Stardust Modern Design

Jeeves Pendant Lamp: The Banker Bowler Hat makes a Comeback

2013-05-18T09:05:00.003-07:00

Rene Magritte and his Bowler Hat Obessison

Jeeves Banker Bowler Hat Pendant Lamp by Jake Phipps

An Eccentric Modern Take on a Classic: The Banker Bowler Hat Comeback

Real Women prefer Men with Bowler Hats; that's a fact! There are some good examples including Charlie Chaplin and René Magritte. And listening to Van Beethoven while wearing a Bowler Hat makes the experience all that special: remember Clockwork Orange... Ode to Joy Anyone? There is nothing more stylish than a nice looking chap topped with a classic banker bowler hat, especially with a Saville Row tailored suit to boot. Purveyors of British eccentricity have reason to rejoice: British designer Jake Phipps has just released his iconic Jeeves Pendant Lamp through Stardust which features the classic Banker Bowler Hat outfitted with a light source. Innermostly Brilliant!

Jeeves Pendant Lamp by Jake Phipps

Innermost Jeeves banker bowler hat pendant lamp by Jake Phipps design; the classic comeback kid! The striking Jeeves Pendant Lamp was designed by British designer Jake Phipps for Innermost. We just adore these wonderfully quirky pendant lights - a great statement of British eccentricity! Inspired by the classic Banker's Bowler Hat, our Jeeves and Wooster Pendant Lights are made by hand from wool felt and reinforced with an aluminium lining in a gold (Jeeves) or silver (Wooster) finish.

Jeeves Banker Bowler Hat Pendant Lamp by Jake Phipps

The Jeeves Pendant Lamp is a playful take on lighting with a real sense of cultural identity. The hat is an object that often associates its wearer with a particular society, heritage or race. The Bowler is a classic British cultural icon reflecting a bygone era of imperialism, class divide and eccentricity. The Jeeves Pendant Lamp by Innermost has an inbuilt ceiling fitting with black ceiling canopy. Each Jeeves Pendant Lamp comes with a 6' black electrical cord. Takes 1 G9 halogen bulb, max 25W. Made by Innermost. Available from Stardust with Free Shipping and a Low Price Guarantee.

Innermost Jeeves Pendant Lamp

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Miguel Milá Cesta Table Lamp from 1962

2013-05-17T11:19:00.006-07:00

Miguel Milá Cesta Table Lamp from 1962

Available from Stardust

We love Spain, its people, its culture, its lifestyle!
And we are happy to promote Spanish design whenever possible!

Cesta was designed by Spanish designer Miguel Mila in 1962 and is one of the most beautiful table lamps in the Stardust collection. It effortlessly blends in with any type of interior, be it classic, transitional or modern. A magic hand-made lantern in the style of traditional Japanese lanterns, made of a cherry wooden structure and an inner light globe. Its oval volume and handle make it an object-lamp, equally ideal for both tabletops and floors. Made by the authorized manufacturer in Spain by master artisans. Available from Stardust with Free Shipping and a Low Price Guarantee.

Santa & Cole: Miguel Mila: Cesta Table Lamp, imported from Europe. The Cesta, a magic lantern created by well-known designer Miguel Mila, consists of a cherry wood structure and an inner ball of light. Its oval volume and handle make it equally ideal for table tops and the floor. In the mid-sixties, the Cesta's supporting structure was made of Manila cane and the ball of light was made of plastic. Santa & Cole dignified and updated it after 1996, using heat-curved cherry wood and an opal crystal ball which enclosed the bulb, and adding a dimmer which allowed adjustment of light intensity.

Miguel Milá Cesta Table Lamp from 1962

Available from Stardust

Santa & Cole Cesta Table Lamp by Miguel Mila.

It is a lamp with a sense of nostalgia, which is proving even more attractive for the newer generations. It is reminiscent of the style of lantern which hung on coastal houses as a signal for the returning sailors, and which was also found in country houses and terraces open to the dark nights of 1970s Spain. Today, it is a classic lantern found in houses with a wide range of decors, and bears the characteristic stamp of its designer Miguel Mila. Like a traditional Japanese or Chinese lantern or portable torch, it would not be out of place in the Japanese palaces of the Edo period, with its careful modulation of light and shadow. The attention to detail is reflected in the fact that not a single screw is visible, and that a wooden pin enables the handle to be turned and prevents it escaping from its guide, with the result that all the materials employed for the mechanism are wood

Miguel Milá Cesta Table Lamp from 1962

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FLOS Chasen Lamp by Patricia Urquiola

2013-05-16T22:25:00.003-07:00

Flos Chasen Pendant Lamp from Stardust as captured by Lyndon Law through Instagram

The Art of the Craft
Chasen Lamp by Patricia Urquiola

A brilliant lamp with timeless appeal! The Flos Chasen suspension lamp available from Stardust captured at its finest moment. Chasen S2 was designed by Patricia Urquiola for the Italian lighting brand Flos. Its ingenious shape was inspired by the traditional Japanese tea whisks used for centuries in Japan for matcha green tea ceremonies.

Flos Chasen Pendant Lamp from Stardust as captured by Lyndon Law through Instagram

The technological know-how of Flos combined with Patricia Urquiola's creativity talent resulted in this utterly magnificent pendant lamp that creates a highly decorative element in any space. The Flos Chasen Lamp looks absolutely wonderful when suspended above a dining table in the living room.

Flos Chasen Lamp by Patricia Urquiola

Traditional Japanese Tea Whisk captured by Sight Unseen

Preparing Japanese Green Tea (Matcha Green Tea) with a traditional Japanese Tea Whisk captured by Limabaum

If you have a Japanese Tea Room; of course you would want to have these Flos Chasen Pendant Lamps.
They'd be the perfect match!
Of course; they give an equally refined look in any residential interior as well.

