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Archived December 23, 2009
New Home: Vancouver's Wood Co-op Gallery recently relocated to a spacious, new space at 1554 West 6 Avenue (half a block west of Granville Street).
Archived December 23, 2009
V&A Chairs: The online database of London's Victoria & Albert Museum includes images of over 100 chairs designed since 1930.
Archived December 23, 2009
SEE's Selections: SEE (Sharing Experience Europe), a network of 11 European organizations sharing information on design policy enhancement, released its latest bulletin.
Archived December 15, 2009
45° Connections: Swiss manufacturer Lamello introduces Clamex P, rapid-assembly connectors for cabinet mitre joints that install with proprietory CNC tooling and winner of a 2009 Interzum award.
Archived December 15, 2009
Soy Plywood: Smith & Fong Co. now manufacturers a plyboo bamboo plywood with a soy-based adhesive that sells under the trademark Soybond™.
Archived December 15, 2009
50 Free Entries: Red Dot Design Awards offer 50 free registrations to up-and-coming designers who qualified in the past five years in a lottery open for 24 hours only on December 11.
Archived December 15, 2009
Free Add-on: Solidworks released SustainabilityXpress, a free add-on to their 3D modelling software that assists designers calculate a product's carbon footprint or energy consumption.
Archived December 7, 2009
Virtually CNC: Learncnc.org offers a free video "tutorial" that presents an interactive 3-D environment for exploring different elements of CNC machining and tooling.
Archived December 7, 2009
Even Emissions: The Wall Street Journal reports that a new US Senate bill requires that by 2012 US composite wood product producers must meet the formaldehyde emission standards adopted by California in 2007.
Archived December 7, 2009
Square Holes: This blog describes drilling square holes using a Reuleaux-based Watts drill (courtesy of Home Shop Machinist & Machinist's Workshop).
Archived December 7, 2009
Book Pick: Furniture Wars by Michael K. Dugan investigates the impact of globalization on the American furniture sector over the past few decades and suggests new business models to combat off-shore competition.
Archived December 7, 2009
Starck Reality: Though many designers criticized Philippe Starck’s recent UK "reality" BBC TV show, Design Week presents a somewhat more charitable opinion.
Archived December 7, 2009
Eco Table Talks: The Sustainable Furnishings Council publishes a transcript of a round-table discussion between American designers Thom Filicia, Alexander Julian and Vladimir Kagan on the topic of sustainable design.
Archived November 29, 2009
Prototype Placement: Designers with furniture prototypes selected for ICFF Studio receive free display space at ICFF, New York, May 15-18, 2010. Submission deadline January 15, 2010.
Archived November 29, 2009
Eco News: Manufacturers and designers can create greener products using Sustainable Minds LLC's LCA software, which combines life-cycle thinking and systems analysis to help eliminate costly last-minute re-engineering.
Archived November 29, 2009
Archive Activated: High Wycombe library displays photographic and print materials from Buckinghamshire New University's new High Wycombe Furniture Archive. To December 30.
Archived November 29, 2009
Made Mouldless: Dutch designer Chris Kabel's chair and bench (click "> products > seam chair") won this year's Doen Materiaalprijs (material prize). The Dezeen blog provides details on both prototypes produced from heat-fused polypropylene fabric (with no costly moulds) in the workshops of the University of Delft.
Archived November 29, 2009
Island Innovation: Value-added wood product producers on Vancouver Island can take advantage of the Sustainable Wood Products Conference & Tradeshow at the Conference Centre in Nanaimo. November 20-21.
Archived November 29, 2009
VIA at 30: Centre Pompidou hosts the exhibit Via Design 3.0 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of Paris-based VIA (Valorisation de l'Innovation dans l'Ameublement) that includes 40 prototypes by leading French furniture designers. Opens December 16.
Archived November 18, 2009
Choice Chair: Andrej Blazon's Charity Chair, which can be manufactured from a range of recycled sheet materials, wins this year's One Good Chair Award.
Archived November 18, 2009
Tweetless: Tyler Brûlé, editor-in-chief of Monocle magazine, delightedly reports in his Financial Times column that on a recent trip to Japan he discovered his Japanese colleagues had never heard of Twitter.
Archived November 18, 2009
First Re:Visions: Modern Painters magazine and London-based Louise Blouin Media sponsor the inaugural Re:Vision Design Awards. Submission deadline November 17.
Archived November 18, 2009
BestIZM: Edmonton-based furniture manufacture IZM, featured by Value+Created Review in 2008, won the "best product of the year" award at IIDEX/NeoCon in Toronto. Source National Post.
Archived November 10, 2009
Design Fixer: Metropolis magazine's contest, One Design Fix for the Future, seeks "ONE design fix to the designed environment — the products you use, your home, your workplace, your city, or any commercial application — that, in scale or as inspiration, can improve our future." Deadline January 29, 2010.
