Regardless of my longtime position right here amongst my esteemed Design Milk colleagues as our website’s resident know-how lover, my private desires have more and more leaned towards the utilitarian. Prior to now yr my spouse and I purchased our first dwelling, and we wrote out first book together, and in flip, it all the time looks as if my wishlist appears to be like extra like a purchasing record for a contractor or the provides record of a climbing fanatic fairly than a design lover. Even so, there are various gift objects my design-loving coronary heart longs to welcome into my life, just a few of them shared under…
I nonetheless love the Dixon-designed Jack that I bought a lifetime in the past in celebration of a transfer and promotion, and I’ve continued to admire his present efforts, like this chemist-inspired borosilicate vessel that lands throughout the nexus of my pursuits in science, design, and show. It ain’t simple being inexperienced, however displaying any plant or floral chopping with this vase will simply add a dimension of the graphic to enhance the pure.
Architecturally-inspired lighting can veer into the realm of kitsch, however Hangzhou-based designer Mario Tsai’s multi-tiered, die-cast aluminum lamps and lights impressed by the pagoda are a examine in understated class. The sunshine it glows with is extra atmospheric than room illuminating, however as somebody with a low-grade obsession with lighting, I’d welcome this modular top design in any of its 5-20 layer iterations to gentle the way in which.
In one other lifetime, I labored as a toy and merchandise designer, and adorned our tiny studio condominium at the moment in applicable colourful, playful style. I may need grown up just a bit bit since then, however part of me will all the time harbor an enduring love for objects that faucet into our interior baby, free from that horribly boring factor we name “style.” If somebody calls this tacky, I’ll simply throw out the, “It’s impressed by Claes Oldenburg!” card, then supply them a scoop of my favorite ice cream to placate their misplaced judgment.
Los Angeles designer/artist Sebastian Curi appears to subscribe to the assumption you both “go large or go dwelling!” Lots of his silkscreen prints seize the fascinating gestures of the hand in varied poses, however I’ve not too long ago fallen for his twin Daytime/Nighttime outsized 40″ x 55″ prints. At this scale they’d add some colourful graphical oomph that may by no means wilt like their IRL counterparts.
Willy Hu first appeared on my radar through his work for LA-based Sugar Lab, “the world’s first true digital bakery,” quickly adopted by my drooling consideration towards the delectable efforts he and his associate Lexie Park create below the meals + design moniker, Eat Nünchi. Hu’s newest endeavor in partnership with Jimmy Chung takes a extra organic-modern strategy, a sequence of stools launched and offered through Instagram evoking what my eyes understand as conventional lacquered Korean Joseon dynasty spirit by means of the prism of Southern California modernism. I’ve already positioned a down fee for one in every of UJU Studio’s ebonized stool designs with a sculpted knob, an early present to myself.
I doubt I’m alone once I say the passing of time feels hazy at greatest. And what higher method to characterize the nebulous presence of time’s passing than this translucent glass wall clock designed by Makoto Koizumi for Japanese clock band, Lemnos. Or within the phrases of the designer: “We typically discover the presence of a clock disagreeable. And typically the existence of time can be disagreeable. So a barely ambiguous signal of time is simply fantastic.” Amen.
Artist Jeffrey Sincich’s embroidery artwork captures that comforting human component related to the hand-painted signage that I nonetheless keep in mind dotting the streets of San Francisco. Seeing them elicits a bittersweet realization the artistry and craft of hand-painted signage is fading from our collective reminiscence. Possibly that’s why I need this welcome mat-sized rug that includes one half of this website’s namesake. I wouldn’t dare step on this rug, believing it deserves a spot on my wall to admire just like the signal that impressed it.
As an iPhone never-nude, I’ve all the time encased my units, simply in case. Usually it’s been leather-based, extra not too long ago with Apple’s new FineWoven materials (regardless of some stories saying in any other case, I’ve discovered the micro-twill sturdy and straightforward to wash). The brand new iPhone 15 Professional and 15 Professional Max could be sheathed in sections of titanium alongside the sides, however that doesn’t imply I wish to expose these areas to scratches and dents, nor my oily paws. Thus, I’m tempted to strive one in every of these ventilated aluminum alloy circumstances sporting the cheese grater design that any Apple Mac Professional desktop fanatic would acknowledge. If you happen to’re questioning what’s up with the “Aromatherapy” a part of the case’s title, apparently there’s a perforated part designed for a drop of fragrance or a vital oil. How scentual.
That is a type of items primarily sensible in nature, however so properly designed, it emphasizes how the most effective items are ones you’ll use and love every day. As somebody who likes to maintain his kitchen knives sharp, however doesn’t essentially love the period of time required to take action, this magnetic sharpener is a intelligent means to maintain blades at their greatest with out the entire multi-step care required of a whetstone. It’s simply costly sufficient to be a very nice present, one that will be additional good paired with a Damascus gyuto.
For a few years we lived in a modest condominium overlooking the again nook of Richard Neutra’s VDL House, aka the Van der Leeuw Home. The enduring residence remains to be imprinted because the epitome of the mid-century ethos, providing what I take into account a sublime and trendy method to stay. With bedrooms as intimately personal as the house’s shared dwelling areas are voluminous in prospects, I’ll all the time keep in mind the feeling of compression and growth thoughtfully laid out at a modest residential scale, alongside the romantic spill of daylight that will angle into the corners of the house with the sundown. I wouldn’t thoughts any of Studio Sander Patelski’s series of architectural inspired prints, however this one can be appreciated with all these particular reminiscences.
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