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Can't Get Enough on MOCOLOCO

2009-07-22T08:48:00.001-07:00

Just in time for Valentine's Day, Matt Carr was spelling it out with his "can't get enough" installation. Made of tube lights bent into the shape of the words and hanging lenses, when one used a lens the words would become surreal, each individual light bulb would glow in the shape of a heart. Peer out the window with a lens and the city lights would also have the loving glow. Matt has been a part of Umbra's design team since 2001 and was recently appointed Director of Design.

http://mocoloco.com/archives/010506.php

Mystic Clock in Belle Magazine

2009-07-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Rolly Desk in Australian House & Garden

2009-07-21T07:03:00.000-07:00

Biblioteca in Living Etc.

2009-07-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Teatime Clock in Elle Deco

2009-07-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

Mialabra in Ireland's Homes Interiors & Living

2009-07-21T06:39:00.000-07:00

Teatime clock in S Magazine

2009-07-21T06:34:00.001-07:00

Postino mailbox in Ireland's Homes Interiors & Living

2009-07-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

Pisa bookshelf in EKBB Magazine

2009-07-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Silhouette Mirror in Philadelphia Inquirer

2009-07-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

Teatime in Italian style guide

2009-07-21T06:20:00.000-07:00

Teatime Clock in Cosmopolitan

2009-07-21T06:13:00.000-07:00

Checkle Checker Board in House Beautiful

2009-07-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

Mimosa in Concept for Living

2009-07-21T05:59:00.000-07:00

Mixalabra in Country Living

2009-07-21T05:58:00.001-07:00

Hookaboo in Guardian Weekend

2009-07-21T05:56:00.001-07:00

Mimosa Side Table in Bella magazine

2009-01-30T15:34:00.001-08:00

Rolz Checker Set in Chrysler Magazine

2009-01-30T15:33:00.001-08:00

Shintaro in Easy Living

2009-01-30T15:32:00.001-08:00

Tea Time in Glamour Living

2009-01-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

Nestle Console Table in Home Accents Today

2009-01-30T15:30:00.000-08:00

Mimosa Side Table in Ideal Home

2009-01-30T15:29:00.002-08:00

Profile in IDFX

2009-01-30T15:29:00.001-08:00

Mimosa Side Table in Irleland's Interiors & Living

2009-01-30T15:27:00.000-08:00

Boomba in Ireland's Home Interiors & Living

2009-01-30T15:26:00.001-08:00

Biblioteca in Ireland's Homes Interiors & Living

2009-01-30T15:24:00.002-08:00

Tea time Clock in Living Etc.

2009-01-30T15:24:00.001-08:00

Pisa in MH magazine

2009-01-30T15:22:00.000-08:00

Rolz Checkerboard in Philidelphia Inquirer

2009-01-30T15:21:00.000-08:00

Mimosa in Scotland on Sunday

2009-01-30T15:20:00.000-08:00

Mimosa Coffee Table in Smart Life International

2009-01-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

Silhouette Mirror in SW Magazine

2009-01-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

Pisa in The Daily Telegraph

2009-01-30T15:17:00.001-08:00

Mimosa Media Tower in The Sunday Times

2009-01-30T15:15:00.000-08:00

Biblioteca in The Times

2009-01-30T15:14:00.001-08:00

Rolly Side Table in The Times Magazine

2009-01-30T15:13:00.001-08:00

Rama Frame in Woman Magazine

2009-01-30T15:12:00.001-08:00

Postino in Your Home

2009-01-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

Tea Time Clock in Daily Mail

2008-04-17T06:31:00.002-07:00

Mimosa in Wish Magazine

2008-04-17T06:31:00.001-07:00

Mixalabra in Living Etc.

