A guy called Louie Rigano!

I recently came upon this awesome designer called Louie Rigano, and totally fell in love with his "Breakdown" furniture series. Louie studied at RISD and seems like a cool dude. I love the joinery on the beautiful Japanese oak! Soo simple and soo beautiful. Good job, Louie!

http://www.louierigano.com/index.php?/furniture-design/breakdown/

A Prouve imposter

The whole world knows that Jean Prouve is a master designer and that his epic Potence Lamp is one of the most beautiful things ever made, so when I see imposters of his, I stop to ponder. The subject of my pondering differs each time, but when I saw this lamp in Los Angeles recently, I thought "Hmm, that's a good price!"

http://amsterdammodern.com/categories/1-Lamps/11075-prouve-style-atelier-swing-arm-lamp?order=added_new-old&page=1&show_all=true

Not sure what you think, ladies and gentlemen. The lamp comes in two sizes and three different colors, but not sure about the lighting watt requirements, etc.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of posts lately, dear reader(s).

Naoto Fukusawa: Will you marry me?

Dear Naoto,

I know that maybe you are already married, and so am I, but can you please consider maybe marrying me in perhaps another life? I simply am in love with your design aesthetic, and, well, I am deeply infatuated with you. I saw your Phaidon book and also was lusting over every graphic and word. I also love your Plus Minus Zero collection. If we get married, I don't mind moving to Japan!

Yours truly,

Intern
Cheese Lovers International

P.S. Check out Naoto's Hiroshima chair here: http://mjolk.ca/product/dining/hiroshima-chair/

Jielde!

I fell in love with the Jielde lighting collection the first time I laid my tired little eyes on them, with their curvaceous, bending and whimsical bodies. Lust, true lust!

http://www.jielde.com/

A CLI first!

Dear friends of CLI,

Guess what? One of our interns has designed and built her own table! She had a lot of help from her nice boss and an architect friend, but the concept was an original, and we think it's quite nice. What say you? Orders are being taken as we speak/write!

A fun light!

Though most of us at CLI are children of the 1980s, we spend a lot of time trying to block out the horrific fashion and home design that came out of that dreadful, Ronald Reagan-era. BUT! Lately our intern has discovered a few prized gems from that infamous time, and dare we say some things from that time could even be called decent?

Take, for example, the Callimaco floor lamp by Ettore Sottass (nice name). It's quite fun and interesting, and the design reminds some of us of perhaps a matchstick! And who doesn't like matchsticks?

You be the judge -- the 1980s; In Oder Aus?!

http://www.artemide.us/?page=main/flypage&product_id=3146

Design Against the Clock (a cool video!)

Design-loving friends, check out this cool video! You'll have to click on the link below, or just click the title of this blog post!

http://www.gestalten.com/motion/established-sons

Another cool Dutch dude

I don't speak or read Dutch, but the pictoral qualities of Floris Hovers' website inspired a lust for beautiful and simply wonderful furniture (and other things). Floris, you are one cool dude!

Check out his work here and below: http://www.florishovers.nl/site/

The perfect couch

Although there is a plethora of lounging options these days, it's still hard for one to find the perfect couch. Well, if you are currently searching for a nice place to place your behind, we might have a nice suggestion for you! Check out Hay's Mags sofa. (Hay is a really Danish furniture company, and everything they have is super cool). It's around $3,500 or so, so it's not affordable. But at least we are on the right track, yes?

http://www.hay.dk/hay_web.html

Something very beautiful!

I stumbled into Moss the other day and had my breath taken away by this most beautiful of chairs. Seriously, it's one of the most good-looking things I've seen in a while! I wish I could buy it, but it's $2,300! hahahahaahahahah!

Seriously, why does this Tajá chair cost soo much? I don't really get it. Whatever. It's still stunning!

http://www.mossonline.com/product-exec/product_id/45970/category_id/420

Paperback Shelf!!

One of our favorite design stores EVER is in none other than the lovely London (across the pond for many people). The next time our intern is able to travel, maybe she will be sent to this rainy but fair city! And while she is there, she will be sure to check out Twenty Twenty One. Pretty much everything on their website makes us drool. Yes, even our serious Editor-in-Chief often has pitter patters of the heart upon glancing at this company's quite stupendous collection of furniture and other things.

