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Archived December 21, 2006
Finishing Online: The Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) at the University of British Columbia introduces a unique industrial wood finishing training program. It comprises 100 hours of web-based self-study and an intensive practical session at CAWP, April 23 to 28, 2007. Registration deadline December 20, 2006.
Archived December 12, 2006
SCP Scene: The UK's Independent newspaper interviews Sheridan Coakley, founder of SCP, the design-led London furniture store. Since its opening in 1985, the store has launched the careers of several contemporary furniture designers, including Matthew Hilton and Jasper Morrison.
Archived December 12, 2006
Logs Leaving: A recent Centre for Policy Alternatives editorial, by Ben Parfitt, highlights the negative effects for British Columbia of the softwood lumber agreement between Canada and the United States. Parfitt claims British Columbia will collect fewer stumpage dollars, employ fewer sawmill workers and see more logs exported to the U.S.
Parfitt is also author of the report Getting More From Our Forests (PDF format) and (with Michael M'Gonigle) author of the book Forestopia.
Archived December 12, 2006
ICFF Prototypes: The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and Bernhardt Design invites >submissions from designers for ICFF Studio. Selected designers will be awarded space to display their prototype products at ICFF, May 19-22, 2007. Registration deadline December 15, 2006.
Archived December 12, 2006
Shermag: The CBC reports that Quebec-based furniture manufacturer, Shermag Inc., has cut its second-quarter loss to $1.1 million, from $2.1 million a year ago, although cost-cutting was offset by lower revenues. The company employs 1,500 workers and manufactures about 35 per cent of its products outside Canada.
Archived November 30, 2006
Uganda Design: David Stairs of Designers Without Borders reports for the Design Observer on furniture manufacturing in Uganda.
Archived November 30, 2006
Design Diligence: A recent RSA Journal report outlines contemporary strategies for developing the UK's design industry in today's global economy.
Archived November 30, 2006
Streets Ahead: Treehugger reports on a range of contemporary eco-friendly street furniture under development for the Catalan government. The initial student presentations include bike racks, benches, planters and waste bins.
Archived November 30, 2006
Workshop: ASM sponsors a two-day metal materials workshop for designers in Cleveland, OH. Participants will learn about material selection, mechanical properties, finishing, costs and case studies. November 30-December 1.
Archived November 22, 2006
Alvar Aalto: The complete range of Alvar Aalto's chairs are available online courtesy of the Alvar Aalto Museum in Finland. On show are unique, one-off chairs from Aalto's early period and mass-produced chairs from his later period.
Archived November 22, 2006
Good Guide:The Woodworking Machinery Industry Association provides useful area and volume conversion charts, electrical formulas, drill charts and more in their workshop guide in PDF format.
Archived November 22, 2006
Calming Complaints: This Furniture World article about handling customer complaints suggests you put yourself in your customer's shoes and ask, "What would I want to hear?"
Archived November 22, 2006
Obituary: Giulio Castelli, the chemical engineer who founded Kartell in 1949, passed away on October 6, 2006. Kartell's initial production was plastic household items, which later expanded to furniture in collaboration with prominent designers, including Joe Colombo, Castiglioni brothers, Marco Zanuso and Philippe Starck. Castelli was involved with several contemporary Italian design institutions and launched the Kartell Museum in Noviglio, Milan, in 2000. Courtesy Design Italia.
Archived November 9, 2006
Green Machines: Manufacturers or designers replacing their computer equipment can use EPEAT to evaluate, compare and select desktop computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes.
Archived November 7, 2006
SEE Bulletin: SEE Design is a EU-based organization to assist SMEs with design development. Their latest bulletin covers product research, government support and design policies in Korea, the Czech Republic and Wales.
Archived November 7, 2006
Salvage Sale: Toronto-based Urban Tree Salvage (UTS) is holding a "grand opening sale" at its new showroom, November 4-12, 2006. On offer will be eco-friendly lumber and furniture products. VCR featured UTS in 2005.
