odds, ends, & evens

Design Sponge Annual Scholarship Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:22:00 +0000

Very exciting news! Christopher was chosen as one of the ten finalists (undergrad division) for the annual Design Sponge Scholarship Competition. In American Idol fashion, the winners will be chosen by you, the voters. So please take a moment, show your support and vote for Chris. Or, show your support and vote for any of the very talented design students featured. You are allowed one vote per undergrad and one vote per grad student. Voting is live and will end on Wednesday, December 22nd.

A very special thanks to Grace Bonney (Design Sponge creator) and the sponsors for this years competition:
Glos, Room & Board and The Monacelli Press.

Click Here to Vote.

Chairish the Children 2010, "Driftwood Monster" by Christopher Stuart

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:41:00 +0000

You might already know that I have been back in school finishing up my degree. For one of my classes, Herron students were asked to create a modified chair for Chairish the Children. This event helps raise essential dollars that enable The Villages’ to enrich the lives of abused and neglected children.

When I was a child, my mother had a yellow metal step stool. I would often lay the chair down on its back, sit inside it, and pretend that I was blasting off to space, racing other drivers, or floating alongside giant sea monsters. My goal with this project was to create an interactive chair that would spark the imagination of the user, allowing them to create journeys of their own. Taking advantage of an existing child's rocker, I figured a rocking ship was appropriate. It is suitable for small children and can easily fit in any play room.

Online auction opens November 15th at 8am and closes November 18th at 11:59pm, with the event on November 19, 2010 at the Indianapolis Arts Garden. There are many wonderful chairs that would be great in your kid's room! Bid here! Order event tickets here. If you're not from Indy, you can still bid and they will ship it to you.

Artist: Christopher Stuart

Title of Chair: “Driftwood Monster”

Medium/Materials Used: Birch Plywood, Oak Finials, Oak and Poplar Dowels, Canvas Drop Cloth, Nylon Rope, Nails, Screws, and Wood Glue

Year: 2010

Product Review, Euro-Pro Shark S3501 Deluxe Steam Pocket Mop

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 01:22:00 +0000

Being on a budget, we research our products before we buy them with hopes that they serve us well. Usually the reviews are about performance, but with Chris being a product designer we are also looking for things that meet his standards. Style is subjective, so comments will be made on things like ergonomics, ease of features, intuitiveness (is that a word?), etc.

The Shark Pocket Mop rates pretty high in our book. After getting over the initial shock of the ticket price compared to other mops (though my parents bought ours for my birthday), it didn't take long to realize that long term we are going to save loads of money. It is a relatively portable design that has great cleaning power. We are eco conscious folks and you can't get much better than a mop that uses no disposable parts or harsh chemicals (and the added terrible fragrances that go with them)! This mop cleans with steam! Just fill with tap water and it heats up the water to steam. The handle doubles as a trigger; when you push the handle goes in and activates the release of the steam. CLEVER! We have hardwood floors and ceramic tile in the kitchen and bath. It works great on both. I've read that it can weaken the glue on vinyl floors (as the moisture can seep into nicks in the tile), but cannot comment directly as we do not have any vinyl in our house. The shark has a unique head design that flips over so you can use both sides of the cloth (reducing changing or rinsing in the sink while using). There's just something really satisfying about seeing the steam come out and cover the area that you're cleaning. I just walk away feeling like I didn't just spread the dirt around. I dissolved it.

Steam cleaning, no harsh chemicals or disposable pads!

Quick release works well enough to do with one hand.

The handle and body are symmetrical in design, so it feels the same when you flip it over to use the other side of the pad.

1. lifting the cord release isn't intuitive, nor does it work well. rotating or folding would be better. 2. head attachment only fits one way and isn't marked. as annoying as usb drives. could have made this fit both ways by adding another hole on the opposite side. 3. cord catch requires some work to get it over the cord.

All in all, we are very happy with our shark mop and would recommend it to others!

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"Self Portrait, Day Dreamer"

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:57:00 +0000

Christopher Stuart
"Untitled Self Portrait" in progress, 2010
54x36in, charcoal on rag paper

so here's a new drawing in progress. it represents the state of mind i was in at the time... click, click, click. that is- swamped with work, school, life. when doing one thing, my mind was focusing on the next. it all started to blur into a dream like state.

Exterior Reno, Color Inspiration and Exploration

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 23:21:00 +0000

When we bought the house in 2003, it was covered in white aluminum siding, green roof shingles, and had ZERO curb appeal. Some windows and doors were decidedly covered with the siding by those who had it installed (guessing some time after the 50's). Notice the window on the upper level in the "after" pic. Although we had that window replaced (all the windows on the upper level were dramatically different sizes), it did exist behind the siding. Prior to having the outside renovations done, we explored our material and color options.

