glitzkrieg

modern time moves

These modern in-motion clocks by Inga Sempe, François Azambourg, and Delphine Frey are very much of the 21st Century. Sempe's brilliant Guichet clock for Moustache features a pendulum that's exposed, brightly-coloured, and thinly striped; sure to hypnotize you as it swings back and forth. It also has a deep profile, comes in colours so perfect you may actually want them all, and is oval, not round. Swoon. Azambourg's Perle clock is also for Moustache and boasts jeweled hands. The multi-coloured Swarovski crystals are entirely loose, moving with every minute. Maybe not ideal for the bedroom! The Perpetual Illusion clock by Delphine Frey has superimposed layers of aluminum that move independently, either ensuring a deep meditative state or making for a great show as you watch the time pass.

The Perle and Guichet clocks will be made available by Moustache in September. Delphine Frey, a talented young designer and recent graduate of ECAL, has no confirmed release date for Perpetual Illusion as of yet.

kile bookcase by yukari hotta

The Danish word Kile translates into Wedge, and cute wood-painted wedges are the only tools used to secure this clever bookcase by Japanese-born Yukari Hotta. Hotta graduated from the Industrial Design program at Kolding Design School in Denmark in 2007 and designed the Kile last year. 

Hope someone starts manufacturing this brilliant design very soon!

Via Dailytonic.

4 days left! Bauhaus at the MoMA

How did it go by so fast? You've a mere 4 days left to get to NY to check out the magnificent-looking Bauhaus exhibition at the MoMA, which ends on Monday, January 25th. You may have heard a lot about the Bauhaus recently as the institution celebrated 90 years since its inception this past Fall. Somehow unfamiliar? The Bauhaus was the precursor to Art & Design Schools as we know them today, developing the idea of the foundation year. The famous school/design movement also featured an all star cast: Walter Gropius, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, just to name a few:

Bauhaus players, from top to bottom:

Josef Albers; post-Bauhaus Hommage to the Square, 1965

Marcel Breuer; Club Chair, later called the Wassily Chair, 1925

Marianne Brandt, the only student featured here amongst the profs; Ashtray, 1924. Now being produced by Alessi.

Wassily Kandinsky: On White II, 1924.

Paul Klee, Twittering Machine, 1921-31

Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe; Barcelona Chair, 1929. Available through Knoll.

If you can't make it to NY, the MoMA site is rich with Bauhaus content and definitely worth a look. I'm sick with upset that I missed this one. Hope that you got to see it in person!

wallpaper graduate directory 2009

If you enjoyed Wallpaper magazine's Graduate Directory 2009, a feature on the students poised to make an impact in the world of design/illustration/graphics and much more (featured in their January 09 issue) you must take a look at the full story on their website. It features many more talented students that didn't make the pages. Here's a random sampling of the lot:

Wallpaper magazine, Graduate Directory 2009, from top to bottom:

Tobias Röttger; Graphic Design
University of Applied Sciences, Mainz

Christian Vivanco; Product Design
UASLP, Mexico 

Seongyong Lee; Product Design
RCA

Sarah King; Illustration
University of Brighton

Camille Rousseau; Illustration
Central St Martins, London

Maria Jeglinska ; Product Design
ECAL, Lausanne; email: mail@mariajeglinska.com

Tiina Hakala; Product Design
University College for the Creative Arts, Kent, UK

Sophie Kern; Illustration
University of Brighton

Mireille Fauchon; Illustration
Royal College of Art, London; email: mireille.fauchon@network.rca.ac.uk

Roland Krauer; Graphic Design
ZHDK, Zurich

I can't wait to see next year's round-up!

prix emile hermes

Hermes launched an interesting design competition last year that was aimed at young European designers. Called the Prix Émile Hermès in honour of the brand's founder, the jury included huge design names such as Hella Jongerius, Ron Arad, Ingo Maurer, and was headed by Enzo Mari.

From the top, some of the featured designs: Bronco Rocking stool by Simon Lécureux, Switzerland, Rolling VS Folding Weekend bag from Francesco Librizzi & Vittorio Venezia, Italy, Handbag support Bag carrier by Bastian Goecke, Germany, Jarl Fernaeus' Glacier Hallway Group Table with lamp and stool, Sweden, 1+1 Briefcase from Alexandre Mussche & Xavier Figuerola, France, WardROPE Hanging wardrobe, Susanne Stofer & Veronika Wildgruber, Germany, Centimes Coin holder by Nounja Jamil, France, and the Réflexe Bicycle helmet by ORH: Cyril Afsa, Swann Bourotte, Florent Lefèvre et Sylvain Rieu-Piquet, France.

The Theme was Everyday Lightness. Designers were asked that their submissions either fit into the existing Hermes catalog of objects or reflect the values of the brand name. Here's an excerpt from the lovely write-up for the contest theme, composed by Sophie Cherer, to inspire the designers. An English translation is also available on the Prix Emile Hermes site:

Nous voulons de la sagesse, nous voulons de la beauté, nous voulons de la douceur.
Nous voulons planer, voler, sourire, aimer, durer. Nous voulons cueillir le jour.
Et recommencer demain.
Mais comment cueillir le jour s’il est lourd ?

The 17 designs that were shortlisted are gorgeous. In fact, so gorgeous that instead of choosing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize, the esteemed jury unanimously decided to award three third-place prizes. The three winning prizes went to the Bronco, Handbag Support, and Rolling VS Folding. 

The 17 selections were shown this year in Milan and are on tour right now; scheduled to hit the Benaki Museum in Athens, Vitra Design Museum in Berlin, and Barcelona Centre de Disseny in Barcelona by the end of the year. The winners were actually chosen in 2008 and despite the success of the competition there's no word yet of a sequel. Nonono, this will not do...