Archived November 10, 2009
Eco Packaging: Made from agricultural waste materials, the new and affordable EcoCradle™ packaging material can substitute for petroleum-based foams without loss of strength or cushioning properties.
Archived November 10, 2009
Shermag Settled: Furniture Today columnist Michael Knell details how Maskinonge-based Groupe Bermex, with the approval of the Québec Superior Court, acquired 80.5 per cent of the shares of Shermag Inc. and intends to increase their share holdings to over 88 per cent, allowing Shermag to become a private company.
Archived November 10, 2009
Green Gauge: The Green Good Design award recognizes "individuals, companies, organizations, governments, and institutions — together with their products, services, programs, ideas, and concepts — that have forwarded exceptional thinking and inspired greater progress toward a more healthier and more sustainable universe." Deadline November 1.
Archived November 10, 2009
Setuation: Core77 design magazine analyzes Herman Miller's relatively inexpensive new Setu office chair, designed by Berlin-based Studio 7.5.
Archived November 10, 2009
Habitat Listing: BBC News reports the UK's Habitat furniture chain, founded by Sir Terence Conran in the 1960s, may be put up for sale by its owners, the family of Ikea's founder.
Archived November 1, 2009
More Ram: London's Design Museum presents Less Is More, a retrospective exhibition of the work of Dieter Ram, including furniture he designed for Vitsœ and household electronics for Braun. Opens November 18.
Archived November 1, 2009
Swedish Search: Sweden's Berhin Studios sponsors the Green Furniture Award for designs that incorporate sustainable materials, production methods, efficient disassembling and recycling. Deadline October 26.
Archived November 1, 2009
MOMA Opening: New York's Museum of Modern Art hosts Bauhaus 1919–1933: Workshops for Modernity, an exhibition of over 400 works that reflect the influential school's production, featuring industrial design, furniture, architecture, graphics, photography, textiles, ceramics, theater design, painting and sculpture. Opens November 8.
Archived October 20, 2009
Liverool Eco: The Liverpool Design Festival includes an exhibit of eco design products (with furniture) at Crypt Hall, Metropolitan Cathedral. Opens October 30.
Archived October 20, 2009
Mobile Wood: Double Dog Studios released I.D. Wood, an iPhone "app" that gives the mechanical properties, biology, durability, sustainability and other data on more than 50 wood species - with images.
Archived October 20, 2009
Attitudes of Age: A recent (discouraging) AdweekMedia/Harris Poll found 39 per cent of consumers aged 18 to 34 said they were more likely to buy a product when an ad emphasizes made in America as compared with 60 per cent of the 35 to 44 age group, 68 percent of the 45 to 54 years bracket, and 74 per cent of those 55 and older.
Equally discouraging, a greenbiz.com survey of respondents identified as knowledgeable on environmental issues found the 25 to 34 age group on average recorded lower green activity levels than older respondents.
Archived October 20, 2009
Varied Opinions: Philippe Starck's new Masters chair design for Kartell generates considerable debate on the Design Addict website.
Archived October 20, 2009
Eco News: Al Gore will address thousands of Greenbuild attendees at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, as part of the Greenbuild Opening Keynote and Celebration on November 11.
Archived October 20, 2009
ZOW Verona: ZOW, the international trade fair for furniture components and accessories, will open October 21 in Verona, Italy.
Archived October 20, 2009
Costing CAD: The Cadalyst website outlines the current cost of CAD software, promotions and related licensing restrictions for seven international software developers.
Archived October 20, 2009
Design View: Terhi Tuominen, co-winner of this year's Finnish Designer of the Year Award, is interviewed at Helsinki's Design Forum Gallery (courtesy of YouTube).
Archived October 1, 2009
Dare to Design: Gérard Laizé, managing director of Paris-based VIA, ponders the lack of innovation in the furniture sector and suggests remedies in his report Design and Innovation: the driving forces of growth.
Archived October 1, 2009
A Chair's Life: UK-based Ben Highmore, a writer for Design, Philosophy, Politics, contributes his "ode to the lifespan of a chair" purchased by his parents from Terence Conran's Habitat furniture store chain in the early 1970s.
Archived October 1, 2009
Book Pick: Materials and the Environment: Eco-informed Material Choice, the latest book by Mike Ashby, engineering professor at Cambridge University and visiting professor at London's Royal College of Art, includes details of a fast eco-audit method for product life assessment.
Archived October 1, 2009
Snap to It:Inventors of new furniture hardware components and related accessories can enter their bright ideas in Mockett's 24th annual design competition. Deadline October 5.
Archived October 1, 2009
LCA Implications: Deloitte Development LLC makes available "Lifecycle Assessment: Where is it on your sustainability agenda," a six-page PDF booklet that explores the business implications of LCA.
Archived October 1, 2009
DX Awards: Canadian furniture designers can submit their work in the Industrial Design category for this year's DX Awards. Final deadline September 30.