Archived November 7, 2006
Eco Design: The Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montréal presents Environment: Approaches for Tomorrow, featuring Gilles Clément
and Philippe Rahm. The exhibition theme addresses the ethical relationship between humans and the environment
and between nature and culture. To April 22, 2007.
Archived November 7, 2006
History Conference: The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, hosts the Twentieth-Century Furniture Research Group Conference on November 17, 2006. The conference includes a description and tour of the V&A collection of twentieth-century furniture by curator Gareth Williams.
Archived November 7, 2006
DX Exhibit: The Toronto Design Exchange and Italian Chamber of Commerce presents Milano Made in Design, an ehibition of contemporary Milanese automotive, fashion, furniture and industrial design. To November 12.
Archived October 27, 2006
Reitveld Furniture: This 1919 buffet and 21 other wooden and metal chair and table designs by Gerrit Reitveld can be viewed on the Designmatcher website.
Archived October 27, 2006
Vietnam Views: Furniture shipments from Vietnam to the United States doubled last year. The Siagon Times gives information on furniture fairs and marketing strategies for this emerging furniture production area.
Archived October 27, 2006
Book Pick: Although aimed primarily at architects, Transmaterial is a comprehensive list of "new" materials. Edited by Blaine Bronell, sections of interest to furniture designers include metal, wood, plasic and rubber, and fabric. However, the sustainability of many of these products, especially resin-based composites, should be carefully considered.
Archived October 24, 2006
Design Review: The 52nd I.D. Annual Design Review competition includes a category for contemporary residential and/or contract furniture. Deadline is December 1, 2006.
Archived October 24, 2006
Prototype: a juried exhibit at the Toronto Interior Design Show,
February 22-25, 2007. Designers of furniture prototypes (or limited production
items suitable for mass production) can submit entries by contacting Rachel Gotlieb before October 20, 2006.
Archived October 18, 2006
Composites Research: Oregon State University researchers claim over four billion pounds of discarded carpet fibre could be diverted from the landfill and used as the binder for a new wood composite. Courtesy of Environmental Protection magazine.
Archived October 18, 2006
Museum Opening: The Herald Tribune reports on the reopening of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, following a $46 million makeover.
The museum tells the story of France's art de vivre - its interior decoration, changing style, affection for luxury, love of food and its obsession with taste - through furniture, ceramics, glassware, textiles, jewelry and toys.
Archived October 16, 2006
Obituary: Vico Magistretti, celebrated as the dean of Italian modernism for his furniture and lighting designs of the 1960s and later, died in Milan on September 19. He was 85 years old. Courtesy of the New York Times.
Archived October 16, 2006
Significance: In an article courtesy of Core77, designer Scott Klinker advocates "significant" right-brain thinking to counter the "commodity" left-brain thinking of low-priced off-shore manufacturers. Klinker was interviewed by VCR earlier this year.
Archived October 16, 2006
Net Retailing: The latest edition of Furniture Insights from BDO Seidman explores how the furniture consumer interacts online and how retailers can meet their expectations.
OXO Show: The Eureka's project third annual exhibition opens September 15 at the Oxo Gallery in London. Included is furniture designed by Kay + Stemmer for Heal’s. VCR featured the Eureka project in 2004. The exhibit closes October 1.
Archived October 1, 2006
Liberty: Design UK and Liberty host an exhibtion of 40 new and established contemporary British designers on the fourth floor of London's venerable department store. September 15-30.
Archived October 1, 2006
Modernist London: Featured in the UK Guardian, London's landmark Isokon building was designed (1933-34) by Canadian architect, Wells Coates, and his clients, Jack and Molly Pritchard, progressive founders of the Isokon furniture company.
Archived October 1, 2006
ICSMM 2006: , a conference on sustainability, measurement and modelling, will be held at the Don Cándido Hotel, Terrassa, Spain (near Barcelona). November 16-17.
Archived September 25, 2006
Foam Facts Metal foams are emerging materials looking for design problems to solve. Usually based on aluminium (but also copper, nickel, stainless steel and titanium), these closed- or open-celled materials are light, ductile and strong. UK-based Granta Design provides information on suppliers, potential applications and material properties.