We particularly like their Linea1 I Jurassic paper shelving system. It is especially designed for paperback books. Here, my friends, is another reason not to entirely abandon the art of a paperback book! Let the paperback live on!

http://www.twentytwentyone.com/displayProduct.asp?ProductID=3151&x=190

The Belgians

It has been a long time since we at CLI mentioned the work of Belgian designers. Dare we say we have never discussed this country's talent? If so, please forgive our despicable transgression!

We do like the work of Sylvain Willenz, especially his cool "Landmark" lighting collection! It nearly took our collective breaths away!!

Check this Landmark out here:

http://www.sylvainwillenz.com/en/products/7/2/Landmarks-Established-and-Sons-2009

The "It" Box

Check out this cool company called "It Design" -- we at CLI quite like the name. We also especially like their "Itbox" because it's really cool. The design is quite simple and minimalist and colorful. What more could you want? The "itbox" is available in metal and comes in several different configurations. You can create a desk, file system, wall shelves, etc. The possibilities seem quite limitless. I think they would work well in a kitchen!

Check them out here:

http://www.it-happens.ch/eng/index.html

Alex Hellum!

Alex Hellum has really fun and cutesy-ish furniture and products. We can't collectively decide which product we like best, and some we are not in "love" with, but check them out here:

http://www.alexhellum.com/index.html

Foosball!

Just think, for only $500 you can have this beautiful football table in your very own home! Indeed, instead of paying over $4,000 for something similar, you can play for hours on this super nice Champion Pro table. Another cool thing is that this English company, Made.com, guarantees its quality and craftsmanship. I think Made is worth checking out, since they try their best to help consumers find designer furniture for a very decent price!

http://www.made.com/leisure/the-champion-pro-table-football

Lighting That Rules (LTR)

The search for the perfect light is something that will forever engage our various interns here at CLI. Sometimes, we admit, the Editor in Chief, finds herself spending hours and hours contemplating the ideal light, the light to shine on all lights, the light to illuminate the world!

But, my friends, we have found something quite awesome. From a company called Rich, Brilliant, Willing, comes the cool "Newtility Lighting Collection" and "Branch Floor Lamp" and they are quite something. We find the clever design to be not only quite visually pleasing but also quite utilitarian! Lighting that includes electrical outlets! Our world today is soo gadget-rich that sometimes I think it would be useful to have electrical chargers installed in our elbows or knees! Oh! That reminds me of the movie "The Matrix" -- why don't we just start charging our iPods using our own body's BTU's? That is the next design challenge.

Anywho, check out this cool company and its lights here:

http://www.richbrilliantwilling.com/Projects?

Book sharing!!

This cool Spanish lady named Joan Rojeski (I think she's Spanish) designed this cool "Primer B" book-sharing device thing that kind of looks like and acts like a mail box thing, but for books! So, say you have a book you no longer want, but you are too lazy to

1) donate it
2) recycle it
3) ask your friends if they want it
4) give it to someone as a present
5) sell it to a used bookstore

...then this is just the thing for you! Now you can leave your books in your lobby or downstairs area of your apartment building, and leave the book there for your neighbors to take! I actually really like this idea, and think it can be used for other things, like delivery menus, DVD's, CD's and Netflix or something! Or maybe even recipes or a cool poem. Or maybe even a magazine or newspaper! The possibilities are endless, my friend CLI reader!

Actually, I think Joan meant something more like this: "We would pass on books we no longer needed by displaying them in a clear box attached to this mailbox, designed by Joan Rojeski, to catch our neighbours’ attention.

If they see a book they would like, they can knock the neighbour’s door and borrow the book. We remove the desired book and slip it into their box. This encourages interaction between neighbours and the re-use of books."

Anyway, check it out here: http://www.joanrojeski.com/

Cool shelves for your house!!

I'm kind of in love/like with these cool Swiss and US shelving systems by a company called Loadbearing. They are configurable to your liking and come in any color you select (within their selection). And they are not THAT expensive! Made from galvanized steel, these shelves are super strong (hold about 220 pounds for each shelf) and I just think they are marvelous!

Check them out here: http://loadbearing.com/