Category Archives: I-miX

inspirational, intelligent, interesting miscellaneous varied topics to knock you out

u cornered

How this one for X-mas tree

16/12/2007 DesignFlute Leave a comment

I was about to put Apartment therapy (LA) in my credit links list with a thanks. But it seemed somehow incomplete!

(Gregory @ AT wrote :AT:India, here we come?)

Hey AT sure, a very warm welcome both ways! And what better traditional way to do so but with a rangoli…

And the X-mas is just around the corner.

So how about our kind of X-mas tree this season! ?

This is traditional brass multi-tiered oil lamp from South India. Just imagine how it is going to look when it is lighted!

(And our jhula-swing as suspended furniture is an extremely interesting way to describe – new to my ears but a topic for a separate post altogether so will do a little later.)

brass lamp image via webindia123, terracotta lamp image via davidgreene

design screw, go to another level, green roots

reshaped tradition

12/12/2007 DesignFlute 1 Comment

unblossom

Kathi Stertzig and Albio Nascimento @ The Home Project

I am going to ask few questions first.

Why few young designers just do not design beautiful luxurious products, follow market trends and be happy with fame and fortune!

Why research for endless hours?

Why rummage through the tradition and think new designs?

Why insist on sustainable life style?

Why develop new material culture?

And why ask disturbing questions through designs?

Hats off to those young designers who do all these and much more and bring beautiful things to make our life easy!

Kathi Stertzig and Albio Nascimento @ The Home Project are two such designers whose designs, I am unable to ignore.

I already did a post on their postcard-which evokes a succinct remark on our life and times!

Here is their stunningly beautiful and eco -sensitive ‘unblossom’-salt crystal bowl .

Traditional hand-crafted crochet -work doilies are given new shape and function by crystallizing salt which raises them into bowls.

egg-holder

Egg-holder is a natural useful object to expose, serve and eat boiled eggs.

An old Portuguese tradition sells boiled eggs out of a plate which is filled with salt. The salt conserves the egg for a longer period and avoids strong smell. The crochet technique builds a structure for salt to crystallize. The outcome is a standard egg holder made of pure white salt crystals. A natural useful object to expose, serve and eat boiled eggs.

Few more of The Home Projects’ designs…..

Continue reading reshaped tradition →

knock, open the window

do I know these lanes

11/12/2007 DesignFlute 3 Comments

courtesy Kiki van Eijk

I have never seen so many colours in a city architecture ever before.

Have you?

courtesy Michael R. Swigart

May be you know a lot about San Cristobal de las Casas, a city in Mexico.

I did not know until a few days ago.

courtesy Alma Roma

Ever since I saw images of this colourfully rich city, I feel haunted. Yeh haunted!

I ask myself again and again – do I know these lanes?

courtesy esterpics

India is full of colours too. But no I haven’t seen these palettes.

Yellows, blues, red, greens, violets in every merry hue. All the contrasts, new combinations you can check in San Cristobal.

courtesy TommytheA

If you see any colour or shade missing do write to me, I will post them for you.

Though I am an Indian colours do not easily attract me but I do not mind these colours. In fact San Cristobal colours are mind boggling for me!

Do check all the links (all credits for these colourful photos go to them), they have many more wonderful photos. (as if my post is not exhaustive enough!)

Continue reading do I know these lanes →

go to another level

crafts show personality

07/12/2007 DesignFlute 2 Comments

postcard

Kathi Stertzig and Albio Nascimento @ The Home Project

Postcard : Campaign against cultural discrimination (Illegal beauty)

back of the postcard

What designers say ??

barren walls

miniature benches on wall

20/11/2007 DesignFlute 4 Comments

This set of miniature benches image is with me before I started blogging. I just love these cute benches. This is a small little DIY project for me. I was going to put these type of bench-shelves in children’s room. But I have got greedy and planning to put these little cuties in my kithen. My small jars and bottles of spices can sit very comfortably on them!

Anybody who knows the source of these set of miniature benches PLEASE let me know.

EDIT: The enthusiasm of Jennifer Notar (reader) has made me intensely search for the source of this set of five miniature benches and hurrah! here is the source Ballard Designs!

design screw, go to another level

pinocchio chair

15/11/2007 DesignFlute 1 Comment

Designer Julian Appelius Pinocchio chair

A chair of your own size and your own imagination. Is it a game, yes but it is chair first!

Pinocchio is a child’s chair that grows with the child, who can have fun building it again and again.

It is an interplay of colour, form, and stability. The child decides how high should the seat be? Where should the supports be? German designer Julian Appelius certainly have a very playful and innovative child still in him!

The starting age is three for Pinocchio chair and a kid can build table , shelves etc. from the several chairs.

Pinocchio chair has won first prize in Promosedia International Design Competition, 2007.