Their site is a lot better than it used to be, and has more product. I love the Real Good chair and they have a handful of really nice new sofas ... there are a couple I don't like.
Imagine this, a discussion that's actually about design. Screw Palin, what do you think of the new site/products/etc? They have some other neat features like a downloadable desk clock and some short films.
I'm fighting my worst Beavis...
I'm fighting my worst Beavis instincts right now with regard to, well, you all can figure it out. So it's probably a good idea to just go directly from here over to the Blu Dot website. We have a couple of items from them, and they are not half bad, in most respects: maybe a more durable and compelling kind of Ikea.
That's cool
because other than their Paperclip pieces, most of their other pieces were approaching Ikea tacky. Glad to see they're improving their look.
BUT....they are a Minneapolis-based business without a Twin Cities showroom, so people in their hometown metro area have never heard of 'em!
Isn't that ridiculous?
Chicago shelving
I've had the Chicago credenza and an expanded 13-box bookshelf from these folks for a while now. I got them through Room and Board. Cats, niece & nephew and various cleaning ladies have all managed to interact without causing harm. They are actually very sturdy pieces. The shelving unit is home to my tetsubin (japanese iron teapot) collection and it really shows them off well; the design is very tansu-like in it's open and enclosed spaces.
Charlie Lazor one of the founders of BluDot now has a pre-fab modern home company called FlatPak that makes some very good-looking houses.
http://www.flatpakhouse.com/
Yup, he sure is...
and I agree...I imagine his pieces to be the less silly BluDot designs. I still like their stuff though, silly or not. When I ordered things from them they always shipped them with a little treasure. I have BlueDot gym socks, a BlueDot tape measure that has a clear case and is actually really cool. Best of all I have a CD of sampled jazz that has an interview of Charles Eames discussing design with this really snotty female interviewer with thickly french-accented english laid over jazz riffs... it's a trip to listen to.
http://www.bludot.com/blu_dot_info/the_blu_dot_story
So easy to play the skeptic...
So easy to play the skeptic when viewing new design. But I too like a large portion of the Blu Dot catalogue. I actually fancy some of the sillier pieces such as Rapson's mesh chair. But the price seems to steer me to more vaunted designs. If the Rapson chair were available in more primary swatches, I might give it more consideration however.
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