Archived September 7, 2009
V&A Symposium: The V&A Museum sponsors Furniture Futures, a design syposium to "examine the growing interest in furniture as an expression of contemporary culture," with participants that include Glenn Adamson, Chris Lefteri, John Cedarquist, Sebastien Bergne and Thomas Heatherwick. To be held September 18.
Archived September 7, 2009
Wood Scene: InDesignLive.com reproduces images from Design + Wood 2009, an exhibition exploring the traditional relationship between designer/makers and wood, held as part of the recent Sydney Design Festival.
Archived September 7, 2009
German Handwork: Student work on display through Germany's Meisterschule Ebern für das Schreinerhandwerk school online gallery shows the result of a curriculum focused on computer skills, business acumen, CNC and design.
Archived September 7, 2009
Arad Acknowledged: The New York Times reviews and provides images of Ron Arad: No Discipline, an exhibition featured at the Museum of Modern Art until October 19.
Archived September 7, 2009
Guillon Chair: New York Times, the Toronto-based furniture store Avenue Road will reissue Jacques Guillon's classic 1953 Cord chair.
Archived August 24, 2009
Mini Milling: Starting at $8,000, the new Roland MDX-40A desktop milling machine offers designers an economic introduction to Subtractive Rapid Prototyping (SRP) and four-axis CAM software.
Archived August 24, 2009
Costing Design: Philadelphia-based graphic designer Brian Hoff provides his top ten factors to consider when pricing a project - most apply to costing a furniture design.
Archived August 24, 2009
Bermex Buys: The CBC reports Bermex International is purchasing the bankrupt Sherbrooke-based, furniture manufacturer Shermag Inc for undisclosed terms.
Archived August 24, 2009
University Address: The University of Portland provides a transcript of Paul Hawken's commencement address given at the university on May 3, 2009.
Archived August 24, 2009
Bauhaus in Berlin: The Guardian displays slides from Bauhaus - A Conceptual Model in Berlin, currently at Berlin's Martin-Gropius-Bau exhibition hall.
Archived August 24, 2009
Design Study: The UK Design Council's International Design Scoreboard, a 92-page report in PDF format that ranks the design capabilities of 12 countries, includes studies of the number of graduates, design registrations, firms, turnover, employees and amount of public investment.
Archived August 24, 2009
Container Change: Furniture Today reports container shipments of residential and contract furniture into the US for the first quarter dropped 19.2 per cent from the previous year, with the decline expected to continue.
Archived August 24, 2009
V&A Exhibit: The exhibition Telling Tales, curated by London's V&A Museum, explores "the recent trend among European designers for unique or limited edition pieces that push the boundaries between art and design" and is reviewed by Alice Rawsthorn in the New York Times. to October 18.
Archived August 12, 2009
Award Winners: 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.
Archived August 12, 2009
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."
Archived August 12, 2009
Hardware Sales: The Gazette reports Montreal-based Richelieu Hardware, Canada's leading distributor of furniture hardware, recorded second-quarter sales 4.1 per cent lower than last year, noting CEO Richard Lord's observation that sales to furniture manufacturers declined the most, while retail and renovation store sales "held their own."
Archived August 12, 2009
London Talk: The London-based furniture incubator centre Metropolitan Works hosts a talk by designer Michael Mariott. August 6.
Tom Dixon Viewed: Dezeen Magazine reviews the latest work of UK designer Tom Dixon and features several images of his most recent products.
Archived August 12, 2009
$13 Million Sold: Some good news for (not small) change: According to The Star, Toronto-based office furniture manufacturer Klaus Nienkamper signed a $13 million contract with the King of Saudi Arabia to furnish the King Abdullah University in Jeddah.
Archived August 12, 2009
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.
Archived July 31, 2009
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.
Archived July 31, 2009
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."
Archived July 31, 2009
Donkey Details: 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.
Archived July 31, 2009
Solair Sensation: 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.
Archived July 31, 2009
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.
Archived July 13, 2009
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.
Archived July 13, 2009
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.
Archived July 13, 2009
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.
Archived July 13, 2009
Eugene + Portland: Three small design studios in Oregon produce innovative furniture:
+ Merkled
+ Studio Gorm
+ Sarah Houston
Archived July 13, 2009
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.
Archived July 13, 2009
LCA Workshop: Philip White and Terry Swack lead the eco design workshop Sustainable Minds incorporating Okala-based LCA criteria in San Francisco, July 10.
Archived July 1, 2009
Singapore Awards: The Singapore Furniture Industries Council sponsors the young designers (under 35 years) category at this year's Furniture Design Awards. Deadline September 1.
Archived July 1, 2009
Eames Open House: The Charles and Ray Eames Foundation offers tickets for its first annual fundraiser in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Eames House at the home of daughter Lucia Eames in Petaluma, California. June 21.
Archived July 1, 2009
ICFF Review: Helen Walters, editor of BusinessWeek.com's Innovation and Design Channel, gives her take on New York's 2009 International Contemporary Furniture Fair in this video.
