I discovered something on the toilet (literally) a few weeks ago:
The "higher power" of design can only be realized once its basic objectives are met.
(You can quote me on that).
In this case, I don't care if my toilet is designed by Philipe Starck if it doesn't flush worth a damn — and it doesn't. To the point that we have well-designed plungers by OXO next to each.
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Casie just added a bunch of new stuff to her site, ModApple: a vintage SX-70 camera, some vintage bar-ware — plus items from Heath Ceramics, Heller, Dansk and more… check it out. There's even some new BBQ items just in time for summer.
One day while walking down Market Street, I came across White Furniture. We were able to stop by yesterday for a longer linger and to snap some pictures.
Shops that carry design knock-offs
are pretty common here in San Francisco — the quality of the pieces
themselves being the only real difference. Everyone has a fake Eames or
Nelson this-or-that… and White does too. However, they have a good
number of original-esque pieces to augment the line — which is great to
see — but a few others which sadden me a bit.
(More pictures after the jump.)
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In the spirit of sharing, here's another of our recent finds and faves: EamesLoft.com
This is actually a brick-and-mortar space in Brisbane, California advertised a lot on Craigslist. It's run by Tim and Tom who scour the west coast for great finds and offer them up at unbelievable prices… and deliver (locally), too.
You won't find an original Wegner Poppa Bear chair there, but you will find some great, and often one-of-a-kind pieces. Tim works behind the scenes at the airport and has been able to rescue quite a few modernist/industrial pieces — specifically Herman-Miller parts — and reassembles them into custom configurations. See the picture below with the ivory seat, table and teak cabinet… something like this would work really well against an Eichler window for extra seating/storage and a bit of window protection.
In addition to finding them online, they have a few choice pieces in the showroom of India-Rose — ironically, a shop owned by a colleague in the design world (and a happy surprise). Much of their pieces are seen best in photos online as their main space is a bit cramped at the moment as you can see in the pictures.
But don't let the lack of a glitzy space fool you — you couldn't hope for a cooler and more genuine pair of guys. We're always happy to find nice people in the world… and nice stuff.
Since the major renovations are mostly behind us, the posts sometimes might become a bit random, here's one:
Growing up in the antebellum South and going to art-school in the hometown of Edgar Allan Poe gives one a certain aesthetic point-of-view — at least until they move to California and into a Mid-Century Modern home. We've traded Faulkner for Eames.
And since the move, we've toted much of my college-art around and are now hoping to find good homes for these pieces. Maybe that's you! If you happen to be a friend on the east coast (Kate? Erin? Dana? Rob?), I'll even box them up and ship them to you knowing that they'll have a warm home to reside it. Otherwise, they'll end up in my mother's barn.
From left to right and top to bottom:
This weekend, a few friends and neighbors headed to Sausalito to visit Heath Ceramics during their Open Studio weekend. Founded in 1959, Heath was recently purchased by designers Robin Petravic and Catherine Bailey who have interjected some much needed design and marketing acumen to the iconic brand. They've done well, in my humble opinion, and it's always nice to visit.
Robin lead the tour and spoke eloquently about Heath's past and their values — and walked the tour group through the process… from clay-making to final glazing. It was neat to see.
The openness of their facility and the honest, humble building is quite photogenic… so I snapped a few pictures.
It's nice to see the warmth and whimsy of mid-century modern design alive and kicking across the internets. Sites like GrainEdit, ISO50, and the MidCenturyModernist keep the spirit alive.
It's funny when you google something and instead find yourself.
I was looking for some info on Ikea kitchen stuff and ran across this. Ha!
Our e-friend Bryan is doing an amazing renovation of an Eichler-built house in the South Bay and is opening up the house for informational tours/sessions. Might be worth a look-see for many folks. We can't make it as we're having a party at the house that day (and unfortunately, Bryan won't be able to come up).
He's also running a blog on the process: EichlerVision.com … check it out — some amazing stuff.
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You are invited to the first of six collaborative informational sessions to see the construction of a zero net energy, zero carbon house that is applying for LEED-H Platinum certification.
The benefit of seeing this house as it is being built is that you will see how green materials are used during the construction process. Many of these materials will be 'covered' when the house is completed so this is an opportunity to understand what is behind the walls. Attending the informational sessions allows you to see how innovative building materials and innovative construction practices are being utilized throughout the construction process.
During the informational sessions, you will be able to ask questions regarding the green building materials to better understand how these innovative building materials affect the cost of construction, the skills required to use these materials, and how using these materials affects the construction timeline. And, of course, the green benefits of these innovative building materials and construction practices.
The project involves constructing a full lower level (basement) under an Eichler home, built in 1969, while renovating the main floor. The green features of the house include:
The original design of the house included generous roof overhangs that limit direct sunlight, reducing solar gain in the summer. This passive design has been enhanced with the use of 1.5 million lbs of insulated thermal mass (concrete) in the house that will slow heating from solar gain and slow night time cooling.
Overall, the house performance exceeds (is better than) the Title 24 standard design by 72.9%, which is one of the highest performing single family dwellings in the State of California.
There are a limited number of spaces spaces available for each informational session so you will have to register in advance to attend the event. Also, given this is an active construction site, you will have to sign a waiver acknowledging the inherent risks of an active construction site before entering the site.
For further information on this project, please visit the construction blog at EichlerVision.com.
If you have questions on this event, please contact Bryan Mekechuk at 408.655.0400 or bmekechuk@teamwrkx.com.
We look forward to seeing you at our first collaborative informational session.
Casie's been collecting things for a good while and has decided to share it with the world through her new Etsy shop, ModApple.net …
Check it out and discover some neat vintage, Eichler-worthy bits at not-so-crazy prices… in truth, she gets more of a kick out of rescuing these from horrible, horrible places (garage sales, etc.) and fixes/cleans them up and readies them for their next life. Some good stuff, too: Heath ceramics, Dansk cookware, Sunset books, etc.
