How Designers are Reimagining Humanity’s Relationship with Nature

Curiosity Cloud designed by mischer’traxler studio on view in Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. Photo by Scott Rudd.

In Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, the new exhibition at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, a sound like the plinking of raindrops greets visitors as they immerse themselves within Curiosity Cloud. Designed by mischer’traxler studio, the installation features a curtain of oversized incandescent lightbulbs that illuminate as visitors investigate the lifelike robotic insects flitting within.

Curiosity Cloud is not only a joy to experience, but also a thought-provoking meditation on biodiversity. The insects that the designers emulated are species that are either native or invasive to New York, and the delicate glass bulbs that hold them suggest the fragility of our ecosystems. It is one of 62 works by international designers and design teams featured in the Design Triennial, co-organized with Cube design museum in Kerkrade, Netherlands. In a first for Cooper Hewitt, the exhibition is presented simultaneously on both sides of the Atlantic.

Installation view of Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. Photo by Matt Flynn © Smithsonian Institution.

The projects in the Design Triennial range from the speculative to the practical. Only the most daring fashion plates might don Fantasma by AnotherFarm, a spectral, three-headed prairie dress woven from glowing silk made by injecting silkworm eggs with coral DNA. But artists around the world have already adopted AIR-INK, the first marker to transform pollution into a pigment. Anirudh Sharma, co-founder of Graviky Labs, spearheaded the project, which is sold at the museum’s gift shop.

View of Monarch Sanctuary designed by Terreform ONE on view in Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. Photo by Matt Flynn © Smithsonian Institution.

Monarch Sanctuary, a full-scale model developed by the architecture studio Terreform ONE, exemplifies the exhibition’s sense of optimism. Ultra-sleek in its design and made using 3-D printed molds, the project proposes transforming the facades of commercial buildings in Nolita into vertical refuges for the at-risk butterfly. Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial inspires hope that, through international and cross-disciplinary collaboration, scientists, engineers, environmentalists, and scholars may realign human activity with the laws of nature.

Nature—Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial is now on view at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2 E 91st St, New York, NY.

WantedDesign announces new director of retail.

WantedDesign Announces Appointment of Katherine Lock asDirector of Retail

(Brooklyn, NY—June 12, 2019)—WantedDesign announced today the appointment of Katherine Lock as Director of Retail to lead the IC Store by WantedDesign, a newly created position in the company. Lock comes from an accomplished eighteen-year career at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, where she served in a variety of roles culminating in senior manager of merchandise and product development.
Her work led most recently to write-ups in Architectural Digest and Vogue magazine, covering a capsule collection of over 60 products produced to compliment the acclaimed Hilma af Klint exhibition. Lock assumed her role with WantedDesign on May 13th. “We are excited to bring Katherine’s retail experience and eye for narrative design to the store, which serves to capture and delight the thousands of diverse people who visit and work at Industry City and participate in its many attractions, including WantedDesign Brooklyn + IC Design Festival events each May,” said founders, Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat.

A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Lock studied fine art at the University of Iowa and maintains a painting practice among her creative pursuits. Lock said, “I am interested in the ways spirited retail presentation and collaborative events can tell the story of design through multiple lenses including history, material, art, culture and social engagement. As I embark on this role, I look forward to building on the store’s dynamic merchandise assortment, casting a spotlight on emerging designers and programming a variety of events that encapsulate WantedDesign’s mission to display innovation and explore creative subjects. I’m excited to further feature some of the great studios working out of IC, such as Sylvan Park, and equally enthusiastic about continuing to offer design product favorites, such as those from the Areaware brand.”

Located at 268 36th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11232, the IC Store by WantedDesign offers a curated assortment of objects, accessories, toys, jewelry, housewares and more. Highlighting the array of independent designers who work out of Industry City as well as cutting edge brands and classics from around the globe, the store is dedicated to designers who help shape and inspire everyday life.

Follow @wanteddesignstore on Instagram to see our latest finds!
Contact Katherine Store@wanteddesignnyc.com

Paintzen Presents How Technology Impacts Color and Design

This year, Paintzen was a sponsor of WantedDesign’s conversation series at NYCxDesign. In addition to being a sponsor, Paintzen’s Senior Director of Marketing, Brand, Kristen Chuber, gave a presentation on technology’s impact on color selection and how professionals can use it for their clients.

What used to be such a personal and subjective choice is now informed by diverse disciples and regionally specific tastes. Technology offers us an endless source of inspiration. With platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, color inspiration is at our fingertips and there is a continuous conversation about good design and style.

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See the newest colors from Caesarstone at WantedDesign

One of the co-sponsors of the opening night of WantedDesign 2019 is none other than Caesarstone, the leading manufacturer of premium quartz surfaces for kitchens, bathrooms and more. For more than a decade, Caesarstone has set new standards in creativity and craftsmanship, and has proven to be a trendsetter in the design world.

Today, Caesarstone is the embodiment of “Beautifully Superior,” taking nature’s best and perfecting it through technological and design-driven innovation. This year, as oxidized steel, untreated wood and raw concrete have become the robust materials being used by leading edge designers, Caesarstone is unveiling Primordia, a concrete-inspired cool gray from their Metropolitan Collection along with Empira White, a modern take on the classic look of marble from the Supernatural Ultra Collection.

Using cutting-edge proprietary technology, Caesarstone has achieved these authentic finishes and patinas in quartz for the very first time – a breakthrough that you can both see and feel. Engaging dimension and heightened emotion are embedded within each of the new colors for 2019.

To learn more about Caesarstone and its diverse portfolio, and to see their new colors firsthand, be sure to visit them at this year’s WantedDesign.

www.caesarstoneus.com

Tarkett Presents Altered States Discussion at WantedDesign

We’re so excited to gather for WantedDesign 2019, where we’ll hear from some of the industry’s top thought leaders about what’s on the horizon for design professionals. One topic we’re particularly anxious to learn more about is Tarkett’s new Altered States CEU regarding the future of consciousness in our society and its impact on design. Here’s a conversation we had with Chris Stulpin, chief creative officer for Tarkett North America, to learn more.

WantedDesign: Altered States is such an intriguing title for this body of work. What exactly does it mean?

Stulpin: Altered States is an inspiring study on the role of design in impacting cultural consciousness of ourselves, our community and our spaces. Within the discussion, we examine five up-and-coming cultural drivers and data around them, through the lens of:

1) The current state of the human condition; 2) Communities in flux; and 3) The evolution of place.

The goal is to review our current state of consciousness, and provide insights for personal development, the new connectivity and a potential blueprint for a happier workplace.

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