Archived September 25, 2006
FSC Certification Quebec-based international forest company, Tembec, has received FSC certification for over one million hectares of forest in the Temiscamingue region of Quebec.
Archived September 21, 2006
CCA Lecture: On September 20, David Trubridge lectures on the role design has played throughout history, his personal design development and his concern for the environment at Timken Lecture Hall, CCA, San Fransisco, CA.
Archived September 16, 2006
Thonet Tomorrow: Design-italia reports on three winning furniture designs from the Thonet Tomorrow project. Sponsored by Gebrüder Thonet Vienna, the contest of ideas challenged 25 students of the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan to exploit the properties of laminated wood veneer.
Archived September 16, 2006
Boosting Brands: Your company's brand needs to evolve with changes in the marketplace. The top 20 mistakes to avoid when rebranding are presented, courtesy of Icograda and Rebrand, sponsor of the annual ReBrand 100 Global Awards.
Archived September 16, 2006
Contest: A student furniture design contest is sponsored by the Valencia-based Spanish contemporary furniture manufacturer, Andreu World. The brief is for a wooden table or chair, with entry deadline of September 16, 2006.
Archived September 16, 2006
More Chairs: The online Digital Design Museum, a project of London's Design Museum, explores the history of chair design from Michael Thonet to today.
Archived September 16, 2006
Modernist Vancouver: Living on the Edge: West Vancouver Modernist Homes 1940 -1970, an exhibtion sponsored by the West Vancouver Museum, features architecture, interiors, furniture and art by local designers and artists. Closes September 16, 2006.
Archived September 16, 2006
City Envy: On the heels of Montreal's designation as a UNESCO "Design City" in May comes the release of a July 24 report touting Toronto's creative industries. Titled Imagine a Toronto . . . Strategies for a Creative City, the multi-authored report presents ways to enhance the growth of Toronto's arts and creative industries.
Archived September 16, 2006
Palliser Plans: Canada's largest domestic furniture producer is dividing into into five separate but related companies. Furniture World reports these will be named Palliser Furniture (upholstery), DeFehr Furniture (wood manufacturing), Blend Furniture Company (imported casegoods), EQ3 (concept retail) and Arconas (contract furniture).
Archived September 16, 2006
Woodstalk Update: Canada's Minister of the Environment, Rona Ambrose, responded to VCR's petition to reopen the Woodstalk plant in Manitoba.
Archived September 2, 2006
Pollution Reports: Environment Canada provides an online database of Canadian/American furniture industry pollution prevention reports. Topics include waste control, harmful substance management, material reuse and VOC reduction.
Archived August 24, 2006
New Chair: The "Solair" chair (circa 1970) is the latest addition to VCR's online History of Furniture Design in Canada 1945 - 1985. VCR welcomes additional entries. Images submitted must be copyright-free, with an appropriate source and/or photo credit.
Archived August 24, 2006
Breuer Online: The Smithsonian Institute displays 13 images of Marcel Breuer furniture from the archives of American Art.
Archived August 24, 2006
Sydney Selects: The 10th annual Sydney Design Festival takes place at the Power House Museum, August 5-20, and includes a Young Designers Market, August 11-12.
Archived August 14, 2006
Fennia Prize: Design Forum Finland and the Fennia Group are sponsoring the Fennia Prize, a competition open to companies producing contemporary designed goods or applying design in their business. Deadline October 10, 2006.
Archived August 14, 2006
Ikea Expands: Namnews reports that Ikea plans to open seven new stores in China within the next five years. The company has invested $20 mllion on a production base in Liaoning province and a logistics centre in Shanghai. The products sold in Ikea's Chinese outlets are 80 percent purchased from suppliers in China.
Archived August 14, 2006
Sustainable Condo: designed by Vancouver's Busby Perkins Will Architects, the Sustainable Condo will be displayed at IIDEX/NeoCon Canada in Toronto, September 28-29.
