With the clocks all across Europe preparing to be turned back an hour and so cast us all into that unlit world so beloved of poets, painters and cat burglars; a ray of light comes from the US of A.

The organisers of the 2010 ICFF have issued a call for entries for the ICFF Studio and ICFF Design School.

We had a fantastic time at ICFF in 2009 and are thoroughly looking forward to returning to the Big Apple in May 2010.

And so, by way of supporting and helping the organisers of ICFF we would like to take a couple of minutes to offer a couple of tips to those planning entering for either the ICFF Studio or the ICFF Design School.

For the ICFF Studio the organisers invite submissions of product prototypes from designers working on any and all the product categories exhibited at the ICFF. The selected entries will then be displayed in a group area at the ICFF.

Now we’re not sure if we mentioned it in our posts from NYC, but one of the weak points of the ICFF is the dearth of tables. That might be a way to wake the organisers interest. Ideally the table should be large enough to support a laptop with enough space for a couple of professional journalists to sit next to it and promote the designers, producers and retailers who have paid to be included in the ICFF. A second advantage would be if the design was sturdy enough to support the uncouth handling by the ham-fisted unionised workforce at the Javits Centre; otherwise the filigree design may find itself spending four days in a store room because its too “complicated” to risk the wrath of the ham-fisted unionised workforce by getting replacement tables from one of the highly professional designer furniture producers at the ICFF.

The colour is not so important.

Entries for the ICFF design School can be made by all design schools hoping to receive a place at the ICFF. Entries must hold a description of a topic, a singular concept with original products and prototypes, designed by students to be exhibited at the ICFF.

Again here we can make us e of our experience of the hard reality at North Americas premier contemporary furniture show.

If you feel tempted to try your luck, the closing date for both events is January 15th.

The closing date for Table Fights 2010 will inevitably be 10 minutes before the start…….

iglooplay at ICFF - and the closest we got to a table all week....

acousticpearls Panel Mono

As all who work in a small office, or perhaps more importantly from home, know, noise is one of the biggest contributors to stress and non-productivity.

And we don’t mean the radio that you want to hear, but rather the unwanted, background noise generated by others.

A little physics tells us that noise travels in waves, and that the most important factor in sustaining and amplifying noise in a room is reverberation and reflection from walls.

Ergo, stop the reverberation and reflection and you reduce the background noise and so your stress and so you can get a lot more done.

This fairly basic principle is the idea behind acousticpearls.

acousticpearls Panel DUO1

Only, and as with all really good industrial design, the crowning glory is the step from raw physics to design: which in the case of acousticpearls is the outer covering in pure new wool coverings from Danish producer kvadrat.

But back to the science.

The acoustic pearl panels are 4,5 cm thick, filled with a highly effective, shock resistant acoustic material and are certified according to ISO 354-2003 Acoustics — Measurement of sound absorption in a reverberation room.

Which on a practical level means they are effective at increasing sound absorption and reducing reverberation in a room. And so at reducing the background noise level.

acousticpearls Panel DUO2

The number of acousticpearl panels required in a given space is dependent on both the “volume” of the room and the room usage/level of expected background noise.

However, hanging several panels shouldn’t pose too many problems.

For, thanks to the decision to cover the acousticpearls panels in kvadrat wool you have a wonderful range of design, layout and colour options all in high quality pure new wool – meaning that regardless of the intended use, or number of panels required, acousticpearls can provide an attractive, stylish solution.

The acousticpearls panels come in the three different variations; MONO DUO 1 and DUO 2.

MONO is, as it’s name should suggest, MONOtone.

DUO 1 and DUO 2 are both two-toned: DUO 1 horizontally and DUO 2 vertically separated. In both cases the ratio of the two colours is 2:1

The possibly combinations are only limited by your imagination and colour schemes.

acousticpearls Panel - felxible size, colour and layout options

Finally, the back of the acousticpearls panels come with inbuilt fixtures for mounting and a complete wall mounting kit is included with each panel.

acousticpearls are ideal for not only reducing the background noise and reverberation in office environments, but also in, for example, reception areas, dining rooms/canteens or a large conference room.

