On the Radar -- An Eastern Vibe

We Blackbird girls L-O-V-E Asian design, and it's very visible in our collections.  I know we mention here and there about what we collect (believe me, you've just seen the tip of the iceberg), but we have a genre-crossing collection that we refer to as the Asian collection.  It includes Chinese checkerboards, paint-by-numbers, Asian themed sheet music and labels, tea tins, fortune telling items, and other various tiny tins, like a Buddha incense tin and a French Chinoiserie thread tin.  Also included in this is one of our most favorite things (I know, we say that about everything!) -- our bright yellow Chinese Chippendale mid-century chair.  Here's the chair, but in green.  Mmmm...I want these to add to the collection...

Well, imagine how excited I was when I was browsing Yahoo yesterday and found an article about IKEA's new products, developed with Chinese designers.  I want it all.  And I had to immediately share the link with the other Blackbird.  Look at all these goodies, available at the end of the month at IKEA.

There's lots more amazing items -- you can see the slideshow here.  I love their whimsical take on traditional Chinese design.  All the ping pong balls -- they have one vase with a ping pong paddle, and the lucky cats, are just adorable.  They are tongue in cheek, and so much fun.

I love this brighter, bolder, modern take on Asian design.  It reminds me of my Chinese checkerboards -- they have great patterns and motifs, and the colors are super bright.  Like this one:

Available on Etsy from PassedBy, here.

So in honor of IKEA taking a brief trip from Sweden to China, here's a round up of some of my favorite modern Asian finds on Etsy!

Tray from God Save the Kitsch, here.

From China Tea Ware, here.

Coasters from Cheltenham Road, here.

From Stillwater Art Studio, here.

And of course, my dream table, from one of my favorite furniture companies, Red Egg.  Their designs are stunning, and I lurve the red finish!

Indochine dining table, here.

On the Radar -- Icy Eco Glam

Bernhardt Furniture

Icy Eco Glam.  OK, that's what I'm calling it, so get over it. 

That was the biggest trend of what I saw at the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point last week.  HP Market is undoubtedly one of my most favorite things in the world.  I've been telling my students for weeks that it's, "MAGICAL!  MAGICAL, I tell you!"  And they rolled their eyes at me-- until they got there.  Even just waiting for our program to begin, sitting at the check-in desk in Market Square, seeing all the buyers from all over the world and having their first glimpses of showrooms, had them wanting more.  They were busting at the seams to see EVERYTHING.  And so was I.

Alas, I had a limited time frame to visit market.  I didn't get to see even 1/20th of what I wanted to see.  But as we bustled through hallways and down corridors, moving from one part of our WithIt tour to another, I saw a trend emerge through the blur.

Icy Eco Glam.  Let me break this down for you. 

CR Laine daybed, from apartment therapy, here.

The "Icy" part comes from all the blue and white I saw, most specifically all the cool, wintery aquas and ice blues and blue-whites, as well as some deeper turquoises and teals.  If a showroom had a pop color, 8 times out of 10 it was an aqua.  And to up the odds, if they had a cream or white or ivory vignette (which they did), it was highlighted with pale blue or blue-white.  In other words, white/ivory/cream is the neutral hue du jour, darling, and to make it au courant, add icy aqua.

Casablanca cocktail table, Currey and Company

Now on to the "Eco" part.  I like to think of this part as the maturing of organic and natural design.  It's like all those crazy hippies with their hemp and reclaimed wood have moved past their artsy-fartsy-let's-save-the-world-with-ugly-furniture phase and have embraced their more "designed" and classy coming of age.  No more patchwork, recycled junk for us -- no, sir!  We understand the importance of an ogee foot!  Eco can be beautiful!  Let's use natural woods and concrete and handwoven textiles that cost more than a small car!  Let's embrace craft, but not arts and crafts! 

(Disclaimer -- this does not really reflect my personal stance -- I am quite the hippie, and I love craft time.  This is just what I imagine the conversation was in the boardrooms of all these furniture companies.  However, I do appreciate good design, and would happily accept any of the pieces I saw at Market into my fantasy house where nothing ever gets puked on by the cat and there is an additional 10,000 square feet.  And, I do confess, some of the early eco designs were not done well -- they were organic for organic's sake.  Much better to make something beautiful and eco-friendly.)