Featured in VCR Issue 60, the condo was originally displayed at Globe 2004 in Vancouver.
Archived August 4, 2006
SawStop Safety: National Public Radio reports that inventor Steven Gass is petitioning the US Consumer Products Safety Commission to require table saw manufacturers to use his SawStop (or equivalent) blade brake. When Gass's SawStop device detects the electrical capacitance of a human body part, a spring activates an aluminum brake pawl and stops the blade within 3–5 milliseconds.
Archived August 4, 2006
Prosomedia Winner: Design-italia announced the first prize in this year's Prosomedia International Design Competition was awarded to the Stich chair by Swedish designer Sami Kallio.
Archived August 4, 2006
Design Competition: Dassault Systèmes and Core77 sponsor Light Objects, a contemporary design competition on sustainability. Entries must emphasize the concept of lightness, from material selection and reduction to objects that actively improve our environment through use. Deadline August 13, 2006.
Archived August 4, 2006
Techno Tips: An archive of productivity tips from the Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America, Wood & Wood Products and Custom Woodworking Business magazines provides expert advice at no cost. Subjects covered include CNC hold-downs, productivity, safety, cutter life, sanding and dust extraction.
Archived August 4, 2006
Amisco Accounts: The net sales of Québec-based contemporary domestic metal furniture producer, Amisco Industries, fell to $9.2 million during the quarter ending June 3, 2006, down 14.8 percent from $10.8 million in the second quarter of 2005. Furniture World Magazine also reports that Amisco is free from long-term debt, and the sales decline is largely a result of the increased value of the Canadian dollar.
Archived July 20, 2006
Australian Awards: The recently announced Australian Design Awards include the contemporary Lux table by Composite Design and stadium seating from The Product People.
Dyson Appliances also sponsored the Australian student industrial design awards.
Archived July 20, 2006
Greening GE: Amanda Griscom Little reports for Vanity Fair on the eco-skepticism surrounding General Electric's goals for greening the giant. Jeffrey Immelt, GE's chairman, plans to double its clean technology R&D investment and revenues from green technologies by 2010.
Archived July 20, 2006
Office Work: The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) warns that a new purchasing program proposed by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) will cause significant Canadian job losses in the furniture manufacturing and service industry sectors.
Archived July 20, 2006
Green Guns: DUX has developed an environmentally friendly spray gun. Using "laminar airflow technology," the new gun limits overspray, reduces paint volume by 15-40 per cent and increases application productivity.
Archived July 20, 2006
Informed Employees: The RSA e-Journal reports on partnership (cooperative) ownership in UK companies. Employees of UK organizations with 150+ employees have the legal right to be informed and consulted on a regular basis about company issues, and, by 2008, those rights will be extended to companies with 50+ employees.
Archived July 13, 2006
EU Dimensions: The new EU 729 anthropometric data standard for use in school/youth furniture design will be published in July 2006.
Meanwhile, designers can access a selection of 729-compliant body dimension data, courtesy of the Counties Furniture Group.
Archived July 13, 2006
Olympic Alert: Numerous reports claim that China is planning to import millions of cubic metres of endangered tropical timber to construct venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Rainforest Portal website provides details and a protest petition.
Archived July 6, 2006
Ameublement: Do you need the contact details for a Québec furniture manufacturer? Search 30,000 Québec companies at icriq.com, a website managed by the Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec (CRIQ).
Archived July 6, 2006
Shaw Wood to Close: CBC reports that pine furniture manufacturer Shaw Wood will close its Cornwallis, NS, plant because main customer Ikea has cancelled its contract. The closure will happen despite Shaw Wood achieving level 3 of Ikea’s rigid supplier inspection program – covering environmental, social, forestry and quality standards.
Archived July 6, 2006
Best of SIDIM: Frédéric Galliot and Vincent Hauspy of Montreal-based Erratum Designers won the Best of Tribune des Designers award for their booth at this year's SIDIM in Montreal, May 25-27.
In 2005, VCR featured the business partners in Issue 33.
