Search result for: the-last-thing-you-aquired-
| # | Post Title | Result Info | Date | User | Forum |
| light-based detection chemistries and color expertise... Pt. 2 | 1 Relevance | 20 years ago | dcwilson | General discussion | |
| light-based detection chemistries and color expertise... Pt. 2 The most important advice I can give you is decide what you want to do and start doing it. But make sure its something people want. This is easier than it seems. Just think practically. People like tools and gadgets. Therefore people are needed to design them. People like homes to live in. Therefore, people are needed to make them. People like water and being clean. So people are needed to make bath tubs. Don't waste time trying to become a professional at something people don't like. Most people may wish they were organized, but they really don't like being organized. Hence, your business only fit with half the nature of people--the wish side, but not the like side. And the people who do wish and like to be organized are so compulsive and orderly and controlling that they not only can organize themselves, but they can organize everyone around them. No doubt a few professional organizers can make a living. There is a margin of everything. Just look at the working designers in the DA index. Look at their work. They design things people wish for and like. The things are mostly mundane and only made special by the "design." You must put yourself in a position to make the most mundane things that people wish for and like and design them in a wonderful, pleasing, useful way that is incrementally better than the last generation of that thing. That is all. And that is everything. It is that simple. Walk through the same door to be a designer that the other designers did. Give yourself permission to design the mundane things people wish for and like. A 52 year old friend of mine who has struggled his whole life to do something with his life successfully finally concluded that his problem was that he always said no to things before people told him no. He has spent the last seven years saying yes to whatever he wanted to do and putting the burden of saying no to what he wanted to do on others. He says he has found that mostly they still say no, but that now when they every once in awhile say yes, he does what he wants very well. And as time passes, he says, he keeps connecting up with more people who like to say yes and the more of those people he tries to work with the more often they do things as a group that he wants to do individually, too. he wanted to be a screen writer for 30 years. | |||||
| Yes. Well. It's good to | 1 Relevance | 11 years ago | SDR | General discussion | |
| Yes. Well. It's good to have the numbers, to support an evident trend. Thank you for taking the trouble, fstfwd. Now -- Why ? I just re-read Mark's last opus (see "off topic"). Will there be no more levity, no more online friendship, at DA ? I can say that I saw a similar thing happen following the redesign of two other international design sites, Seattle's Design Community and New York/LA's Archinect. The readership -- or at least the forum portions of the sites, fell off dramatically and have not recovered. The arguably improved -- or anyway, changed -- graphics and/or layout and/or functionality didn't seem to result in broader use, for some reason, and the "frequent fliers" seemed to drift away. I'd say that Design Addict is still going strong, and that the redesign really did improve the experience in tangible ways, at least. So, what happened ? Is there really such a delicate sense of familiar habitat attached to the blogging experience that any change in that habitat is like playing with fire ? Here, for a while before the change, regulars noted and commented upon the fact that more and more new members seemed interested only in identification help; the balance had already begun to shift, as I recall it (which surprisingly is not necessarily supported by fstfwd's research). But the revamp seems to have had the effect (if it is not completely coincidental) of accelerating that movement, bringing in a new order. I have no quibble with the collecting and commerce side of the "business," and it cannot be said that the modern-furniture collectors' marketplace is not enhanced for all by the very well-conceived and executed new format. And Patrick and Alix seem to have done everything possible to improve the forum function as well, with departments and editing and image-posting enhancements that are unequaled in my experience. So . . . what ? Any ideas ? New members and old, what do we think ? | |||||
| i have a friend in Arizon... | 1 Relevance | 19 years ago | LRF | General discussion | |
| i have a friend in Arizon... i have a friend in Arizona who sells there products and they are trying to clean their act up big time and become real picky who they do business with and get a way from the Internet shops in favor of the old brick and morter shops, They are a big time middleman who have connections with 10 factories in China and they do have people from the company that all they do is canvas the factories to see that this stuff is made right. they check out the clock makers, lamp makers, chrome makers, and wood good makers, so they have a finger it all. Shame they don't work with the United Nations on Human rights, would that be cool but you know that would never happen cause they are looking for the cheapest deal they can make, My friend tells me after 5 years of dealing with them he has had no real problems but on occasion some stuff does come in wrong like the nelson bench was the wrong wood color, and the company made them all right, and refunded everyones money (but the funny thing was almost all the customers wanted it cause it was so good looking and did not look like the fakey blond wood reproductions it looked like a vintage Herman miller from the 50s I thought that was a great story, All of the Barcelona chairs were made to identical specs but i was told there is a big hold up on them as the lawsuits are beginning to fly , they call it the Pavilion chair and for the time being are not shipping that chair to the vendors (very interesting in my opinion) You would like to think that Alphaville is the best out there as they have made a mark on trying to sell good quality reproductions. i just wish they would go visit Argentina, or Italy, to find other vendors who can make this stuff with a better reputation, | |||||