Archived July 1, 2009
Hard Treatments: Wood for Good, a UK forest industry support group, gives a short list of wood densification technologies.
Archived July 1, 2009
EU Wants Input: Organizations and individuals can complete an online survey to assess Design as a driver of user-centred innovation, recently published by the European Commission.
Archived July 1, 2009
Quebec Design: Toronto's Design Exchange hosts Québec in Design, an exhibition of works from the collection of the Musée national des beaux-arts de Québec that documents 75 years of design development in Québec. Opens June 29.
Archived July 1, 2009
Eco Design: Crosscut provides two opposing views on the environmental impact of hybrid poplar plantations by Daniel Jack Chasan (pro) and Todd Myers (con).
Archived June 18, 2009
Alberta Furniture Competition: M.A.D.E. sponsors the eighth annual Edmonton Street Furniture Competition in Churchill Square with materials provided for construction within a set time. Saturday, June 27.
Archived June 18, 2009
Not Following: New York Times design critic Alice Rawsthorn sets the record straight on the source of the misquote "form follows function" and then outlines how digital electronics makes the phrase obsolete.
Archived June 18, 2009
RM Design: The UK's Design Week interviews researchers at Loughborough University and University College Falmouth and designer Tavs Jørgensen about the future of Rapid Manufacturing technologies.
Archived June 18, 2009
Lazer Edges: Wood & Wood Products provides a video of a new "glueless" edgebander, developed by Rehau, that applies modified polypropylene edging with no visible seam.
Archived June 18, 2009
From Chandigarh: P3 Gallery, London, hosts an exhibition of furniture created by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret for the city of Chandigarh, India. June 19-July 12.
Archived June 18, 2009
MoMA Exhibit: Until November 30, MoMA presents an exhibition selected from its collections of "good design" from 1944 to 1956 that includes iconic furniture pieces by Charles Eames and Hans Wegner and everyday objects such as home hardware and Tupperware.
Archived June 18, 2009
Shermag Sells Assets: Furniture Today reports the Québec Superior Court approved the sale by public tender of assets of Quebec-based Shermag Inc. and subsidiary Jaymar Furniture.
Archived June 18, 2009
Free London Tour: London's Metropolitan Works offers a free tour of its new digital manufacturing facilities including; laser cutting, 5-Axis CNC routing and a selection of rapid prototyping equipment. June 18.
Archived June 18, 2009
Iceland Exhibit: An exhibition organized by the Iceland Design Centre for the Reykjavík Art Museum showcases the work of 20 Icelandic designers, focusing on furniture, product design and architecture. To August 9.
Archived June 18, 2009
In Memoriam: The Canadian Architect gives details of the memorial service and reception to celebrate the life of renowned architect Arthur Erickson at Convocation Mall, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, on June 14.
Archived June 18, 2009
Free London Tour: London's Metropolitan Works offers a free tour of its new digital manufacturing facilities including; laser cutting, 5-Axis CNC routing and a selection of rapid prototyping equipment. June 18.
Archived June 18, 2009
Book Pick: The Independent Design Guide, by Laura Houseley, reviews the work of UK emerging designer-makers whose work has yet to find international distribution.
Archived June 6, 2009
Vitra Values: UK's Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic offers an overview of the historical development of design archives worldwide and includes the current role of the Vitra Design Museum (located in Weil am Rhein, Germany) in the collection and exhibition of contemporary furniture.
Archived June 6, 2009
ICFF Seen: Metropolis Magazine provides an overview of this year's ICFF, including the furniture of Justin Gologorsky, Michael Hurwitz, Bassam Fellows, Naoto Fukasawa, Maaike Evers and Mike Simonian.
Observeur Awards: The Paris-based Agency for the Promotion of Industrial Creation (APIC) presents the Observeur Awards for the best design collaborations between companies and designers. Deadline June 2.
Archived June 6, 2009
Eco Picks: Time Magazine and CNN select 100 companies producing "the best and brightest in environmentally conscious design from around the globe."
Archived May 30, 2009
UK Awards: Britain's Wood Awards with four furniture categories - custom (for domestic and public spaces), exterior and production - acknowledges furniture produced in the UK between May 2008 and May 2009. Deadline May 22.
Archived May 25, 2009
One More Chair: The Sustainable Furnishings Council's 2009 One Good Chair competition calls for a "casual" lounge chair (including outdoor and public furniture) that conserves materials, uses appropriate ergonomics and provides "emotional resonance." Deadline May 30.
How to Think: The BBC provides an interview with Tim Brown, CEO of Ideo, and Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, on the subject of "Design Thinking."
Archived May 25, 2009
ICFF Plus: Interni Magazine lists interactive map links to the off-site locations exhibiting in conjunction with this year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York, May 14-19.
Archived May 25, 2009
FSC Challenge: Design21, FSC, Ecosystems and the Nature Conservancy sponsor Going with the Grain Challenge and request flat-pack furniture designs from a sheet of States Industry's one-inch Applyply using no hardware or alternatively Alpha connectors from Ecosystems, Brooklyn, NY. Deadline June 2.