Archived July 6, 2006
Design Thinking: Bruce Nussbaum reports on how Design Thinking can be applied outside the corporate sphere to enhance our civil society. (Courtesy of Business Week.)
Archived July 6, 2006
Classroom Design: The Design Exchange, Toronto, features student work from schools that participated in the Designer in the Classroom Project. The Chalmers Design Centre hosts the exhibit from June 21 to July 9, 2006.
Archived June 24, 2006
Links to events at the World Urban Forum, Vancouver, June 19-23. Unfortunately there is little coverage of sustainable urban manufacturing issues.
¤ Home Page
¤ Forum Bulletin
¤ Urban Festival
¤ Peace Forum
Closing the Loop - sustainable design competition exhibit, June 17-23, UBC SoA Studio, 425 Carrall St., Vancouver.
Archived June 19, 2006
Italian Trade: The Italian share of global trade fell from 4.6 per cent in 1995 to 2.7 per cent in 2005. This and other facts on the negative effects of globalization on the Italian economy are reported in the International Herald Tribune.
Archived June 19, 2006
Alberta Views: The design philosophy of Lance Carlson, president of the Alberta College of Art and Design, is revealed in a recent Canadian Art interview, where he discusses his commitment to "unconstrained inquiry" and human-systems design.
Archived June 15, 2006
Vacuum Drying: German-literate SMEs should visit the website of Eberl Trocknungsanlagen GmbH to read about contemporary continuous wood vacuum drying technology that incorporates dehumidification without the need for air interchange.
Archived June 15, 2006
UK Upstarts: View the next generation of British contemporary furniture designers (and other disciplines) at New Designers 06, exhibited at the Business Design Centre, London, July 6-9, 2006.
Archived June 14, 2006
Import Ruling: A submission by the Canadian Council of Furniture Manufacturers (CCFM) for an inquiry into residential furniture imports from China was recently rejected by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT).
The tribunal explains its actions in a letter to the legal representatives of the CCFM (copy in PDF Format).
Archived June 14, 2006
SketchUp for Free: Google has acquired @Last Software, developers of SketchUp, the powerful 3D software for contemporary designers and architects. For personal use the software is now free.
Archived June 14, 2006
Design Ranks: Those interested in comparing the design support initiatives in various countries can read Global Design Watch, a new report by Finland-based Designium. Provided as a brochure or long document, the report ranks countries using criteria from the World Economic Forum.
Archived June 14, 2006
Oh Canadiana: David Balzer and CBC Arts and Entertainment take a look at Canadian Design Resource.
Archived June 6, 2006
Eco Contest: Canadian sustainable furniture designers are eligible for Closing the Loop, a design competition sponsored by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council. Designs will be judged on LCA criteria, including conservation, re-use, durability, ease of fabrication and disassembly. Deadline is June 7, 2006.
Archived June 1, 2006
Free FIRA: The UK's Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA) provides technical information on ergonomics, wood species data, finishing, etc. Though access to most articles requires paid membership, a selection can be read with free online registration.
Archived June 1, 2006
Petition Update: On February 15, 2006, VCR submitted a petition in support of reopening the Woodstalk™ manufacturing facility in Manitoba to the new Conservative government in Ottawa. VCR thanks the 297 people who signed the petition and the Wood Co-op Gallery in Vancouver for their support.
Archived June 1, 2006
Another View: For the British take on sustainability, download I Will If You Will, a report from their Sustainable Development Commission. It advocates that government and business offer consumers radical alternatives to the status quo.
Archived June 1, 2006
HauteGREEN: Curated by design writer Aric Chen, Treehugger founder Graham Hill and design consultant Kimberly Oliver, HauteGREEN takes place in Brooklyn (Williamsburg), New York, May 20-22, 2006.
Archived May 17, 2006
A Green Stand: Booth 1732 at this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York features Green6, an exhibit of contemporary and environmentally conscious furniture design. The designers showcased are Brave Space, Cambium Studio, Fire & Water, Here There Designs, Moe Design Studio and a joint collaboration presented by Delano Collection and Vivavi.
