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2/10/15

trends | interiors magazine panel discussion | design san francisco 2015

new wave: new design ideas

michael wollaeger, the editorial director of one of my favorite shelter publications, interiors magazine, moderated a panel discussion co-hosted by the de sousa hughes showroom during design san francisco at the san francisco design center (sfdc) from february 4-6, 2015.

michael wollaeger | editorial director | interiors magazine
interiors magazine | february/march 2015
photo credits facebook | michael wollaeger and interiors magazine

the panelists, all contemporary furnishings designers, included:

ted boerner | ted boerner, inc. | san francisco, CA
photo credit sellinginteriordesign.com

deirdre jordan | troscan design + furnishings | chicago, IL
photo credit chicagobusiness.com

mark albrecht | mark albrecht studio | new york, NY
photo credit michael appleton | new york times

james magni | magni home collection | los angeles, CA
photo credit (c) james magni | amazon.com

here's the gist of the conversation...

michael wollaeger:

Q: how are you influenced by design trends?

A: not at all!

my furniture designs reflect:

ted boerner: my [creative] voice

deirdre jordan: authenticity

mark albrecht: circumstance and context

james magni: my design philosophy

it's about:

james magni: hand craftsmanship and quality

deirdre jordan: 'the story'
clients want to 'meet the maker'

it's like 'farm to table' furniture

mark albrecht: 'handmade' is both branding and marketing

ted boerner | thicket oval coffee table

photo credit de sousa hughes

magni home collection | colette table

photo credit magni home collection

michael wollaeger:

Q: is design international?

A: yes, and no.

deirdre jordan: design is about the material, the process, and the craft

like in japan or the nordic countries

mark albrecht: design is about scale

in paris, i feel like a spot...

in new york, i feel like a speck!

ted boerner: excitement for design is international

like at the salone internazionale del mobile, [the annual furniture fair] in milan, italy

james magni: i think that design is regional

troscan | tara coffee table
photo credit troscan design + furnishings

magni home collection | jewel side table
photo credit designawards.wordpress.com

michael wollaeger:

Q: is customization important?

A: very important!

deirdre jordan: custom furnishings are design problems to solve

mark albrecht: custom furnishings combine challenge, context, and editing

i'm okay leaving my comfort zone

but sometimes, a client's requests are not a good fit [for my design studio]

james magni: we design interiors, and our product line, plus custom furnishings

ted boerner: sometimes, custom furnishings become line extensions

troscan | edmund credenza
photo credit troscan design + furnishings

mark albrecht studio | hardwood credenza
photo credit mark albrecht studio

michael wollaeger:

Q: how does culture inform design?

A: it does, and it doesn't.

james magni: art influences design

first, art influences architecture

then, fashion

and finally, design

ted boerner: i look at how people engage with each other

and, how i can enhance their interaction

mark albrecht: i look at everything!

deirdre jordan: design is about solving problems

i look at materials and processes [instead of culture]

what a material might or can do

how to bring out the best qualities of a material

mark albrecht studio | lounge chair

photo credit mark albrecht studio

ted boerner | lex club chair

photo credit san francisco design center (sfdc)

michael wollaeger:

Q: how does the internet, digital media, and social media influence your designs?

A: not very much.

mark albrecht: it's overwelming!

but, i email cellphone photos

deirdre jordan: there's too much information

but, i have a [private] pinterest board

james magni: i'm not very involved

but, my team is involved

ted boerner: i create my own screens

troscan | helene dining table

photo credit troscan design + furnishings

mark albrecht studio | wood dining table
photo credit mark albrecht studio

michael wollaeger:

Q: who or what in the design world do you like or dislike?

A: we like innovators.

ted boerner: i like [spanish artist-designer] jaime hayon

deirdre jordan: i like [lighting designer] jonathan browning

mark albrecht: i like electric cars

james magni: i like designers vs. retailers

magni home collection | jewel II dining table
photo credit magni home collection

mark albrecht studio | eclipse light | steel dining table | side chairs
photo credit mark albrecht studio

are you an innovator?

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2/11/14

art | alison berger glassworks

alison berger has been described as

'an artist whose medium is light and whose material is glass.'

she is an artist.

and, a craftsman.

she studied glassblowing at the rhode island school of design (RISD),

where she apprenticed with dale chihuly.

chihuly's work in blown glass is considered fine art.

dale chihuly | dusky sky chandelier

chihuly | halcyon gallery | 5 dec 2011-21 apr 2012 | london, united kingdom

photo credit halcyon gallery

click here to read my previous post about dale chihuly.

at RISD, she also apprenticed with chihuly protigee, james carpenter.

now, carpenter develops glass and material technologies to explore light as an architectural medium.

james carpenter design associates (jcda) | podium light wall | 7 world trade center | new york, NY

photo credit jcda

alison berger is also an architect.

she earned a BFA in architecture from RISD.

and, an MFA in architecture from columbia university.

she practiced architecture with bausman-gill in new york.

and then, with frank o. gehry in los angeles.

she is also a designer.

she designs lighting,

1 alison berger | pistil pendant light

2 alison berger | crystal sphere pendant light

photo credits holly hunt and plug lighting

and objects.

alison berger for hermes | the balance line tabletop collection

photo credit alison berger

site specific installations or commissions,

alison berger | tables of the trade | sculptor's pedestal table
photo credit alison berger

i had the pleasure of attending spirits in glass, a private reception and presentation by alison berger, hosted by the kneedler|fauchere showroom during design san francisco 2014.

her presentation was energetic and funny.

she grew up in dallas, studied and worked in new york, and lives in los angeles.

no wonder:
'her manner combines the expansive friendliness of a native texan,

the energy and intellectual intensity of an erstwhile new yorker,

and the mellow openness of [an] angeleno...'

