Design Night

Nimble video

2011-05-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

Check out our video which explains how Nimble works!

The Making of Nature: Part 4, Potter Search

2010-04-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

This ended up being more challenging than we anticipated. We needed to find a potter to mold, cast and hand finish the pieces. We discovered someone with these skills was not easy to find. I spoke with several potters across the country in Ohio, Pennsylvania, California and Washington. As fate would have it, we found an excellent potter in our backyard, Brett from Mudshark Studios to be specific.

To help explain the concept I had a scaled down model (SLA), full size prints and computer generated molds.

Contrary to what all the potters said, Brett felt we could produce this design almost as is. We took time to scrutinize the plans for the pattern before it was made. With what I learned, I found I could make indications in the mold for the 17 post molding cuts. All the angles on the design where enhanced to facilitate molding. We were ready to talk to pattern maker and make an initial monetary investment.

The Making of Nature: Part 3, CAD/Molds

2010-03-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

We carried two concepts into CAD, Nature and Nurture. One took inspiration from organic forms such as flowers and cones. The latter took inspiration from architectural forms such as balconies and skyscapers. Each concept was created full scale in Rhinoceros, a 3d computer program. Careful attention was given to make each opening the correct size. I wanted the openings to be large enough for planting and digging.

Next, I wanted to understand how to mold these pieces. To help with that, I made computer generated molds. The molds I created were each five pieces. The final physical mold ended up being six pieces, and weighed about 380 lbs.

Inner walls in slip casting are created as the liquefied clay is robbed of moisture by the plaster mold. I created inner walls to visualize how the surfaces would come together. These drawings helped communicate the designs to the model fabricators and potters. I used them extensively in the next step.

Atelierdorp

2010-03-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Atelierdorp, a design family from robertanderson on Vimeo.

The Making of Nature: Part 2, Models

2010-03-25T11:04:00.001-07:00

It’s valuable to get into scale models quickly. Some forms are like puzzles. To gain a better understanding of this complex form, I made a small, clay model. Other popular sketch modeling materials include foam, cardboard, wood or paper. I have been using this same clay for years. Even at this early stage, important decisions are being made about proportion. These decisions make a great impact on the final design. From what I learn from this clay model, I am ready to start building a full scale computer model.

The Making of Nature: Part 1, Inspiration

2010-03-24T10:23:00.001-07:00

Inspiration can come from so many things. In the case of Nature, it was simple. An interest in gardening combined with inspiration from natural and man-made patterns. The final key was the discovery of a manufacturing technique—slip casting. On an episode of “How It’s Made,” the show featured slip casting on a tea pot. I started imagining how this particular technique could be applied on a larger scale. I hoped this age-old technique could be pushed in it's ability to create a complex, organic form.

I jumped right into sketch visualization. I drew on inspiration from many sources in my initial sketches. After settling on a couple drawings that we were happy with, I looked toward the next steps.

Nature is featured in Dwell's April issue

2010-03-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

While grabbing a bite to eat and glossing through magazines, we realized we were holding the latest issue of Dwell. We then excitedly flipped through to see if our Nature planter was featured and...YES indeed!

Such good news! Thank you, Dwell!

Hooray for Nature!

2009-10-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

We got some amazing news this morning from Spark Awards, an international design competition based out of the Bay Area—we won Bronze for the planter design! Woohoo! Design Night was recognized along with many heavyweights including IDEO, fuseproject and Smart Design. Not bad for a side project. Great job, Dominic!

Fall in Portland

2009-10-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

There are beautiful hues in the hills and streets of Portland right now. During a walk in Forest Park with Ruby, we shot some photos using Shake It Photo, an app that makes photos look like Polaroids. It even shakes to "develop" the pictures!

Man Shops Globe

2009-10-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Last night, Dominic and I caught the first episode of Man Shops Globe on iTunes. I passionately love Anthropologie and loved how the show gave a little insight on the stores brand. You know what was my favorite component of the show? The gorgeous video promo that Stefanie Augustine and Adam Gault put together (Googled it). I love the cut out texures, hand drawn/cut illustrations and rough animation. Simply beautiful! I have my eyes set on one of those rich-colored, felt throws that is in the second frame.

About to take the plunge

2009-08-14T12:45:00.001-07:00

We’re getting our ducks in order for Monday’s premiere when we contact blogs and publications to promote our ceramic planter. Here are some design concept...I’m having a hard time committing to a look.

Branding for a new product

2009-06-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

So we are a month or so away from unveiling a new product that Dominic designed (very exciting). In the meantime, I’m brainstorming on some looks to promote the product (press release, photography, web graphics, etc.). Here’s a visual hint.

Focal Length Designs

2009-03-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

An email with this etsy item was sent around our studio today and I had to share it! A local photographer/designer creates these beautiful bracelets from broken camera lenses. I LOVE it—such a simple and great idea!

Current color love

2009-02-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

I didn’t realize I had a favorite color combo until recently I noticed a pattern in my choices. Red and magenta are two colors that I’ve subconsciously chosen in some recent purchases (i.e. Rob Ryan’s beautiful lasercut card, fragrant soap and incense from Anthropologie). I have’t used any of the items because the design and packaging are so pretty.