The Chasen Pendant Lamp was designed by Patricia Urquiola for Flos. Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola lives in Milan where she runs Studio Urquiola, a firm that focuses on exhibitions, art direction, and architecture. Prior to starting her own company in 2001, she managed the design group Lissoni Associati. Over the years, Urquiola has worked with many well-known furniture houses, including Moroso, De Padova, Agape, B&B, Alessi, Driade, Foscarini, Kartell, Flos, Molteni, and Artelano. She has received numerous design awards including A&W Designer of the Year and Design Prize Cologne, and is sought after as a speaker at conferences and universities across the globe. Patricia graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Madrid in graduated in 1989. In 1991, as head of the product development team at De Padova, she designed her first commercial furniture pieces in collaboration with Vico Magistretti. Her work was deemed highly imaginative, yet functionally pragmatic, an appealing combination that has defined her work for the last two decades. Urquiola says after more than 20 years in the industry, she's still not exactly sure how she arrives at a finished design. "All the little answers to the questions give you a sense of the product," she says. "It's a lot of work, the mood of the piece is what people catch - I just flow with the river and try to do things that a re sincere, that anyone can understand."

Flos Chasen Pendant Lamps from Stardust used above the dining table of the Whistler Residence by BattersbyHowat Architectts photographed by Sama J. Canzian.

Flos Chasen Pendant Lamps from Stardust used above the dining table of this modern home by DKOR Interior Designers Miami Florida.

One of the finest modern lamps in the Flos collection!
The Flos Chasen Pendant Lamp by Patricia Urquiola from Stardust

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Artemide Tolomeo Lamps - Tolomeo by Artemide

2013-05-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

Tolomeo Lamps by Artemide

Available from Stardust

The Tolomeo by Artemide sure is no flash-in-the-pan. As one of the most beloved icons of modern design; the Tolomeo has captured the limelight of architects, interior designers and home-owners alike since its introduction in 1989. It continues to be one of the most popular desk lamps more than 20 years after it was released. The Tolomeo desk lamp is an icon of Italian modern design unlike any other. Tolomeo was designed by Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina in 1986 for the Artemide lighting company. In its original configuration (still available from Stardust), it consists of a heavy base, two straight polished aluminum arm sections (each approximately 45 cm long), and a matte aluminum reflector head which can swivel 360°. Steel tension cables attached to springs hidden inside the arms complete the constant-tension structure. It won the Compasso d'Oro design prize in 1989. This uber-functional Artemide table lamp is a Stardust Staff Pick.

Tolomeo

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Icons of Mid-Century Modern Architecture: Pierre Koenig Case Study House #22

2013-05-16T11:31:00.005-07:00

Pierre Koenig's Iconic Masterpiece
Case Study House #22 - Stahl House
Completed in 1960

Pierre Koenig's Case Study House #22 (also known as the Stahl residence) located at 1635 Woods Drive, Los Angeles. Photographed by Julius Shulman in 1960.

Probably the most famous and most photographed Case Study House is the Case Study House #22, also known as the Stahl House, designed by Pierre Koenig. This Case Study Project came immediately after the Case Study House #21 with which it has many architectural similarities indeed. The Stahl House, constructed on a beautiful bluff overlooking the ever-growing city of Los Angeles, was designed with an L-shaped plan and minimalist structure made of steel and glass. Its minimal design, together with the spectacular Julius Shulman photographs, made this Case Study House one of the icons of the mid-century modern architecture movement and an example of experimental construction methods.

Pierre Koenig designed the Stahl House with all rooms facing the minimalist swimming pool spanned by a concrete footbridge that easily linked the car parking space with the entrance. Pierre Koenig created Case Study House #22 is a pavilion made of steel, framing 20-foot wide elements of glass that defined the inner space; a minimal and elegant design.

In 1999, it was declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. In 2007, the American Institute of Architects listed the Stahl House as one of the top 150 structures on its "America's Favorite Architecture" list, one of only 11 in Southern California, and the only privately owned.

This mid-century modernist masterpieces is a Stardust Staff Pick.

Artemide Nebula Wall/Ceiling Lamp by Ross Lovegrove

2013-05-16T10:40:00.000-07:00

Artemide Nebula Lamp

Available from Stardust

Fluffy little clouds...what were the skies like when you were young?
Put a cloud in your room! The Artemide Nebula Wall/Ceiling Lamp premiers at Stardust. Nebula caught our eye when we visited the recent design shows at the 'Frankfurt Light and Build' and 'Milan Design Week'. This new futuristic design is simply incredible! Nebula has to be one of the most amazing lamps we will have in our collection! British designer Ross Lovegrove designed Nebula; an utterly magnificent luminous wall sculpture that can also be used as an oversized ceiling light fixture. Highly experimental and with a commitment to transcending the boundaries between science, technology, design and architecture, the brilliant and inventive designer Ross Lovegrove continues to embrace nature as the inspiration for his new creations. The new Nebula Lamp by Artemide is no exception. This beautiful new Artemide lamp was named and inspired after a nebula cloud formation; an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases.

Drifting on little fluffy clouds, let your body be free!
Here's some Orb to keep you going.

Enclosed in a circular painted aluminum LED ring, Ross Lovegrove's Nebula Lamp is derived from Ross's continuing artistic exploration of organic expression. Nebula fulfills dual functions; being that it is both a lamp and a sculpture. The undulating diffuser, sculpted from white opaline methacrylate plastic, accentuates the organic forms as it captures the surrounding light.

