Glass is a mystery (no, really)

July 30, 2008

Scientists have been arguing for decades as to the true nature of glass - liquid or solid. It has characteristics of both but, despite convincing theories on both sides, is actually neither. The definition of precisely what it is and how it works from a physical point of view is a conundrum that has taken the time of Nobel laureates and is unlikely to be solved in this post…

For more than any human being with a job, friends, a schedule or just a pet mouse could possibly want to know about glass, the Science Section of the NY Times just did a pretty comprehensive piece on the subject. When your friends make fun of you for dropping some of your new-found knowledge into casual conversation (as well they should), just blame it on us.

More with less

May 21, 2008

Designers are a lot of things – intelligent, creative, thoughtful, and passionate – just to name a few. One trait that manages to turn the rustic, cobblestone streets of SoHo into a runway of modernity is their understanding that simple can be stunning. During the four-day-long International Contemporary Furniture Fair, showroom-lined Greene Street is filled with spectators there to see just that.

One great example is Matthew Hilton’s solid wood Light Table featured at De La Espada. Offering Amstel Light and a full demonstration, the crowd grew at their post-fair party while the good people at De La Espada showed eager guests just how long the table with only two legs perched at either end can become with its leaf inserted. Sleek and simple, its complex balancing act gives it a look of the future without overshadowing the raw beauty of the grain.

The ICFF itself is a bazaar of big names and emerging talent. We walked the Javits Center’s 145,000 square feet in search of inspiration and designers we felt could bring something new to the Teroforma table. While we’re still regaining our voices and resting our feet, we’re excited about the people we spoke with and are looking forward to new possibilities. With over 38 countries represented don’t be surprised if we end up adding places like Botswana or Japan to our already diverse map.

Happy Earth Day

April 22, 2008

We take the responsibility of being “makers” very seriously. Our focus on quality craftsmanship means that a lot of the waste inherent in higher-volume production can be eliminated. That said, our manufacturing partners focus on constant improvement in their craft and in the way it effects their employees, the community and the wider world.

Our linens are a perfect example. We work with Linas Nordic in Panevezys, Lithuania, a member of the Masters of Linen Guild and a recipient of certifications from both OEKO-Tex and ISO for ecologically-responsible production and socially-responsible management.

Their commitment to excellence is part of their philosophy and a real part of the work they do. Linen is an amazing material. Highly absorbent, linen will withstand and actually improve with use and cleaning while holding its shape. It also takes far less active cultivation than cotton, thus minimizing the amount of fertilizer required to return an adequate yield, and produces a number of useful by-products in the refining process - linseed oil and pulp (actually used in the making of US dollars) to name a few.

Poetically, as if to call attention to its practical and metaphorical beauty, the flax plant blooms only one day a year. In case you missed it, we hope our Spring/Summer linens do a good job of capturing the essence.

The Voice of Reason

February 28, 2008

Grace Liu was seeking a challenge when she left Poughkeepsie and moved to China, but she probably wasn’t expecting to redefine and revolutionize hand-painted bone china. Advanced technology and a shift in tableware aesthetics was encouraging hand-painted bone china techniques to fall by the wayside. Grace noticed that the centuries-old tradition was quickly disappearing, and knew it was time to figure out how to make it work in the modern world.

Grace began building a company with local Tangshan artist, Jian Ping Li, that would continue the art of hand-painted bone china while creating designs that appeal to a well-traveled, metropolitan crowd. She explains though, that no matter how Western the design, the artists at Asianera use ‘gong bi,’ a meticulous brushstroke typical of Chinese painting, and that alone will always make the design feel somewhat Eastern.

This Asian-American, Michigan University-graduate and her business partner, an immensely talented, classically-trained artist from the Hebei Province, are confident that the brushstroke will not only always retain it’s roots, but that it will also be the virtue that keeps hand painting alive and in demand.

“Technology can almost replicate a hand-painted look nowadays, but the true artistry of hand-decorated and hand-painted china can never be imitated because the human touch and spirit of the artist will always be present in each and every brushstroke and in each unique piece of work.”

The Dynamo

February 28, 2008

Like the city he lives in, Roman Vrtiska is as young and raw as he is mature and experienced. It’s no wonder this quirky designer finds his home town of Prague - a place where you’ll see a funky fresh juice bar next to a Gothic cathedral - as a constant playground for inspiration.

Understanding the dynamic between old and new allows Roman to play with that tension. For Teroforma, Roman redesigned a vintage carafe produced by Kvetna Glassworks called the Cartouche. He took the original 1873 design and focused on finding new solutions for the traditional shape, taking into consideration the role of an object when it’s not in use.

It’s hard to pin down exactly where Roman finds his inspiration given the breadth of his interests – from street art to music to architecture. “If you are looking at the street with an open mind, you can find inspiration in everything,” he says over the phone, after explaining his definition of functional simplicity. You begin to see what he means when he tells you his favorite place is 45°56′14.825″N, 10°48′56.692″E.

For Roman Vrtiska, the world is not places, it’s a deep and open mind.

Clean Efficient Fun

February 28, 2008

Anna Dabrowski is as funky and full of life as the objects she designs. A complex person who loves humor and color, Anna is always looking for the most creative and inspiring solutions in both life and design.

Born in Poland to parents who are both artists, Anna has a natural talent for photography and design, but her travels are what keep her mind sharp and sophisticated. In fact, Anna is so smitten with relocating every once in a while that she claims Europe in its entirety as her home.

So how does a person who danced on tabletops in college and jumped out of an airplane at 13,000 feet stay so down to earth and organized? She is an efficient, motivated and passionate designer who reflects much of the renewed vibrancy of the city she now lives in. She takes photographs of the things she finds inspiring, has a portfolio & website so well put together it could run circles around a Mac ‘genius’ and she shows off her love of felt with a detailed binder that includes her designs and fabric samples.

In some ways typical of what we imagine when we hear the word “artist,” Anna has a wonderful way of balancing the practical with the absurd and always doing it in a way that is uniquely hers.

Life balanced on the edge of an…egg

February 24, 2008

Jose Joaquim is the eldest of 5 siblings of the Ribeiro family that has owned and operated Cutipol Foundry in Caldas Das Taipas, Portugal since its opening in 1952. Having taken over daily management of the business from his father – Jose Joaquim Sr. – Jr. is responsible for finding a balance between the traditions of the past – upheld by an unshakable faith in the importance of the role of the artisan – and the realities of a modern marketplace where demand for Cutipol designs stretches from Kobe to Copenhagen.

For the past 30 years, Jose Joaquim has worked to align his aesthetic preference for minimalism with the functional requirements of the objects he designs. As the Designer and Production Manager for Cutipol, he is constantly at the center of family- and company-wide collaborations. “I try to make things with a purity and simplicity. When you strip down the added decoration to the design, you need a very specific focus. I have a simple life – I enjoy the small things – simplicity is analogue to how I try to live.”

Having spent his childhood living literally next door to the foundry and accompanying his father on business trips, the balance of work and life for Jose Joaquim is somehow something more profound than it might at first seem. “It is like Columbus’ Egg,” (referring to a metaphor widely referenced in Portuguese and Spanish cultures about the apparent ease with which one can make an egg stand on its end). “The trick is to make it all look ‘effortless’ and it is the hardest thing to achieve.” With such lofty goals, we asked Jose Joaquim how he manages to measure his progress: “My father of course – he is still the owner and he visits us at the foundry every week.”