Archived May 25, 2009
Win a Chair: Enter Vitra's draw to win one of 20 Vegetal indoor-outdoor chairs designed by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. Sign up before October 15.
Archived May 25, 2009
Candid Conran: In a recent item for London's Design Week Sebastian Conran advocates for more investment in post-graduate research and that business should not view schools as sources for "cheap design."
Archived May 25, 2009
CAD Creations: At the invitation of SolidWorks, Alex Whitney, UK Pli Design's manager of design (graduate of Massey University, New Zealand) recently made a presentation (available in PPT/PDF) at London's Metropolitan University on the company's use of CAD software to develop its products.
Archived May 25, 2009
VOOS Venue: Showroom, store, gallery and events venue VOOS, located in Brooklyn's Williamsburg, promotes innovative furniture, mostly designed and made in the community.
Archived May 25, 2009
Chair Poses: To celebrate the 150th birthday of the company's iconic no. 214 bentwood chair, Thonet GmbH holds a contest for photo images of the chair in "usual" or "experimental" environments. Deadline August 31.
Archived May 25, 2009
German Hardware: To view the caps, castors, c-chains, fasteners, ferrules, glides, grommets, knobs, wheels and other furniture hardware produced by Walter Bethke GmbH & Co., click on "Products (Picture Index)" on the home page.
Archived May 14, 2009
Book Pick: Green Design, a new book by Marcus Fairs - London-based lecturer, entrepreneur, curator and editor of Dezeen.
Archived May 14, 2009
No UK Credit: The Times reports UK furniture manufacturers, hit hard by a widespread withdrawal of credit insurance due to the country's economic recession, lobby MPs to support a new insurance initiative.
Archived May 14, 2009
Wood Waste: Shortchanged, a new report from Ben Parfait at the CCPA, claims 17.5 million cubic metres of wood have been abandoned in British Columbia forests over the past five years.
Archived May 14, 2009
VIA MilanThe Paris-based furniture design support organization Valorisation de l'Innovation dans l'Ameublement (VIA) showcases works by 15 young designers it sponsored at the Magna Pars Gallery in Milan, April 22-27.
Archived May 14, 2009
SDSU @ ICFF: San Diego State University furniture graduates will exhibit their work at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) under the theme "Cabinet of Curiosities," together with other ICFF design schools, including Cranbrook Academy of Art, Maryland Institute College of Art and Pratt Institute.
Archived May 14, 2009
Breuer Exhibit: The Museum of Art at RISD in Providence, RI, hosts Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture, the travelling exhibition developed by Germany's Vitra Design Museum that includes the innovative furniture produced by Breuer when he was a Bauhaus student and teacher. April 17 to July 19.
Archived May 14, 2009
CNC Online: On May 6 a team from Biesse North America and 20-20 Technologies hosts an online live video presentation to demonstrate the processing of various furniture parts on one of Biesse's new CNC routers using stand-alone software that creates machine code on the fly from .DXF or MPR files.
Archived April 27, 2009
Milan Scene: This month's Milan Furniture Fair sees the launch of the Linie cabinet and Funkis drawer unit by Helena Jonasson, alongside other designers sponsored by Hidden Art, a London-based design-support organization.
Archived April 27, 2009
VIA's Best: Paris-based furniture design support organization Valorisation de l'Innovation dans l'Ameublement (VIA) presents VIA Labels, an exhibition of 25 designs selected for recognition by a jury of manufacturers, designers, experts and journalists. To June 22.
Archived April 19, 2009
Saving Samples: This year's Ample Sample competition again challenges designers to rethink and recycle discarded carpet samples to make new products, with winners showcased at NeoCon 2009 in June. Deadline May 8.
Archived April 19, 2009
Green Sweden: Italian designer Manolo Bossi has won the 10,000€ Green Furniture Award sponsored by Swedish furniture producer Berhin Studios.
Archived April 19, 2009
A Week in the Life: UK's Design Council presents an insight into the career of Matthew Hilton, furniture designer for SCP, Driade, Authentics and Habitat.
Archived April 19, 2009
Legno Riciclo: Results of Rilegno's "legno d’ingegno" (ingenious use of wood) design competition seeking new uses for wooden packaging waste will be on display at Sparkling, one of the Zonatortona off-site exhibits at this year's Milan Furniture Fair. April 21-26.
Archived April 10, 2009
Australian Awards: View a 360-degree, panoramic image of 14 Australian furniture designs chosen for the Cicely & Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award displayed at the National Gallery of Victoria.
Archived April 10, 2009
Making in Canada: Mogens Smed, the Calgary entrepreneur who sold his office furniture company to Haworth Inc. in 2000, expresses his opinions on manufacturing in Canada in the Globe and Mail.
