The Buzz in Toronto: The Interior Design Show.

How important is longevity? That was the unofficial theme at the opening of this year’s Interior Design Show (IDS), Jan. 26–29. As if to echo that idea, four giant chairs made of ice stood guard at the entrance to the convention center, their biomorphic forms eroding under hot spotlights. I didn’t see anyone try to sit in one of these icy thrones, but given that vodka shots (in glasses also made of ice) were being served next to the ice chairs, I’m guessing there are photos of such activity on memory cards all over the city (in cameras owned by folks with no memory of such things).

Inside, there are displays from more than 300 exhibitors, ranging from furniture by Piero Lissoni (above) – this year’s “International Guest of Honour” – to floor tiles, gas fireplaces and students’ prototype chairs. The day began with “Conversations in Design: Trailblazing and Trendspotting,” moderated by Chee Pearlman.

A DWR Film: Jeffrey Bernett.

Our good friend Jeffrey Bernett has been a member of the DWR family for more than 10 years. He has produced some of our most popular collections including the Flight Recliner and, new this month, the Metropolitan Chair for B&B Italia. But what drives the New York-based designer to consistently create products that maximize the enjoyment of downtime? We wanted to know, and we dropped by his studio to find out.

Right now you can enjoy 15% off most of Bernett's signature pieces including his incredibly versatile Reid Collection during our Living Room Sale.

A Weekend in Toronto for IDS.

With the Interior Design Show starting tomorrow, design lovers will be flocking to Toronto for a weekend of exhibitions, lectures and special events. Since 1999, the show has brought the best of architecture and design to Canada, putting Toronto on the map as a capital of creativity. Although there are many activities throughout the four days of the show, the city of Toronto has much to offer on its own.

DWR Congratulates Brad Ascalon.

DWR is pleased to announce that the Ascalon Menorah, designed by Brad Ascalon exclusively for Design Within Reach has been accepted into the Permanent Collection of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. 

Made of solid white Carrara marble, Ascalon's Kosher menorah is visually modern yet undeniably classic, with eight facets that correspond to the eight days of Chanukah and an 18 degree angle – created by the left and right diagonals – symbolizing chai or life. 

How Ted Boerner delivers minimalist appeal with maximum comfort.

As a theater and dance student at the University of West Virginia, Ted Boerner developed an intuitive sense of the body and the space it occupies – an awareness that now lends his furniture its genial angles and careful proportions. He attended NYU for grad school, and began his career as a set and costume designer. “Propping scenes and imagining the things that characters would surround themselves with made me think about how important furniture is to people,” says the designer. Modern sofas often claim minimalist appeal, but few can also tout the comfort

What's on your DWR wish list? Our newest hire shares his top five.

Meet AJ Simone, the newest member of the sales team at Design Within Reach. "I knew this position would be one I'd quickly grow to love, and it didn't take me long to realize I was right. The people here are great and the office is absolutely stunning. But the real bonus? The furniture, of course! I had always dreamed of the day that I could actually purchase some real furniture. You know, furniture that I planned to keep longer than the length of my apartment rental? And now, with more direct access to such a fabulous collection of home decor, my days of fighting with the masses through the winding tunnels of big-box furniture stores are finally over!

So, without further ado, here’s my wish list for year one at DWR..."

Six Degrees of Cranbrook.

Attention Design Geeks! May we present to you our new game: Six Degrees of Cranbrook. 

The Cranbrook Academy of Art, as you well know, is the art school associated with many of our favorite designers. Think of any chair, designer or firm, and it's bound to be linked to the school in one way or another. Therefore, we figured we would use the rules from the eponymous party game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon and apply them to the design world for some know-it-all fun.

Each week we will post something and the lovely commenter who replies with the fewest "degrees of separation" to Cranbrook, in the least amount of time, will be declared the winner. The winner will be able to choose next week's challenge (in addition to gaining our undying adoration and respect). 