Archived May 17, 2006
Italian Brands: A recent article in Business Week tells how a conglomerate has purchased high-end Italian furniture brands Poltrona Frau, Cassina, Alias, Gebrueder Thonet Vienna, Nemo, and Gufram as a business strategy to counter low-cost competition from China.
Archived May 12, 2006
Domestic Archaeology: A mixed-media show created by the Light Surgeons for London's Geffrye Museum, opened April 25. Two installations are featured - The Parlour, exploring the familiar sense of the living room, and The Annex, displaying more contemporary themes and domestic rituals.
Archived May 12, 2006
A View of IKEA: Gilles Lundgren, credited with inventing the flatpack concept 50 years ago, guides Helen Brown of the Independent on a tour of IKEA's headquarters in Almhult, Sweden.
Archived May 12, 2006
Green Power: Office furniture remanufacturer Envirotech of Brampton, Ontario, switched to 100 per cent green electicity supplied by Bullfrog Power. President of Bullfrog Power, Tom Heintzman, claims the switch to electricity sourced from wind and low-impact water generators will offset over 317 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
Archived May 12, 2006
Design Compensation: Sign the No!Spec petition to help end the unprofessional practise of "spec" work in various design professions.
Archived May 12, 2006
CNC Routers; Sam Gazdziak reports on the latest developments in CNC router technology and software for smaller-scale furniture manufacturers. Courtesy of Custom Woodworking Business.
Archived May 12, 2006
Book Pick: Written by Harvard School of Design faculty in an academic but easily understood style, Digital Design and Manufacturing: is a rare source of up-to-date information on fast-developing CNC technology. Though primarily aimed at architects, furniture designers will find many chapters invaluable in this 2005 publication.
Archived May 5, 2006
Modernism: a "groundbreaking" exhibition at London's V&A Museum opened April 6. Caroline Roux of the Gaurdian records the comments of eight lovers of 20th-century design.
Archived April 25, 2006
Action Office 1: the first open-plan office cubical, was designed by Robert Propst in 1968 for Herman Miller. Julie Schlosser in Fortune Magazine examines the impact of the much loathed "box" on the work environment and office worker. Don't miss Gallery of Cubicles, a history of the workstation (opens in a pop-up window).
Archived April 25, 2006
Seeing Design: The population is rapidly aging - can customers over the age of 65 easily navigate your company's website? A report from the American Institute of Graphic Arts provides some of the answers.
Archived April 25, 2006
Eco Ply: Columbia Forest Products has introduced panels fabricated with a propriety formaldehyde-free adhesive. Advantages of the new adhesive include high water resistance, cost effectiveness and LEED points for "low-emitting materials."
Archived April 15, 2006
Chair Exhibit: London's Design Museum presents a digital display of chairs from Michael Thonet’s mass-produced bentwood furniture of the late 1800s to the Modern Movement chairs of the early 1900s to the technologically advanced chairs of today.
Archived April 15, 2006
Furniture Sales: The December 2005 data from Statistics Canada for Canadian retail trade shows spending advanced for a third consecutive month. Furniture store sales increased by 7.5 percent - comparing December 2004 with December 2005.
Archived April 15, 2006
New Site: View the Canadian Design Resource website - a project developed by Motherbrand and launched last month at Toronto's Gladstone Hotel.
Archived April 15, 2006
AHDS: Educators can access art and design images through the UK's Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS).
The furniture category includes the work of British furniture designers Robin Day, Clive Latimer, Edward Lutyens, John Makepeace, David Mellor and more.
Archived April 15, 2006
FSC: The US division of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC-US) is developing a global forest registry to help companies identify sources of responsibly harvested wood. Known as the FSC Controlled Wood Global Risk Registry the new program will evaluate five categories of risk.
Archived April 1, 2006
THAW 2006: The contemporary furniture design exhibit sponsored by IDEA (Industrial Designers of Edmonton Association), has a submission deadline of April 1, 2006.
