Red dress.... and the winner is....

The winning option of the "Gai Mattiolo Red dress" poll is this one! Semi-long tighter shaped skirt with semi-long sleves. I will also bring in the sides slightly in order to fit a bit better.
I just realised that it looks like my hands have been chopped off and reattached..hmm. This effect is due to a hairband on one hand and a red bracelett on the other.. At least this part can't be blamed on this quickly photoshoped photo. Don't pay attention to the colour changes on the upper arm... 
So are you happy with the results of this one winning the competition? The ready result of when I actually modify it will be posted in a future.

Books books books II

So what are the trends for bookshelves 2011?
- Shape: Variability - flexibility
- Boxes / wooden crates
- Materials: combine many different materials, colours.
Rustic + New = perfect.

We already saw this trend starting to come at the end of 2010 with the fact of mixing design furniture with rustic second hand pieces. Perfect for the bachelour trying to find things for his new home!
A simular trend was seen in the 1920's when a lot of discoveries were being made in terms of materials. And then again in the 1950's when the use of second hand-recycled materials were being used. A well-known architect and furniture designer was Charles Eames. His bookshelves shown at the bottom of this article he combines different materials, colours, open and closed compartments, etc.
So why has this trend come again now?
Since we started keeping our eyes open for eco-friendly, recyclable, and low cost housing and furniture, it becomes natural to look for second hand furniture. In fact, what's the point of making new furniture if we already have them available? And what makes a home more personal than combining "randma's old rocking chair" with the latest design?





Photo from Kråvik & D'Orazio.
Swedish design - Svenskttenn.
The bookshelf "Alternata" where the different compartments can be combined however suits you best.


Collect _ Wis design.
Collect _ Wis design.
Collect _ Wis design.
Isn't this one sweet? It's called "Unique_standard"
In fact it uses low-cost wood.
Kast _ Maarten Van Severen
Infinity _ Flexform
Infinity _ Flexform.

Sistema _ CapelliniCharles Eames bookshelf

Vote for red dress modification

I was given this Gai Mattiolo dress yesterday. And it's already a lovely dress but I think it needs some alterations. The only problem is I can't decide what do do! Help!!
At the very bottom of the blog you can vote for the different options! Please also comment if you have any further ideas!

Luxury vs. Budget I

When you start learning about design you can start to see the difference between a design piece and it's copy. It's not always easy though and at other times very obvious but one decides it's not important. The main reason one chooses the copy generally is the price. It's simply a choice.
I recently bought the coat hanger from Tiger for just 4 euros. I couldn't resist simply because I had seen the Charles Eames version live for the first time earlier that day and saw that it cost 250 euros. After having bought the Tiger coat hanger I went into Lagerhaus and saw that they also have a copy, (that I thought looked much worse than the Tiger one) for 14 euro. So I was very happy with my 4 euro budget coat hanger.
When it comes to the Moooi lamp, well it's a gem! It is truely beautiful. BUT I decided to make my own! I bought 400m (yes you need all of it) of plastic string used for wrapping presents, a yoga ball (that can obviously be cleaned and re-used) and paper machè glue. It took about 2 days all in all once I had everything I needed. A few hours to wind the string and a day for it to dry. Anyway, I'll do a detailed blog entry about that later on!

Andrea Brugi _ Designer

These are the photos of the work and studio of Italian wood-work artist Andrea Brugi. He does work whos shapes are inspirerd directly from nature and the piece of wood he is working with. He is most known for his cutting boards.
But more than his work I was mainly impressed by the photos of his studio. A great rustic feel which puts you in a nice mood.
If you want to see more of his stuff check out his homepage:
Andrea Brugi.

Botanical Macro...

Daphodile in my windowsill.
Wheat field, spring, Italy.
Wheat field, spring, Italy.
Wheat field, spring, Italy.
Wild asparagus.
Chili in Venice.
Chili on my terrace, Italy.
Colourful chili on my terrace, Italy.
Pine, September, Pescomaggiore, Italy.
Red berries, September, Pescomaggiore, Italy.
Natural ocre used for painting straw bale houses, Pescomaggiore, Italy.
Dad's orchid, Italy.
Making elderberry juice, spring, Italy.