They can, however, also be used in the home to help create a pleasant acoustic aesthetic.

acousticpearls are now available from (smow)

Objectified

One of the reasons we never pursued a career as film reviewers is that writing in the dark is so difficult. Compared to those notes that we write in darkened cinemas the Rosetta Stone appears as if it was set in Helvetica 8. And so it is that from our trip to “Objectified” at the IFC Centre in New York, the only words we can clearly read are “organic popcorn”.

It was, and it was lovely.

Fortunately we know people who can read our hand writing and they have now finished the translation enabling us to finish our review.

In short Objectified is “a feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.”

More detailed it is a series of interviews with designers interlaced with scenes showing the design process in action.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec at work

There are some wonderful highlights such as Jonathan Ive from Apple talking very openly about his relationship to his designs, Ronan Bouroullec explaining how he is a fox compared to his brother Erwan’s porcupine – at least when it comes to handing technical problems during the design process – and Dieter Rams being Dieter Rams.

What Objectified does very well is draws ones attention to the fact that the design process exists. And lets be honest how many of us were consciously aware of the fact that the Post-It note was designed.

Or popcorn.

In addition Objectified makes clear that despite the often heard “I could have designed that” designing it is not something that is open to us all. You have to truly live it.

Hella Jongerius and team at lunch

Objectified is a wonderfully relaxing 75 minutes in which you can spend just as much time dreaming and thinking about what is happening on the screen as actually consciously paying attention. And yet when you come out you can remember every quote and every scene. Lovely

There were however a couple of points that irritated us. Firstly everything is so clean. Everything. Design however is a dirty process. And a stressful, revolutionary process. This side of design isn’t captured

The day after we saw Objectified we were present at  ICFF discussion during which Pierre Nicolas Grohe from bathroom producer Hansgrohe explained some of the problems they have, for all when a designer produces something that pushes the existing technology beyond what is currently possible. In many cases whole new production processes have to be developed simply to produce a chair. Ronan Bouroullec attempts to achieve his goal through diplomacy and contact, brother Erwan through instance and challenge. The Fox and the Porcupine.

Anthony Dunne and Fiona Raby enjoy Tom Vacs from Rona Arad

That no-one who uses your product will ever appreciate the blood, sweat, tears and gin that flowed to create it, doesn’t matter.

Yet Objectified is generally only people sitting round in clean rooms making very clean drawings or having uncluttered discussions in an orderly fashion. A bit more grime would have been appreciated.

And then there is the obviously recreated scenes in design studios. Yes one can understand the need to visualise the process rather than relying on interviews, but for us recreating scenes in a documentary and not highlighting them as being such always detracts a little from the authority of the work.

A further point that annoyed us a little in New York is that the majority of the crowd were obviously designers or involved in “design” in some way. There weren’t an awful lot of “lays”

And that is a shame, because Objectified is great film for all those who genuinely know nothing about design but know, roughly, what they like.

Dieter Rams and Gary Hustwit put the world to rights

Good design is like good wine – one can bore and hypothesise at great lengths about it, or one can just enjoy it and be thankful that you weren’t the poor fool who spent 16 hours a day in the studio and/or vineyard.
Despite the small reservations, for us Objectified is well worth the trip and should it be showing in a cinema near you, do try and get along.

You probably only get the organic popcorn at IFC Centre however.

(PS and we will send an official Objectified postcard to the first person who correctly identifies the pun in the first paragraph. Entries to blog@smow.de)

The NYC Post Police - tailed our every move and word

Your (smow)blog team didn’t become the internationally feared and monitored crew we are simply because we travel the world fearlessly attending opening night parties.
Oh no! We achieved our notoriety on account of our excellent network of contacts among designers, producers, critics and delivery drivers. Nothing but nothing passes us by.