| DIY Repair to water stain on teak (oiled?) dresser (pictures shown) | 1 Relevance | 10 years ago | dr_ginnire | General discussion | |
| Dear All, I came across a few threads yesterday on your forum about how to fix light water stains to teak wood dressers. However, I have one at home which is dark and I would much appreciate some guided advice on how to fix this (see pictures below). From what I can gather this is an oiled teak wood (purchased this way) and not varnished (a dull finish). Would the heat treatment (hair dryer) still be the best method to tease out the dark stain? As you can see there are also a few "white" water stains too. Alternatively would using the wire wool and oil method be best? Do I need to treat the whole surface or just the marks? Also, do I need to treat the two types of marks differently? I've also heard about the oxalic acid method applied to the stain directly and wiped off etc. Do you recommend I do this at home or should I get a specialist to sand the whole thing back? Any guided advice would be much appreciated and I thank you in advance. Ginnie | |||||
| Elusive Barcelona | 1 Relevance | 22 years ago | Hages | General discussion | |
| Elusive Barcelona Didn't want to poo poo on the purist. Heck, if I had that much money lying around, I suppose I might get a vintage one or a Knoll(considered the top;licensed and all). I definitely want to use them for sitting and to be enjoyed for what they are intended. The design is an icon and maybe it puts some people off that they are "popular", I still love'em. Access to great design to the masses is a good thing. However making bad copies of them does pollute the spirit of the design. At least to be somewhat dimensionally correct and with materials and any modern improvements for the sake comfort and better wear is appreciated. The person I spoke to said that the originals were not all that comfortable and the back of the seat were leather. His copies are vinyl but can be ordered to have leather. Vinyl is the better way since it wears better and is somewhat unnoticed. Real world practicality I can appreciate and willing to compromise. Does anyone know of a sourcebook providing detailed analysis of dimensions and period details of this chair? I live in San Francisco and take architecture courses. Will check at the library of CCAC and the Art Academy for info. Or does someone have a Knoll that we can extract details from? Email me at: Hages@pacbell.net I will purchase a chair, after inspection, next week and post some dimensions and link to photos. I saw that Ebay auction(#4346881808) with an ottoman. Looks to be a great deal. Anyone purchased one?? Opinions? I think they are overstuffed compared to the photos of Knoll and Alivar. I notice that the lines of the edges in some pics(see the other colors) are lost. Who else has been to the Barcelona Pavilion? Sidenote: Does anyone make copies of Bugatti furniture?? http://www.miesbcn.com/en/outside.html | |||||
| . | 1 Relevance | 19 years ago | moto modernist | General discussion | |
| . Interesting thread. Iv'e always been sceptical around the term 'hand made'. This two-word expression can be used to describe ANYTHING thats manufactured. In this case I wonder.... what if this company were to stock two identical sofa's, made with ( as close as possible, considering hides are as nature intended ) identical components, one hand-stiched and assembled say in the USA and the other, as economically made as mass production allows in say China. Who would choose the hand-made version at the vastly inflated price ? I don't have the answer though I'd imagine our guy who flew round the planet for his bottle of wine would choke on it at the thought of purchasing the more cost effective option ! Budgets dictate choice and theres no denying it's great to have options . Most here on DA are masters of the bargain , devotee's to the search , others have lots to spend. What's important is that we are ALL passionate and conscious about design. I'm struggling with the expensive shoes.... is it important that they are hand-stiched ? Do they actually last longer ? Isn't a machine stitch stronger ? Do they have a completely unique look ? The design/look of a shoe is paramount for me although I'm always looking for performance too. Writing this proclaims the continual two-cornered fight in my head concerning production and I do admit to being in the worlds top 100 hipocrites (note the 'i' in hypocrite people ! ). On one hand, I imagine and manufacture all my designs exclusively on my own and on the other, the realisation of the wealth which might be incurred by embracing mass-production. One final thing about the sofa in question here...... ideal and essential for a centipede but this item has too many legs for me. I'd lose the two central pairs and chunk-up or re-design the outers .....sorry PK | |||||
| No. I understand... | 1 Relevance | 13 years ago | onegroovydude | General discussion | |