We found a great deal of inspiration in the historic Fall Creek Neighborhood in downtown Indianapolis. Here are some of our favorites.

Chris also did some exploration using Kuler, an adobe site/community for color creation. This site allows you to create endless color combinations with their nifty interactive color wheel (see below). You can also share your creations with others and log your favorites posted in the community. You can find Chris under the name cstuartpaint.

Chris used Photoshop to see the color schemes applied to our own home.

Originally, we were not big fans of vinyl siding, but we saw an older home in our neighborhood that used restoration vinyl. It is a smaller slat without the fake wood grain pattern (wood grain isn't visible when painted, so why would it be molded in vinyl?). We had to go up and touch it to know the difference and with all the rain and snow here, it made sense for us to go with it. We did go with cement board for the upper area as it was not available in vinyl. Part of our color decision was based on available restoration vinyl colors. We decided on the orange/green combo and made some further tweeks in Photoshop after we got actual color samples in. We also mocked up the back view of the house at this time so we could work out the new door/window configuration (to make room for a new bathroom you'll see in a later post).

Here are before and after pics of the back of the house and the garage.

Just wait until you see it with the aluminum siding removed and with no roof! will post that at a later time.

Odd Stock Floored Wardrobe

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:13:00 +0000

If you're like me and Chris, you can't help but to stop and check out the clearance item cart at the hardware store. The deals are seldom great nor do you REALLY need anything on there, but nevertheless there you are, standing before a heap of odd stocked, opened, or discontinued items ready for the rummaging. The "Odd Stock Floored Wardrobe", designed and built by Chris, takes advantage of that cart. Chris purchased a box of Brazilian Teak prefinished hardwood flooring on clearance (only $2.00 per sq. foot marked down from $6.50). Apparently, the box was returned from a large flooring job. After Chris dismantled the mangled cardboard remnants of what used to be a box, it was clear that these were the shortest pieces from the job and/or long warped, nicked, or scratched boards. Originally wanting to create a herring bone pattern, he realized that he would have to cut new tongue and grooves after mitering each piece. A simpler solution was to change the pattern to a chevron. He used tile flooring divider to hide the board edges and faced a piece of mdf to make the doors. He made a large box deep enough to house clothes on hangers and perched it on 4 Queen Anne legs (my romantically slanted two cents) vs the typical straight Parson legs. The doors were attached using piano hinges. After many searches for the right door pulls, he ended up using garage door handles. All the hardware chosen was brass (he insists on bringing brass and gold back- notice the gold calculator watch) for a little bling. Chris is already thinking about variations of this for other furniture pieces. We put ours in the guest room and hung some nice wooden hangers in there. And now for the plug... to get one for your guest room or any other room, email for pricing. Producers also welcomed.

design: Christopher Stuart, LUUR
photography: Christopher Stuart and Rachel Matney

The Hopeless Diamond Sofa

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 00:40:00 +0000

Chris recently designed this sofa, inspired by the classic box sofa (basically a box shape upholstered on the inside walls). He wanted to keep the sheltered feeling the box provided, but wanted to update the form. He recalled a paper cup he used to make as a child that tapered towards the base and revealed triangular shapes on the inside from the folding process. He kept the box perimeter and used trapezoids and triangles to taper, creating a multi-faceted form similar to that seen on the F-117 stealth aircraft. Hence, the name "The Hopeless Diamond Sofa" (an early nickname given to the stealth). To keep costs down, Chris created this prototype using off the shelf materials found at the local hardware store like copper plumbing pipe, shipping blankets, zip ties, and carpet padding, making it a perfect DIY. Chris used walnut hardwood milled down to 3/4 inch thick, so it can easily be replaced with any cabinet grade plywood. He's working on a couple variations of this sofa for a production version, which he hopes to get picked up by a producer (hint, hint producers if your reading). Will post those of course when they are available. If you're interested in having one of your own prototype versions, email us to place an order.

design: Christopher Stuart, LUUR
photography: Michelle Pemberton
model: Ashleigh-Renecia Barnett
special thanks to the Gypsy Junkyard for providing the location

Our Backyard Makeover and Over and Over

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 00:36:00 +0000

After shot- Read on to see the process shots!