Archived April 10, 2009
UK Salaries: Design Week provides an in-depth article on how the economic recession affects salaries, employment and recent graduates in the UK's design sectors (includes a link to a PDF report on UK salaries).
Archived April 10, 2009
Mass Customization: Ken Susnjara, chairman and CEO of CNC router manufacturer Thermwood, contributed an article to FDM Online on a recent six-month trial by his company to test the feasability of today's mechanical and software technology to economically produce "custom furniture" on a mass scale.
Archived April 10, 2009
Two Kinds of ID: Metropolis magazine reports on the industrial design legacies of Raymond Loewy and Dieter Rams.
Archived April 10, 2009
Brooklyn's Best: The seventh annual Brooklyn Design Show encompasses a number of venues and includes a curated "green" exhibition at BSH Showroom, a children's furniture exhibit and multiple design-related evening festivities. St. Ann's Warehouse, 38 Water Street, Brooklyn. May 8-10.
Archived April 10, 2009
CDN Design Policy: To be considered for membership on Toronto's Design Exchange (DX) committee to develop a Canadian National Design Policy contact DX President and CEO, Samantha Sannella.
Archived March 31, 2009
Design Copyright: In the Financial Times, Josh Sims delves into the murky issues of design copyright, particulary its impact on the reproduction of furniture classics.
Archived March 31, 2009
Eco News:Zurich-based Architronic AG reports on "sustainability" discussions it held at last years's Orgatec furniture fair with manufacurers that included BLA, Heller, Knoll, Swedese, Stua, Thonet and Wilkhahn.
Archived March 31, 2009
Less Design? Gabrielle Esperdy, associate professor of architecture at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, submits a manifesto to the Design Observer calling for Design-LESS - this year's theme at the Design Inquiry conference to be held in Maine, June 21-26.
Archived March 31, 2009
Promosedia Awards" New designs for residential or contract wooden indoor chairs can be entered in this year's Promosedia Italian design competition. Deadline May 5.
Archived March 31, 2009
3D Move: UK's Business Week magazine profiles how Craig Jones's London-based furniture design consultancy made the transistion to SolidWorks 3D design software.
Archived March 31, 2009
Chosen for ICFF: The organizers of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) released a list of this years's Bernhardt Studio design competition winners whose prototypes will be on display at ICFF, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, May 16-19.
Archived March 23, 2009
State Stimulus: The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal outlines a study by Stennis Institute that indicates 5,000 jobs could be saved and another 1,500 created if the Mississippi State legislature responds to the 8,000 jobs lost in its furniture industry in the last eight years with a proposed $2,000 tax credit for every furniture upholstery worker still employed in the State.
Archived March 23, 2009
Design Victoria: Download this Australian Broadcasting Corporation interview about the importance of design to the state of Victoria's business sector (mp3 format).
Archived March 23, 2009
Down Under Awards: Australian and New Zealand full-time students or recent graduates are eligible for the Australasian Student Design Awards Deadline March 18.
Archived March 23, 2009
BC Awards: Designers who have lived in British Columbia for the past three years can enter their work for this year's British Columbia Creative Achievement Awards. Deadline March 31.
Archived March 23, 2009
3D Planners: 20-20 Technologies Inc of Laval, Quebec, developed the free 3D room planner software, available on the Ikea website.
Archived March 23, 2009
US Sofa Sales: Data from Stationary Sofas Product Potential Report, published by Furniture Today's Market Research team, show sofas (including sleep sofas but excluding "non-Stationary" upholstery) accounted for an estimated 15 per cent of the total US furniture market in 2008, with a sales decline of 10.3 per cent for the segment when compared to 2007.
Archived March 23, 2009
Design North: UK's Gateshead Council granted planning approval for Design Centre North, comprised of a five-storey building with two wings – one housing the Design Centre and the other office and studio space, to be built next to the Open University regional headquarters.
Archived March 23, 2009
US Office Sales: Reuters quotes the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) as stating U.S. orders for office furniture fell 25 per cent in January to $565 million, and shipments fell 26 per cent to $630 million.
Archived March 11, 2009
French Editions: The VIA Gallery in Paris hosts Design Available for Production (Design Libre à Edition), an exhibition of furniture developed with grants from VIA (an agency promoting the French furniture industry). To March 22.
Archived March 11, 2009
Cleveland Creates: Kent State University’s Urban Design Collaborative becomes the first tenant in Cleveland's new District of Design on Euclid Avenue, which aims to "foster" a culture of product design development with a geographical concentration of showrooms, design studios, schools and retail.
Archived March 11, 2009
Timely Seminar: FPInnovations presents a seminar at its Vancouver Forintek Division on market trends, finance and manufacturing for wood products manufacturers "in these uncertain times." March 10.
Archived March 11, 2009
Eco News: Furniture Today reports that seminars held by the Sustainable Furniture Council at the recent Las Vegas Market received a positive reception and were well attended.
Archived March 11, 2009
Spark Awards: Students can enter this year's Spark Awards for $50, plus shipping expenses to deliver and return their prototypes. Early deadline for all entries April 1.