2008-04-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Mimosa Coffee Table in Philadelphia Inquirer

2008-04-12T14:38:00.004-07:00

Silhouette in the NY Resident

2008-04-12T14:38:00.003-07:00

Feature in Globe and Mail

2008-04-12T14:38:00.002-07:00

Biblioteca in O Magazine

2008-04-12T14:38:00.001-07:00

Tea Time Clock in The NY Resident

2008-04-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Mystic Clock in House Beautiful

2008-01-03T18:49:00.002-08:00

Tea Time Clock in Country Living

2008-01-03T18:49:00.001-08:00

Treasure Clock in California Home & Design Magazine

2007-12-11T08:56:00.002-08:00

Torsia Table in HFN magazine

2007-12-11T08:56:00.001-08:00

Tea Time Clock in The Essential Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom Magazine

2007-12-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

Tea Time Clock in Metropolitan Home

2007-11-29T12:38:00.002-08:00

Chilla in 25 beautiful Homes

2007-11-29T12:38:00.001-08:00

Treasure Clock in Nikki Style

2007-11-22T06:12:00.001-08:00

Arcoino in Diversion

2007-11-22T06:12:00.000-08:00

Tea Time Clock in The Guardian Weekly

2007-11-04T06:42:00.003-08:00

Feature in the Daily Telegraph

2007-11-04T06:42:00.002-08:00

Bookworm in Monocle

2007-11-04T06:42:00.001-08:00

Tea Time Clock in Westchester H&G

2007-10-22T10:06:00.001-07:00

Biblioteca in Globe and Mail

2007-10-22T10:06:00.000-07:00

Treasure Clock in Watch Magaine - Russia

2007-10-13T14:42:00.001-07:00

Feature in Irish Sunday Times

2007-10-08T16:28:00.001-07:00

Tea Time Clock in Home Accents Today

2007-10-08T16:28:00.000-07:00

Biblioteca in NY Times

2007-09-24T20:25:00.001-07:00

Feature in Isreali DESIGNER Magazine

2007-09-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

Biblioteca in Living Etc.

2007-09-14T11:51:00.004-07:00

Pisa in Homes and Property

2007-09-14T11:51:00.003-07:00

Treasure Clock in Northern Woman

2007-09-14T11:51:00.002-07:00

Tea Time Clock in You & Your Wedding

2007-09-14T11:51:00.001-07:00

Rolly Table in House Beautiful

2007-09-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

Tea Time clock in HFN

2007-08-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

Torsia table in Style.com

2007-08-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Outfitting life like a jewel box. New furnishings reflect gems' geometry and sparkle.

2007-08-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

By David A. Keeps, Los Angeles Times Staff WriterAugust 2, 2007

Photo Gallery:

http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/home/la-hm-faceted2aug02,1,3873866.story?coll=la-home-printedition&ctrack=1&cset=true

THE pale green lamp on the shelves at West Elm in Santa Monica is made of common clay but looks as if it's carved, polished jade. At Kartell in West Hollywood, Dutch designer Marcel Wanders' plastic Stone stools sparkle like chunks of topaz and citrine. Across the street, Fendi Casa's Crystal chair looks like a cushion-cut diamond.

These days, a residence described as a jewel box may actually look like one. Furniture and accessories resembling gemstones on steroids are beginning to bring a little bling into the home.

"There are two types of people in this world," says San Francisco interior designer Gary Hutton. "People who like sparkly things. And people who won't admit they do."

Hutton launched Facet, a collection of $5,500 bronze tables inlaid with Swarovski crystals, seven years ago. He calls the new generation of gem-inspired furniture a natural fusion between the worlds of fashion and home furnishings -- "jewelry for the home."

"Pop-culture celebrities with gold teeth wearing big diamond jewelry have been bombarding us with bling for a number or years," Hutton says. "It only seems logical that it's going to emerge in the home furnishings industry."

If recent trade shows are any indication, designers around the globe are experimenting with geometric shapes that look like super-sized stones. The Danish firm Fritz Hansen has just launched the Space chair, with upholstered cushions that look like a giant pale sapphire ring when viewed from above. Valvomo, a Finnish firm, has built prototypes of Radian, a beanbag chair covered in a fabric embossed with contiguous hexagons.

