Wow! The new Frank Lloyd Wright Collection® LEGO sets that we broke the news on in a post has been spreading like wildfire across the Internet--even rapper Kanye West is a fan! Here's a very brief sample of some of the other blogs following the story:
• Wired Magazine
• Apartment Therapy
• Design Boom
• Archinect
Image via Kanye West blog
This is one of the weirdest stories I've ever come across. Apparently, there now exists the capability to actually "print" a three-dimensional piece of pottery. You heard me right...print. If you're intrigued, then follow the link to read more.
Images copyright Ceramics Monthly/Via TreeHugger.com
Etsy.com recently featured the talents of greenware design, a two woman team that combines the talents of longtime friends, Irene McCollam and Leslie Geer. Their beautiful ceramic vessels are filled with arrangements of unique succulent plantings. These would make great easy-to-care-for gifts for anyone who is looking to "Bring The Outside In." See more here.
Image copyright greenware design
Scandinavian Superstore, IKEA has a slew of new products that would work great in any PrairieMod Kitchen (the Pope-Leighey one, included). I especially love their new Drömmar angled baking pan. Check it out here.
Via Apartment Therapy The Kitchen.
Image copyright IKEA
It was bitterly cold this weekend in Chicago, but it didn't stop me from doing a little treasure hunting. What did I find? How about a really sweet 1909 real photo postcard of the Louis Sullivan-designed Carson Pirie Scott & Co. Building (originally known as the Schlesinger & Mayer Store). Check out the cornice which has only recently been restored. Got any cool treasures you've found? Let me know and I'll be happy to feature them.
Teco Pottery has been called the art pottery of the Prairie School. Several progressive architects of the era (including Frank Lloyd Wright) designed some of the most compelling shapes originally offered by the Gates Potteries. I recently came across the existence of one of Wright's more famous Teco designs at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Designed in 1905 and refered to as the "Skyscraper Vase" this amazingly modern-looking vase could quite possibly be the only known example to still exist. Check it out by following the link.
Image copyright SFMoMA
PrairieMod reader, Scott T sent me a link to San Francisco artist Liz Hickok's architectural creations made from--Jell-O! Check out these wiggly wonders by following the link.
Image copyright Roxanne Ardary
Urban Outfitters has a wide range of excellent vintage gear that has been made over for the 21st Century. Among my favorites are the Ion USB turntable that can be plugged into your laptop and the super cool Library AV Room turntable (which also plugs into your laptop).
The housing crises is affecting even works of art. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Palmer House in Ann Arbor, MI is a little more affordable after a price reduction from $1.5 to $1.25 million dollars. Other news about Palmer has surfaced aside from the price reduction. A very rare Japanese teapot was discovered on a recent tour in the house, said to be brought over to the US by Wright from one of his trips to Japan and supposedly given to the Palmers as a gift. You can catch a glimpse of it in the photo. Read more about this amazing find by following the link.
Images copyright Bob Eckstein
How cool is this Lego jack-o-lantern! I want to make one of these. Follow the link to step-by-step instructions on Lego's site.
Image copyright Lego
I love hunting for treasures! Last weekend I lucked out and found a couple of gems while searching through old postcard boxes at some local shops. The first shot is of Unity Temple from the 1960s and has some Frank Lloyd Wright stamps on the back. It was also mailed on the first day of issue for the stamps from Spring Green, Wisconsin!
Continue reading after the jump...
Check out this article on CNN about a new "Air Car" that can get 106 mpg.
Wow! Almost a shame to eat it. Check out this and more amazing cakes by following the link.
Photo copyright Edible Art, via Flickr.com
Customization of consumer products has been increasing in popularity over the past couple of years, but now you can trick-out your own candy!
M&M's can have your own personal message, logo, photo, etc. Just go to www.mymms.com.
Image from mymms.com
We know you love our free wallpapers, so you might like this find I stumbled across today. Real Simple has 19 download-able wallpapers for your computer with daily thoughts to ponder.
Image copyright Real Simple
Also, you can check out several other photo sets with additional images from the cottage.
