As seen in The New York Times.

Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times

Claire Pijoulat and Odile Hainaut, the founders of WantedDesign (where DWR exhibited during Design Week NYC), are searching for bistro chairs, and their hunt was profiled by Julie Lasky in yesterday's New York Times. When the two women were asked to define what makes a "bistro chair" their responses included: the simplicity of the lines, always comfortable, easy to store, stackable, light enough to be slung around and strong enough to withstand years of wear. Two of their favorites were the classic bentwood chair by Michael Thonet and our very own Cafe Chair. Click here to read the article.

Modern materials.

Anyone who’s seen the movie The Graduate is familiar with the scene when Mr. McGuire says to Benjamin, “I just want to say one word to you. Just one word … Plastics.” And while this suggestion is dated today (it was even a bit dated when the movie was made in 1967), the truth is that plastics were big business – a “wonder material” that emerged after WWII. Charles and Ray Eames, who started working with it for chair production, immediately recognized the possibilities of plastics.

For the (urban) birds.

I thought these birdhouses were simply part of an art installation, being that they are on the High Line in New York City. Then I heard a "chirp." One google search later, I learned that the birdhouses are the work of Sarah Sze, who wanted to create an artwork that is "simultaneously an observatory, an experiment, and a metropolis, evoking urban construction, scientific models, and attempts to capture nature in situ." Translation: lucky birds.

The Outdoor Sale ends today!

Lucca 3 Series Chaise

Save on solutions for outdoor living, from furniture to umbrellas to planters and more. We have everything you need for the al fresco season. Enjoy!

 

Happy Birthday, Mr. Nelson.

 

“We can tell the age of a city,” said George Nelson, “roughly by the patterns of buildings and open spaces seen from the air.” Could you tell by looking at him that he’d be 104 today? Since the mid-century master missed the chance to share his birthday with his colleagues Isamu Noguchi and Alexander Girard, he gets today’s blog post all to himself. And that’s as it ought to be – modern American design would look very different without the influence of Herman Miller’s groundbreaking design director (1946–1972). Learn more about this legendary designer’s legacy here.

Posted by Emily Fasten

Through Tuesday: The Outdoor Sale at DWR.

Through Tuesday, save on modern solutions for outdoor living. This includes our new Shot Cafe Chair, Elan Extension Table and Planterworx Planter, all shown above. Shop the Outdoor Sale at your local DWR Studio, online at dwr.com, or by calling 1.800.944.2233.

 

May 24: The most modern birthday.

The Red Cube designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1968. Located at 140 Broadway in NYC.

Today is the birthday of Florence Knoll Bassett, Edith Heath, Alexander Girard and Isamu Noguchi. If it's also your birthday, you're keeping company with some of the most creative minds of the 20th century. To celebrate this day, we suggest visiting the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, Heath Ceramics in Sausalito, the Girard Wing at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, or the Knoll Museum in East Greenville, PA. Have you been to any of these places? If so, let us know what you think. 

DWR Atlanta wins IIDA Georgia Dressed award.

Ready to wear, and ready to read, the DWR Atlanta Studio created this dress out of DWR catalog pages and materials from our products. The dress was honored at this year's IIDA Dressed event, which pairs interior designers and architects with industry manufacturers. The goal was to create a one-of-a-kind wearable garment out of non-traditional materials. Keep reading to see how they did it.

Design Week NYC: 30 children's chairs.

The folks at Partners and Spade are thinking big with their exhibition of little chairs. Thirty of them, to be exact, all from the collection of Mondo Cane Gallery. The chairs are all for sale, but how to choose a favorite? A daunting task indeed.

Design Week NYC: Noho Design District.

The Noho Design District is one of the hottest design destinations in New York City during Design Week. It is produced and curated annually by Sight Unseen in partnership with NoHo-Bowery Stakeholders to coincide with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Here are a few highlights from this year's event, May 18-21.

The CP Lounge Chair by Charles Pollock. Concrete Wallpaper by Piet Boon. Both at The Future Perfect satellite show at 2 Cooper Square.

Sonos Soundalier by Kiel Mead and Lindsey Adelman. A combination of Adelman's iron chandeliers with Sonos Play speakers, the Soundalier introduces a new way to produce a 360 listening experience. 

Design Week NYC: Roll & Hill.

(I'm a bit freaked out by the man on the left, perfectly aligned inside one of the bulbs, with "antenna" coming out of his ears. Photo gremlins...)

