IMGP2170

Originally uploaded by smomokomorton

Hosted by Benjamin Moore, the theme was “COLOR”. We choose Kumquat…deep, luscious, juicy, warm and rich!

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Originally uploaded by smomokomorton

When Naka Designs was faced with the challenge of designing a piece for the annual Design After Dark (an event which celebrates design in Colorado and also raises acquisition funds for the department of architecture, design, and graphics at the Denver Art Museum) we had no idea what was in store for us. Typically in past years the event was a huge production where limited teams were accepted to participate and those that did had a very deep commitment both in terms of time and money. This year the committee opted for a new approach: they paired participants with a furniture piece from the contemporary furniture collection as well as a word ending in “ish”. We panicked at first when we learned our furniture piece was the Vanilla Fudge” Chaise Longue (1998, by Ross Menuez) and our word was “frumpish” but we quickly rebounded once we teamed up with our favorite retail store (Mod Livin’) and created a wonderful piece that is both functional as well as aesthetically pleasing and cleaver.

Here’s some more info on the piece:

VANILLA FUDGE CHAISE + FRUMPISH = “FELT-UP”

Felt-up is a wall-mounted felt shelving system, created from a continuous band of felt attached at varying intervals to its structural components, creating a sleek, hip and unexpected custom storage and display system.

The Vanilla Fudge Chaise by designer Ross Munuez was our first point of departure for the project. In this chair, bands of nylon are held in place by a rigid steel frame. The chair gains a unique expression of material which produces multiplicitous use: by allowing the two systems to exist on their own, the qualities of each create variation in how the chair is used. If one sits close to the structural elements, the nylon has less give and the chair becomes more rigid. If one sits in the middle, equally distant from the steel frame, the nylon achieves maximum deflection and is therefore softest. Despite the fairly archetypal organization (legs, seat, back) the Vanilla Fudge Chaise achieves a richness of use.

Our goal then was to use a material in a unique, unexpected application. This action in itself would be novel for the sake of novelty unless something significant was gained by the unusual juxtaposition of material and use. In recruiting a fabric to do the work of shelving, we opened a utilitarian function of storage and display to the flexibility, softness and mutability of cloth.

Enter FRUMPISH. Unlike rigid shelving, felt shelving is allowed to deform according to its charge. This deformation is a new quality to shelving; by being allowed to warp and bend additional means of use emerge through strategically placed slits in the felt band and reveal space for other non-conforming items such as wine bottles, periodicals, or whatever you can squeeze in. FELT-UP celebrates its frump by making the most out of its sag!

Rina Limor Image

Originally uploaded by smomokomorton

there are few pleasures more enjoyed by yours truly than sitting in pajamas on my sofa, some pleasant background noise swirling around, as i devour magazines (mostly of the interior design and architectural persuasion, but thanks to my roommates, fashion mags are omni-present also). i’m not a packrat by nature but i have a hugely extensive collection of ripped, tattered and torn magazine articles and images that i find inspiring. for years now i’ve wondered what good this arsenal of good taste would do for me other than wet my taste buds with the things i shall likely never possess or experience, but with the birth of nakaknows i’ve seen the light.

i’ve tried religiously to log on to rina limor’s website every time i come across this add i cut out well over a year ago, but to no avail (maybe i’m doing something wrong, but check it out for yourself: www.rinalimor.com).

in addition to being a design magazine junky, i’m also an addict of unique and large jewelry. not to be confused with costume jewelry, i’m talking about the eye-catching dazzlers that seem to possess their own sort of panache…a certain je ne sais quoi, if you will. it’s not just the rich colored enamel that makes me yearn for these treats, beyond the immediate attention sought by the color, i’m drawn to the contrast of enamel to jewel and metal. the intricate and delicate bejeweling is anything but overwhelming, rather it softens this bangle to make it a statement of refined femininity rather than an overbearing wrist weight.

if anyone knows miss limor, tell her she’s an artist blessed with innovation as well as old-soul style. using the new of the colored enamel with the details reminiscent of ancient roman-time jewelry, she is a true artisan and i hope, for her sake as well as for the other jewelies (jewelry+groupies) that miss limor gets her website up and running once and for all.

How to do a good pop top: view 1

Originally uploaded by smomokomorton

if you walk around the historic washington park neighborhood in denver, you will undoubtedly see a plethora of active and healthy young adults enjoying the colorado sun, bouncing around, smiling, laughing, playing with their golden retrievers, and 2.5 children. you start to think you’re in pleasantville or some sort of neighborhood reminiscent of stepford, but you only think that for as long as you focus on the beautiful people bouncing around…when you look beyond the sun-kissed beauties, you are smacked in the face with a dose of reality by the hideous pop-topped houses that scream “hack job”. it’s such a shame to see such charming bungalows built to last in the 1920s having their tops popped (addition of a second floor) where the builders take a plaster box and plop it on top of the original brick first floor with zero study of context, materiality or massing. here is one of the few fantastic examples of a nearly perfect pop top i’ve come across. take a look.

good design vs. bad design is not always a matter of opinion. the principals of design apply to no industry specifically. aesthetically we consider balance, scale, rhythm, symmetry, order, contrast, proportion, etc. and of course there is always functionality. these are the basic concepts which drive the rationale behind good vs. bad. take Mark Rothko’s red, orange, tan and purple composition where the balance, contrast and proportion are so immaculately executed that it’s no surprise that although simple, it does not take an art history major, or a serious art collector to appreciate the simple beauty and general good design of the piece.  so here’s to entry number one.