Made by Artemide in Italy. Nebula by Ross Lovegrove; now available from Stardust with Free Shipping and a Low Price Guarantee. More images, by Christoph Hermann, Designboom and Stardust from the Milan Design Week, of the Artemide Nebula Lamp by Ross Lovegrove below.

Artemide Nebula Lamp

Artemide Nebula Lamp

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Artemide Lunarphase Lamp: Round Wall or Ceiling Light

2013-05-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

Artemide Lunarphase Wall or Ceiling Lamp

Available from Stardust

Artemide Lunarphase is the latest creation by Italian designer Carlotta de Bevilacqua for the Italian lighting brand Artemide. Lunarphase is a truly beautiful round ceiling- or wall lamp with extraterrestrial inspiration: its name was inspired by the different phases of the moon. An apparently organic round form conceals an innovative optical unit that uses an inspiring side emission to ensure competitive lighting performance and significantly reduced power consumptions. A circular fluorescent diffuses the light into the environment over 360° thanks to optics just 45mm in height: the light flow is completely collected and directed laterally towards the space without disturbing the gaze. Made by Artemide in Italy. Artemide Lunarphase; now available from Stardust with Free Shipping and a Low Price Guarantee.

Lunarphase by Artemide

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Richard Neutra's Oyler House

2013-05-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

The Oyler House: Richard Neutra’s Desert Retreat

In 1959, a working-class government employee in the tiny desert town of Lone Pine, California, asked world-famous modern architect Richard Neutra to design his modest family home. To his surprise, Neutra agreed. Thus began an unlikely friendship that would last for the rest of Neutra’s life. “The Oyler House: Richard Neutra’s Desert Retreat” tells the story of this house, and its stunning desert setting, through interviews with Richard Oyler, actress Kelly Lynch, who currently owns the house, Neutra’s two sons, and well-known LA real estate agent Crosby Doe.

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Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé from 1953

2013-05-15T09:18:00.001-07:00

The one-off Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé on display at Lake Como in Italy

Shaken, not stirred...

Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé from 1953

This very car conjures up images of 1950s espionage movies with its lead actor, natty in his tuxedo, about to break the bank at baccarat before bedding the beautiful double agent, doesn't it? The unique New York Auto Show Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé with exclusive Michelotti-designed Vignale coachwork is a milestone in Italian design and automotive history. This one-of-a-kind Ferrari was designed by Giovanni Michelotti for Vignale and sold new to the famed North American Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti. Upon seeing the striking beauty, Chinetti immediately made it the jewel of the Ferrari display at the January 1954 New York Auto Show at Madison Square Garden. This unique coach built sports car, from the very beginning of Ferrari's legendary 250 model range, was tailor made to showcase a wealth of exquisite design and styling details that put it in a class of its own. Certified by Ferrari Classiche, impeccable in every detail, the tobacco and bruno siena-colored Ferrari (its original livery colors) would be a welcome entrant and fierce competitor at any major concours d'elegance around the globe. Truly a crown of any collection, this utterly unique and show-stopping Ferrari will be offered with many other cars of distinction at the 16th annual Bonhams Quail Lodge Auction during the world-famous Monterey Peninsula Car Week in mid-August.

via

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FLOS Gino Sarfatti Lamps: New Collection!

2013-05-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

Gino Sarfatti early 1940s

Re-Lighting Gino Sarfatti: Edition N 1
Gino Sarfatti New Lamp Collection by Flos

Available from Stardust

The special re-edition of the most fascinating lamps designed by the great master and entrepreneur of the 1950's & 60's with new technology.
Flos will re-introduce 5 Italian design icons by Gino Sarfatti.
Here's what to expect:

Re-Lighting Gino Sarfatti: Edition N 1

Stardust is proud to feature the new collection by Flos. On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Gino Sarfatti, the great master of Italian design, FLOS re-introduces some of the most iconic Sarfatti Lamps updated with the latest energy-savings LED technology. Gino Sarfatti is possibly the most important lighting designer in the history of Italian design. Between founding the beloved Arteluce in 1939 and selling it to Flos in 1973, the self-taught designer had over 600 lamps and "light fittings" under his name. 2012 would have been Sarfatti's 100th birthday, and to mark this occasion Flos joined up with curators Marco Romanelli and Sandra Severi Sarfatti to create the first-ever Italian retrospective at the Triennale di Milano.

Re-Lighting Gino Sarfatti: Edition N 1

In celebration of his experimental take on lighting, professionals and the general public alike were invited to re-envision his masterpieces, which are now on display next to the rare historic pieces. Flos accepted this challenge and chose to only reengineer the inside components, leaving Sarfatti's original shapes to shine. This falls particularly in line with Sarfatti’s progressive approach to lighting, as a designer always ready to adopt new solutions like the first halogen lights.

The most iconic piece of the collection is probably “Modello 548,” a classic table lamp with reflected and diffused light, and a characteristic colored cup-shaped diffuser. The main innovation is this case is in old push button switch, which has been turned into an optical dimming sensor.

The upshot of this deeply technical operation is "Re-lighting Gino Sarfatti," a first edition of five timeless lamps, to be followed in the future by additional collections. Each lamp of the new line is based on LEDs and the handsome marriage of contemporary, energy-saving light sources with retro form.

Piero Gandini, Chairman of FLOS, is pleased to invite you to the debut of two exciting exhibitions: Re-lighting Gino Sarfatti: Edition N 1 & Costume National presents AIM
Saturday, May 18th from 6-8 p.m. at FLOS in Soho
152 Greene Street @ W. Houston St.
RSVP

Gino Sarfatti Lamps at Stardust

“Modello 2129” was designed by Sarfatti in 1969 and is an incredibly elegant arc-shaped droplight that can rotate 360 degrees. The only wire is hosted by a transparent tube and, thanks to a counterweight, the reflector can freely be moved up and down. As for the other lamps, the original incandescent light bulb has been replaced with a wide LED surface.