Ankasa beaded textile art from Trowbridge

Now to finish -- the "Glam" part.  I saw metallic finishes everywhere.  To be more specific, I saw gold everywhere.  Lighting, occasional tables, mirrors, art, objets d'art, accessories, furniture legs, textiles, rugs.  Nourison had a hide patchwork rug with a speckled metallic finish.  What???  Crazy!  And it wasn't super shiny metallic everyone was doing -- it was a brushed finish.  Now, the other side of that glam coin is the simplification of shapes.  Everything was very classic and clean.  Designed well; not over designed (or under designed).  It was balanced, and interesting, and...soft and subtle, and very, very pretty.  The furniture will make you feel like a modern-day Norma Shearer or Barbara Stanwyck.

Overall, it felt like Hollywood Glam, Midcentury Modern, and Eco-Friendly decided to join forces and make a new style.  And so now, Icy Eco Glam has been born.  Hmmm, maybe I should trademark that name...

Studio A, a Global Views company

Now, to finish, I'll share with you my two favorite parts of market:  one, I got to go back to Red Egg.  It's one of my favorite showrooms.  I've loved the furniture since I was in design school, and the owner/designer Carol Gregg is a sweet, talented, fantastic woman.  Her pieces are fun, and timeless, and amazingly beautiful.  I fell head over heels for a bright yellow bar this market, but here's a lovely example of their style:

Double Happiness Shanghai bookcase, Red Egg

And two, I lurve Taracea's signage outside their showroom.  Their sign consisted of large letters made from furniture pallets.  So awesome!  I couldn't go into the showroom (no time! sob!), and I have never heard of them, but they seem to fit with the "Eco" part of my post.  Their cool sign definitely put them on my radar...

On the Radar -- Love Letters

As a designer, it's natural that I love typography.  I collect fonts like I collect junk.  But we Blackbird girls also collect other forms of typography.  We'll get into that in a future Junk Love post, but for today, I wanted to share what other people have been doing with fonts and letters and words.

Vintage letters like this have been wildly popular for the last few years.  We have some similar:

From Elements by Timbers on Etsy, here.

But that trend spawned new love for text.  Here's the round-up:

Tabisso furniture

Door decal from The Vinyl Company on Etsy, here.

Helvetica Scarf from The Little Factory on Etsy, here.

Kate Spade dinnerware.

Mint Design, Fall/Winter 2013

On the Radar -- Painted Schmainted

The Blackbird girls will paint anything that stands still long enough.  1970s plastic sconces.  Old (ugly) brooches.  Lamps.  Bubble wrap.  Even furniture -- unless the wood is good wood.  Then it's a no-go.  And, yes, somehow, painted furniture is (still) "in" fashion.  But...

Blah, blah, blah.  Painted furniture.  Been there, done that.  BO-RING!

We DEMAND a change.  Shake it up, people!  Welcome pattern and texture and color into your life!  We're presenting these options to you, our readers, today, to inspire you to paint greatness.  Step away from the white paint and sandpaper.  Realize that "Shabby Chic" starts with shabby.  Dive into the paint chips and pick something other than a neutral.  Or a pastel.  Try red or royal blue or canary yellow or kelly green or tangerine or ALL OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME!  Invest in a stencil (or make a stencil).  Buy some painter's tape.  Rub your little creative brain cells together!

Just remember two things -- 

First, pattern:

Chevron

Stripes

Everything!!

Try just accenting the legs with pattern...

 Second, color:

Not so traditional anymore, eh?

NEON!

Just bright tops, hmmm...

Now, put it together and paint EVERYTHING!!

Trunk, headboard, baskets, dresser, frames, vase, keys in the artwork...it's all painted!

The Skinny -- Fornasetti

Piero Fornasetti

You probably know his work even if you don't know his name.  Piero Fornasetti's art is instantly recognizable and graphically stunning.  He was not only a painter, but also a sculptor, interior decorator, designer, printmaker, and engraver. He created more than 11,000 products from his art, ranging from furniture to ceramics to wallpaper. 

