When we think of “grass furniture,” we think thatching, like cottage roofs in Merry Olde England. It wouldn’t occur to us that the term “grass furniture” could apply to the beautiful, angular table in front of us. Sleek and sculptural, warmed by its honey-toned tabletop, the table is made of grass, giant grass, actually: bamboo.
Ken […]
Profile: Ken Tomita of Tomita design.build
Many Ways To Crack An Egg
design: Bonnie Heart Clyde by Emily Katz
…or a taxonomy of apparel design businesses in Portland and…
Two recent events made this note necessary. One is Narciso Rodriguez selling his label to giant middle-of-the-road Liz Claiborne, saving him from bankruptcy, the other a recent article in Oregon Business magazine. In the first instance, a smart, very talented […]
ultra Q: makelike
You’ve seen identities makelike has designed for Masu, the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Entermodal, and now STRUT, but did you know that this Portland-based design studio has also done work for Missoni/Valentino, BabyPhat, Iceberg, and W Hotels? Mary Kysar and Topher Sinkinson (see also: Swallow Press (x2) art collaborative) founded makelike at the […]
On The Functions of Clothing
)open((clothed) is a dialogue between opposing forces. These dualities include: protection vs. vulnerability, childlike make believe vs. mature rationalism, ephemeral structure vs. stable forms and fine art vs. craft.
—Diana Lang, )open((clothed)
What are the functions of clothing? It protects (which you learned the hard way when you didn’t wear your mittens in sub-zero weather). It […]
ultra Q: Kristan Kennedy
2006 was a good year for Kristan Kennedy. Her work was again in the Oregon Biennial at the Portland Art Museum as well as in the Fresh show at the Elizabeth Leach Gallery. And Leach, who represents Kennedy, also took her work to Aqua Art in Miami. Meanwhile, as Visual Art Program Director for the […]
Profile: Daniel McCall
We sat down with Daniel McCall last week at the new Ace Hotel to talk about his past, present, and future in fashion design. In the past he has owned a shop called Androgyny and a showroom called No. 28 in Morgan’s Alley. Most recently he is preparing for the Mercury Fashion Show […]
Designer Profile: Joe Futschik of JEF Designs
Joe Futschik’s work illuminates spaces. The designer behind JEF Designs does modern lamps, wall graphics, and prints that subtly transform Portland spaces like clarklewis and Crema. We recently talked with Futschik making lamps on the floor upstairs at Hippo Hardware, art vs. craft, San Francisco, and JEF Designs.
What kind of difference did show2003 at […]
Field Notes: Slow Fashion
Still wading through the jetlag and slight disappointment over not having delicious Indian food at every corner, I have returned from the UK. Having left to attend both New York and London Fashion Week, my trip closed in London where I was accompanying my client, Entermodal, as we had our official European launch at […]
