Tomorrow, furniture design company Blu Dot will launch their Real Good Experiment on the streets of NYC. Known for their well designed, mid-priced contemporary furniture (I’m thoroughly enjoying the Paramount Sofa I scored during their 20% off sale recently), Blu Dot is starting the experiment in an attempt to give a little back:

Over a year ago, I posted that I was on the hunt for the perfect “man bag”. Something a little smaller, and a little more grown up than my trusty Timbuk messenger bag. As is normal for me when I don’t find anything that knocks my socks off, I went on using my Timbuk.

In the meantime, I’ve also become a huge fan of the fantastic craftsmanship behind the work of the brothers Bray (the dynamic duo behind Billykirk which I’ve written up a couple of times now). In fact, having amassed a small collection (a cuff, a belt, and my favorite travel bag of all time), I’ve been meaning to get another order over to Chris lately for one of these (or maybe this one?).

But I digress back to the issue of bags. I stumbled onto the No. 214 Waxed Laptop Satchel (see more photos at the link) this morning, designed by Billykirk for Opening Ceremony. As far as bags go, I think I might be in love. The design is an awesome mix of utility and gorgeous design, and I can only imagine how it would look after a few years of use and break-in. Unfortunately I might have to wait a little longer on it based on the price, but at least I know what I’m saving for now!

The Billykirk boys have been churning out a series of awesome partnerships lately. They made a tote recently for Urban Outfitters, they’ve made some awesome hats (not sure if this was in partnership with anyone), some other bags for Opening Ceremony, and even a footwear collaboration with Sebago.

Only time will tell what’s next up their sleeves. Or maybe I’ll try to catch up with Chris to find out directly from the man himself…

You’ve probably never heard of her – but you should have. Her most recent design is being featured alongside work from Yves Behar, Calvin Klein, Yoko Ono, and 31 of the hottest other designers around. Shelly Sabel is an Brooklyn-based lighting designer who splits her time among personal projects/explorations, paid work, and teaching young up-and-comers at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. And I have the pleasure of being able to say “I knew her when…” (I grew up with the youngest of the Sabel sisters and have had the opportunity to cross paths with Shelly over the years).

Shelly’s latest project is Vipp’s 70th Anniversary Charity Auction in conjunction with Design Within Reach. Thirty five designers were invited to use Vipp’s trash can as a canvas to create whatever they wanted. The resulting works will be auctioned off tomorrow at a gala event hosted at DWR’s SOHO store (the event starts at 7pm if you’re interested in placing a bid). The benefits will go to DIFFA – the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS.

I caught up with Shelly last night to pick her brain about life, design, her work, and the Vipp project specifically. Read more – and see all of the different cans – after the jump…

How’d you get selected to take part in the Vipp project?
I started working with DIFFA in 2008 with their annual event Dining by Design. [See Shelly’s most recent Dining by Design work here.] This auction benifits DIFFA, and it was at their request that I participated. When I saw the list of designers also working on the project I was quite honored!

Describe your creation…Who/what inspired it?
I knew that I wanted the can to light up… I got the promotional materials from DIFFA and sat with some friends and started brainstorming. At first I was really thinking about using LED’s with magnets attached to them that are electrified. I ended up simplifying the idea and making a more “traditional” lite-bright. I like that it is something vintage referencing something that is modern… or is it something modern referencing something that is nostalgic. Hmmmmm?

The actual materials used are: a wide array of lite-bright pegs, both vintage and new purchased on e-bay, electro luminescent flatlight, perforated steel and tie-down straps.

How is this project similar to/different from your other work?
I tend to really gravitate towards multiplicity. Why have one thing when thousands look better. I think color and vibrancy play a part in most of the things I make, as well as a bit of nostalgia.

What role does technology play in your work?
NOT ENOUGH! I wish I was more of a geek but I’m not! I need a director of technology please. Or an intern – anyone interested?!

What would you change or like to learn more about that would help with your design?
I would love to have had the pedal operate some sort of action to the can. Make it flash or pulse. Right now the power is on a separate corded transformer. It would be great to have more resources and more people to collaborate with and learn from. You can never stop learning about new things. Once you stop learning, I don’t see the point of continuing to create.

Shelly also mentioned that if she could walk away with any of the resulting Vipp pieces, she’d be all over Rikke Korff’s rendition. And she mentioned that there are some provocative (read: “nude”) photos floating around of Hostess/Supermodel Veronica Webb posing with her piece.

don’t forget to swing by DWR in SOHO tomorrow if you’d like to bid on Shelly’s (or any of the other designer’s) cans. Shelly will be there as well if you’d like to say hello.

For the last 2+ years, I’ve lived a somewhat migratory lifestyle - I’m in my 3rd apartment during that time and have finally found a place that I intend to settle into a bit. Which means that, for the first time in those couple of years, I’m ready to put some artwork on the walls and stake a claim to my space. And, as a bit of an amateur photographer (seen ShotsAmongMany?), I’m excited about the possibility of printing some of my own work to fill that void. The problem is finding some interesting way to print/display my work.

In a quest for a solution, I recently stumbled across CanvasPop, a printing service that will take your photo and print it to a canvas photoboard. They also offer a few interesting possibilities like multiple canvases per photo (turn your work into a diptych or triptych) or add filters (very photoshop-looking, but to each his own). They’ve got a flickr account with a bunch of their work samples if you want to see more possibilities.

Prices seem pretty reasonable, all things considered. Once I’ve decided on an image or two to adorn my walls, I’ll let everyone know how the finished product looks. And, if anyone has recommendations on a favorite shot, I’d love to hear them!

They take the same lofty words that you’d want to learn elsewhere, and put them in a context that will stick with the perverted, raunchy sense of humor that we’ve all grown accustomed to maintaining these days (after all, is “fuck” really that offensive anymore?). Here’s a perfect example in their own words:

Let’s say you’re trying to learn the word assiduous.

Here’s the example sentence that dictionary.com gives:

But he was a man who by assiduous reading, through his devotion to literature, had become the quintessential successful gentleman, a man who could hold his own with the most cultivated companions.

and here’s The Fucking Word of the Day’s:

He was crippled by her assiduous dedication to the blow-job she was performing on him.

Now, which one do you think you’ll remember in ten minutes?

via

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from tao chen on Vimeo.

via @evalottchen