Affected by Petz Scholtus

May 14, 2010 – 10:36 am

Affected.FrogKikkerland is thrilled to present an exciting new design: “Affected”  from Petz Scholtus at PokoDesign. We recently interviewed her about her cork board design, her endangered animal subjects (a polar-bear, tree frog and songbird), the impact her work has on the environment and her take on the future of sustainable design.

Kikkerland: Why did you design ‘Affected’?

Petz Scholtus: Often my designs are based on a need to improve a daily situation, but in this case I started to design from the material; the cork. I am fascinated with cork, a very sustainable and at the same time curious material, and I am exploring this strange and yet so familiar material. One of the outcomes is Affected. As I was looking for shapes for the bulletin boards, it occurred to me that these could remind us of more than just our personal affairs (notes, reminders, shopping lists…) we pin to it, and I felt the need to raise awareness about global warming, but not in a doomsday or preachy way. So I thought to bring the message across by referencing some of the animals that are already seriously affected by global warming; the tree frogs, the polar bear and the migrating songbirds.

K: Why is cork a sustainable source material?

PS: There are many reasons; cork is fully renewable (meaning it grows back, not like petrol) and 100% biodegradable, leaving no waste behind at the end of its lifecycle. I also like the fact that no trees need to be chopped down to get the material, since it’s only the bark of the trees that is used. Cork oak forests are very rare and special ecosystems that face extinction, so it is important to keep making things out of cork, especially since the wine stoppers are increasingly made of plastic. By consuming cork in a sustainable manner, we keep the ecosystems alive, and with them a unique biodiversity, which includes the Iberian Lynx who lives in cork oak forests in Portugal. Last but not least, cork off-cuts can easily be recycled into new products so there is no waste created during the production.

K: What are your hopes for the future of sustainable design?

PS: My hopes for the future (and I see it is already happening which is nice) is that sustainable design becomes mainstream and the word “sustainable design” disappears. By that I mean that sustainable design is really simply good design, and should never be an excuse for a badly designed object to sell. I hope one day soon both designers, the industry and the consumers will look for the eco-friendliness of things, just like we look at functionality, cost, esthetics and other criteria. I don’t believe that sustainable design is a type of design like graphic design or product design, but it should be applied to everything we design and make.

K: You seem to be someone with an eye on innovation in green design, what are some other projects (yours or others) that excite you right now?

PS: I have a lot of respect for designer who design for “The Other 90%” (see Paul Polak), meaning those people who live on less than 2$ a day. There are some great designs out there who really tackle a pressing need and work towards a better world. I also believe (to a certain degree!) in the Cradle to Cradle approach and I think that the office chairs ‘Think’ by Steelcase and ‘Mirra’ by Hermann Miller are a step into the right direction. Then, I love it when designers work with craftsmen in order to create ethical and eco-friendly local products. This is both interesting from an environmental as well as a social point of view. And the products are gorgeous, like those by Formafantasma. As with my own work, I am excited about the challenge of creating products that have a small ecological footprint, a good story and an important message and at the same time have the ability to bring fun and pleasure into our daily lives.

K: Just curious, what do you have pinned to your cork board?

PS: A post card from New York, a recipe to make your own pickles, tickets for an upcoming music festival and the ‘Repair Manifesto’ by the Dutch Platform21.

By kikkerland | Posted in Critters, Products | Comments (2)

Grandfather Clock by Rob Price

May 13, 2010 – 6:40 pm

At this year’s ICFF, we’re unveiling a gorgeous, new wall clock design:  the Grandfather Clock by Rob Price.   Kikkerland is now producing the clock and selling it globally. We’re thrilled about our first collaboration with the designer, so we sat down to chat with Rob about the clock and what inspired him. Here’s part of our conversation:

Kikkerland:  People seem charmed by the Grandfather Clock.  What do you think about it resonates with people?
Rob Price:  I think the biggest thing is that it’s a new version of a classic clock.  Perhaps people are surprised to see something that immediately feels familiar yet different.

K:  How did you come up with the Grandfather Clock?
RP:  The idea came to me one day several years ago when I was thinking about the idea of slicing away excess in design.  Soon after, I made one Grandfather Clock for a New York design exhibit and at that show, people started asking me if they could buy the clock.  The positive feedback encouraged me to make more clocks.

