continue reading ]

EPOCSODIELAK

Konstantin Grcic and Mirko Borsche presented their mobile club experience at Salone 2016

One of the highlights of last month's Salone del Mobile came from renown Munich-based creatives Konstantin Grcic and Mirko Borsche, who presented their one-off shared project named EPOCSODIELAK — a light machine that can turn any room into a raving club. The light and sound installation is the result of a chance creative collaboration between the two renowned German designers, internationally recognized in the product and graphic design fields respectively. Given the ambiguous moniker EPOCSODIELAK, the impressive machine is a 3x2x1 meter, free-standing Disco Totem. Made in black powder coated steel and chainlink fencing, it is equipped with a tight cluster of strobe lights, lasers, a fog machine and mix desks. Powered by a 1200 Watt dynamic sound system, the project proposes a self-sufficient sound/light unit, which has enough whack to turn any space into a state- of-the-art disco. With its design kept to a minimum, through the choices of non-complex industrial materials, next to on the other hand its surprising audio-visual power the machine marries both of Grcic and  Borsche's individual talents to delightfully communicate in an iconic language within their fields of specialism. Both designers create through deliberate minimal touches with maximum effect in their own field and put that together resulted in this mobile disco experience boiled down to its bare essentials, still having maximum impact. We love it!

The installation was first presented by KALEIDOSCOPE and ZEITmagazin on the occasion of Salone, where 400 guests followed the invitation to KALEIDOSCOPE’s project space and celebrated the superlamp with a party that was quoted to be among the favorites of this year's edition in Milan.  [ Continue reading ]

Stephen Kenn x Longjourney

We've been celebrating the inspirational rugged designs of Los Angeles-based designer Stephen Kenn since the inception of his label about five years ago. While perfecting the fundament he has created with some of the most interesting minimal luxury furniture designs on the market, over the last few years Kenn has kept busy finding interesting creative partners in search of elegant variations of his existing aesthetic design vision. In 2014 he joined forces with fashion designer Simon Miller which resulted in an incredible indigo canvas collection of his sofa and armchair. Last month, on the 21st of April, Stephen Kenn returned with another impressive creative collaboration at the JF Chen gallery in Los Angeles: this time standing shoulder along shoulder with Longjourney menswear founders Alonzo Ester and Alex Carapetian. In their shared project repurposed motorcycle jackets and vintage sweatshirts are getting a second life. The collection includes a pair of black leather armchairs upholstered with panels from motorcycle jackets, and a sofa with a black nickel frame and cushions covered with strips of waxed vintage sweatshirts. Instead of the usual lack of aesthetic relevance of up-cycling projects, this collection truly marries both ethics and beauty, showing what a strong palette Kenn has created for different variations which we one by one really appreciate.   [ Continue reading ]

Monstera

A new creation by Lars Beller Fjetland in collaboration with Theodor Olsen Sølvvareverksted

In his new project, one of our favorite designers working today; Lars Beller Fjetland merges traditional crafting techniques with the latest 3D-print technology, with which he has created yet another elegant work of minimal design. The starting point for this collaboration was a trip to the archives of Theodor Olsen Sølvvareverksted, the oldest silverware producer in Norway, in the city of Bergen. There Fjetland uncovered sketches of an asymmetric serving cutlery from the late fifties that never made it into production. He was commissioned by Theodor Olsen to rework the idea, bringing it into the 20th century. Key was finding a more cost efficient way of developing and manufacturing small scale series of cold forged cutlery, which was achieved by utilizing 3D-print technology to develop specialized tools for tool making. Based and named after the plant, Fjetland created 'Monstera', a set of cutlery with asymmetric leaf shaped spoon blades, which are mirrored copies of each other, only distinguished by the lobes featured on the fork. The idea behind this reflects the plants ability to grow two types of leafs, while also adding a functional aspect to the end product. The stem-like handles were given an asymmetric ending to really celebrate the beauty of nature. Another beautiful addition to Fjetland's incredible catalogue. [ Continue reading ]

Spectra-3

Last month, a new outdoor light festival named Lumiere London debuted in England's capital. For us the undisputed highlight of the 4 day event was the impressive 'Spectra-3' installation created by London-based creative studio FIELD: a 3 meter tall sculpture surrounded by animated lights and spatialized sound. Based around a mirror disc moving on two axes, the 'Spectra-3' created a choreography of movement, light and sound, and illuminates its surroundings with dancing reflections. In the words of FIELD: the project celebrates humanity’s inexhaustible optimism to advance technology, all with the aim of understanding our place in the universe. Although, regularly criticized for its reliance on style over substance, there's an undeniable intrinsic quality in the practice of creating technology based aesthetic projects which we really appreciate. Obviously, even the greatest cynic can't deny the inherently (positive) constructive quality of the field, having strong roots in the modern times we live in. Being one of the most elegant creations in its genre 'Spectra-3' is in our eyes not just a highly eye pleasing piece, but also a relevant frame to contemplate todays ever-growing reliance on technology and its quality to stimulate self-reflection. [ Continue reading ]

Re-rain

In the Summer of 2014 we discovered the inspirational work of Japanese designer Kouichi Okamoto and his Kyouei Design when he released his elegant 'Square Wind Bell'. This year Okamoto has returned with another remarkable project named 'Re-rain', which was presented to the world at the Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art. In his inspirational project the designer created a sound installation through which he aims to express non-visible elements such as gravity, magnetic force, and sound as physical elements. Created with the sound of rain recorded in Japan during the early days of 2016 as its soundtrack, 'Re-rain' is constructed out of a set of umbrellas placed on top of speakers. The vibrations of the sounds out of the speakers are transmitted through the umbrella to make a sound, but an umbrella cannot vibrate if the magnetic force of the speaker is too small or if the rain hitting the umbrella is either too high or too low in pitch. For this reason a device picking out a state in which the magnetic force of the speaker, weight of the umbrella, and pitch extent of sound are all in a perfectly balanced state forming this beautiful installation. [ Continue reading ]

The Rain Room at LACMA

Although the project was first presented (to great critical acclaim and public amazement) in 2012 at The Barbican in London, last November's (second) reprise of the extraordinary 'Rain Room' by Random International at LACMA in Los Angeles continues to be one of our clear favorites in sensory design, being some of the most gracious construction we've encountered in the last few years. The London-based innovative studio brought its installation to LA via Shanghai, where it was also shown - partly simultaneously with its presence in the USA - during the last months of 2015, proving interest in the work to be worldwide. The highly elegant 'Rain Room' is an immersive environment of perpetually falling water that pauses wherever a human body is detected. It offers visitors an opportunity to experience what is seemingly impossible: the ability to control rain. The creation presents a respite from everyday life and an opportunity for sensory reflection within a responsive relationship. [ Continue reading ]