| No. I understand... You can keep going. This time when I read it, I take it all in, instead of trying to figure out how I'm gonna contradict it. Now I'm talking nice this time, so please think of it as being projected that way. I think in a way, (even though it never came across that way) that's what I was trying to say, was that I was buying off what I liked in a piece first personally, then worrying about profits later, so I almost can't get a sense of what is desirable for commercial value when I don't know what I'm buying. Of all the items I've sold through my ebay store, I've only sold the same things a few times. Old Nintendo's, rc cars, lava lamps... Common things. But 90% of it has been all different from the very beginning on. It just happens to be desirable. Good luck, in a way. Here's a good example, and I think you could look at this like in a student way. Here's how my mind is thinking. I'm tooting along at the swap meet (just recently), and I come across 2 pink pottery chickens. The first thing I think is that I like the configuration of the bodies. Then I'm drawn to the colors, then the dots, and crudely drawn lines, and then the big unusual looking tails. I ask her her price, and she tells me. I then flip them over to make sure they're not chipped, and see a signature. I can't make it out, but I don't care. I just really like the way they look. They have personality, so I decide to get them. I have no time to research them, because I have 3 swap meets to hit that morning, so I'm moving fast. The price is right, so let's take chance on what I see in them. No clue what they are, just neat. I then post them here, only to find out they're made by a company called Chalice, and are from the 1940's - 1950's, and are really rare, and valuable. It's then that I hear the name Chalice for the first time, or learn who they are. So, I guess I'm wondering how I could know what I was going to make on an item, or what the market would pay on something I knew absolutely nothing about, until someone told me here after I already got home with them? How can a person buy anything based on what it will translate into commercial value of, when they just see it for the first time in their life right then, and are clueless to the commercial value? I can understand if they know they are Chalice by the signature, then they know what they're working with, but what about when they don't? Written in a respectful manner, and asking with a smile...:) Your thoughts please. Thank you. | |||||
| if you really want to know..... | 1 Relevance | 15 years ago | TinyArmada | General discussion | |
| if you really want to know..... Honestly, its the wood edge on the corners of the chair - that interlocking wood. I've seen that on a lot of 80's/90's furniture, it seemed to be a popular detail to have on the more solid, heavy use furniture of the day. The lines on the back of the seat, and the square arms/leg remind of that stark geometric shapes popular in 80's design. Also, those little white plastic blocks on the bottoms of the chair (to prevent floor scuffing) - you don't see that on older furniture. Those little plastic pieces came along in the 80's. (Obviously they could have been added later, but I can't tell from photos.) As I said, it's only my gut instinct. I'm in the USA, so its from the pov of the stuff I've seen here. I've collected MCM for about 15 years and I'm pretty good at sniffing out the era a piece comes from (I can do the same thing by looking at the clothing/attire in old photographs). I rarely get it wrong - or I'm rarely way off base on my opinions. But this being in Europe, and me only seeing a photo of the chair not actually getting to check it out in person, means my assumptions could be off. My educated guess is it would be contract furniture done for a public institution or business. As I said it looks well made, like they figured it would get a lot of use and therefore made it extra sturdy. It reminds me of chairs I've seen done specifically for universities and other large, institutions that usually have contract furniture done for big new buildings they designs and build - and want to have custom furniture to match it. It also has the sturdy "office' or "institutional use" air to it - though it has been designed by someone to make it stand out and look better than the run of the mill assembly line office stuff. (For instance stuff like this: http://www.hertzfurniture.com/Guest-Chairs--Classic-Arm-Chair---Gr-2-Fab...) A piece they would use in the lobby at a museum or educational institution - along those lines. But this is just my opinion. I'll be curious if you can find out more and see how far off or close my instincts were on this chair. Maria | |||||
| Do I detect a bit of agism here? 🙂 | 1 Relevance | 21 years ago | dcwilson | General discussion | |
| Do I detect a bit of agism here? 🙂 I'm not sure that I agree with you that kids would not enjoy a modernist tree house. Good design is good design, whether you are 4, 40, 64 or 104. I would have liked a Phillip Johnson glass house style tree house very much, when I was a kid. Phillipe Starck has designed some toys (one was a scooter car I believe) for kids that are unmistakeably modern and I have not heard kids turn up their nose at them for not being rustic enough, or Star Wars enough. And if we want to advance modernity as a desirable aesthetic, we damned well ought to be finding ways to let it speak to our children so that they will grow up with a taste for it. Why should they have to grow up with a taste for mediocre design? Isn't modernity flexible enough to create designs children can love? If it isn't, then perhaps modernity DOES indeed deserve to be relegated to the ash heap of design history. My 7 year old son gets a huge charge out Aaron Copeland's Appalachian Spring. He hasn't got a clue about how Copeland was weaving folk song melodies into the piece, nor the meaning of doing such a thing within the larger historical river of symphonic music. He just LIKES it. I suspecte he (or any other kid) would go ga ga at a futuristic octagonal tree house that was a riff on Wright's disciple's pedestal house upon Mulholland Drive. I hardly intended to turn a tree house into a philosophical issue, when I started, but perhaps it is exactly the place to make a significant point. Isms that can't appeal to the young are quite likely to be cul de sacs. If modernity is so sterile that it can't make a child's heart soar, then perhaps modernity is not for grown ups either. afterall, grown-ups have hearts too. | |||||