"Usually bean bag seats look like actual bean bags," Valvomo designer Vesa Hinkola says. "The faceted surface gives the seat a more sculptural appearance, and the shape changes every time you sit on the seat or move it somewhere."

In Austria, the design partnership of Buchegger, Denoth, Feichtner has created Axiome, an entire collection of gem-like household products, including a leather sofa and lounge chair, lighting fixtures, crystal tableware and silver cutlery.

"Plain surfaces reflect light in just one direction," designer Thomas Feichtner says. "The reason why diamonds sparkle is that they have facets. Our objects play with light and shadow; their shapes give an impression of order, symmetry and logic."

Look no further than Anthropologie stores and their faceted ceramic pitchers to see how the trend is filtering down to the mass market. Matt Carr of Toronto designed an inexpensive black ottoman called Cado for Umbra that looks like a chiseled chunk of hematite. He says the sharp new silhouette of furniture is a rebellion against "the blob design aesthetic" that has been popular for the last few years.

"People are looking for forms that are more precise and refined," Carr says. "They want surfaces that have a reason, whether it be for form or for function. These geometric forms have a great presence in a room, adding a feeling of value and longevity much like a cut diamond."

They add something else too: glamour. No matter the setting, faceted forms can bring a playful sense of luxury to a room. They fit minimalist interiors. They add a Pop art vibe to midcentury modern homes. They also work in spaces defined by natural materials, such as slab-wood tables, rock-paved surfaces and decorative geodes and mineral specimens. In the Hollywood Regency decor schemes, the furnishings are visual shorthand for prosperity.

"The products we design cost a small fortune for sure," says Feichtner, whose angular, leather-covered FX10 lounge chair retails for about $5,200. "But if they are status symbols, it's about good taste, not monetary value."

NEW advances in design, materials and manufacturing have made some of these designs surprisingly affordable and versatile. Umbra's two-piece leather-clad Cado, which works as a footrest, seat, storage unit or occasional table, is $440.

Wanders' Stone stool takes advantage of modern polycarbonate rotomolding techniques to create a lightweight and weather-resistant piece that can be used indoors and out. It's available in several colors at $220 each, and it often sells in pairs, Kartell salesman Travis Munson says.

"People seem to like them as bedside tables and on patios and pool decks to reflect sunlight and water," he says.

Interior designer Hutton praises the Wanders design for its transparency.

"Furniture that you can see through takes up less visual space in a room," he says. "You can put it in front of a window and it will glow but still let you see the scenery, and in darker areas it makes the most use of available light."

Inspiration for jewel-shaped products can be traced to sources as diverse as Japanese origami, Frank Lloyd Wright's bevel-edged hexagonal furniture and Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes. Like many of these classics, the new designs reduce the weight of objects while increasing their structural integrity.

"Geometric and gem-like forms are incredibly strong," Carr says. "A 200-pound person can jump up and down on the Cado without denting it." By shearing off the corners of a cube at a 45-degree angle, Carr's design also makes the Cado lighter and more portable.

Such advantages have long informed the work of Culver City architect and furniture designer Gregg Fleishman, who uses faceted forms for plastic lighting pendants and plywood play structures for kids.

"Jewels certainly represent wealth and success," he says. When oriented in different ways, the geometry of crystalline forms also can provide "a new and more natural look and feel to the structure of our buildings."

Fleishman sees a future in which the crystal-shaped jewel-box home is as green as an emerald -- less a reflection of status than a statement of architectural efficiency and inner peace.

"With the uncertain state of society today, a focus on geometry in the home helps us feel closer to the natural order of things," Fleishman says. "It elevates the spirit as well, because the harmonious forms that emerge from nature are so pleasing."

Treasure Clock in the Financial Times

2007-07-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

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