Born in Milan in 1913, Fornasetti attended, and was expelled from, Brera Academy, where he studied drawing, in the first two years of the 1930s.  A year later, in 1933, he exhibited his very first piece of art in a student exhibition at the Milano University.  Fornasetti also designed a group of silk scarves, printed with newsprint and architectural motifs, exhibited at the Milan Triennale. 

He was conscripted into the Army during WWII, but instead of fighting, he was given the task of painting the regimental barracks in the Piazza San Ambrogio.  He was exiled to Switzerland from 1943 to 1946 to avoid more military service, but continued to produce his art throughout this time.

In 1940, Fornasetti met Gio Ponti, an Italian architect and designer, and designed ‘The Lunar’ illustrated Calendar book for him.  He worked continuously with Ponti until his death in 1979.  They collaborated on designing art, products and furniture, as well as interiors, such as the complete interior of the Casa Lucano, the ocean liner Andrea Doria, and the ballroom of New York's Time-Life building.

Fornasetti's most important contribution was the joining of design and art through furniture, interiors, and products.  He was one of the first to develop the idea of "branding" himself and serially producing his art for public product consumption.   

His work includes constant use of black and white, the sun and time. His style is heavily influenced by Greek and Roman architecture.  His most famous work is, without a doubt, his illustrations featuring the face Lina Cavalieri, an operatic soprano.  Fornasetti found her face in a 19th century magazine, turning the black and white image into an iconic representation of his work. It was known as the “Tema e Variazioni” (theme and variation) plate series.  He said:
“What inspired me to create more than 500 variations on the face of a woman? I don’t know. I began to make them and I never stopped.”  

Tema e Variazioni

Fornasetti's work faded in popularity throughout the 1970s, but with the opening of the design store, Themes and Variations, in London in 1980, interest was reawakened. He published a book in 1987, a collaboration with Patrick Mauriès that illustrated his collective works.  Piero Fornasetti died in 1988 at age 75.  His son, Barnaba Fornasetti is continuing his dad's legacy by continuing to produce his work.

 

 

Covered Latte Cups from Barking Sands Vintage on Etsy

*Information from http://www.fornasetti.com, wikipedia, and www.sinaiandsons.com

On the Radar -- Bamboo

Vintage Bamboo Purse from Ravenous Creatures

We Blackbird girls have always loved Asian influenced design.  Its simplicity, functionality, and respect for natural materials, when added to a culture rich in storytelling and symbolism, makes for an endless supply of inspiration.  Of the many things from Asian design that could be reinterpreted and reinvented, bamboo is probably one of the most common -- and most exciting.

We've been noticing bamboo for awhile now, and we think we're about to see even more.  Bamboo is a highly renewable resource in a planet that is running low on resources.  It grows quickly, and can be used in widely varying applications.  Bamboo textiles are all over the marketplace, from towels to t-shirts.  It can also be used for flooring, decking, and fencing.

From style-files.com by Lotte van Laatum

What's most exciting to us, though, is the different ways people are mixing bamboo items into their decor or fashion.  Whether you go ultra contemporary, with some of the clean lined furniture pieces that are being made today, or 1930s-40s glam with vintage pieces, bamboo will add a touch of unexpectedness.  Just like when we talked about navy and bright colors, adding a touch of bamboo will be the piece de resistance to any room or outfit.

Indochine Headboards by Red Egg, from en.paperblog.com

Think about painting your bamboo to make it more dramatic.  In Ohio, we found a great vintage tray made from natural bamboo. It was large, sturdy and had a great shape, but we wanted color!  We needed it as a display for some clear glass decanters, on a table with a barkcloth tablecloth.We decided on a vivid lime green (an accent color from the cloth), and spray painted it.*  What a difference!  The tray looked better than new, and the bamboo-ness still came through.  And the decanters...well, they looked fab on it!

Check out the shop to see our vintage blue umbrella with a faux bamboo handle! 

Sky Blue Umbrella from our shop!

*We spray paint ANYTHING and EVERYTHING.