So who's in? This week we will start out the game with this challenge:

Our Game Changing CEO.

Metropolis magazine names CEO John Edelman one of this year's Game Changers. Edelman's desire "to show people how to live with modern" and his belief in fresh American talent has landed him on the list with eleven other innovators from a variety of fields. The January 2012 issue hits newsstands next Tuesday, January 24, so be sure to pick up a copy for an engaging read.

An icon of modern design for an American icon.

Our good friend David Lynch stopped by our LA Beverly Blvd Studio yesterday to test-drive Saarinen's classic Womb Chair and Ottoman before making his final decision to purchase the set in Crimson (although, we think he looks incredibly handsome in the aegean blue). David is a true artist and inspiration. His 2009 book signing at DWR was standing room only. Did you know he released an album in 2011 and has his own brand of coffee too?

A Starck raving birthday wish.

Happy birthday Philippe! Today we celebrate the designer who brought us the Louis Ghost Chair, Hudson Chair, Zikmu Wireless Speaker System and many other surprising forms that are both playful and serious expressions of design.

Philippe Starck began his career designing nightclub interiors in Paris in the 1970s, which led to an invitation from President Francois Mitterand, who asked Starck to refurbish one of the private apartments in the Elysee Palace. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Starck is one of the most recognized designers around the world, and he continues to delight us in his ability to transgress boundaries and subvert expectations. Cheers, Philippe. We hope you are celebrating in style.

Three options for a sleek Superbowl Sunday.

We heard that 30% of TVs are purchased in the two weeks before the Superbowl. Which means you may need a smart way to display your new tube. Whether you're rooting for the Patriots, 49ers, Giants, Ravens, (or just watching for the ads), we've got your living room covered.

Cord tackler
Designed by Jesus Gasca for Stua, the Sapporo Shelving with Cable Management is finished on all sides in white lacquer, like Sapporo's snow in Japan. It can be outfitted with or without sliding doors, allowing you to hide DVD players and other unsightly devices if you wish. The recent addition of cable management expands the versatility of this system.

Living in a Small Space.

Note: This article was originally titled "Leben Auf Kleinem Raum" and ran in the German magazine Couch. It has been translated into English (and slightly edited) by Iris in 't Hout.

33 sq meters

From a family home to a doll size apartment. How do designer Michael Sainato (V.P. Marketing + Creative at Design Within Reach) and stylist Iris in 't Hout solve this? With lots of style - and storage room.

The table barely measures 70 cm x 80 cm, so the built-in seat benches can have storage drawers underneath. Dog Miles always finds a spot by Iris and Michael.

Designing for Good: Yves Béhar's XO-3 Tablet.

As the founder of fuseproject and the chief industrial designer for One Laptop Per Child, Yves Béhar is no stranger to creating socially conscious designs. OLPC provides affordable laptops to underpriveleged children from around the world, allowing them to use technology for individual learning and growth. The non-profit program currently reaches more than 2.5 million students and teachers in 42 countries. 

The punchy green design of the XO-3 tablet is both functional and rugged. The grip-friendly rubber case folds back to reveal a scratch resistant, sunlight-readable screen. Since power consumption is a problem in many developing countries, the ecologically minded device charges with solar power, hand cranks or other alternative power sources. With more than 75,000 units already ordered, the XO-3 will ship out in March 2012.

Yves Béhar views his role as something more than product development. "I believe design's purpose is not only to show us the future," he states, "but to bring us the future." The Swiss-Turkish designer heads up Industrial Design at California College of the Arts (CCA,) where he encourages students to become involved in all aspects of object making. He also attempts to install a global sensibility and to instill a sense of the designer's responsibility to culture and our collective future.

Follow @DWR_Tweets to win a $100 gift card.