Gino Sarfatti - born in Venice in 1912 and with an educational background in engineering - started the Arteluce Company in 1939. Arteluce quickly established iteslf as a leading actor in shaping the modern Italian architectural movement, and became a meeting place and hub for many of the leading Italian mid-century designers, including e.g. Franco Albini, Gianfranco Frattini, Sergio Asti and Ico Parisi. Sarfatti designed over 400 lighting products and made a significant contribution to innovating lighting design by experimenting with new materials, production methodologies and light sources. In 1951, he first began to work with plexi-glass. Gino Sarfatti designed the first lamp to use halogen bulbs back in 1971. Sarfatti and Arteluce received several design awards including e.g. the prestigious Compasso d'Oro in 1954 and 1955, and the Honorary Diploma at the Milan Triennale. Arteluce was sold to Flos in 1973.

“Modello 1063” was designed in 1954 and was essentially a vertical fluorescent tube. The original base hosted an electromagnetic ballast. Today this volume is used to hide the dimming system and other electronic devices. In this case too, the neon light has been replaced with a LED module with variable light temperature.

The most intense technical intervention is probably that of the “Modello 1095.” This floor lamp is a simple tube that was meant to carry a 12V halogen lamp on top. But as it is, there’s no space for heat-sinks, making it necessary to use LEDs to maintain the same intensity and quality of lighting. Flos technicians found the solution in a patented water cooling system, which makes water flow up and down all along the rod while the lamp is in use.

The Arteluce lighting store with Gino Sarfatti's lighting designs on Corso Matteotti in Milan in 1963.

Gino Sarfatti at his Arteluce lighting store on Corso Matteotti in Milan in 1963.

Gino Sarfatti Pendant Light Fixture, Model 2072, Arteluce Italy (currently out of production)

Gino Sarfatti was born in Venice in 1912 and studied aeronaval engineering at the University of Genoa. After leaving school due to financial reasons, Sarfatti set up Arteluce in 1939. The firm soon became a national and international reference point for the modern architecture movement in lighting. During his thirty-year career, Sarfatti designed and produced over 400 lighting fixtures and carried out continuous research on innovation related to typology, materials, production technologies, light sources, technical lighting effects and desig. He was a pioneer in the use of halogen bulbs incorporating it into fixtures as early as 1971. The designer and his company won numerous prizes and awards including the Compasso d′Oro in 1954 and 1955, and the Honorary Diploma of the Milan Triennale. Arteluce was also a meeting place and an important forum for many of the leading Italian designers in the 50s and 60s, including Franco Albini, Gianfranco Frattini, Vittoriano Vigano and Marco Zanuso. Flos acquired the company in 1973.

Gino Sarfatti Lamps

The original “Modello 607,” a table lamp based on halogen lighting, is now turned into a mass of 42 tiny LEDs, screened off by a diffusor. The shape and functional details are identical to the 1971 design, even in the central dimmer at the base.

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Relax your Mind

2013-05-14T12:50:00.003-07:00

Relax & Unwind: Summer is Near

Relax your mind

Lay back and groove with mine

You got to feel that heat

And we can ride the boogie

Image Credits: Roxy

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Mid-Century Modern Garden Design: Modernist Planter

2013-05-14T11:55:00.002-07:00

Willy Guhl Mid Century Modern Spindel Planter

Available from Stardust

Design in progress on the courtyard/patio of a mid-century modern case-study inspired minimal dream house in Sonoma California. Two matching Spindel Planters were used. Small and large size perfectly compliment each other. The large planter was placed in its location a year before the smaller and shows the natural evolution of the weathering of the fiber cement concrete. The large Spindel Planter was topped off with semi drought-tolerant succulents. The mid-century modern Spindel planter was designed by Willy Guhl and Anton Bee in 1951. The beautiful modernist Spindel planter has a shape which was inspired after an hourglass. This super stylish mid century modern planter is a customer favorite and matches well with any mid-century modern house, ranch style, Eichlers, Cliff May, Richard Neutra, Donald Wexler and the likes. Garden pots and planters come in all shapes and colors, but nothing comes close to this highly decorative modern planter. This beautiful modern garden planter is effortlessly elegant and will add the perfect finishing touch to your landscape design project, interior courtyard, patio, garden terrace or modernist garden. A beautiful addition to your refined garden design, this modernist planter will is a natural choice with your modern patio and garden furniture collection. Use this beautiful modernist planter as a flower planter or lay them out with succulent plants and cacti. Top them off with black Mexican beach pebbles or small rounded white Carrara marble pebbles for a finishing contemporary modern design look. Made and imported from Switzerland.

Modernist Spindel Planter

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Modern Bedroom Design Ideas by Stardust

2013-05-14T11:10:00.001-07:00

Bedroom Design: The Modern Way

The perfect modern bedroom outfitted with several design icons from the Stardust collection. This beautiful contemporary modern bedroom will give you an idea on how to incorporate design in your bedroom whether you are looking to remodel an existing bedroom or are constructing a new house/apartment/addition. Bedding is by Missoni Home. Round area rug is Nanimarquina's Practik rug.

(1): Kartell Cindy Lamp

(2): Kartell Small Ghost Buster Side Table

(3): Vitra George Nelson Table Clock

(4): Vitra Miniature Eames Aluminum Chair

(5): Kartell Large Ghost Buster Storage/Shelf/Organizer

(6): Vitra l'Oiseau Wooden Bird Sculpture by the Bouroullec Bros.