Archived March 3, 2009
Green Ply Award: The Nature Conservancy, US Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and sponsor EcoSystems present Going with the Grain, a design competition based on a single sheet of FSC-certified plywood measuring 4-feet x 8-feet x 1-inch. Deadline June 20.
Archived March 3, 2009
Droog Date: The New York Times announced that Dutch design collective Droog opens a store at 76 Greene Street in New York's Soho district on February, 26.
Archived March 3, 2009
Vote Often: Influence UK design opinion by voting online for one of the 13 furniture pieces entered in this year's Brit Insurance Awards, organized by the UK's Design Museum.
Archived March 3, 2009
Design Defended: In the Independent newspaper Annie Deakin, editor of mydeco.com, refutes Design Week's January 27 item with the quote from Ian Cochrane, managing director of UK-based management consultants Ticegroup, that too many students are enrolled in British design schools with no jobs waiting for them on graduation.
Archived March 3, 2009
Design-led Report: Mississippi State's Franklin Furniture Institute makes available Improving Curb Appeal in the Furniture Industry, a pdf report that connects design-led development with improved sales.
Archived March 3, 2009
Green Jobs: Joel Makower, author of Strategies for the Green Economy, offers his opinions on Greenbiz.com about the hype surrounding the promotion of "green jobs" by President Obama and the US Congress.
Archived March 3, 2009
UF Regulations: Furniture Today reports on the US furniture industry's reactions to possible national rules on formaldehyde emissions to be regulated under their federal government's Toxic Substances Control Act.
Archived March 3, 2009
Green Chair Award: Belgrade Design Week and the USAID Serbia Competitiveness Project present Sitting Green, a sustainable wooden home seating design competition. Open to everyone. Deadline March 20.
Archived March 3, 2009
Class Seats: BBC News reports Matthew Hilton is working with one of six design teams awarded £20,000 by the UK's Design Council to develop prototypes for classroom furniture.
Archived March 3, 2009
Digital Tour: UK's Metropolitan Works in London's Eastend offers free tours of its new digital manufacturing centre on February 26.
Archived February 20, 2009
Screen Design: Design a See Me™ screen for a Kimball Office workstation and win $5,000 plus a trip to Chicago in June 2009. Deadline February 28.
Archived February 20, 2009
Dyson Digs Deep: The Gaurdian notes the James Dyson Foundation plans a donation of £5m to help the Royal College of Art complete (by 2012) its new Battersea campus, which will include 40 business "incubator units" for use by recent graduates to develop designs from drawing board to the market.
Archived February 20, 2009
Dust Down: ISWOLINE provides an overview of dust extraction systems for woodworking facilities and their important contribution to worker health and safely.
Archived February 20, 2009
Freud Sold: Modern Woodworking reports that Stuttgart-based Robert Bosch GmbH will acquire the power tool accessories business of the Italian Freud Group, manufacturer of power tools, saw blades and router bits.
Archived February 20, 2009
Design Cops: British Design Innovation reflects on the role of designers as "design police" when they aim to control public behaviour with "crime-stopping design" concepts in street furniture.
Archived February 20, 2009
Down Again: Smith Leonard's latest statistics show new orders for US residential furniture manufacturers and distributors declined 23 per cent in November 2008 compared to November 2007 and fell five per cent compared to October 2008.
Archived February 20, 2009
Doc on Design: Gary Hustwit’s Objectified, an independent documentary about the profession of industrial design, is set for release later this year.
Archived February 20, 2009
Design Debate: An article, courtesy of Interactions, titled Design or Innovation, explores approaches to design education based on interviews with Scott Klinker (Cranbrook Academy of Art) and Jeremy Alexis (IIT Insitute of Design).
Archived February 10, 2009
Green Jobs: TimesOnline reports on the viability of "green-collar" jobs created by Pli Design and other UK manufacturers.
Archived February 10, 2009
NY Lectures: Bruce Nussbaum, Business Week columnist and professor of Innovation and Design at Parsons The New School in New York coordinated the school's lecture series that includes several of the top minds in innovation and design thinking from around the world. January 26 to May 18.
Archived February 10, 2009
Eco Conference: Interdisciplinary sustainable design conference Compostmodern 09 explores the range of design thinking necessary to create a socially and ecologically responsible society. Venue: San Francisco's Herbst Theatre, February 21.
Archived February 10, 2009
UK Creative Centre: London-based
Metropolitan Works opens its new $9 million Creative Industries Centre next month, equipped with $4 million digital design and production technology available to designers, artists and producers on a "pay per use" basis.
Archived February 10, 2009
No Jobs in Design: Ian Cochrane, managing director of UK-based management consultants Ticegroup, told Design Week that too many students are enrolled in British design schools and no jobs await them upon graduation.
Archived January 30, 2009
Design Measures: Dexigner makes available a Korea Institute of Design Promotion report (PDF-format) that evaluates the design competitiveness of 17 major countries.