'the very bearable lightness of being' | by joyce lovelace | american craft magazine | february/march 2009

her style is simple and refined,

just like her work.

as an architect, she considered every building as a vessel for light.
as an artist, she considers the structure of every vessel.

her defined creative process is curatorial, artistic, and architectural.

she researches.

she sketches, draws, and paints.
she makes collages.

1 alison berger | form study 2
2 alison berger | bell tower chandelier
photo credits holly hunt | alison berger book-volume 2 and alison berger

she drafts plans, sections, and elevations.
and, she builds models.

1

1 alison berger | section | lantern pendant light
2 alison berger | lantern pendant light
photo credits david lauridsen

'i start with a planned section and an elevation. but, soon the molten glass takes over...'
-alison berger

berger began working full time as a glass artist in 1995.
she works from her design studio in west hollywood, CA.

alison berger in her light filled design studio | west hollywood, CA
photo credit dave lauridsen

and, from her workshop in compton, CA.

alison berger in her workshop with master gaffer, jesus garcia | compton CA
photo credit holly hunt | alison berger book-volume 1

each piece of glass is hand blown, annealed, and then hand finished by berger's production team, using hand tools and traditional glass blowing techniques.
the process is time consuming, and physical.

each piece is blown from 12-15 pounds of unleaded crystal, which is finer than glass because it contains fewer chemical impurities.
manipulating the copper/sand/silver ratio in the crystal adds a yellow glow, which adds depth, reflective, and timeless qualities.

'i love it when people don't know whether my pieces are old or new.'
-alison berger

many of her pieces contain veiled historical references.

her pieces can be inspired by:
art,
antiquities,
scientific documents or instruments,
or even, flea market finds.

curiosity cabinet | alison berger's studio | west hollywood, CA
photo credit joshua white

during the creative process, she alters the scale and removes the decoration, which reduces an inspirational object to it's essence.

'i like my forms to be so simple they knock people off their feet.'
-alison berger

and then, she reinterprets the object in glass, a material that contains fire and light.

'glass captures the process of remembering.
and, as the light fades, forgetting.
light is the medium,
glass is the material and memory,
elusive as it is,

[that] is my theme.'

-alison berger

crystal water bottles...
inspired by alchemy and baroque still life paintings.

2 alison berger | roman ring floor lamp

photo credits the j. paul getty museum and holly hunt

the word pendant light...
inspired by leonardo da vinci's scientific and theoretical texts.

1 leonardo da vinci | study of the effect of light on a profile head | galleria degli uffuzi | florence, italy

2 alison berger | word pendant

photo credits leonardoda-vinci.org and holly hunt

the lens sconce and lens chandelier...
inspired by a 19th century earring, found at a flea market.

1 19th century earring, found at a flea market
2 alison berger | lens sconce
3 alison berger | lens chandelier
photo credits alison berger, holly hunt, and holly hunt

she recently launched a furniture collection called tables of the trade.
the collection currently includes:
a carpenter's bench,
a jeweler's table,
a writer's console,
a sculptor's table,
and a painter's table.

the design for the painter's table was inspired by a photograph of the studio of italian still life artist, giorgio morandi (1890-1964).

the drafting table in morandi's studio is covered with butcher paper.
berger abstracted the circular tracing patterns, worn into the paper,
and then carved the abstract patterns into the top of the painter's table.

1 giorgio morandi's art studio | casa di morandi | bologna, italy
2 detail | butcher paper on the drafting table in giorgio morandi's art studio | casa di morandi | bologna, italy
3 alison berger | painter's table
photo credits artstudioshare.blogspot.com, holly hunt|tables of the trade brochure, and holly hunt|tables of the trade brochure

the next piece in the tables of the trade collection will be an astronomer's table.
the bronze table will have a map of the constellations carved into the top.
but, instead of having a historical reference, the map of the constellations is product of alison berger's imagination!

other new products, planned to launch during 2014, include:

the cage pendant light,
an openwork basket form.
inspired by an antique surveyor's cage.

the time chandelier,
with gears, weights, and counter weights.
and, candles, electrified pendants, and solid blocks of crystal.
inspired by the passage of time and clock mechanisms.

the bow chandelier,
with flattened pendants,
suspended from an expandable system of interlocking arcs.
based on a bowstring.

the moon pendant light,
with moon flask shaped pendants,
which look full from the front and back.
but, thin from the sides.
inspired by the moon.
half of the moon is always illuminated by the sun.
the changing positions of the earth, the moon, and the sun as the moon orbits the earth create the phases of the moon.

'the power of lighting is staggering.'
-alison berger

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2/11/13

product | barbara barry for kravet fabrics | design san francisco

'we are all legends in our own minds.'
-barbara barry

los angeles interior and product designer, barbara barry, is also a legend in the minds of other interior designers. she is one of the most prolific designers of licensed products in the interior design industry.

in addition to lighting for visual comfort and boyd lighting, floor coverings for tufenkian and kravet carpets, and tile and plumbing for ann sacks and kallista, her licenses include furniture for baker, henredon, hbf, and mcguire, as well as textiles for hbf, and kravet.

1 barbara barry for mcguire | caned arm chair
2 barbara barry for kravet | indochine fabric collection
3 barbara barry for kravet | ink brush carpet | indochine carpet collection
photo credits barbara barry

'life is a project.'
-barbara barry

and, barbara barry's latest project is her new book, around beauty, the subject of her keynote presentation at design san francisco 2013.

following her keynote presentation, she signed copies of her book at the kravet showroom.

4 barbara barry | around beauty
photo credit david meredith

'color and light are everything.'
-barbara barry

so, for her interior design projects, she usually uses many values of the same hue.

cooler tones in the cooler light of cooler climates, like northern california...