Stardust

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Futuristic Industrial Design from 1944

2013-05-14T10:27:00.003-07:00

Going with the Flow
The Golden Age of Industrial Design

Before the rise of the aluminum bike and long before the lightweight carbon fiber bikes we all want so bad today; the focus was streamlined steel. This beautiful "concept bike" created by an unknown designer was introduced at the Industrial Design Show (unknown location) in 1944. Part of the terrific collection of futuristic photographs by Wallace Kirkland featuring streamlined art moderne architecture, modern futuristic planes, boats, trains and automobiles; bikes which was recently introduced by the LIFE image library available on Google. More images below! Now we only need a time machine to take us back!

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Donald Judd Marfa: Prada Marfa

2013-05-14T10:02:00.001-07:00

Part I/IV

The First Sign. Something was amiss.

Skies turned technicolor blue.

Donald Judd's mirror image appeared in the window.

Part II/IV

Closing In. Minimalist gathering in the Skies above.

Donald Judd's Marfa Boxes Teleported from outer Space.

Sound of Silence.

Part III/IV

Invader Games.

The Reverse Order of Negative Space.

Structural Clarity.

Part IV/IV

Final Fantasy.

Opulent Minimalism Redefined.

Prada Marfa minimalized into Oblivion.

Interpreting the matter. Our Prada Marfa Donald Judd Mix-Up Project. Prada Marfa is the infamous faux boutique displaying luxury bags and shoes in the middle of the sparse Texas landscape where locals love the unload their guns. Created in 2005 by artist duo Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. Recreated by Stardust 2012 though the eyes of Donald Judd.

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Artemide Copernico 500 Suspension Lamp

2013-05-14T09:19:00.003-07:00

Artemide Copernico 500

Available from Stardust

Copernico 500: a breathtakingly beautiful pendant light fixture available from Stardust! The futuristic ‘Copernico 500′ suspension lamp was designed by Carlotta de Bevilacqua and Paolo Dell’Elce and created especially for Artemide. This suspension lamp’s green footprint was carefully considered throughout the design process. The nine concentric mobile ellipses of the Artemide Copernico Lamp were created from one single piece of aluminum. The nine shapes are capable of rotating independently on two different axes, allowing for the light emission of the 384 white LEDs to be placed randomly. From manufacturing to transportation to usage, the designers worked to achieve the lowest possible energy consumption while providing a high quality dazzling lighting design. Because this lamp can be folded down to flat it reduces the weight and size for transport to showrooms and customers. The use of LEDs rather than fluorescents or other bulbs enables this design to only use a total of 27 watts. A spellbinding chandelier with cosmic inspiration: its name was inspired by Nicolás Copérnico (English Nicolaus Copernicus), the famed Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a heliocentric model which placed the Sun, rather than the Earth, at the center of the universe. Copernico is part of the innovative Artemide LED lighting product line, made by Artemide in Italy. Part of the Copernico Series from Artemide. Artemide Copernico; now available from Stardust with Free Shipping and a Low Price Guarantee.

Artemide Copernico 500

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Modern Architecture: Wendell Burnette Architects "Dialogue House"

2013-05-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

Night and Day

Wendell Burnette Architects "Dialogue House"

The art of the matter redefined. We love this beautiful modern architectural gem by Wendell Burnette Architects.
Two volumes of light – one warm and one cool – one projected to the expansive horizon and one toward the canopy of the desert sky. Inspired by John Van Dyke’s ruminations on the phenomena of desert light specifically “colored air” and “reflected light” in his 1907 book titled The Desert – Further Studies in Natural Appearances. The 2200sf Dialogue House is a gestalt instrument for touching the full range and specificity of this light, this “place” – day and night, season to season and year to year. At the base of Echo Mountain (amidst an eclectic jumble of 1950's-60's ranch bungalows) the main living volume is elevated above work, guest, and the car, furthest from the street on a lateral pinwheel brace of charcoal masonry walls that extend cardinally capturing the site. This well-shaded volume is projected south toward the South Mountain and Sierra Estrella Mountain ranges far across the Phoenix basin and the downtown skyline.

Wendell Burnette Architects

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Artemide Copernico Suspension Lamp

2013-05-13T13:33:00.002-07:00

Artemide Copernico Suspension Lamp

Available from Stardust

The future of lighting has arrived.

Artemide Copernico, a breathtakingly beautiful pendant light fixture now available from Stardust! The futuristic ‘Copernico′ suspension lamp was designed by Carlotta de Bevilacqua and Paolo Dell’Elce and created especially for Artemide. This suspension lamp’s green footprint was carefully considered throughout the design process. The nine concentric mobile ellipses of the Artemide Copernico Lamp were created from one single piece of aluminum. The nine shapes are capable of rotating independently on two different axes, allowing for the light emission of the 384 white LEDs to be placed randomly. Copernico Suspension light with nine concentric mobile ellipses obtained from a single aluminium plate support a circuit of 384 white 38W LEDs. The ellipses rotate independently on two different axis enabling the light to be directed and numerous spatial configurations to be obtained at the same time. When the device is closed it is completely flat.

Artemide Copernico Suspension Lamp

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Irving Penn Photography: Girl Behind Wine Bottle

2013-05-13T11:26:00.001-07:00

Irving Penn "Girl Behind Wine Bottle" 1949

In 1949, Irving Penn shot, what would become, one of his most legendary black & white photographs. Titled "Girl Behind Wine Bottle", Irving Penn's photograph captured Jean Patchett in New York City doing her effortlessly elegant thing behind a bottle of unlabeled red wine. Her left hand holding out a classic 1950s cigarette holder. A gentleman strikes a match and offers her a light. This photograph was taken by Irving Penn in 1949 while on assignment for Vogue Magazine. This iconic Irving Penn photograph has become a documents of an era when style did matter.