K:  Why did you choose to work with Kikkerland to start producing your clock?
RP:  They have a very strong clock category and I appreciate Kikkerland’s approach to design overall.  The company keeps the fun, wit and humor in all the products they sell and I think we’re on the same page there.  I’m very happy about this partnership.

K:  What kind of spaces does the Grandfather Clock work best in?
RP:  The clock is quite versatile because it’s classic and modern at the same time.  I’ve seen it enhance home and office spaces that vary from small to big and classic to modern.

K:  What was the inspiration behind your 20-second video about the clock?
RP:  It’s a visual fantasy that brings the slicing away idea to life.

K:  What do you like most about the Grandfather Clock?
RP:  The hands break free of the constraints of the clock, which is fun.  Also, some of the numbers on the clock are “missing,” but the person looking at the clock can still easily read the time.  It’s abstract yet accessible.

Rob Price, 31, is creative director of Thwart Design and an industrial designer. He founded Thwart Design in 2004 to harness the creative strength of New York-based designers whose work he respects. Thwart Design’s objective is to create design for art’s sake. Rob graduated from Pratt Institute’s industrial design program in 2002 and has since designed a wide range of products, including the Grandfather Clock and Pork Chop Piggy Bank.

By kikkerland | Posted in ICFF, Products, Uncategorized, videos | Comments (1)

Designer Interviews Designer: Brian Ling talks to Chico Bicalho

June 22, 2009 – 4:42 pm

Chico Bicalho and his partner in life and design Isabella Torquato.

FutureLab’s Brian Ling, aka. The Design Translator, talks to Kikkerland Designer Chico Bicalho for an in-depth interview.

Discussed: Rio, metallic rats, RISD, 4500 Critters made by hand, Canal St., Quark Xpress, partnerships, planting 100,000 trees, advice to young designers.

http://blog.futurelab.net/2007/12/mechanical_critters_an_intervi.html

By lkellner | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

BURO-GDS INSPIRATIONS

May 28, 2009 – 7:58 am

posted by graphic designer ellen zhou of BURO-GDS on blog.buro-gds.com.

“Kikkerland Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier. Imagine a whole series of these architectural toys mixing buildings with “creatures” by Chico Bicalho!”

We do Ellen, we do!

Download postcard here:

http://buro-gds.com/halfbaked-pdf/090502-kikkersavoye.pdf

By lkellner | Posted in Critters | Comments (3)

King of Little Things

May 21, 2009 – 11:28 am

Jan van der Lande in the land of small design.

I was often asked by ICFF attendees what it was we did to be a part of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair. Consider this. If you were to go home, sit on your favorite chair, and look around the room, what would you notice? All the small stuff. That’s what we do. We design the small things.

We have a calendar that will literally never be out of date. We have wind-up toys that are as fun for adults as for kids. We have a cuckoo clock that doesn’t cuckoo, a crow bar for opening bottles, a globe without a single country’s name on it. These are the kind of things we make.

It’s our hope that a Kikkerland product will someday end up in your home and that you’ll look at it, and use it, and come to think of it as a favorite thing…along with that chair you love.

(written with David Kucharsky, photo by Laura Kellner)

By lkellner | Posted in ICFF, stories | Comments (1)

Kikkerland Design ICFF - Highlights

May 21, 2009 – 10:22 am

The ‘can’ booth as it affectionately came to be known by ICFF attendees and other exhibitors, designed by Jan Habraken. Built out of almost 3000 cans of Campbell’s Tomato, Cream of Mushroom, and Chicken Noodle Soup and donated to City Harvest after the show.

DesignNotes author Michael Surtees said, “…Pretty much the only stand out for me was from Kikkerland. I’ve seen can’s used to create stuff before but this was a nice evolution. Great use of an iconic brand, the booth had a lot of life and at the end of the show nothing will be wasted.” http://designnotes.info/?p=1782

People kept asking if we won the best booth award…we didn’t,  I am curious who did…

Habraken and where all his designs come from. Also shown, Alissia Melka-Teichroew and Ilona Huvenaar’s Tree Trunk Stool, Pieter Woudt’s Pixel Puzzle. Billy Shelton of Chicago Architecture Foundation cameo.