I'm going to be uploading images of our house in stages; before, during, and after. And in some cases, such as this, re-dos. I think we literally ripped up the landscape and changed it a total of 4 times before we got it right. We've been here since 2003, and changed virtually everything about this house. And we did it all ourselves, with the help of my parents. Thanks mom and dad! They thought we were crazy for buying this house. So are you ready? Brace yourselves.

The backyard in July 2003 before we moved in. Gotta love the paint job on the garage.

Again, back of the house in July 2003 before we moved in.

September 2003. Our first steps were just ripping out overgrown shrubs and cutting down a couple of trees. Notice the old carriage doors on the garage that were completely non functional, and the neighbors not so attractive chain link fence.

September 2003

October 2003. Chris was on a mission to get the fence put up in record time for our late Great Dane, Rembrandt. He dug all the post holes manually with an old post hole digger. We were so broke we couldn't afford to rent powered post hole diggers. My brother jokingly said to Chris, "what are you, Amish?" The people we bought this house from had the worst taste ever (don't worry you'll get to see their taste in future posts). Who puts red mulch in their yard? We're not out west. The dirt here is black.

October 2003

September 2004. Chris built the arbor over Labor Day weekend.

September 2004. Chris added the steps and we decided to plant ground cover. There is a slight slope, so we didn't want to try and mow grass. Again, no money (notice a theme) for mature specimens of Vinca, so we bought about 200 Vinca starts and staked burlap to control soil erosion until the plants got established. Eventually the burlap decomposed.

September 2004. We salvaged the brick from an old chimney that Chris ripped out of the kitchen. I had the job of scrapping off the mortar. My mom helped me dig (to China thanks to Chris) the foundation of the patio. Sadly, (not really) we ripped this patio up a few years later for a couple reasons. Chris changed the flow of the backyard. Before HGTV became completely lame (though we really love Emily Henderson, the new HGTV Design Star), they had an awesome English gardener that was amazing. The show was called, The City Gardener. We bought his book and learned that a diagonal flow really enhances small spaces. The second reason, we completely GUTTED our backyard in 2007 when the main sewer line went kaput. Guess where the the sewer line went into the house?

March 2005. The next couple of photos are just really embarrassing. But for the sake of transparency, I'm including them. Again, no money so we thought we'd be resourceful and find some boulders to use as plant bed edging. We went to vacant property (basically a big dirt pit with lots of rocks) the electric company owns, and dug some up. Our two female Great Danes completely burned up the tiny lot of grass in no time, so we temporarily used straw (our backyard smelled of a working barn) for ground cover because they kept tracking mud in the house. That is until we came up with a resolve.

March 2005. Another shot. You can see Lily off to the right, by the fence.

July 2006. We replaced the grass with pea gravel. With such a tiny yard, and two big dogs, growing grass is just not an option. I returned home from visiting my folks in South Carolina, to find that Chris planted a landing strip of grass. Hated it! All the lavender we planted was just too delicate to survive the destruction incurred by Ginger, our bush tackling, but too sweet to tell "no" Dane. Also, notice that the yard is designed the opposite of being on an angle. Just doesn't work for a tiny lot. Works well though if you want to do laps.

July 2006. Again, not a fan of the design. BTW, the plants didn't survive (well technically they did because I transplanted them to the side of the yard). But they weren't fairing so well against Ginger. I gave these stepping stones to my sister.

May 2007. You'll notice the brick patio is bye bye. We gave all those bricks to a neighbor. Chris and my dad replaced the main sewer line. We saved about $4,000 by doing it ourselves. Gotta love old houses. Gotta love my dad.


May 2007. Another shot of the sewer project. Here, they were running our line to the main sewer line.

Tired of making mistakes, Chris decided to treat it more like his product design and do a topographical layout of his new design for the yard. The garage is the square in the upper right and the lower left is the mud room entrance from the new door location, done during the reconstruction (will post that later). We do renderings like these for nearly everything now. Sometimes completely computer generated, and other times just photo-shopped.

May 2009. Our forever backyard. Obviously the exterior of the home was redone. More on that later.

May 2009. We replaced the brick with Wisconsin Limestone.

May 2009. We built the pergola in the Fall of 2007 and stained the fence.

May 2009. The garage.

Chris wanted a cement fountain, but pouring one would have been a lot of work. So, we made a wood frame from treated lumber and faced it with cement board normally used for sub flooring.

September 2009. The Vinca developed some sort of disease, so we replaced it with English Ivy.

September 2009. What a transformation and a lot of work!

Photoshoot #1

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:11:00 +0000

So Chris needs a photo of himself to go in the bio portion of the book. I took these shots over the weekend, and I love the first one. I plan on taking more with different outfits and locations.