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Achille Castiglioni Design: Italian Design Icons

2013-05-13T10:59:00.005-07:00

Achille Castiglioni: I Grandi Maestri del Design

Achille Castiglioni Collection available from Stardust

Imagine meeting this guy in the park!
The ever-fun loving Achille Castiglioni with his kitchen accessories designed for Alessi.

2013 is the year of Italian Culture (just look at your San Pellegrino bottle) so we decided to show some respect to the master of Italian design: Achille Castiglioni! We love I Maestri! The Stardust staff is absolutely wild about Achille Castiglioni and his products consistently get the Stardust Staff Pick vote for best design. We have fallen head over heels for many of his creations ever since we discovered them at antique stores and Europe's flea markets many years ago (before the Euro was introduced). Take an Achille Castiglioni product from the fifties and re-introduce it a hundred years from now and chances are it will still look as up-to-date and functional as on the day it was designed. And that is what good design is all about! Achille Castiglioni is in away a bit like the Italian Dieter Rams but with some added Italian flamboyance. And Achille would always smile; young designers could learn a thing or two from him! Achille is our hero! Come check out the Achille Castiglioni collection at Stardust.

Achille Castiglioni (1918–2002) was one of the most important and prolific designers of the twentieth century. His remarkable career included architecture and exhibition, interior and product design. Achille Castiglioni's work is celebrated for its combination of technical innovation with an aesthetically-pleasing form, as demonstrated in his elegant Luminator floor lamp for Gilardi & Barzaghi, later produced by Flos (1954).

The Flos Luminator Floor Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1954/55.

Another example is the distinctive Frisbi hanging light for Flos (1978). His designs also demonstrated wit – the ‘readymade’ furniture designs created with Pier Giacomo in 1957 incorporated tractor and bicycle seats into new stools. He created hundreds of pieces of furniture, lighting and products for a distinguished client list including Kartell, Knoll, Zanotta, Alessi and Siemens. With more than 800 photographs and drawings, this monograph does full justice to his designs, which won eight prestigious Compasso d’Oro prizes.

Flos Taraxacum 88 Pendant Lamp/Chandelier designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1988

One of the most prolific and important industrial designers of the 20th century and one of the greatest luminaries of Italian Design, Achille Castiglioni 1918-2002) produced more than 150 products during his career and forged enduring relationships with Italian manufacturers such as Flos in lighting, Zanotta in furniture and Alessi in home products. When Paola Antonelli, design curator of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, was an architecture student at Milan Polytechnic in the 1980s, one of the most popular tutors was Achille Castiglioni. For his lectures on industrial design, he would arrive with what Antonelli described as: “a large Mary Poppins-like black bag from which he would extract and line up on the table that day’s chosen pieces from his stupendous collection of found objects: toys made from beer cans that he had bought in Teheran, odd eyeglasses…. wooden stools from Aspen, Colorado… small suction cups strong enough to lift a table. These were the most effective tools of design instruction.” Brandishing each object in turn Castiglioni would show his students how they worked. Antonelli recalled how at one lecture he jumped up on a table to demonstrate the ingenuity of a small wooden milking stool by miming the milking of an invisible cow. Thus he would show how an apparently humble object could constitute intelligent, inspiring design if it fulfilled its function with humour and verve by using the resources available to its designer or maker. Castiglioni applied those criteria to his own work and urged his students to do the same. ”Start from scratch,” he told them. “Stick to common sense. Know your goals and means.” Take for example the Flos Taccia Lamp. As far as classics go; the Flos Taccia lamp is an icon! The Taccia lamp was designed by Achille Castiglioni for Flos. This clean-lined lamp approaches sculptural art, reflecting light from a concave extruded-aluminum reflector with a matte-white finish.

Flos Taccia Table Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1958

His contention was that to design a new product or to improve an existing one, the designer had a responsibility first to analyse whether it was necessary to do so and then to investigate what sort of "means", or resources such as technologies and materials, were available to develop and produce it. Having ascertained this, the designer should then idenfity what Castiglioni called the “Principal Design Component” for the work. Sometimes his ‘component’ would be a leap in technology – such as the newly developed slim fluorescent tube that Castiglioni used to make his 1951 Tubino Lamp. Or it might be a change in behaviour. The 1957 Sella stool that he designed with his brother Pier Giacomo from a bicycle seat pivoted on a tubular stem and a cast iron base, for instance, was inspired by Castiglioni’s desire for a more comfortable form of seating from which to make calls from a pay phone when he liked “to move around” and “to sit, but not completely”. The “Principal Design Component”, like the early analytical phase, was intended to ensure that the designer invested his or her energy in refining their approach to design, rather than a style. Achille Castiglioni's style was not limited to lighting design only. He also created functional kitchen accessories such as the Alessi Splugen Bottle Opener. Sophisticated in design and appearance, this opener has a nice weighted feel in your hand. Originally designed in 1960 for the Splugen Brau Bar in Milan and refigured in 18/10 stainless steel by Achille Castiglioni in 2001. This tool is 6 inches long and easy to spot in any drawer. Safe to clean in the dishwasher, it's an essential item for your barware collection

Alessi Splugen Brau Bottle Opener designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1960.