Endangered Species erasers by Kikkerland Design. 2% of sales will be donated to helping endangered species through the Center of Biological Diversity.

Umbrellas for the Civil but Discontent Man by Materious (Bruce and Stephanie Tharp)

Mathew Bird, RISD prof and owner Curiosites in RI, designer Gaby Lewin, designer Chris Collicott, Top Design winner Nathan Thomas, lighting designer David Weeks, Kevin Brynan of MXYPLYZYK and Kikkerland’s Jan van der Land, designer Pieter Woudt, Materious’ umbrella designer Bruce Tharp, 1745 Flip Clock designer Michael Daniels and his wife, Kikkerland designer David Kucharsky, Kikkerland designer Jay Lee, and interested customer.

The Chicken Noodle low-table by Jan Habraken…and Habraken’s little yellow Duck Sponges.

Skidum - the new wind-up by Chico (Brazil), Tree Trunk Stool(Holland) and fan, floor mats by Group inc.(NYC/Berlin), Gun bag by Miriam van der Lubbe(Holland)

Jan Habraken from Holland being shot by David Kucharsky

the dismantle.

By lkellner | Posted in ICFF | Comments (2)

Skidum, Skidum, Skidum

May 14, 2009 – 4:56 pm

The new wind-up by Chico Bicalho called SKIDUM is making its exclusive debut tonight at the Museum of Modern Art - MoMA shop in Soho - NYC for their exhibit “Made in Brazil.”

The moves on this wind-up are like break-dancing to salsa music, it spins and stops and spins back the other way - pirouetting itself into a dizzy spell. It and me both!  What’s also cool is the gears glow in the dark. I wonder if those break-dancers ever wore glow in the dark clothing?


By lkellner | Posted in Products | Comments (1)

International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) Booth 2126 Designed by Award-Winning Booth Designer Jan Habraken for Kikkerland Design

May 13, 2009 – 5:39 pm

kikkerland can

May 16 - 19, 2009 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, New York City.  Kikkerland Design makes a booth out of 2000 cans of soup and will donate them to New York’s hungry through City Harvest after the show.

New design from Alissia Melka-Teichroew and Ilona Huvenaars, Pieter Woudt, Materious, and Chico Bicalho - whose new wind up SKIDUM is debuting exclusively at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for their “Designed in Brazil” exhibition.

By lkellner | Posted in ICFF | Comments (2)

LEUCHTTURM1917

May 13, 2009 – 5:08 pm

May 17-20, 2009 in New York City at the Stationery Show held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, Kikkerland Design will introduce a new line of notebooks, planners and accessories called LEUCHTTURM1917, manufactured by the German stationery company Leuchtturm. Producing high quality stationery for over 90 years this family owned business has become the world’s leading manufacturer of coin and stamp albums. This, their first line of notebooks and planners, are a blend of unique and practical features including newly designed archival bleed-proof paper, numbered pages and an index for organizing notes.

There are shops in the US that have picked up the introductory styles including the awesome MASTER SIZE book that measures 9 x 12″ - big enough to store large sheets of paper with out damaging the edges (I personally recommend the grid-version) - with new styles arriving in late July.

Here are a few stores offering LEUCHTTURM1917 now: MXYPLYZYK and McNally Robinson Bookstore in New York City; Powell’s Books in Portland; Arch, Heartfelt and Flax in San Francisco; HR Meininger in Denver; Boulder Books in Boulder; and the National Building Museum in Washington DC.

By lkellner | Posted in Leuchtturm1917 | Comments (1)

“Gastralgia”

March 17, 2009 – 8:05 am

Congratulations to Anja Swoape, 12, who won the seven-county metro area regional Minnesota Scripps Spelling Bee on Saturday, March 14th by correctly spelling “gastralgia.”

The sixth-grader from Valley View Middle School in Edina was born in Germany and is fluent in French as a result of her education at Normandale French Immersion School.  Kikkerland Design sent all the spellers our pop-up booklights through the sponsoring law firm LOCKRIDGE GRINDAL NAUEN who is sending the winning speller to the Scripps Spelling Bee in Washington DC.  Thank you for contacting us to participate in this exciting event!

By lkellner | Posted in stories | Comments (0)