Eames® House Bird

Calling all Eames eagles, Noguchi nightingales and Saarinen songbirds. Are you a DWR Twitter Insider? For the next 12 weeks, @DWR_Tweets will be giving away a weekly $100 DWR Gift Card to a randomly selected follower. Follow our twitter stream for a chance to win, along with a daily dose of design news and visual inspiration. It's our way of saying thanks and giving back to our social fans. Now that's something to tweet about!

New Year's Resolution: Get Organized.

Although the task of getting organized can seem daunting, the key is to equip your space with the proper tools for the job. Luckily for you, our storage systems are like Swiss Army knives; customizable, modular and ready to tackle even the messiest of situations.

Doron Lachisch’s Cubitec Shelving combines the exceptional strength and stability of injection-molded polypropylene with simple, modular design. In addition to being superbly strong and lightweight, optional Doors and Backs can transform the system into a concealed cabinet, letting you decide what you want to display or hide. Also, depending on your needs and the configurations of your space, Cubitec can be attached vertically or horizontally.

In today's New York Times.

Photo: Mark Veltman for The New York Times

The LC2 Two-Seat Sofa appears in today's New York Times, in an article about how furniture keeps getting bigger. "Furniture has been bulking up for several years now," writes Steven Kurutz, "partly to match the scale of all the cavernous 'great rooms' that became must-haves in new homes (and perhaps also to match expanding waistlines)." He compares the size of the LC2 Sofa (left) to that of a contemporary armchair (right) to show how the pieces today "dwarf the furniture of an earlier era." Le Corbusier Group designed the LC series in 1928 as a modernist response to the traditional club chair, referring to the LC2 and LC3 as "cushion baskets."

What do you think about the size of furniture on the market today -- is bigger better?

From John Edelman, CEO

Dear DWR Customers,

What an amazing year! We could not have done it without you, and we greatly appreciate your support over the last 12 months.

Everything we do is with you in mind, and we are always striving to give you the best experience possible.

You’ll be receiving our January catalog soon, and I hope that you will be as excited to read it as we were to write it. (If you’re not on our catalog list, you can sign up here.)

Thank you for your passion for great design and for appreciating our hard work. We look forward to sharing more with you this year.

I hope people are as nice to you in 2012 as you were to us in 2011.

Thank you again.

John Edelman President and CEO

Remembering Eva Zeisel, 1906–2011.

Photo used with permission, courtesy of Richard Schulman  schulmanphotography.com

We mourn the loss of Eva Zeisel today. This inspiring ceramicist, artist, designer and friend will be missed by all of us at Design Within Reach.

Eva Zeisel was continually intrigued by what she called her "playful search for beauty." A person of delightfully defiant spirit, the designer was just beginning her career when she declared war on the fashionable avant-garde. "I didn't accept the purism of modern design," she said. "In my definition, if it gave beauty to the eye, it was beauty."

Our red Neutra Numbers are so loud, they go up to 11.

Update: Thank you so much for all of your imaginative entries. We have chosen five winner who will be contacted shortly.

There are countless ways to use Neutra House Numbers. From building a kid’s height chart, to bringing logic to your kitchen drawer handles, to numbering the steps in a staircase … these sleek digits inspire many creative ideas. (Neutra Numbers are also available in Aluminum.)

Got a creative idea to share? Tell us how you’d use Neutra Numbers and you could win a set for your house (or for anywhere you want to use them).

In today's New York Times: Shopping for Fire Pits.

Industrial designer Joe Doucet goes shopping for fire pits, described by the New York Times as "those vessels, often made of ceramic or iron and fueled by wood or gas, that lovers of the outdoors set up in chilly weather for heat and light and charm." When he sees our Cast Iron Fire Bowl, he says "it strikes the perfect balance -- the reductive design can fit into a modern environment, but the cast iron adds historical significance, so it can sit in environments that aren't so contemporary." He also liked its portability and the optional stainless grill top. "It becomes multifunctional," he says. "In urban environments, where space is at a premium, you want things to do more than one thing if possible." Photo by Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times