iDeas

(BD)

Here's some clever furniture from Users & Makers (UM).

At first, I thought their work might just be the stuff of a 1960s Sci-Fi film (not that there's anything wrong with that, and it does look awfully cool).  But I'm glad I took a closer look, because it turns out their designs are very smart, on top of it.

They had these two tables at the show, so you can see what I mean (click):

Already kind of clever, the circular opening conceals a storage space for magazines or whatever.  The wooden panel slides open.

I love the use of wood combined with what I'm guessing is Corian or something like it.  There's a lovely tension between a warm, natural material and a cool, synthetic one.  The interesting joinery helps, too, giving it personality in the details.

Here's a bunk bed and desk for a kid's room:

It's so delightfully Space Station, what kid wouldn't love that?  I also love how the lighting is built in, and all the different compartments come together so seamlessly.

Here's an indoor/outdoor table/stool/bench:

I'm always a big fan of designs that have great flexibility and adaptability in their use and form.  This goes above and beyond the norm where that's concerned--it's very much a multi-use set of furniture--and I think it's quite beautiful.  Great for someone whose last name starts with "S," too...or "C."

This is called the "Carbon Fiber Table":

This is exquisite.  The carbon fiber and wood veneer allow its profile to be so dangerously thin and delicate.  It almost looks like if you rested your elbow on it, it would crack in half, which it undoubtedly wouldn't.  The tension between material and form, form and use is quite stunning.

This one impressed me on their website, "The Lodge Chair," designed for a music production company:

The chair itself is an mp3 player dock, with speakers built into it, for complete sound immersion.  The subwoofer is incorporated into a side table.

Awesome.  And look at how THICK that cable is; these people know how to pay attention to details.

And last but not least, I need to have a pair of these real, real bad:

GIMME.  That's such a freaking cool idea I can't even tell you.  It's so rare to find ingenious jewelry that guys can wear without looking like a peacock or a Las Vegas lounge singer.  Wooden cuffs...now that's just downright classy.

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Users & Makers

718-383-7070

©2008, Ryan Witte