A belated Thank You

2009-01-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

Right before the holidays, our Nature Boy/Nature Girl gocco bags were featured on DesignSponge thanks to the talented Abigail Percy, who included them in her gift/wish list. Thank you, Abigail!!!

Andrew Bannecker

2009-01-14T10:07:00.000-08:00

Illustrator: Andrew Bannecker

I love discovering beautiful design in unexpected places (like during a 10 hour flight). On our flight to Copenhagen, I fell in love with the cover of the Hemisphere magazine. After a little investigating, I was able to find out who the illustrator was.

The bearded guy and smoking girl with the umbrella remind me of hip Portlanders (even though Portlanders don’t use umbrellas).

Greetings from Scandinavia

2009-01-11T20:27:00.000-08:00

We’re back from our amazing Christmas trip to Scandinavia. Here are just a few highlights from our trip.

One of my favorite souvenirs was this delicate, beaded band that I purchased while in Stockholm at Lo. The background is the torn cover from the airplane magazine, Hemisphere.

This is Lo resizing my ring. She was so sweet and charming. She gave us a glass of glögg while we waited and chatted.

Last May, I saw this cool Japanese book about Scandinavian patterns and textiles on the blog, Book By Its Cover. After many phone calls (Kinokuniya and Amazon.com) and Google searching, I pouted and reluctantly gave up since the book was out of publication. So I freaked out and bought this tea towel and jar at Design Torget in Malmö.

Arapahoe Acres, Denver

2008-12-05T23:01:00.000-08:00

While in Denver for Thanksgiving vacation, we drove to Arapahoe Acres, a dreamy little neighborhood filled with beautiful 1950s modern homes. The street signage was classic (Jetsons?).

Mathilde Aubier

2008-10-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

While collecting imagery and inspiration for a holiday project, I found French illustrator Mathilde Aubier in one of the file cabinets in the art buying department. I love her style and use of real elements/photos! I haven’t seen anything similar to this illustration style. These would make great holiday window displays.

Oh Joy!

2008-10-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Our etsy shop went live on Wednesday and the lovely Joy of Oh Joy! featured our Gocco drawstring bags on her site. Guess how many hits we had on our Design Night site? 525! Amazing. Thanks, Joy!

Surprisingly people are buying only the Dala Horse bags.

Saturday Photoshoot

2008-10-11T15:29:00.001-07:00

Got up early this morning at 7:30am to catch the soft morning light...why couldn’t the soft morning light come after 10am?

I shot the photos at my office (large windows). It took 2 hours to get 6 final shots! I forgot how much time it takes to gather everything (leaves, seeds, pods, rice, etc.), to set up the shot, to tweak, tweak, tweak and to cleanup. I’m super happy with the photos, lots to choose from.

Free People

2008-10-02T22:46:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I’m submitting a painting into the Free People Illustration contest. My theme was based on “What’s in my bag?”. Here’s a couple of samples that I painted for one of the components. After this is done, I’ll pick up where I left off with the gocco printing on drawstring bags.

My white Olivetti Valentine

2008-09-27T23:13:00.000-07:00

I finally won an Olivetti Valentine typewriter on eBay. I won it while on vacation in Yachats. Since our cabin didn’t have wifi, I had to run to the Yachat’s library and do my bidding...from my car...in the parking lot since the library was closed. To my amazement, it didn’t end in a bloody bidding war. It was the best feeling since I lost a similiar typewriter a few weeks earlier at the last 5 minutes of bidding (damn Auction Sniper).

My favorite part of the typewriter is the cool German letters (like ß) that don’t exist on the standard red Olivetti. It was purchased from a seller in Köln, Germany.

**We stayed at the cozy Shamrock Lodgettes — ‘twas magical.

Doodles

2008-09-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

I love Stina Persson’s watercolors. One of her illustrations is in the latest Cookie magazine. Taking inspiration from her work, I took a stab at illustrating a gum drop. It’s a really fun process because you can only do so much before the paper is saturated...then you wait for it to dry. Sometimes, the results are surprisingly better. Other times, the watercolor just looks overworked. I'm still trying to figure out how she gets the subtle gradients where two colors bleed together.

Sneak peek

2008-09-03T23:01:00.000-07:00

Here’s a sneak peek on a project that I’ve been tinkering away at. I was inspired by the cool drawstring bags that retailers like Fossil and Anthropologie use with their merchandising. For the holidays, I’d like to sell these Scandinavian-inspired bags on etsy. I used a Gocco machine to print the three different colors—it was a registration disaster. The final design is a simplified version of the one you see here.

Artist of the Week: Kareem Iliya

2008-08-31T16:28:00.000-07:00

I came across Kareem Iliya’s beautiful watercolors a few months ago. His work is breathtaking. I love how he layers the watercolors and knocks out lines and shapes to give the subjects dimension. Simply beautiful. I especially like the Chanel perfume bottle, such a perfect depiction of how perfume sticks in the air.