VCR Home Page Blog: April 2008

Home Page

Above link redirects to the Value+Created Review (VCR) website

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

UK Sustainable Standards Forum

The British Standards Institute presents a one-day forum on the development of UK sustainable design standards at the Design Council in London, hosted by Frank Peters, chief executive of the Chartered Society of Designers. June 10.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/30/2008 11:17:00 AM

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

VCR Listings Updated

Listings in the VCR events calendar now clearly identify postings for furniture design competitions and awards worldwide with deadlines for submissions.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/23/2008 06:49:00 PM

MOMA Exhibit

New York's Museum of Modern Art presents Design and the Elastic Mind, a survey focusing on designers' ability to adjust to the latest developments in technology and science. Closes May 12

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/23/2008 06:47:00 PM

Speke Klein Featured

Speke Klein of Durham, Ontario, features their Quinn dining table in the CANUhome exhibit at Toronto's Green Living Show, April 25-27.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/23/2008 06:46:00 PM

Eco-Friendly Wood Finishing

FDM Magazine hosts a free webinar sponsored by Dux Area Inc. on eco-friendly spray finishing. May 6, 2008, at 11:00 a.m., EST.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/23/2008 06:39:00 PM

Retail Bankrupts

Michael Barbara reports for the Herald Tribune on the increasing number of bankruptcies in the US retail sector.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/23/2008 06:33:00 PM

OCAD Links with the UK

Canadian Architect reports Toronto's Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) has established formal links with Goldsmiths, University of London, UK, to allow students and faculty to collaborate on academic and research initiatives.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/23/2008 06:30:00 PM

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Bath to School

James Dyson has commissioned WilkinsonEyre Architects to develop plans for the Dyson School of Dyson Innovation for 14- to 19-year-olds. Practical programs in engineering, design and enterprise, stressing hands-on experience with the latest industrial research and development technology, will be offered at the proposed riverside site in Bath, UK.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/19/2008 11:05:00 AM

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Zip Shape

Swiss-based Design to Production won a silver iF material design award for Zip Shape, a technology that allows curved panels to be produced without moulds by aligning two interlocking slotted panels.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/12/2008 06:31:00 PM

UK Designer/Makers

View a cross-section of British furniture designer/makers courtesy of Hidden Art, a London-based non-profit design support organization.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/12/2008 06:29:00 PM

Particle Board FSC Certified

Nu Green brand particle board, produced with phenol formaldehyde adhesive and manufactured by Uniboard in Sayabec, Quebec, received FSC certification.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/12/2008 06:28:00 PM

Design Classics

When UK's Independent newspaper asked eight design "experts" to pick their ultimate design classic, Ron Arad chose the Ribbon Chair by Cesare Leonardi and Franca Stagi, and Russell Pinch selected the EM Table by Jean Prouvé.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/12/2008 06:28:00 PM

Gordon Russell Museum Opened

Sir Terence Conran officially opened the Gordon Russell Museum in Broadway, UK, on April 5. A tribute to the furniture manufacturing company Gordon Russell Ltd., its founder Sir Gordon Russell and his brother Richard, the museum includes artifacts from the early 1920s to this century.

Note: Gordon Russell's last manufacturing facility in Worcester, UK, closed in 2007, and Hands, a High Wycombe-based manufacturer of contemporary and traditional office furniture, purchased the designs and intellectual property.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/12/2008 06:26:00 PM

Bestar Back

French-literate readers can learn from this Journal Les Affaires article how Quebec-based office furniture Bestar decided to tackle off-shore competition. In an unusual move, Bestar dismissed 30 managers and assigned their work to shop floor unionized workers, a strategy that resulted in a small profit for 2007 and an about-face from a loss of $1.3 million in 2006.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/12/2008 06:25:00 PM

Thursday, April 10, 2008

In Memoriam

The National Post reports a planned retrospective exhibition of Canadian furniture designer Stefan Siwinski could be thwarted by a property dispute. Siwinski, a pioneer of moulded plastic and institutional seating design, died at age 91 in Toronto on February 25.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/10/2008 08:34:00 PM

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Eco Chairs Chosen

Winners of the first annual California College of the Arts Eco-chair design competition will be presented April 16 at Zinc Details, 2410 California Street, San Francisco, 6:00-8:00 p.m. The public should RSVP.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/08/2008 10:56:00 AM

Friday, April 04, 2008

Swell Selection

The organizers of the eco-design exhibit Swell (opens April 21 at Vancouver's Pendulum Gallery), selected seven furniture designers and their products for inclusion: Evan Bare (Juxt table), Christian Blyt (Corelam material), Ornamentum (Bamboo Divide table), Ryan Frank (Bourke's Luck chair), Mike and Maaike (Juxtaposed:Religion shelf), Upholstery Arts (TBA Sofa), Covello Reesor (RePLY chair).

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/04/2008 03:27:00 PM

Design Development Report Published

Product Design and Development, a 20-page Design Exchange report in pdf, enables Canadian manufacturers to compare their product design and development performance with local and international competitors.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/04/2008 03:25:00 PM

2008 Andreu Award

The 2008 Andreu Design Award design brief requests an "innovative" seat or table that meets technical parameters established by the Spanish company. Deadline September, 15.

# posted by Value-Created Review @ 4/04/2008 03:24:00 PM