Happy 6th Birthday Ginger!

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:57:00 +0000

It was 6 years ago today that we were visiting my folks in South Carolina and went shopping at a salvage yard. That's when it happened. That's when Chris and I fell in love....with Ginger. One of our beloved Great Danes. Seeing what shape she was in was heart wrenching (picture Animal Cops) and we knew we had to get her out of there. After some tough negotiating with the drunk running the place, we walked out. Not with an old window or door, but with a very mistreated dog that has the sweetest disposition ever! This day celebrates the day we became a family, not her actual age (since we don't know it). Besides, a lady never tells.

A blog rebirth

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:35:00 +0000

We're in the process of entirely revamping this blog. Many working changes to come. Chris is too busy to keep up on this so I'm taking over. I'm very excited to share our life and creations (i.e., Chris') with an audience.

Why is Chris so busy these days you ask?
He is a full time undergrad art student, taking a whopping 15 credit hours this semester. He is authoring a DIY, "boutique style" modern furniture book coming out in late 2011. It will have an international spread, featuring roughly 30 designs that can be built from common hardware store materials. Think Urban Outfitters not dorm room. And he is busy running Luur our "multidisciplinary design firm dedicated to creating experiences for the end user that resonate on an emotional level" taken directly from the website. His words not mine.

Custom Messenger Bag for my Pochade Box

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:13:00 +0000

After years of use, my backpack that holds my paints and brushes finally started to fall apart. The zipper and the clasp both broke. When I first decided to use it, I was using my french easel which has the little backpack straps. Now, for plein air, I pretty much only use my pochade box. I use Open Box M's. They make a great box. The springy canvas grips work so well and are easily adjustable. I think they make a case for it, but I didn't want the extra cost or weight. Well, after too many times of huddling the thing under arm, I finally decided to find an appropriate bag to hold it as well as my paints and brushes. Most of the inexpensive messenger bags weren't quite big enough. So upon my search on the internet for a larger bag, I came across Bre Pettis' video to make one out of garbage bags. Yep! Garbage bags! In the video they show how you iron them together to make a thick bag. Watch the video before you try it, or you'll likely make a mess. I opted to use some grocery bags for a nice accent and got tired of sewing bags together to make fabric, so I disassembled an IKEA bag for parts. I even used the handles as trim. I found a cheap bag at the goodwill for the clasps and I cut the seat belt out of an old ford from the junkyard (a little simple green and viola! good as newish). 80's models seem to have the metal buckles in the rear seats. Too new and they're plastic or over the shoulder. I customized the size to fit what I needed and even made room for my panel box, which holds 4 6x8's and 4 8x8's. click here to see the how to video by MAKE's Bre Pettis. Here is the template he used. I scaled my dimensions up to hold my 12x16 pochade box (my outside box dimensions are about 14.5x19 inches). I kept the 6" depth the same though. Oh yeah- I added a pouch on the inside to hold my paints. -And to make sure they don't fall out, I scabbed a zipper from an old hoodie. Total cost, roughly $6.50

garbage bags used= 2

plastic grocery bags= 15

IKEA bag= 1

insect forcefield

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:49:00 +0000

i always try to wear a hat when i paint outdoors. i need the hat to keep the sun out of my eyes, but the shade just below my bill along with my sweaty face must attract little flying bugs. i get so annoyed! today in south carolina, it got into the 90's and a swamp was about 50 yards from where i was painting. the bugs were everywhere. even though i sprayed myself down with off, and used the off wipes, i got bombarded. my friend beverly suggested a neat trick... hang the wipe from my shirt or hat. i put one in the back and stuffed one under my bill and it worked! if only i had something to keep the little ants from biting on my ankles. oh yeah- she said that bounty fabric softener sheets work well, too. i'll try those next time.

palette knife demo

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:14:00 +0000

while in south carolina, i met up with a friend to give a private lesson. she too was devoting more time to painting and seemed to be going through some of the same frustrations. she was painting some wonderful little paintings that had a freshness to them, but when she went to execute a larger painting, they felt a little overworked and the shapes lost their clarity. i did a demo to show her a way she could loosen up and think about the shapes as a whole. my answer was a palette knife. it keeps you from trying to blend too much and also allows you to concentrate on the large masses. as for the detail, i wanted to show her that it is the same process, just smaller shapes. i knocked this 16x12 out in about two hours. if only i could practice what i preach! yeah- this was a lesson for me, too!

