News- 5280 Magazine and Mod Livin

The latest 5280 magazine has a little profile on Key (and my unusual resume) in the latest (April 2008) issue. The piece was written by Jaime Kopke, who also writes the designklub blog. Also, we are pleased to announce that Key is now available at Mod Livin in Denver (5327 East Colfax).

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Laser Cut Aarnio Puppy for Best in Show Event

I finished assembling this on my kitchen table at about 3:30am today. This is for Mod Livin's second Best In Show event, a charity auction of decorated Eero Aarnio puppies. I couldn't think of any suitably interesting way to decorate mine, so I modeled it in SolidWorks, cut the model into 1/4" slices and sent the resulting profiles to be laser cut from Baltic birch and acrylic.

You can vote for your favorite puppy in the next few days at modlivin.com, and if you're in Denver, the auction event is March 28th. More pics after the jump.

I've always liked burnt ply edges (they smell good too- like a campfire), but I thought the edge finish on the acrylic was kind of interesting. The laser flame polishes the cut edge, but there's also a lot of faceting, probably a result of the CNC control breaking my splines into polylines and not smoothing between them. I wasn't sure what I thought about that, but now I think I like it. All the layers are located to one another with little steel dowels, then glued as well. I had originally planned to add some internal lighting, but the things I tried didn't look as good as just leaving him empty.

He came out a little short because it turns out 1/4" acrylic isn't actually 1/4" (and neither is the birch for that matter). It's actually about .220", which isn't a huge difference... until you stack up 54 layers, then that .030" turns into 1.62".

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Happy Valentine's Day- We Love You, Have a Price Cut

The people have spoken. After overwhelming customer feedback, people have said that the basic Key module with doors should be under $500. And because we can't say no to overwhelming customer feedback, you got it. See our new pricing here. Oh, and if you bought any Key modules at the old pricing during 2008, we want to thank you, not make you mad. Please contact us for a refund (not a store credit, an actual refund) of the price difference.

And if you haven't bought one yet, Key is a US-made product that uses FSC certified sustainably harvested wood and zero VOC finishes- at Asian import pricing. And unlike the stuff you'd pick up at the blue and yellow big box store, ours is engineered to last a lifetime. No MDF or particle board, no cheesy cam lock fasteners to fail.

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Mann Singh Origami Crane Lamp

I came across this stunner of a lamp from Indian designer Mann Singh after following one of the comments left here. I suppose it qualifies more as a light sculpture than a lamp. Not sure what the material is, but it looks like paper. Would be interesting in metal, but the styrofoam base suggests this is just a prototype anyway. A bit reminiscent of Adam Frank's work, but I like this more.

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Aftermath

So you've probably seen the video by now where David and Dexter of Doublebutter drive around town and install their Roadrunner bench directly into the sidewalk in front of the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art and the Denver Art Museum. This happened on Tuesday. So I drove by both spots yesterday, and the benches were gone. Well last night at their show at The 400, we heard where they ended up.

The MCA called up and said essentially: hey, thanks and all, but can you come pick this thing up? The DAM, however, was a bit more prickish. After asking when the bench was installed (guess nobody noticed), they are apparently launching an "investigation." (Psst, detective: I think there might be a clue in the video they posted online that was viewed by thousands of people here, here, and here.) And they are talking about charging to repair the sidewalk. I walked by the sidewalk at the MCA this morning, and I had to search to even find where the bench had been- the only remains are four 1/2" steel pins cutoff flush with the ground.

After blowing all that money on Libeskind's napkin sketch, then spending more money to fix the leaky roof, then finding that they didn't actually have the next Guggenheim Bilbao on their hands, then having Libeskind himself knock their building off in Toronto, and then having to layoff a bunch of employees because of disappointing attendance, you'd think they'd welcome a little gift, especially considering how bleak and cold that whole courtyard area is for all but 2 hours of the day when the sun manages to get in there. But I guess not.

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Prague Designblok, Vienna Design Week(s), Budapest Design Hét

They really know how to plan their design events in central Europe. Running almost concurrently are design weeks in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. Just coincidentally, we happen to be traveling to those three cities at the same time, and we've lucked into some pretty cool exhibitions. I'll be posting more pictures in a few days when I get some time and a more reliable internet connection.

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Westwood Design: Pacifc

Pacific is a new nursery collection I did for Westwood Design. The crib has a unique conversion system that lets it convert to a twin or full size platform bed, along with various toddler bed configurations. Most convertible cribs convert to a really tall full size bed, which is hard for small children to climb into- this one is much lower to the ground. The changing dresser also has some nice touches like swingout drawers for changing supplies. This was just shown at the 2007 ABC show in Las Vegas, where it was very well received. The crib will retail for $599, and should be available in stores around January 2008. I'll post more pictures when they become available.

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Key: Photos and Pricing

With the preproduction pieces only being finished a couple days before the CO-DESIGN show, I haven't been able to properly photograph them, but I did take a few shots tonight at the show. Shown are all three sizes (short, medium, and tall), and three of the available door colors. Announced retail prices are as follows (without doors):

Short: $499
Medium: $549
Tall: $599
Set of sliding doors: $149

Key uses sustainably harvested Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified maple veneer plywood with low formaldehyde content (exceeds European E1 standard) and a low VOC finish. The doors are powdercoated, which is a VOC-free process. And of course, Key is made right here in Denver, CO.