The objective of this year's exhibit is to explore the relationship between the designer and a ficticious persona (a personality "profile" is included) and promote sustainable design.
Archived April 1, 2006
Design Soap: Episodes of London's Design Museum ongoing "soap opera," featuring firings and intrigue, are well scripted by Hugh Pearman.
Archived March 27, 2006
Perspectives: Research papers from the Institute for Design provide a range of "academic" perspectives on the role of design in society.
Included is "Design Thinking: What It Is, Why It Is Different, Where It Has New Value" by Charles Owen.
Resources: Visit this online network of design, training and marketing resources for European SMEs.
Archived March 14, 2006
FSC in BC: Ecotrust Canada recently announced that the Vancouver Island Ecoforestry Group, whose members are small-scale forest managers, is the first to be certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) under a new BC standard that came into effect in November 2006.
As a "group manager," Ecotrust Canada holds a single FSC certificate on behalf of a group of small-scale forest managers and audits their operations to ensure full FSC compliance.
Archived March 14, 2006
Design Capital: The International Design Alliance (IDA) and the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) have chosen Torino as the first World Design Capital™ for 2008. The designation allows Torino to promote local industrial and graphic design initiatives to a global audience.
Archived March 14, 2006
Best of British: The UK's Furniture Show (January 22-24) introduced Design Britain, a new initiative promoting British design talent. Curated by leading British designer Michael Sodeau, the display was a dedicated feature area in the passageway between Halls 8 and 9.
Selected companies were Anglepoise • Architectural Light • Bradley • Established & Sons • Hitch Mylius • Isokon Plus • Loft • Modus • SCP • Tom Dixon • Twentytwentyone.
Archived March 13, 2006
ICFF: A juried design competition will been launched at this year's ICFF in May. Selected designers win a space to display their prototypes in the ICFF Studio booth. Sponsored by show organizers George Little Management, the deadline for the competition is March 14, 2006.
Archived March 13, 2006
Freight Facts: A 40-foot container can be shipped from China to Los Angeles for $2,400 USD.
Source: Arthur Raymond speaking at the Forest Products Society conference in Vancouver, January 18-20.
Archived March 8, 2006
Singapore: Thirteen finalists from the Students Category and Young Designers Category have been selected for the Singapore Furniture Design Awards. Sponsored by the Singapore Furniture Industies Council, the winning prototypes will be on display at the International Furniture Fair Singapore / ASEAN Furniture Show from March 1-5, 2006.
Archived March 8, 2006
Award: Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College faculty of design in High Wycombe (UK) has been awarded a £300,000 research grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to create a web-based digital archive.
The project is expected to take three years and will involve 16,000 images and accompanying technical papers about the design and manufacture of Wycombe's world-renowned furniture manufacturers such as Ercol and E. Gomme.
Archived March 8, 2006
Back Pain: A new poll conducted by spine-health.com reported 70 percent of respondents said their backs felt significantly worse or somewhat worse by the end of their work day, as compared to the start.
To avoid back pain the website advocates designing office chairs for adjustability – including seat height, seat depth and arm rests - and ensuring it helps the lower back arch slightly forward when sitting.
Archived March 8, 2006
Safety First: Swiss safety equipment manufacturer Saspro has introduced a transparent blade guard with integral dust extraction (info in French).
Archived February 24, 2006
GreenBiz: founder Joel Makower gives his top five reasons for optimism and top five reasons for concern about the state of business and the environment.
Optimistic: "For companies seeking to justify, on bottom-line grounds, the value of sustainability, the arguments can be readily found."
Concerned: "But there's been little appetite on the part of companies to educate, and not just propagandize, the masses on these issues."
Archived February 24, 2006
The UK's Furniture Show: (Jan 22-24) displayed new products from the Isos Collection. This unique brand (featured by VCR in 2005) supports London-based contemporary designers and manufacturers.
The armchair is part of the "Albert" range designed by Studio 212. The cabinet from the "Dune" range is designed by Martin Grierson.
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