Tag: design

colectivo index 004!

collating some of our favorite brands, items, and sounds from this past month we give you colectivo index 004. this time we introduce a new german menswear brand making some noise around the internets as well as in the wardrobes of dudes in the know. we introduce you to the sounds of an upcoming south-londoner making waves across most music blogs. we show you some of our favorite items from a top swedish brand’s spring/summer collection. and coincidentally we end up featuring three different things with roots in Japan, which is definitely one of those countries whose culture and design intrigues us immensely. we hope you enjoy our selections!

New on the colectivo’s radar is lifestyle influenced brand, A kind of Guise. Who’s behind the brand you ask? its core group consists of a collective of five people coming from various backgrounds such as design, music and art. You can find a more in depth interview with AKOG’s co-founder Yasar Ceviker via the189 (one of our favorite blogs at the minute). The Munich based brand started out as a small student project that is now focused on sourcing premium unique materials for their distinctly designed menswear line. Here are some of the offerings from the S/S 2012 line as well as a fun but great looking video to commemorate the collection. source: a kind of guise

Looking for a way to carry your keys while keeping them tidy? Japanese garment makers Phigvel Makers Co. have you covered. The key holder is a fine piece crafted from rugged oiled horsehide off-cuts from their in house boot collection. The leather will soften and wear in no time giving you a lovely patina color. Additionally, for those that require further guidance, the leather is embossed at the four corners with the words: ignition, office, door, and home. Make sure to check out Phigvel Makers Co.’s other items for they seem to make a great emphasis on functional items that apply to everyday life and look great at doing so. $59 available here. source: hickoree’s hard goods

Despite the plentiful supply of note taking apps for our smart-phones, it’s just nice to break out a pen and pad sometimes. Field Notes brand is definitely the weapon of choice for some of our colectivo associates. Here we share with you a great video with the brand’s co-founder Aaron Draplin, discussing his collection of vintage farmers notebooks that has served as an inspiration for his carefully curated label of simple, yet stylish pads. It’s truly fascinating and inspiring to hear him describe the details of the notebooks and the excitement that the whole process of collecting, documenting, and showcasing them evokes in him. $9.99 and up available here. source: free / man brand journal

Swedish brand, Acne, has been on our radar for sometime now. More so after one of our very own colectivo members outfitted himself in Acne suiting for his big day—wedding. Baller, yes! But that’s how we roll sometimes. Here are some great looks from the Spring/Summer 2012 line. Acne pieces are by no means “price conscious” but the quality and fit remain once the price-tag pain subsides. While Acne is perhaps not everyday jawnz, their items are certainly standout pieces that can be combined with other bits in ones wardrobe for great effect. available at various prices here. source: fucknfilthy

Providing audible pleasure this month for the colectivo, is Jessie Ware‘s latest single ‘110%’. The single comes from Ware’s forthcoming debut album titled Devotion on London’s PMR records. Staying “in-house” so to speak, her latest singles ‘110%’ and its predecessor ‘Running’ have been produced by PMR artist and Bristol’s very own Julio Bashmore, one of the individuals at the forefront of the bass musics charge. The single remains true to that lush Ware sound while providing a throwback garage/ two-step feel that will take you deep into the summer vibes. buy Jessie Ware – Running on 12″ for £8.99 here. source: get some uk

On a bit of a nostalgic tip, we’d like to share with you a very visually delightful interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice Adventures in Wonderland as seen through the eyes of japanese art icon Yayoi Kusama. Considered by many to be one of Japan’s most revered contemporary artists, Kusama’s view on the children’s classic is quite hallucinogenic. Regardless of the trip-inducing visuals, this is probably a nice book to have in your bookcase as a source of artistic inspiration for the young ones. $23.10 available here. source: brain pickings

Haru is a new Japanese furniture design company spearheaded by Mikiya Kobayashi and an offshoot of Nagoya based brand Karimoku. taking inspiration from the origins of the sun and the way it radiates its energy to people, the brands’ pieces are simple, modern, and minimal. there’s also a high deegree of environmental friendliness at the brand with attempts to revitalize regional forests and maintain a low impact in such areas. check out their product catalogue here. source: mikiya kobayashi