A full order and configuration page will be coming in the next several days is available here. And if you're in Denver, orders can be taken by P Design Gallery, until at least August 25th.

Changes coming before production: a stabilizer bar at the bottom of the tall version (to better tie the sides together), tighter key fit, some sort of cord passthrough hole in the back, and the ability to stack short modules onto the medium or tall base.

Options coming soon: a padded cushion to convert the low or medium module into a bench (would make great shoe storage), an adjustable internal shelf (for stacking AV components or CDs/DVDs), a door choice that allows IR remote control signals to pass through (probably either polycarbonate, glass, or perforated metal).

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Kagen Schaefer Puzzle Box

I just got back from the CO-DESIGN show and I had to post this first. Not really furniture, but unbelievably cool. This little wood box was in a display case for most of the show, and I didn't really notice it. Then I got talking to the guy who made it, Kagen Schaefer, and he's telling us he is a champion puzzle box maker. So what's a puzzle box? Well, this picture doesn't do it justice at all. The top surface is made up of very thin wood pieces that slide back and forth, and by sliding you can make all sorts of different geometric patterns: a herringbone, various angled rectangles, etc. But when you arrange them into the pattern engraved on the side, the drawer opens. Fantastic.

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CO-DESIGN Show

If you're in Denver, you better be going to the CO-DESIGN show at P Design Gallery. Opening reception is Saturday, July 14th from 3-7pm, and the show will run until August 25th. Paul and Pifuka have ripped out a wall and expanded into the space next door, giving them a massive 6000ft^2 space. I'll be dropping off the first pre-production Key prototype tomorrow, so that will be there. I got a brief glance at the entry list for the show, among the names I recognized (from a pretty long list) were our friends at Doublebutter, along with E Bella, Tivi, and INV/ALT, and more. Should be cool. Go.

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Product Preview: Key

Key is a new product from Housefish coming this summer, which will be making its debut at the CO-Design show at P Design Gallery on July 14th (the show runs through August 25th). Made from low formaldehyde FSC certified maple plywood with a low-VOC finish, Key is a modular shelving system that assembles without any tools (except for a hammer or large rock). The parts are held together with machined aluminum tenon keys. Sliding powdercoated aluminum doors available in a variety of colors are an optional extra. The modules can be stacked as shown to form shelving, or different sides can be used with a single module to form a low console or sideboard.


We will add pricing and configuration options shortly. We've been very careful to minimize waste and optimize manufacturing, which will make Key very price competitive with other similar sustainably manufactured products.

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Haute Green 2007

At the risk of becoming the marketing arm of DoubleButter, I heard yesterday they were accepted into the Haute Green show this year, which is moving across the river to the DWR showroom downtown. They are bringing the Crow side table, which, while not my favorite piece of theirs, uses some cleverly re-purposed materials that makes it a perfect fit for the show. And they've found a way to pack a couple more into the structure of the shipping crate, which is an idea that has always been kind of intriguing. For example, the Max Longin Float bed also uses some of its parts as elements of its shipping crate.

You wouldn't know any of this from the Haute Green website, which hasn't been updated with this year's participants, despite the show being about two weeks from now. Not that I can complain about infrequently updated websites.

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DoubleButter

If you missed the DoubleButter opening at P Design, you need to step away from the computer, get in the car and drive down there right now. I can't say enough good things about the work these guys showed. Clean, different, well made, well priced. I especially liked this coffee table- just folded powder coated steel and wood, but detailed so well. Pricing is $825 for MDF top and walnut stretcher, up to $1100 for a solid top in walnut, cherry, oak or maple. Not bad at all.

This chair is also great, and it's been a pretty long time since I was impressed with a chair. Only $383 in oiled MDF as shown (which looked cool in person), $484 in bamboo, and $585 in solid hardwood.

I always kick myself a little when I see work that I wish I had done, and I left this show feeling pretty banged up.

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DoubleButter / Boontje Opening, P Design Gallery

Yeah, so I haven't posted in a while, but it's a lot easier when you get something good in your inbox like today. If you're in Denver, there's really no excuse not to head over to P Design Gallery to check out their opening on Friday, Nov. 17th. They're showing off some work from the currently very hot Tord Boontje (who just scored a big Target deal), but more interesting to me is new work from Denver duo David Larabee and Dexter Thornton, teamed up as DoubleButter. Larabee's work we've posted about before, and this new stuff looks pretty hot too.

If you haven't been down to P Design yet, this is the perfect chance. It's a great looking space with some really good pieces. Opening is from 7-10.

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Movisi

A comment on our previous post about Antoine Phelouzat's Play shelving system let us know that it is now available exclusively at movisi.com. I thought that was worth a new post, because this Movisi site has a really cool online configuration tool where you can build your own shelving system. It's also noteworthy because this stuff is surprisingly cheap- a good sized kit which allows either a 2x4, 3x3, or 1x5 cube arrangement is only $225. The material is ARPRO, an expanded polypropylene foam a bit like what they use to make dashboards. An interesting choice for a shelving system.

Movisi's other product is Frederik Van Heereveld's cool "Q-Couch", a similarly modular seating system made from the same stuff.

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P Design Gallery Opening

Looking for something to do in Denver tonight? Come check out the opening of P Design Gallery. Looks like they have some cool stuff. July 14th, 6-9pm.

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