“What you need is a constant and consistent way of designing,” he opined. Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan in 1918 and studied architecture there at the Polytechnic from which he graduated in 1944. As there was so little work for young Italian architects immediately after World War II, Castiglioni joined his elder brothers – Livio (1911-1979) and Pier Giacomo (1913-1968) – in the industrial design studio they had established on Piazza Castello in Milan with the architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni. Even before graduating, he had worked with them on commercial projects such as the 1938 Caccia set of cutlery, still used in Italian homes today, and the strikingly light, svelte 1939 five valve radio receiver they developed for Phonola. Like other recent architecture graduates, such as Ettore Sottsass and Marco Zanuso, the Castiglionis accepted commissions for exhibition and set design and also to develop products for the Italian manufacturers, which were launching or rebuilding their businesses after World War II.

Flos Arco Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1962.

Many of these manufacturers were young, energetic and eager to experiment with the new technologies and materials which had been developed by the defense industry during the War and were now available for other purposes. They also had access to the capital they needed to re-equip their factories from the investment made available by the Marshall Plan. This combination of access to new technology with the proud artisanal tradition in Italian industry fostered a new generation of manufacturers which relished the opportunity to collaborate with equally enthusiastic young designers to develop innovative and inspiring products for receptive post-war consumers. Throughout Castiglioni’s career he formed close and enduring relationships with a small group of carefully selected manufacturers with which he felt empathetic. Younger industrial designers, notably Jasper Morrison, have adopted the same policy with similar success. By working together for so long, they established a level of mutual trust thereby ensuring that both sides felt confident enough to experiment and take risks which often proved fruitful. : as is the 1957 Mezzadro stool (manufactured by Zanotta from 1971) made from a tractor seat. The seat of this unusual cantilever is a simple tractor seat, which was placed on a wing screw on a bent steel construction by the designer. As another pier, the construction acts as foot out of wood.

Zanotta Mezzadro Stool by Achille- and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni from 1957
Available by Special Order from Stardust

Among the most productive of these relationships was Castiglioni’s work with Flos, the Italian lighting manufacturer. He and Pier Giacomo (Livio had left the studio in 1952 to work independently) developed dozens of extraordinarily inventive lights for Flos. The 1960 Gatto table lamp provides evenly distributed, general illumination. The Gatto Lamp stands out for its use of its essential cocoon resin construction coupled with simple harmonious lines.

Flos Gatto Table Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1960

The 1962 Arco floorlamp was modelled on a streetlight to project the light source eight feet from its heavy marble base and the Toio floorlamp of the same year was inspired by a car reflector. Arco, Arco, Arco. That's all what you are asking for right? A modern day miracle of engineering and design, this arc-shaped floor lamp flabbergasted the world when it was first introduced in 1962. People stopped in their tracks on the streets of Milan to peek through the windows of La Rinascente to see this lamp doing its thing.

Flos Arco Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1962.

And who doesn't love Snoopy? Let me introduce you to a classic; Snoopy was designed in 1967 by the Castiglioni brothers. Achille and Pier designed it to last; its base is made with the finest marble you can find in the town of Carrara Italy. The famous Snoopy cartoon character was the inspiration for its shade.

Flos Snoopy Lamp designed by Achille- and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni in 1967.

Both the Arco and Toio belong to the group of ‘ready-made’ products which the brothers developed by adapting objects already developed for a different purpose as an homage to the work of the artist Marcel Duchamp. In 1971; Achille Castiglioni released the uber-functional Parentesi Lamp. Less is more! Parentesi (Italian for bracket) is the essential minimalist floor-to-ceiling lamp. Its purist and elegant silhouette combines form with function in a way that few other floor lamps can achieve. Parentesi is a most fitting choice when direct lighting is required. An essential Italian design classic, the Parentesi is a Stardust Staff Pick!

Flos Parentesi Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1971.

The 1957 Sella bicycle seat stool, put into production by Zanotta in 1983, is also in this group. The ‘ready-mades’ have continued to evolve after their original design.

The Flos Lampadina Table Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1972

Another classic is the Flos Lampadina. The Lampadina modern table lamp was designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1972, manufactured by Flos in Italy. This table lamp is a contemporary design icon. It lights up any room beautifully. It has an interesting bulb shape that would make it a unique and fun addition to the room. The Lampadina table lamp comes in two finishes (black or orange).

Detail of the Flos Lampadina Table Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1972

The type of tractor seats attatched to the Mezzadro, for example, change whenever a new model comes on to the market. Castiglioni also enjoyed the chance to develop gentler forms of reinvention by subtly redefining and improving familiar objects. One example was the 1979 Cumano circular folding table he designed for Zanotta based on café terrace tables. Another was the 1969 Leonardo desk standing on a pair of wooden trestles also manufactured by Zanotta and a third the pretty oval glass 1992 Brera hanging lamp developed for Flos. He was also a passionate advocate of new technologies as illustrated by the audio-visual products he developed in the 1960s for Brionvega, the Italian consumer electronics company. Typical was the ingenious 1966 ‘126’ record player which consisted of three ‘boxes’, an oblong record deck in the centre flanked by two square speakers, which were hinged to either sit neatly on either side or equally neatly on top in a perfect mirror of the oblong deck. Rigorous though Castiglioni was in his approach to design, the finished work was often unashamedly humorous such as the 1967 Snoopy light that he and Pier Giacomo designed (the year before the latter’s death) for Flos and named after the cartoon dog with a similar silhouette or the 1970 Spirale ashtray for Alessi with a practical, yet also playful spiral of stainless steel on which a smouldering cigarette (Castiglioni was a lifelong smoker) could rest. In 1988, Achille Castiglioni designed the brilliant Taraxacum 88 Pendant Lamp/Chandelier which continues to be one of the most beautiful creations in modern lighting to this day.