knocking the rust off

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 22:44:00 +0000

i haven't picked up a brush in more than a while. it's not quite like riding a bike in that you still remember how to do it, but it feels like you are wearing oven mitts while doing so. it's just not as comfortable as it use to be. -and mixing colors is taking me a lot longer. it's odd because i feel that i have matured as an artist even though i haven't actually laid paint to canvas through all of my design work. the problem is that i have matured in my ideas, but not in my process. after a few dogs and good pep talks from my artist friend, brian rego, i got this one that i like. i was with brian when i painted it, which i'm sure helped with moral support. it's a one shot, painted in richmond, indiana, done while brian was in town for a visit. the yellow house popped out from the very blue sky. anyway- i'm feeling good about painting again and am motivated to continue. stand by to see me knock more rust off!

go to my website to see more paintings:
www.cstuartonline.com

hotlanta

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:55:00 +0000

it's been a while since my last post and a lot of things have happened since then. manufacturing in indiana slowed down, so i decided to take a job at a design firm in atlanta called propane creative. it was a good experience and i got to work with many great clients. consulting demands a different pace, but is highly rewarding. although we worked very hard, we also played hard. steve, the owner had lots of toys for us and all of us were still kids at heart. we always had music going and during our breaks we'd challenge each other at foosball or bocce ball. it was good to have them as friends because i was away from my family and was just renting a room until we could get grounded. the room i rented was walking distance to work. it was weird not driving as much, unlike the spread out midwest. i probably could have ditched the car altogether if atlanta had a decent public transit system. the marta isn't much of anything.

the slow economy of indiana must have followed me to atlanta. after 6 months of being there, the team was broken up and we all went our separate ways. i didn't take many photographs, but did shoot a vid, to show the interesting live/work/play village of glenwood park where i lived. it is often featured in magazines and home shows.

the song in the video was a propane favorite called "Get It Back_What Happened", by Seb Fontaine

...is everything cool? alright... yeah- you'll be singing it, too.

office space

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:45:00 +0000

after leaving thomson consumer electronics in oct of 07, i started freelancing. i got a small office in a business incubator building that offered a great environment to work in. the brand new building had lots of reclaimed wood, contemporary furnishings, and an open feel to it. my small office started out as a blank canvas. i designed it on a budget and really stretched the dollar at ikea. the focal point are the walls of floor to ceiling fabric pin-up board. i needed lots of space to pin-up inspirational images as well as my clients presentations. a cheap way to do this is to get 4x8 sheets of blue insulation foam and stretch fabric over them, stapling on the back (just like stretching canvas). since i knew i was going to use big washers and screws to attach them to the wall, i saved even more money by going with the even cheaper 1/2 inch foam. i wall mounted almost everything to keep the footprint looking larger. it turned out to be a very inspirational room to work in. here are some images: the first is of the building, designed by mark yeager. the second the lobby, the third- a conference room. then the rest are of my office.

buzz over my speaker design

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:09:00 +0000

a concept speaker system i designed for a company is getting some attention. it was recently added to yanko design's online magazine and from there was featured on other gadget sites. check it out at: http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/08/20/lone-speaker-drone-is-louder-in-a-hive/
and below the comments section are some additional links. actually here are some of those:
http://www.mostreviews.com/reviews/1867
http://gadgetheat.com/2008/08/20/hive-audio-system-moves-the-crowd/
http://www.slipperybrick.com/2008/08/hive-outdoor-audio-system/
http://gadzetomania.pl/2008/08/20/glosnik-trawnikowy/

Hong Kong

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 01:44:00 +0000

When I worked for Thomson, I got to travel to Hong Kong to oversee the production of some of my designs. The flight there was very long. Once there, the jetlag took a couple days to wear off, and although great tasting, the food was pretty hard on the stomach. I experienced some new flavors and textures like shark fin soup, fried chicken feet, bamboo clam, giant sea snail, and boiled squid. Although these were entertaining, I found myself frequenting the sushi bars. Very Fresh and inexpensive compared to the States. The streets were lined with building after building of street level specialty shops. Stacked above were layers upon layers of studio apartments with window air conditioners and balanced poles wth drying laundry. Hours of work in the day and conference calls back with th US office made for a busy schedule, but I sacrificed sleep to take in the city. Here are some pics and vids of my first trip there. From top to bottom: The city at night, vew from the highest point in Hong Kong, vid of the street market where you can buy knock offs, vid from the train of the more rural area, vid of sidewalk and street traffic.

my linked in profile

noreply@blogger.com (Christopher and Rachel) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:37:00 +0000

view my profile on linked in