As observant readers may have noticed, during our visit to the ICFF we did spend quite a lot of time complaining about the lack of tables in the press room.

And now we must admit that during ICFF we did solve the riddle.
Magis had of course delivered tables for the press room.

Piggyback by Thomas Heatherwick for Magis

In addition to supplying Chair First by Stefano Giovannoni Magis also supplied their wonderful Piggyback tables by Thomas Heatherwick.

Magis are serious and reliable partner, why would they not supply tables?

Only the Piggyback tables became damaged during set-up and spent the show stowed in a store room deep in the bowels of the Javits Centre.

And no-one from the ICFF organisation sought to seek replacements.

Behind the scenes there was a lot of talk of unions and “official processes”, but for us the fact of the missing press room tables summed up ICFF beautifully and underlines why for us it was the weakest and worst organised of the events we attended as part of the smow design spring.

Which isn’t to be interpreted as direct criticism of those who are responsible for the press work, they are also merely a partner of the organiser, and it is they who carry ultimate responsible for the shoddiness: Along with the Javits Center management.

Tints by Jason Miller - one of the true stars of ICFF 2009

The word on the street in New York was that next year ICFF may do away with the press room all together, which is truly a sad indictment on the show and how seriously it is taken. In addition to the established critics amongst the traditional media – alone the vicinity to the New York Times must, must count – America is home to some excellent design blogs, we name alone Core 77 and design milk as two that we follow and read with interest and which amuse and entertain.

When we think of, for example, Milan where from early morning to late evening texts are written, interviews carried out, pictures edited and videos cut in a dozen languages. And then New York where all too often we sat alone on the floor, or when we had company it was inevitably executives from some B2B publication deciding who to sell advertising space to.

Tablefights - we know just how they feel

Instead of further discouraging reports the ICFF should be actively recruiting those who can bring the products to the masses and so encourage other producers to book space. Or should that ugly, dirty and unkempt space at the back of the hall grow even larger?

We will be back in New York next year, not least because we  want to kick Ami timber at the 2010 Table Fights Championships – if we attend ICFF, however, remains to be seen.

We made a few fantastic discoveries at ICFF not least Jason Miller, Blu Dot and Iglooplay; three discoveries that more or less justified the air fares. But if that alone is worth struggling with a barely functioning Internet and inadequate facilities to promote an event run by an organisation who lack the ability to place two tables is a room – and that despite having rented some 145,000 net square feet to furniture producers – that remains to be seen.

Crescendo C2 maximus from stilvoll

When not jetting off around the world, sharpening our sarcasm at international designer furniture trade fairs, the (smow)blog team undertake other, non(smow), contracts.

To help us relax and unwind.

Some of us design graffiti templates, some translate classic music manuscripts and others undertake copy-editing and proofreading jobs.

Varied as they are, all these tasks are related in that sometimes you want to sit, sometimes you want to stand and regardless of whether sitting or standing you want to know that your books and documents are always available and your work instruments are close at hand.

We therefore could not believe our eyes when we met Crescendo C2 maximus by German designer Björn Kersting.

The thing is dream.  And that’s not a specialist design term. That’s a fact.

The inbuilt, stowable bookrest, the hidden storage space, the double-sided usability, height adjustable to accommodate standing or sitting users.

Crescendo C2 maximus - bookrest in detail

We can’t think of a more practical desk for those who either still work with paper – and there are a few of us out there – or whose work requires long, concentrated sessions with occasional standing. The bookrest can, for example,  just as easily serve for placing a laptop or keyboard at an optimal working angle.

Crescendo C2 maximus is also great for writing a thesis at … we could spend all day thinking up examples, but we will stop now.