Image copyright danback
A family member had passed this information to me about a rapidly growing wind energy company that is truly fascinating. Horizon Wind Energy has projects all across the US, both built and currently in progress. Additionally, they are one of the largest owners of wind generation assets in the world. If this kind of story tickles your fancy, continue reading on to get the full account.
This new product line has been blowing up the blogosphere recently and is worth mentioning here at PrairieMod. Help Remedies is all about a new approach to medicine with well-designed, eco-packaging and a mission to do the exact opposite thing as the "competition".
Help Remedies bandages are made of a futuristic material called hydrocolloid. It's the same material they use in hospitals to help wounds heal faster and reduce scarring. Asprin doesn't include the coatings and dyes that many companies are so fond of using. Packaging is also an important difference that sets Help Remedies apart from the other in the crowd, in addition to their ethics.
Oh yeah, if you are bored and need some help for that....these guys have got your back.
Image copyright Help Remedies
People who know me, know that I don't get too excited about much - but when I do get excited - watch out!
Today on a trip to Whole Foods, I freaked out when I came across some of the most amazing candles I've ever encountered - Seattle-based Big Dipper Wax Works' Lime & May Chang Natural Beeswax candle with a beehive shaped glass votive. They also have refills!
The Lime & May Chang scent is incredibly invigorating, but many of the others are amazing as well. I grabbed a couple, headed home to light 'em up and then learn more about Big Dipper Wax Works. This is what I found and wanted to share with you....
You can read their story, find out why you should burn beeswax and learn the details behind each scent/therapy.
Image Big Dipper Wax Works
A good buddy of mine from college recently got engaged and was sharing some of the wedding plans with me. As Los Angeles residents, they have chosen a fine spot to have the special event: Marvimon on Broadway, near Elysian Park.
Marvimon was originally built by an Italian race car driver in 1924 as one of LA's first automobile showrooms. It has been reinvented as a stand alone, super-loft open to events, exhibitions, productions, and fine living.
72 hours, 104 countries, 2700 participants, over 1200 ideas, $15k in rewards - Over There - It's the game of global awareness.
The creative and innovative group Kluster had a mission at the 2008 TED conference: create a product in three days with the help of many people. The result is a board game called Over There that both tests and fosters global awareness. You can get a sneak-peek at what the game will be. It will also be interesting to see how this project fleshes out and how the Kluster approach will impact product design.
Via JoshSpear.com, but you can also read the NY Times story.
Image copyright Kluster
It's funny where you run into Frank Lloyd Wright. I was in the Container Store the other day, looking for bins to contain my design magazines. As I'm walking around, I turn to look at a floating wall shelf and notice the framed pictures resting on them.
It made me smile, so I snapped a few pics to share. Enjoy!
Photos copyright PrairieMod
Method has updated their website since the last time I was there (which has been awhile). I love the design, so clean and fresh! Another cool thing is that they are offering an attractive reusable shopping bag for just a few dollars. This is much better looking than some of the other reusable bags I've been seeing. Check it out, plus the "new" website!
Image copyright Method
The other night I found myself kicking around the Southwest Suburbs of Chicago with my wife and we ended up a restaurant called Ted's Montana Grill in Bolingbrook, IL (the Ted is for broadcast mogul Ted Turner). It was a first time visit for us and we were immediately surprised to find some wonderful things inside.
Continue reading "Ted's Montana Grill: Eat Great and Do Good" »
Continuing with our theme today of unusual Frank Lloyd Wright-ish things...I found this post on LARitz.info from their August 8th, 2006 post:
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it both strange and cool that designers of take-out containers seem to be inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright?
My onion rings from Birds came packaged in a Styrofoam (boo) box that reminded me of the iconic Coonley Playhouse art glass window designs. I'm sure the great man would be, um, honored to see his influence manifested in such humble of places. Damn, I just met E.L. Wright; I should've asked him.
Wright gear is merchandised up the yin yang, but this I haven't seen in any gift shops yet.
Image and text copyright L.A. Ritz
I came across Greenlight Concepts via Inhabitat a day or two ago and was impressed with what I discovered. This design studio makes modern lighting fixtures using recycled traffic lights. They report that giant truckloads of red, yellow, and green lenses are tossed into land-fills as cities upgrade to more efficient lighting technology. As you can see from the photo above, this is a pretty appealing concept.