| You slide | 1 Relevance | 15 years ago | SDR | General discussion | |
| You slide forward on the side chair, Heath ? That's usually a result of a seat that is too near level while the back tilts too far . . . back -- don't you think ? The included angle of the back and seat of an upright chair wants to be about 95 degrees or a bit more, in my experience -- depending in part on how much both deviate from true plumb and level. I like the appearance of the side chair above -- though the shape of the back may be a bit exaggerated. Also, the struts supporting the back might be a bit springy, judging by their apparent thickness and width ? As for the Windsor chair, maybe I need to see other photos; ones taken from above will tend to exaggerate the size of the part nearer the camera -- in a chair, that would be the back. My comment about style is mostly a matter of proportion. The back seems too big, or high, or wide, for the size of the chair. I know -- Wegner's big spindle-back chair might have the same thing said of it -- but in that case it seems to work. Another proportional matter is the spindles; there are both structural and aesthetic reasons why most Windsor chairs have turned spindles, which are thinner where they join with other members, and thicker in the middle -- both for comfort and for strength. Of course, some formal choices could be the result of technical, or comfort, or cost issues. Successful, even masterful design, results when all the issues are dealt with in such a way that the result "looks right" while still satisfying the practical requirements. I admire the way the arm post is stabilized, in this chair, and the extra back spindles at center which are likewise intended to stiffen the structure. Their divergence from the pattern of other spindles tends to muddle the appearance of the back, however. I'd like to see a photo taken from a lower point of view, reducing the distortion present in these shots . . . | |||||
| SDR, Europeans pay more for gasoline and diesel... | 1 Relevance | 20 years ago | dcwilson | General discussion | |
| SDR, Europeans pay more for gasoline and diesel... and they get vastly more state services for doing so. A huge percentage of their fuel prices are taxes that go to a variety of state social and infrastructure services. As we pay more for gasoline and diesel, most of the price increase goes to the oilcos, not to taxes for more state services. European roads and bridges and social safety nets are quite good, while ours stink and are getting worse. Frankly, we're getting screwed imho. And as if this weren't bad enough, now the oilcos are working hard to privatize the interstate highway infrastructure and convert it to a privately owned or managed toll system; this way you get to pay high gas prices going mostly to the oilcos, AND tolls for upkeep of the road system you already paid to build, which will go largely to the same oilco folks who will hold the management contracts on the interstate highway system. Remarkable, don't you think? Citizens pay taxes to build a system, the system is turned over to a private entity via a management contract and then citizens are charged to use the thing they paid for in the first place by an entity that didn't have to pay to build it! An analogy would be that you design a chair; then you get the government to tax the people to pay for hiring you to build the chair. Then the government gives you a management contract extending for the life of the chair. Then you get to charge a toll to anyone who sits in your chair as long as it is in use. Sweeeet! Yes? You never put up a dime. You just get to control the asset as if you had paid to build it. Onerous, inequitable cost shifting if you ask me. | |||||
| Thanks | 1 Relevance | 22 years ago | GanS | General discussion | |
| Thanks Thanks for your input, all of you. It seems as if Vitra are licensed and are more 'authentic' than Steelform, which is part of the information I am after; the other consideration is build quality and fidelity to design, from someone who has owned one. I am assuming Vitra is definitive, on the basis of their license and their market position as a high-end niche manufacturer. Still interested in a rational comparison with others. No offence 'b', but you seem to me, newbie that I am, as something of a purity fundamentalist, and this makes your replies a little random, because you get so passionate about this that you actually undermine your own arguments. First you were castigating all 'knock-offs' (classed by you as anything by anyone other than HM, which I have already said are not available here) without knowing the facts about Vitra, and now you are saying what a great company Vitra is. Based on your initial statements, I'm committing some sort of design sin by not buying HM (which I can't buy anyway) and therefore it sounds as if it doesn't really matter whether I buy a licensed chair from Vitra or an