3 Comments by colectivofuturo on May 12, 2012

filed in colectivo index

tagged a kind of guise, acne, colectivo index, design, field notes, haru furniture, japan, jessie ware, menswear, mikiya kobayashi, phigvel makers, pmr records, yayoi kusama

studio schneemann = a flip flop story!

who’d think there would be any kind of use for tons of discarded flip flops washing up ashore in africa! but in comes rotterdam based diederik schneemann, from studio schneemann, with a fantastic idea to recycle a bunch of old, dirty pieces of foam and to transform them into functional, playful and environmentally kind pieces of furniture. we had the opportunity to see diederik’s work from up close at milan’s salone del mobile and we must say it was one of the most refreshing concepts we saw during our visit.

the process seems simple: collect flip flops that wash up in the shores of kenya, cut the usable parts into squares, glue them together, and finally give shape to the final piece in the form of say a vase or lamp. however simple though, it takes a creative mind, such as diederik’s to make a usable and visually attractive product out of waste. check out an explanation of the process and the designs from the man himself below…

hopefully the project doesn’t stay in a conceptual, art gallery phase and someone picks it up for production. it’s sustainably designed products like these that we would like to see receiving more support in the near future. in the meantime, keep an eye out on studio schneemann’s website for any updates.

No Comments by miguel on June 5, 2011

filed in design

tagged a flip flop story, design, kenya, rotterdam, salone del mobile, studio schneemann

andrew kim is a colectivo futurist!

it’s time again to feature the work of another of our favorite, young, talented creators; in the form of seoul born, vancouver raised, and pasadena resident: Andrew Kim. Andrew is currently studying at the Art Center College for Design in california, but while still a student, he’s already impressed the design community a few times via his amazing sketches and renders for some of his school or personal projects. take for instance his eco coke bottle design, which he completed as a freshman; or his htc1 concept phone from last year. both projects have impressed critics, blogs, and major information outlets alike, and it’s safe to say have left people wishing they would materialize and become a reality. but Andrew’s obsession with design doesn’t stop there, he continuously updates his website with product reviews, which include high quality photographs used to pinpoint both virtues and flaws of the objects in question. read our interview with Andrew below, and check out some of our favorite projects of his after the jump…

ANDREW KIM (product design student, Los Angeles via Seoul)

website | yanko design | twitter: @designfabulous

* tell us a bit about yourself; who is Andrew Kim? when did you know you wanted to become a product designer and which steps have you taken to make that happen?

Well, I’m a 19 year old, born in Seoul and raised in Vancouver; pretty generic I suppose. My life has always been about obsessions. When I was young, I went through periods of being obsessed about dinosaurs then cars. This trend naturally ended up with product design when I was in middle school. I knew that I wanted to become a product designer the second I played with the original iPod mini. It was the first time I realized the importance of the tolerances in material and attention to detail. I then decided to take this path as my career and ended up at CCS, an art school in Detroit. I ended up transferring to Art Center College for Design in California last year though.

* where do you draw inspiration from? could you describe your thought process for us?

Every time I get asked this, I’m totally stumped. I too do not know of a single source of inspiration. If I did, my life would be a lot easier. I think I my inspiration comes randomly. I see or feel something, and I translate it into one of my projects. For example, my Google Vitamin project was from my anger at the horrible packaging I see whenever I pass a supplements store, and the HTC 1 is from my lack of satisfaction in the current mobile phone market. I suppose what I most often do is ask the question, “Why was something made like this?”. I usually answer with, “Well, I think it should be like this.”

* what makes for the perfect product design from your point of view?

In my point of view, the perfect product design is something simple that does a lot. I am truly a believer that it’s harder to take away than to add.

* if you could soundtrack your work, what would you choose?

Hmm… this is hard. I’m a The Doors kind of person, but I feel that my work is more suited to genres I’m not too familiar with.

* what is your favorite thing about living in Los Angeles?

Favorite thing? Weather!

* what are your plans for the future? where do you see yourself working and what sort of projects would you be interested in doing?

My plan for now is to graduate from school as fast as possible and design awesome products. It’s hard to say where I want to work right now, but I’ll follow where my passion takes me. For the longest time, I wanted to take a Dieter Rams approach to my design career. More recently, I’m increasingly interested in designers like Tokujin Yoshioka. Nevertheless, I hope I’ll be able to satisfy not only myself but also the people who will eventually be using my products.

lacie monami (2nd semester final project)