Even though it would be rare to find one of his pieces that would fit into my home's
Bazaar Style-oriented design aesthetic, I still can't help but admire
Karim Rashid and covet his space-age designs.
I'm definitely loving his
Poly chair ($340), which looks like a clever cross between my beloved
Louis Ghost Chair and the
Blu Dot Real Good Chair. Like the Ghost chair, the Poly is made of polycarbonate. Apparently, the chair was in the works for two years, with three different prototypes created to determine which design offered the most comfort, the perfect degree of inclination, and the most durability.
Having worked as a studio assistant for
Jeff Koons, an art director at
Ogilvy and a designer for
Karim Rashid between '95 and '01,
Jason Miller decided it was time to step up his game and start his own design studio in Brooklyn — and he wasn't getting ahead of himself. Miller has pinned solo exhibitions all over the map, from LA to Tokyo, and everywhere in between, and been applauded with prestigious awards like Bombay Sapphire's "Rising Star" award and Wallpaper's "Best Breakthrough Designer" award, and named a "Tastemaker" by Forbes for his quirky contemporary designs, be it furniture, interiors, or bus stops. If that weren't enough of a pat on the back, his work is in the Permanent Collection of New York's Museum of Arts and Design, and he's got clients like Areaware, Persol, Brookstone, Carlo Rossi, Kikkerland, and Idee at his beck and call.
If you can't place his name, I'll give you a nudge by reminding you of his
Ceramic Antler Chandelier, which single-handedly started the
hunting trend that The New York Times has so
lovingly already pegged "over." A brief glance at
his portfolio, marked by low-res photos used as background for projects with titles like "Whatever Flowerpots" and "Dusty Tables," and you'll probably think a: he has no design experience or b: he's got to be joking.
New York magazine recently profiled
five New Yorkers who only wear one color, all day, every day. Industrial designer
Karim Rashid, a Designer Spotlight, was one of them. Rashid wears white half the time, and pink half the time; somehow the pink
doesn't surprise me.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the interview:
Rashid on why he wears all white:
In college, I was obsessed with wearing all white.
Semiramis Hotel is a 52-room hotel in Athens, Greece, and designer
Karim Rashid's first hotel project undertaking. I guess Rashid has beginner's luck (or really intimidating talent), because the hotel's design is inspiring, polished, and every square inch is original. Of the project, Rashid said, "Hotels today make you feel like you're living in the previous century.