Archived January 30, 2009
Lean Views: The UK's Guardian interviews Philippe Starck, Sir Terence Conran and Kirstie Allsopp on the future of their industries in these lean economic times.
Archived January 30, 2009
Book Pick: An active ethics and environmental campaigner with the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada since 1984, Ottawa-based David Berman recently authored Do Good Design, a book about sustainable business practices.
Archived January 30, 2009
Design Protection: Designers wishing to protect their designs from unauthorized use can consult Barry Hutsel's article in the Ottawa Business Journal for an explanation of copyright, patents and industrial design registration.
Archived January 30, 2009
3D Freedom: Onur Mustak Cobanli, a master's student at the Politecnico di Milano in Italy, told VCR he uses the 3D modelling software Lightwave, because it allows him to work on organic designs as if he were sketching freely by hand.
Archived January 30, 2009
Design Talk: The Faculty of Design at The Ontario College of Art and Design presents a talk by Jane Fulton Suri, chief creative director of IDEO. January 29.
Archived January 30, 2009
Brazilian Design: This PDF press release from La galerie de Pierre Bergé & associés in Brussels provides images from their upcoming exhibition of Brazilian furniture designers, including the work of Carlo Hauner (1927-1997), Sergio Rodrigues (born 1927) and Jorge Zalszupin (born 1922).
Archived January 22, 2009
Ryan Franks: The eco-friendly designs from South African Ryan Franks London studio rate this coverage by his home country's Sunday Independent newspaper.
Archived January 22, 2009
China Trade: New Changes in China's Furniture Industry, an MS Word-format research document from the Alberta China Office at Canada's Embassy in Beijing, briefly describes current furniture trade issues between Canada and China.
Archived January 22, 2009
Finnish PR: Motto, the customer magazine of Finnish furniture manufacturer ISKU Interior, demonstrates self-promotion as stylish and informative.
Archived January 22, 2009
IMM Designs: Design Spotter previews a selection of designs to be exhibited at the IMM Cologne Furniture Fair. January 19-25.
Archived January 22, 2009
US Student Designs: Dwell's blog list of entries from the student furniture design competition, sponsored by New Orleans-based Billes Products LLC, includes MIT Media Lab research fellow Dimitris Papanikolaou's flat-pack chair with its innovative application of CNC router technology.
Archived January 13, 2009
Noxon Exhibit: Toronto's Dominion Modern Gallery exhibits the work of Canadian architect and industrial designer Court Noxon and includes a wide range of the furniture produced by his company Metalsmiths between 1954 and 1982.
Archived January 13, 2009
IDEA Awards: The deadline for regular entries to the 2009 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), co-sponsored by BusinessWeek and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), is February 6.
Archived January 13, 2009
RCA Leadership: DesignWeek interviews Paul Thomson (currently head of New York's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum) on his appointment as rector of London's Royal College of Art (RCA) in September 2009.
Archived January 13, 2009
Help Conserve: The West Vancouver home designed and built by artist B. C. Binning in 1941, complete with original furniture, is now under the stewardship of The Land Conservancy of BC. Please consider donating to the fund established for the ongoing maintenance of this historic house.
Archived January 13, 2009
Eco Finishing: ISWOline reviews three furniture manufacturers who achieved high-quality finishes on their products while maintaining productivity, profitability and sustainability.
Archived January 3, 2009
CFDA Display: The exhibition Deceptive Design: Experiments in Furniture, sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America and the Chicago Furniture Designers Association, continues at the Chicago Cultural Center until January 4.
Archived January 3, 2009
Plant Closure: Office furniture manufacturer Haworth Inc., closing its Allegan seating plant by next summer and cutting up to 200 jobs, plans to eliminate 350 jobs in total from its North American plants. Source: Grand Rapids Press.
Archived January 3, 2009
Top Ten Tips: George Hedley of FurnitureWorld claims his "top ten" list of direct actions will help furniture manufacturers survive today's tough economic times.
Archived January 3, 2009
Festival Competition: Montréal mayor Gérald Tremblay is planning a competition for the design of temporary festival furniture to be used in the city's Quartier des spectacles. The project's parameters will be defined over the next few weeks with various stakeholders.
Archived January 3, 2009
IDS Exhibitors: The Toronto Interior Design Show provides a list of exhibitors. February 5-8 at Exhibition Place, Toronto.
Archived January 3, 2009
Eco Award: Sue Patrolia, founder of the Sample Waste Initiative for Furniture and Textiles (SWIFT), received first place in Net Impact's 2008 Green Challenge.
Archived January 3, 2009
Furniture Wizard: DesignWeek offers insight into the work of Munich-based design furniture designer, Stefan Diez.
Archived January 3, 2009
MFI Update: UK's largest furniture retailer, MFI, ceased trading and closed all 111 stores nationwide, resulting in the loss of 1,400 jobs. Source: BBC.
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