You gotta check these out! However, be warned....these lights are priced on the high-side.
Image copyright Greenlight Concepts
As regular readers may already know, every one of the PrairieMod Squad members are involved with the design field. As a result, we always come across some very cool materials worth noting.
One of these is by Monadnock Papers and its the Masters of Design Magazine: Volume II with creative ad legend Lee Clow. The physical piece is gorgeously printed, but you can view the document in PDF format. Also, you can check out a podcast interview with Lee Clow discussing his ideas on the evolution of media, some of the campaigns he's been involved with, and reflections on advertising as art.
Lee Clow is chairman and chief creative officer of TBWA Worldwide. He and his team have brought the world such memorable advertising as the Energizer Bunny, Nike’s Air Jordan, the Taco Bell Chihuahua, and Apple’s Think Different. He is a member of the One Club Hall of Fame, the Art Directors Hall of Fame, and the Museum of Modern Art’s Advertising Hall of Fame. In 1997, Lee was named Creative Executive of the Year by USA Today, and was awarded the “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2004 by the CLIO’s. His ground breaking work for Apple computer in the television commercial “1984” is still considered by many in the industry to be the best television commercial ever made. When Lee isn’t changing popular culture, he can be found reading, surfing, and sketching along side his wife of 38 years and his beloved dogs, many of which appear in the ads for Pedigree dog food, which Lee lovingly directs.
Images and text copyright Monadnock & TBWA Worldwide
For the last week and a half, this tv ad by Apple has been running to introduce their new iPhone. There are clips of 30 different actors from 30 different movie scenes saying "hello". My favorite is Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy (see photo above). The iPhone will be available in June. If you want to receive notification emails about this product and its release, you can sign-up here.
Images copyright 2007 Apple
For those of you who haven't already heard of Zipcar, it is a great concept for city dwellers (in select cities like Chicago, Toronto and San Francisco). The basic gist, you need a car for a couple hours...you call or go online to quickly reserve a car...then you go pick it up in the local lot where it's parked. Your choices: BMW's, MINI's, and Toyota Prius's. Zipcar is easy on the wallet and great for the environment.
Find out if Zipcar is something for you.
Image copyright 2006 Zipcar
I usually hate those cards that all magazines place inside each issue. However, I came across one this morning that really caught my eye. Dwell Magazine and BMW's Mini brand have partnered to bring us "The Mini Motoring Tour". The November 2006 issue of Dwell had postcard number 5, featuring Fallingwater.
Other items of note on the tour: Mies' Farnworth House, Calatrava's Sundial Bridge and Soleri's Arcosanti.
Images copyright of Dwell Magazine and BMW/Mini
I stumbled upon this website after investigating the Chicago Bauhaus & Beyond group that we posted about last week. Chicago Bauhaus Studios & Academy is led by master craftsman, Berthold Schwaiger. From the website...
The award-winning furniture of master craftsman and artist Berthold Schwaiger is known for its complex engineering, elegant design and premier craftsmanship. His designs allow the natural beauty of the wood to reign, displaying an even flow of wood grain throughout each piece and relying on his complex methods of joinery to lend beauty and rugged durability. All pieces produced for clients are designed and engineered by Schwaiger, and produced by apprentices under his careful guidance, maintaining his rigorous quality standards. Schwaiger's designs have twice been selected from a field of 1200 entrants to receive the national Design Journal ADEX award.
In addition to his fine design work, Schwaiger also teaches community classes with the Chicago Bauhaus...
Through a series of four evening classes, beginning students have the opportunity to develop a foundation in woodworking skills. Topics covered in the four nine-week, 2 & 1/2 hour classes include basic woodworking, hand tools, power tools and project design. While students may opt to take only one class, the program is designed sequentially, with each course progressing to the next. Starting with simple projects, the continuing student will have the opportunity to learn to build their own pieces of fine furniture using more sophisticated techniques.
If you'd like to find out more visit www.chicagobauhaus.org, email here or call 773.338.1746.
Image courtesy of Chicago Bauhaus
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
