Just When You Thought You’d Heard It All

Just when you thought you’d heard it all, along comes “SONIC Fabric,” a strikingly beautiful and durable textile for a range of interior and fashion designs. Sonic Fabric has texture and feel of a light canvas with a mysterious sheen.

Every batch of Sonic Fabric is recorded with an intricate collage of sound prior to weaving. Sonic fabric emits sound when you run a tape head (the little thingy inside the tape deck that touches the tape) over it. Because the tape retains its magnetic quality through the weaving process, it acts as a big wide band of tape.

The invention was inspired by the use of small strands of cassette tape used as wind indicators, or “tell-tails,” used on sailboats, and by Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags inscribed with wind-activated blessings. Thus the wearable works of art are intended to emit good vibes into the vicinity of the wearer.

Read It And Wreath: A-Door-Able Holiday Wreath Project!

Crate & Barrel’s CB2 blog had these wonderful dirrections to create your own holiday ornament wreath. We thought this could be a great way to find a use for all those miss-matched old ornaments we had laying around and a great way to re-purpose them.

Here’s the instructions from CB2 to create your own holiday ornament wreath. Hey, this would be a great project for the kids and family, too!

Supplies:
1. Strong stiff wire that can be bent into a ring. We used aluminum wire gauge 20, about 55” long–due to the scale of the products in the shot, our wreath was rather large, about 28″ in diameter. A wire hanger is also a simple way to go.

2. Ornaments. We used a total of 81 ornaments. For a smaller version, we’re guessing you could make a 14” wreath with about a third of the ornaments depending on how full you wanted it.

3. Strong tape to fasten the ends of the wire ring together or, pliers to twist the ends of the wire ring together.

4. Ribbon to hang the wreath.

Directions:
1. String one ornament at a time onto the wire ring, alternating colors, using smaller ones to fill in the gaps.

2. When the ring is completely covered in ornaments, fasten the ends together.

3. Use a ribbon to cover the spot where the ends are fastened together, and hang!

Tip: best not to go too large in diameter as the wreath could become too heavy and stretch out.

Yes, This Model is AUDIble!

Audi went from tickling the blacktop with their smooth rides to tickling the ivories with their Audi Design Grand Piano built by the 182-year old Bosendorfer company of Vienna, Austria. This slick musical machine features a lid that wraps down to the base, giving the piano an almost aerodynamic shape. This grandest of grands debuts for many grand: $140,000 to be exact.

My Three Chairs

The question “what are three of your favorite chairs and their respective designers” was asked on the LinkedIn Interior Design group forum recently and while most respondents listed the usual suspects, it made us think of a few more contemporary examples of great chairs. We’ve included them below:

Any of the signature Chris-X (pronounced kris-krôs) chairs by Christoper Guy. Guy is well known for fusing classicism with modernism in his designs. If you’re not familiar with this British luxury furniture designer’s work you’re missing some of the sexiest designs around.

The Plywood Chair Collection by The Cherner Chair Company. A mid-century icon and perennial favorite.

Being from the Motor City, our list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the “seat belt chair” aka the Greenbelt chair from Peter Danko. The basket woven seatbelt chair backs and seats last many years and the belt fibres moiré effects are visually stunning. The belting is not only comfortable and a recycled material, it is an alternative for the environmentally problematic urethane foam seat suspension.

Just a Spoonful of Whimsy Helps The Lighting Throw Down!

With a name like “Cake” you know there must be something tasty in store. That’s the case with Cake Lighting Company’s $1,500.00 “Spoondelier!”

Vintage silver-plate flatware adorns the three-tier chandelier infusing a classic lighting design with an innovative twist. The “Spoondelier” lends itself to word-of-mouth and is sure to be a great conversation piece in the any home. Now we know where all of grandma’s fine silverware went!

Clearly A Game Changer!

I didn’t know this, but in the August 2009 issue of Robb Report I learned that pool tables were first introduced during the 15th century. I also discovered that they were covered in green felt to simulate the grassy lawns on which pool’s predecessor, croquet, is played. Fast forward to 2009 and we have Craig Nottage’s $33,000.00 update to the modern day  billiard’s table. The G-1 by Nottage Design is the world’s frst transparent pool table. The surface is covered in a clear film called Virtrik, that has play characteristics similar to felt. Check out Craig’s clear vision at : http://www.nottagedesign.com.

Modelmorphosis

Richard Boprae transitioned from a career in modeling to modeling sculptures out of metal. His uniquestyle is a marriage between fine art and design, and takes shape through site-specific installations, room dividers, sliding doors, custom tiles and murals.

Working from a converted historic synagogue in Denver, Boprae says his work, “encourages the rebirth of the craftsmanship era, where pride lays in the execution and the exactitude of the result,” adding that he draws inspiration from traditional art, culture and landscape. Boprae’s organic works of art can be seen at http://www.boprae.com/index.php

Table Turns Heads!

This ultra hip cocktail table had our heads spinning the moment we laid eyes on it in the latest edition of Interior Design Magazine. Cutting-edge jean maker Diesel collaborates with Italian Furniture Maker Moroso for their new line Successful Living, a brand extension at Moroso. The furniture company’s art director, Patrizia Moroso, and the fashion label’s creative director, Wilbert Das, developed the 14 items together.

Four of them—an armchair, a side chair, a side table, and a cocktail table—are grouped under the name Overdyed. That means their ash surfaces are first hand-painted with a rag technique; then the color is wiped away to produce a worn effect, sort of like stonewashing for wood. But don’t get too chilled out. As in Diesel’s edgy ads, the Rock grouping’s six pieces reference underground music and art. For the Xradio 2 Disc cocktail table, a digital print of an x-rayed DJ console is applied to glass. We give Diesel’s initial effort a 10: it’s got a great beat and it’s easy to dance to! Check out the video teaser:

3/50 Project Adds Up To Brilliant Idea WE Can Put To Work, NOW!

Cinda Baxter, creator of the 3/50 Project  puts in simple terms how we can help stimulate the economy in a relatively painless way: “The idea is to commit $50 each month to locally owned businesses, total. Maybe that means rethinking where you currently invest your money, opting to pick up that birthday card or pair of jeans in a locally owned business instead of the big box you’ve been going to. Or maybe it means eating out once a month because you realize slamming the breaks on all spending stalls economic recovery. It’s just that simple.” We encourage everyone to check out the 3/50 Project website to learn more on how we all can help! Brilliant idea Cinda!

Tie One On Next Time You Cut-A-Rug

Talk about ‘tie-ing’ one on, Dreamweavers’ Executive Rugs Line is constructed of material leftover after making men’s neckties. Bits of silk and polyester fabric are cut and sewn by hand, filled with a poly filling then pieced together. The rug is promoted as stain-resistant, colorfast and 100% machine washable. This creative application suits a variety discriminating tastes.