Detail of Flos Taraxacum 88 Lamp designed by Achille Castiglioni in 1988

As well as pursuing his own career as a product designer, Achille Castiglioni also enjoyed collaborative projects with fellow designers. He taught for many years – first at Turin Polytechnic then Milan – and played a central role in the design community by supporting many of the networks that would enable his and future generations of Italian designers to benefit from their collective strength. As early as 1947, only three years after joining his brothers in their Piazza Castello studio, Castiglioni joined the organising committee of the Milan Triennale. He also helped to establish the prestigious Compasso d’Oro design awards (which his products won in 1955, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1979, 1984 and 1989) as well as the Italian ADI or Association of Industrial Design. For all his honours and achievements, Castiglioni remained as curious, challenging and inventive as ever until his death in 2002. Superbly resolved as his work was in terms of its formal qualities, he never lost his wit or his delight in paradox. “There has to be irony both in design and in the objects,” he said. “I see around me a professional disease of taking everything too seriously. One of my secrets is to joke all the time.”

Achille Castiglioni at Stardust

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Artemide Reall Floor Lamp

2013-05-12T20:59:00.003-07:00

Artemide Reall Floor Lamp

Available from Stardust

Reall Floor Lamp by Artemide: the classic floor lamp redefined! Made by Artemide in Italy. Reall; now available from Stardust with Free Shipping and a Low Price Guarantee. Understated elegance and utter functionality are the main characteristics of the Reall Floor Lamp by Artemide. The Reall Floor Lamp was designed by Paolo Dell'Elce and Carlotta de Bevilacqua for Artemide in Italy. The Artemide Reall Floor Lamp draws admiring glances thanks to its sleek and delicate design sensibilities.

Artemide Reall Floor Lamp

Part of the beauty of the Artemide Reall lamp lies in its refined simplicity. The sleek curvature of the sensual and fluid lamp shade make it a real eye catcher. From the round base rises a slender stem on which the perforated lamp shade diffuser is located. The lamp shade diffuser is adjustable thanks to a joint on the stem, allowing it to turn so that the light can be directed where it is needed.

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Elliott Erwitt Empire State Building 1955

2013-05-10T15:02:00.001-07:00

Because a Classic never goes out of Style

Elliott Erwitt, New York City (Empire State Building), 1955.

The Empire State Building viewed from the RCA Building, Rockefeller Center, on a misty or perhaps smoggy day, with a fashionably dressed young woman silhouetted against the scrim of atmosphere. The spikes of the railing iterate the spires of the towers in the distance.

Elliott Erwitt (American, 1928- ) was born in Paris to Russian émigré parents. He spent his formative years in Italy and France before moving to Los Angeles via New York in 1939. He studied photography at Los Angeles City College and in 1946 met Edward Steichen, Robert Capa and Roy Stryker who became significant mentors. From 1948-50 he went on to study film at the New School for Social Research before enrolling in the US Army. Upon his release from the military Erwitt settled in NYC and became a member of Magnum Photos, the agency of which he is still an active member. Erwitt has continued to travel and photograph throughout his life, capturing the famous and the ordinary, the strange and the mundane in his own unmistakable, often humorous style. His books, journalistic essays, and advertisements have been featured in publications around the world and his work has been exhibited at such museums as the Smithsonian, MoMA, Kunsthaus in Zurich, and The Art Institute of Chicago.

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Artemide Ipogeo Floor Lamp

2013-05-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Artemide Ipogeo Floor Lamp

Available from Stardust

It's shape may remind you of the popular Drinking Birds of the 1950s! The Ipogeo Floor Lamp was designed by Joe Wenthworth for Artemide in Italy and received the Red Dot Design Award. The oversized Ipogeo Floor Lamp is perfect for large spaces where its beautiful design creates a nice impact. Its minimalist composition features two red circular counter weights which allow Ipogeo to be adjusted with a simple gesture. Made by Artemide in Italy. Ipogeo; now available from Stardust with Free Shipping and a Low Price Guarantee.

Artemide Ipogeo Floor Lamp

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Artemide Illiria Floor Lamp

2013-05-10T13:33:00.002-07:00

Artemide Illiria Floor Lamp

Available from Stardust

The Illiria Floor Lamp, designed by Italian designer Ernesto Gismondi for Artemide, features a sculptural body of injection molded polyurethane with an textured white RAL9010 color finish. Direct and indirect light are managed separately by two touch dimmers located on the body of the lamp. Undulating lines create a free flowing curvaceous form, which when illuminated produces a dramatic effect. The Artemide Illiria Floor Lamp is outfitted with 1 x 11 Watt LED for direct lighting and 1 x 36 Watt LED for indirect lighting.

Its shape, Inspired by modern Italian street lights; offers plenty of direct reading light. Bold and dynamic, it's unique diffuser encapsulates Ernesto Gismondi's contemporary and stylized approach. The Artemide Illiria Floor Lamp free-flowing sculptural give it a beautiful modern stylized look. Made by Artemide in Italy. Illiria; now available from Stardust with Free Shipping and a Low Price Guarantee.

Artemide Illiria Floor Lamp

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Artemide Empirico Floor Lamp by Karim Rashid

2013-05-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Artemide Empirico Floor Lamp by Karim Rashid

Available from Stardust

The Empirico Floor Lamp, designed by Karim Rashid for Artemide, features a sculptural body of rotationally moulded polyethylene with an opal glossy finish. Undulating lines create a free flowing curvaceous form, which when illuminated produces a dramatic effect. Bold and dynamic, it's unique diffuser encapsulates Karim Rashid's contemporary and stylised approach. A painted aluminium base elevates the structure allowing its shapely contours to be viewed at all angles. An in-line dimmer is included to easily change the light intensity.

Artemide Empirico Floor Lamp by Karim Rashid