If the table has one weak point it is the, for us, somewhat cumbersome and long winded height adjustment process.  Designer Kersting claims it takes 20 minutes, we have no evidence otherwise; however, for us the process of tilting and removing/adding the blocks to lower/raise the table could be simplified.

It doesn’t detract tooooooo much from the quality of the design, but if stilvoll can develop a slightly more elegant height adjustment system the Crescendo C2  maximus will be even better than it already is.

And as it is Crescendo C2 maximus is well worth investigating for all who are looking for a serious work desk.

Exclusively for smow, designer Björn Kersting now introduces his Crescendo C2 maximus:

Americans, no sense of humour (or humor as they would have it…… )

For us one of the discoveries of the ICFF was Brooklyn based designer Jason Miller.

Miller’s design contains undeniable elements of contemporary European design, albeit effortlessly combined with, for our opinion, classic European stereotypes of retro-NYC style.

We promised a text on post-colonialism in US design … and like all at smow we always keep our promises.

Duct Tape Chair by Jason Miller

Miller’s Duct Tape Chair, for example, is more than a wonderfully comfortable armchair. Reminiscent in many ways of Easy Chair by Klauser and Carpenter for Established and Sons, Duct Tape Chair is also a wonderfully constructed, wonderfully considered and wonderfully aesthetic piece. In the course of the ICFF we spent a lot of time in Duct Tape Chair and are certain that one could spend an enjoyable evening in it – preferably with a Brooklyn Lager, a bagel and the company of your favourite friendly, back-chatting, big suit wearing pimp.

Jason Millers Stand in New York - in foreground the new Modular Chandelier

Much like Manhattans lower east side Millers Modular Chandelier at first appears as an overbearingly garish and impractical construction; until you experience it en persona. Then you quickly see and appreciate the true functionality, beauty and charm of the lamp. Or the inner-city district. Called “modular” because one can configure and re-configure it as required, the work oozes Tom Dixon, yet isn’t, and can’t be.  There is, simply put, too much happening in one product for it to be European. Modular Chandelier is not yet available, but should be on the market later this year. We are already on the waiting list.

Tints by Jason Miller

What, however, first attracted our attention to Miller was his Tint tables. And that independent of our problems here at ICFF. In Milan one of the products that made us stop and smile was the Trattoria Chairs by Jasper Morrison for Magis. And we saw similar genius in Millers Tables. Whereas Morrison’s chairs wonderfully play on the traditional image of the the woven Trattoria chair, Millers tables recreate late 1970′s low-paid, inner city New York interior styling. We’ve seen the movies, we know what we’re talking about. The bonbon plexi-glass and the beautifully, deceptively crafted wooden legs convey cheap; a closer inspection and a couple of questions on the production process, however, reveal the real quality and value of the product. We were not only greatly impressed by Tints, but also over-joyed to find such a excellent, fresh and thoughtful product.

All in all Millers collection left us with a positive feeling, for all through the craftsmanship, talent and freshness of the work.

The first thing we Europeans brought to America was a twisted form of Christianity, a distaste for all exuberance and a culinary preference for root vegetables. The Americans sent us backa twisted belief in the value of brands, a distaste for the long-term and a culinary preference for lightly fried industrial meat products. Jason Miller‘s work is the evidence that amongst designers a similar exchange process is continually occuring, and that such an exchange can also bring positive benefits for all.

This model is not Jason Miller. The products however are. Our model sits in a Duct Tape Chair, beside him a Tints table. In the background is the wonderful, Colomboesque Spiral Lounge lounger/sofa/day bed

We came, we saw, we sat on the floor…

But it needn’t have been so…..

Once again the Europeans show the Americans how it should  be done. One of the largest stands in New York was that from the Saloni Milano -a  mix of the finest Italian designers: And they brought their own press room. No electricity, no Internet…but tables. And coffee.  How fondly we look back on April….

