We are super excited to be partnering with FACTORY|made, a super cool new retail space in Boulder. Their grand opening is later in February, but they are soft-open now, and already have a great collection of locally made and other creative goods. It’s actually much more than just a retail space, they will also have onsite fabrication and digital workshop space, and even a youth mentoring program. They are just down the street from Cured, and helping to turn that stretch of Pearl St into a really nice place to spend some time.

We are pleased to announce the imminent availability of our latest new product line: the Hex modular shelving system. The foundation of Hex is a custom hexagonal aluminum extrusion, which gives it incredible strength and stiffness, while still maintaining light weight. Like our signature Key line, Hex is very easy to assemble or disassemble, and is built to withstand whatever you pile on it. And of course, it emits no VOCs, contains no formaldehyde, and uses certified sustainably harvested wood. The hexagonal pattern in the sides echoes the cell structure of a beehive, but it isn’t just for show. The cutouts significantly lighten the structure for easier shipping, and add visual lightness as well.

Hex will be available in a variety of heights and widths, and units can be joined together with additional shelves to form a continuous wall of shelving. Unlike typical wood shelving, the stiff aluminum extrusions allow for very long shelf spans with no visible sag, even when heavily loaded.

The Hex prototype shown here is currently on display until February at the Design By Colorado exhibit at Denver International Airport’s terminal A bridge.

But there’s another secret. Inside the desk is a fluidic computer, operated entirely by the air pressure pulses created by opening and closing the drawers. This has been programmed so that playing a predetermined sequence of notes opens a secret compartment somewhere on the desk. It’s also reprogrammable, so you can set it to open when you play the theme to Star Wars, or whatever you want. And in case it wasn’t clear, this is made entirely of wood; there are no electronics of any kind. It is literally something that could have been built using technology available 500 years ago.

Needless to say, I love this.

We entered our new Key AV media console, which will be on display (and on sale) throughout August at Mod Livin’. We’re not shipping these yet, but they are available to buy from Mod Livin’ at a special price for August only. You can see a photo a couple posts below this one, or in the August issue of Colorado Homes & Lifestyles magazine.

There is also an online voting component to the competition, featuring all the entries rather than just the 25 finalists. Check it out and cast your vote here.

Finally, Mod Livin’ is also hosting a series of talks with the finalist designers every Monday in August at 6:00pm. I am on the 31st, so make sure to plan to attend on one of the other days…

If you’re in Denver this weekend, come on down to the Convention Center for the Denver Green Festival. We’ll have a booth with Key in maple and walnut, all sizes, and all door colors. We’ll also be debuting the new Key AV- a larger size console designed to hold flat screen TVs and audio components. And one more special debut: the “Birds in Grass” laser cut doors.