Run, don't walk, to the 3,500-square-foot temporary showroom opened by lighting company Roll & Hill. As you know, we have a number of R&H items in our assortment and we're huge fans of their work. The space also includes a satellite show for The Future Perfect. Here are a few of the items to see at 2 Cooper Square in in Noho. (Shown above: Rudi by Lukas Peet for Roll & Hill.)

Designing, producing and distributing design products in the United States.

Designer Todd Bracher, Laura Ann Young of Areaware, Susan S. Szenasy of Metropolis, John Edelman CEO of DWR

"If a designer loves something when designing it, you'll feel better when using it," said DWR CEO John Edelman. "That passion comes through." And so began the Design Week panel discussion moderated by Susan S. Szenasy of Metropolis magazine. Read more about this topic in Tough Love on the Metropolis blog.

Horsing around at Internet Week New York.

We invited people at Internet Week New York to tweet photos of the DWR Lounge for a chance to win a gift certificate. Here are a few of our favorites.

No Hi-Ho Rocking Horses were harmed during this plank by Kirk Larsen. (Hi-Ho available at DWR via special order.)

Tiny man seeks tiny chair.

I can't tell you anything about the little man (do you know anything about him?), but I do know about the chair. Arc En Ciel, or “rainbow” in French, is a foldable chair that has filled Parisian parks and cafés since the 19th century. Shown here on the High Line near the West 14th Street entrance.

Who are you looking at?

Is it me, or do these chairs look like they're turning their heads to look at us? These playful, albeit anthropomorphic, chairs are a new design from Vitra. The Waver Chair is currently making its debut during Design Week NYC. If you're in the Meatpacking District, check out this sidewalk display at 29 Ninth Avenue.

Design Week NYC: WantedDesign.

I missed the 20-foot reclaimed wood seesaw on my first trip through WantedDesign, so dense was the space with interesting things (and people) to see. WantedDesign is a four-day event featuring the work of designers from around the world. Here are a few of the highlights.

New lighting by David Trubridge 

Design Week NYC: Catch the free shuttle.

DWR is proud to be a sponsor of the Design Week NYC shuttle. You can catch the NYC Design Express on May 19, 20 and 21. Two buses on a 35-minute loop will travel this route from 11am to 6pm. 

Be sure to catch the Shuttle to W 28th Street, where you'll find DWR at WantedDesign. Click the Continue Reading link for details about what you'll find at each stop. 

Diving into iconic soup spoons.

Arne Jacobsen, courtesy of Fritz Hansen

Kudos to Alice Rawsthorn on her piece "Reflections on a Soup Spoon" in the New York Times. So concise is her description of this functional piece of cutlery designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1957, that I was convinced to purchase as set of my own. I am also a huge fan of Jacobsen's Series 7 Chair, so I figure this guy knew what he was doing in the dining room. But it's worth noting that the 5-piece cutlery set shown in her article does not include the coveted Soup Spoon. Instead, this spoon, called the Bouillon Spoon or Breakfast Spoon by manufacturer Georg Jensen, is sold separately in sets of two. Have you had the pleasure of slurping your soup with such a spoon? If so, please let me know what you think. And I'll be sure to report back after I receive mine.

Design Week NYC: Visit, Vote, Explore, Party.

Here are a few highlights for the upcoming Design Week in NYC, including our exhibition at WantedDesign and a DWR SoHo Party.

May 19–21: Visit us at WantedDesign 
Featuring a rich program of design workshops, conversation series, school projects, a pop-up store and lounges and cafes for people to relax and connect, WantedDesign is a must-see during Design Week. Stop by the DWR Booth to vote in our Live/Work Design Contest, co-sponsored by Dwell magazine. Open 10am–7pm daily. Location: The Tunnel, 269 11th Avenue (at 28th street)

Happy Birthday Jens Risom!

Jens Risom with his iconic lounge chair, designed in 1943.

We celebrate Jens Risom every day at DWR -- and especially today, his birthday. Risom designed the first chair for the company Knoll in 1941, and he's still designing today. "Basically, my whole life has been in the design of pieces that make the living environment more enjoyable," says Risom. "Many designers lose sight of this. They want their work to be looked at like art. I prefer design that is neutral and not the center stage, furniture that is for people."

To the man who has brought us so much enjoyment in our living environments, we wish you a very happy birthday!

Learn more about Jens Risom in this DWR Film.