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Nice and New: Karim Rashid's Poly Chair

casasugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:00:46 -0700

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. The Poly has already won two international awards, the Chicago Athenaeum’s Good Design Award and the Red Dot Design Award.
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Designer Spotlight: Jason Miller

casasugar — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:00:53 -0700

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. Well, that latter is only true, and in truth, the joke's on you; his terracotta flowerpots are shaped, not made, of whatever (beer cans, plastic jugs), and his table doesn't suggest that a neglected furnishing is a design, but the dusty table is coated in a finish making it only appear so — real grime is optional. It's no wonder pubs like Dwell, Domino, Metropolitan Home, and House & Garden have been all over him like, well, dust on a table; he's miraculously made everyday dirt trendy.
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Karim Rashid Wears Only Two Colors

casasugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:00:28 -0700

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. I felt angelic and free. But then, in the early eighties, I started wearing black. That was status quo in the avant-garde. If you were interesting — a designer, an architect — you wore all black.

On why he also wears pink:

Sometimes I think it’s because my mother dressed me in pink when I was a child. She wanted me to be a girl.

On whether or not he wears pink underwear:

The only place in the world that sells men’s pink underwear is American Apparel.

Source

Would You Want a Pink and Curvy Seat For Your Love Shack?

casasugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 04:20:52 -0800

Leave it to over-the-top designer Karim Rashid to give us a pretty-in-pink two-person chair for your Love Shack. The Veuve Clicquot Love Seat ($10,000) resembles two huge flower petals with an adjoining middle champagne bucket, connected on a chrome-plated pedestal. The loveseat is a contemporary take on an 18th century French armchair, and with only 120 produced, you know you're getting a rare and romantic piece indeed.

Would You Want a Pink and Curvy Seat For Your Love Shack?

It may be over the top, but I love it!

Maybe, if I could find some way to integrate it into my home.

No way!

Other, I'll tell you below.

Home Away From Home: Semiramis Hotel Athens

casasugar — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 05:16:56 -0800

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. That's the last thing I want to do." I'm definitely getting an other-worldly Jetsons-meets-Real-World-house-meets-cruise-ship vibe from my look at the photos, and certainly don't think it resembles the previous century, or any century for that matter. So, he must have pulled it off.

The hotel is located in the suburb of Kifissia, in the heart of evolving Athens, surrounded by high-end boutiques, restaurants, and cafes and set 340 meters above sea level. It features 42 balcony rooms with pool or park view, five poolside bungalows, three penthouse studios, and one penthouse suite, plus all the unnecessary amenities, ranging in price from $337 to $440 a night. If I ever make it to Athens, I'll be sure to get my shop on at the local boutiques. That is, if I can drag myself away from Semiramis's pool deck.
To see photos of the superb spot,

Designer Spotlight: Karim Rashid

casasugar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:32:50 -0800

Canadian-by-way-of-Cairo designer Karim Rashid appears to be a man of endurance. He's successfully tried his hand at designing products, interiors, fashion, furniture, lighting, art—and he's even put out his own CD. Now based in New York, Rashid is best known for bringing his high designs to the average consumer. He's designed for clients such as Dirt Devil, Umbra, Prada, Miyake, and Method. His work is in the permanent collections of fourteen museums, including MoMA and SFMoMA and he exhibits art in various galleries.

For a list of awards he's won in 2007 alone, plus a gallery of his super-mod designs, just

Dirt Devil KONE and KURV by Karim Rashid

casasugar — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:46:17 -0800

This is your handheld vacuum.

This is your handheld vacuum on good design.

To find out all about these new, stylish hand vacs, just

Sale Alert: New Discounts at Design Within Reach

casasugar — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:51:22 -0700

Design Within Reach doesn't always live up to its name when it comes to pricing. But the one-stop shop for mid-century modern design does have some super sales.

It just newly discounted more than 50 products, including a few DWR exclusives, some trendy accent pieces, and furniture by Eames and other legendary names. I'm tempted by this Kite Chair by Karim Rashid, which is now just $510. Check out the rest of my picks from the sale below.