Press Lounge at the Saloni Milano Stand: First Chair and First Table by Stefano Giovannoni

Although greatly impressed by the typewriter, we also liked Desk 51 by American producer bludot as a desk. Personally we wouldn’t use the pull out lower surface, as suggested,  for stowing a keyboard; much more the beauty for us is that you can “hide” piles of papers, notebooks and the like when the desk is not in use. And so give the impression at least that your desk isn’t cluttered.

Desk 51 and Real Good Chair from bludot

We don’t neccesserily need a large table… a small side table will do. For example the stable, yet practically height adjustable Tom Tom by Konstantin Grcic for SCP.

Tom Tom by Konstantin Grcic for SCP

Or the gorgeous Spot Table by Tom Dixon with its interchangeable height stems….

Spot Table by Tom Dixon

But what does all this help, we don’t have a table…and so nowhere to place the Foster Series desk accesories by Sir Norman Foster for Helit :(

Foster Series by Helit

Not good

As everyone know everything in America is bigger. Everything.
From bagels the size of Jupiter to the level of manipulation undertaken to justify invading Iraq.

Everything in America exists on a larger scale than you thought possible.

Except furniture trade shows.

The Vitra stand in new York - smaller than the Vitra VIP area in Milan

In Milan, Artemide‘s stand, for example, was so big it was not only dissected by a time zone, but in the north east corner biologists found two previously unknown primate species. Meanwhile Kartell, following the problems in 2008, constructed an underground rail system to help visitors get around the stand more easily. This in turn led to the establishment of a local snack and newspaper vending industry which ultimatley forced Kartell to introduce their own currency – designed naturally by Phillipe Starck.

In New York, everything is tiny by comparison.

While in many areas, small equals intimacy which equals better.
Here it just serves to underline what a minor role contemporary, designer furniture plays in the USA.

ICFF is so quiet rabbits feel at ease on the stands (almost)

And for all European contemporary designer furniture.
In the ICFF book shop you can buy books on Italian design, French design, German design, British Design; there’s even lovely little book on the Vespa.

Out there in “Reality USA”, howver the majority of the consumers are obviously still obsessed with the formless and bland solid wood furniture you see adorning the loving, caring family home in every TV commercial.
We believe the word is “traditional”. Possibly “Traditional American”.

Which is a synonym for safe, unimaginative, uninteresting.
And as with most utterances of the word “traditional” by Americans, describes a narrow, defined, blinkered tradition.

droog: Stylishly disrespectful as ever - turn up, set up, go home....

Yeah, there is market for good, well mde designer furniture in the US, obviously, but it isn’t so big that one need take it seriously.

And as such a show like the ICFF suffer, because no one takes them seriously.

Sadly.

...lets fight some tables...

You couldn’t make up.

Before we departed for NYC one of those events that was already written in heavy ink in our diaries was the second annual Table Fights at Magnan Galleries.

Honest.

Even as we sat in Leipzig blithly assuming tables would be freely available in NYC, we were planning watching tables fight.

In many ways the inevitable consequence of too many childish “my table is better than yours” arguments between drunken first year design students, Table Fights has evolved from an underground, quasi-legal event into a global spectator sport.

Last years championships at ICFF was the first official recognition for the sport and in the 12 months since the international expansion has been phenomenal. Aside from the establishment of the trans-national “Balkan League” , national Table Fighting competitions are currently organised in lands as varied as Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the isolated Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan.

And so it was therefore sad to see that once again only American tables had qualified for the ICFF Masters Tournament.

That said the competition was as fierce as we’d expected and the organisation equally perfect – OK a little more free beer would have kept the crowd a little more on edge a little longer, but hey that’s small stuff and we know you’ll get that sorted by next year.

And we’re looking forward to next year – our crack team of German precision engineers are already working on the blueprints in a secret Alpine bunker.

For those of you not yet familiar with the wonderful world of Table Fighting, you can get more information at the official website, or we have packaged our videos from the evening in the smow youtube channel.

A smaller taster can be found below.