inflatable plastic version from the toy shop. Did you really mean to imply this ? I don't think this was a sensible or informed opinion to give, not least because you appear to be technically wrong about Vitra. It does make me question the whole authenticity thing anew - for example b's lack of knowledge of the relevant piece of legal paper is enough to consign a Vitra lounge chair to (apparently) a piece of cheap junk; so what does any of it matter ? I think what I actually need to know is, how faithful are any of the other chairs to the actual design ? I've read of some chairs having the screw holes in the backrest exposed, others being glued, or whatever. b's ratyher Taliban views aside, I am still interested in knowing whether, say, Steelform Eames chairs are put together in exactly the same way or not; there are plenty of lowest-tier knockoffs I agree but I am interested in the middle ground. This is not to disregard those who recommend Vitra - I do hear you, and it is on the options list. Thanks once again. | |||||
| aksel kjersgaard adjustable table - cannot find what it is | 1 Relevance | 10 years ago | Ernest Rams | Identification | |
| Hallo everybody! I just got this interesting coffee table , label says Aksel Kjersgaard but cannot find any description of it on the internet, nor any picture. I have tried with different languages on google but nothing. The top part can be lifted up and down, it must be an adjustable coffee table. The mechanism is quite elegant. The mark on the bottom (see pictures) includes the 8300 before “odder”, therefore I would date this table from the 70es as it is exactly the same label that another member posted here a few years ago: http://www.designaddict.com/forum/General-discussion/Aksel-Kjersgaard-Mystery-Thing All the labels I found on the internet instead are missing the “8300”. From the color of the wood I would say oak… what do you think? Next question: I think that the 5 wheels (plastic, see pictures) where added later. In fact, when you pull on the top part to lift it up, with the wheels it would not work as the table is moving. Any opinion? It would be nice to find who designed it... Thanks a lot for your help! Cheers, Ernest. | |||||
| Identifying, books and frustrations | 1 Relevance | 15 years ago | cada | General discussion | |
| Identifying, books and frustrations Well a week has passed and I'm still none the wiser. Sort of linking in to the nice thread on reference books; I've been through all of mine - although it is a fledging collection compared to many, and consists of mainly Taschen. The Decorative Arts 50s 60s 70s are good, as is Mid Century Modern. Although there are a few generic 'decorating' book of their era which are pure joy to read. The thing is that when looking with a view to identifying a piece, I find I am continually ploughing the same furrow and coming up with nothing of any use. I have 19 books at my disposal and as much online research time as my two babies will allow me. However this does throw up another issue, in that dealers' websites are not always correct in their identification themselves. I am increasingly frustrated by the near impossibility of identifying the designers/manufacturers of 3 particular tables. All of which are of great style and beautiful construction (even Heath would like the Glostrup solid teak dining table I'm sure!) but none of which appear in the cannon of popular images of Danish tables - which I trawl in ever decreasing circles. I feel that I have built a good instinct and feel for design features and construction 'clues' and certainly feel pretty confident with British pieces (although specific designers with Archie Shine is a BIG knowledge gap) but in the absence of labels I fall down with the Danish and rely heavily on these (seemingly not always accurate) dealer's sites. I imagine, given the quantity of ID threads, that this is a common frustration. But I genuinely do devote great amounts of time to this end. I wonder if Simon, Robert, H.Moon et.al. might consider leaving a body of work? It's still raining, by the way. | |||||
| Please help me identify this furniture | 1 Relevance | 19 years ago | Becky | General discussion | |
| Hi..I've got a bedroom set which consists of a full/queen size bedrail, head & footboard, one night table, one 5 drawer highboy, one 9 drawer dresser & mirror frame for the long dresser(we broke the mirror *oops*).By the style, I am pretty certain it is from the 60's, however, I can find no marks or dates on any of the pieces to identify designer, manufacturer, date, etc. The only thing found is on the bottom of one of the drawers a stamp mark that says Made In Taiwan & name(?) san yee or yee san. There are letters & numbers scrawled across the back of the pieces. I live in Ontario, Canada but have no idea if this furniture was made in Canada or elsewhere. Unfortunately, I broke my digicam so I have no actual pics. Today, after searching for hours, I came across an online pic of a night table that is almost identical to ours. I will post that pic. The furniture is solid wood except for a piece of particle board that is under the bottom drawers on both dressers. The drawers are dovetailed constructed...not sure what type of wood. I will post actual pics when I get a new cam, but in the meantime, any ideas from anybody? I'd like to sell this set, but don't have a clue what to ask for it. I don't want to cheat anyone but I also don't want to cheat myself for lowballing the price. Thanks for any help - hope the link works...I can't figure out how to post my pic. Becky (newbie) 🙂 http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=280180482903&Category=63588 | |||||
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