The Victoria & Albert Museum outlines the history of the Isokon Penguin Donkey Bookcase, designed by Jack Pritchard and Egon Riss in 1939. Though the outbreak of World War II curtailed production of the original to 100 units, London's Isokon Plus still produces it for £540.

Find EU Eco Design

The European Leonardo da Vinci program's new website provides training kits, case studies and library resources to assist manufacturers implement eco-design strategies.

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News More Closures

A recent analysis, made by VCR's companion website, Furniture Link Canada (FLC), found about 25 small- to medium-sized Canadian furniture manufacturers (or seven percent) listed in the directory had closed since FLC's similar analysis of May 2008. Some of these companies are listed above. Total closures in this group account for a loss of 750 jobs when calculated at an average of 30 employees per company.

Over the same time period, some of Canada's larger furniture manufacturers have been or are under court protection (including Shermag, DeFehr and Durham) or have consolidated their production facilities (including FDM Furniture and Palliser). FLC estimates that this restructuring resulted in at least another 2,000 jobs lost for a grand total of 2,750.

The Globe and Mail profiles the Solair chair that was designed in Montréal in the early 1970s by Fabio Fabiano and Michelange Panzini, sold through Sears and Eaton's catalogues then, and now peddled as "retro chic" in trendy Toronto stores.

VCR includes the Solair chair with 30 other classic designs in its History of Canadian Furniture Design.

News Office Optimism

Despite US office furniture giant Herman Miller releasing a May 30 (fourth quarter) 38 per cent drop in sales and 82 per cent drop in profits, company CEO Brian Walker told mlive.com that "the future is looking a little less choppy."

News Eco Bright

MIT's development of an eco friendly nickel-tungsten alloy and plating system to replace current chromium systems that use toxic chemical solutions is described by The Economist.

Find Eugene + Portland

Three small design studios in Oregon produce innovative furniture:
+ Merkled
+ Studio Gorm
+ Sarah Houston

News UK Eco Fair

The Eco Directory lists sustainable furniture designers and manufacturers in the UK and also sponsors an Eco Fair at London's Old Truman Brewery July 27-28 June.

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Design 21 announces the winners of Going with the Grain, a competition to design a "compelling object" from a single sheet of FSC-certified plywood.

News Best of the Worst

The OOPS Design Award Foundation website lists this year's nominations for its NOT honourable design awards, with categories for the ugliest, silliest and most useless product "designs."

News Ikea Icons

Stockholm's Liljevalchs konsthall Museum presents Ikea at Liljevalchs, an exhibition that showcases "a candid and entertaining exposition of the largest furniture and design phenomenon of all times," reviewed with images by the UK's Guardian. Show closes August 30.

News Seattle Show

Design Seattle sponsors Ctrl+Alt+Design, the group's first Annual Design Review that includes furniture, lighting, home accessories and jewellery produced by 27 designers and collectives from Seattle and six other US cities. To July 12.

News Blu Dot Expands

Minneapolis-based contemporary furniture distributor and manufacturer Blu-Dot defies the economic odds by announcing an almost doubling of its studio and operational workspace, as reported by the Business Journal.