Design Steward Studio

lattice stool

2012-01-26T11:22:00.000-08:00

Lattice Stools

via the mood

Process: Bike Rims

2012-01-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

...could do without the sound, interesting process video, though.

from H Plus Son

Don't forget to look back

2012-01-20T10:41:00.000-08:00

It is quintessentially Southern to look back, to be modern you must limit yourself to do this with quiet deference and a quick nod.

Pie and a Pint- Wabi Nabe

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Shepherd's Pie

for your Wabi Nabe

Some time ago when I last lived in Tennessee the pals and I would drive out to East Nashville for a pie and a pint. While this recipe is certainly not what was served at that laundromat-turned-restuarant, it serves as an inspiration. Sized just right for your Wabi Nabe, enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

-3 potatoes, peeled and cubed

-3 tbs. sour cream

-1 tbs. butter

-1 egg yolk

-----------------------------------------------------------

-1 lbs. ground beef, lamb, or protein of choice

-1 small red onion, chopped

-----------------------------------------------------------

-3 tbs. cold water

-2 tbs. all-purpose flour

-2 tbs. butter

-1 cup milk or water

-7 small crimini mushrooms, chopped

-2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
-Salt and pepper to taste

-----------------------------------------------------------

-1.5 cups green peas

-1 tsp. cayene

-1 tsp. paprika

-----------------------------------------------------------

-Shredded cheddar cheese

*optional 1-2 cloves roasted garlic

-1 pint Guinness stout

DIRECTIONS:

Before you begin anything else, begin your garlic roasting while you prep your meal if you plan on including this addition.

Peel, cube and boil potatoes in Wabi Nabe filled half full of water. Potatoes are done when after speared with a fork, they slide easily off. Drain and place in a separate bowl. Add sour cream, butter, and egg yolk and beat until creamy.

In a separate skillet (or Wabi Nabe) brown protein. Add chopped onion and cook over medium heat until onions are tender. Set aside.

In the empty Wabi Nabe bring one cup of water or milk with butter to a simmer. Add mushrooms and cook until softened, dash with Worcestershire. In a jar combine flour and cold water, cap with lid and shake until smooth, pour into the mixture and thicken gravy over low heat. Add seasonings, protein mixture, and stir in peas. Top with mashed potatoes then cover with cheddar cheese.

Broil in oven until the cheese is a crispy golden brown, let set for 5-8 minutes and spread with roasted garlic.

Serve hot with a cold pint of Guinness.

Simple Bread- Wabi Nabe

2012-01-17T11:50:00.000-08:00

Simple Bread

for your Wabi Nabe

Another bread recipe, a variation on the Hell's Kitchen no knead recipe tested by the good folks over at the Food Crypt. Feel free to post notes and improvements in the comments sections, folks.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tsp. Active dry yeast

1- 1/4 cup Warm water

2 tsp. Sugar

3 cups All Purpose Flour

1- 1/2 tsp. salt (Truffle salt dresses this up well)

1- 1/2 tbsp. Olive oil

Cornmeal and Flour mixture for dusting

*Optional Ingredients

-1 tsp. Cracked peppercorn

-1/3 cup chopped black olives and1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

or similarly

- 1/3 cup chopped jalapeno and 1/4 cup Asiago cheese

DIRECTIONS:

-In a large bowl dissolve sugar in warm water (100-110°F), sprinkle yeast on top, let stand for 10 minutes until doubled in size.

-Add flour, oil, salt, and pepper toss with fork until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Place in an oil-greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at 12-18 hours, but at least 8 hours in warm temperature (70°F).

-Look for bubbles on the surface, flour surface and sprinkle with a dusting mixture of part cornmeal, wheat bran, oatmeal, or flour. Add any optional ingredients.

-Fold dough into itself twice. There is no need to knead. Cover and rest for a quarter hour.

-Gently form into a ball, place seam side down, dust again with mixture, let rest between clean dishcloths dusted with mixture.

-Let rise for 1-2 hours until roughly doubled and dough is stiffer.

-Place in Wabi Nabe pre-heated to 475°F, shake the pot twice to settle the dough.

-Cover and bake for 30 minutes at 475°F, remove the lid and bake for 15-20 minutes until loaf is browned. Remove bread from Wabi Nabe and let rest an hour.

NOTES:

It is best to prepare bread on a clear day with little or no humidity.

Wheat flours can cause this recipe to be too dense.

Wabi Nabe Fruit Cobbler

2012-01-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

Fruit Cobbler
for your Wabi Nabe cast iron pot

Ingredients:

3 tsp. baking powder
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar (divided)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
3 cups fruit

Directions:

Preheat oven and Wabi Nabe with butter inside to 350°F
Separately, mix baking powder, flour, sugar (reserve 1/8 cup for later), and milk together leaving lumps, ladle evenly into preheated Wabi Nabe on top of the butter.
Add fruit, distributed evenly
Sprinkle remaining sugar over fruit
Bake uncovered for 30- 40 minutes at 350°F until golden brown on top
Serve warm over fresh vanilla bean ice cream.

USA!

2012-01-09T17:47:00.000-08:00

Martin Greenfield Factory, Brooklyn

"Machines don't make handmade clothing. You could make clean clothing. You could make disciplined clothing. I know how to do that, but I wouldn't wear it, and I wouldn't buy it."

Wabi Nabe Corn Doggies

2012-01-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

This recipe comes from "Miss M", using a Wabi Nabe to deep-fry these delicious lookin' corn doggies. I am glad to say that the following practice replaces the three legged (out of what was once four) Fry Daddy we grew up with making beignets .

Recipe after the jump >>>

PREPARATION:

Meat

½ to ¾ pound (4-6) Meat links (i.e. hot dogs, breakfast sausage, etc)

Skewers cut to approximately 4” long, or popsicle sticks cut to about the same length.

Cut hot dogs in half, and shake in a paper bag with ¼ c. flour. Skewer each with about 1” of skewer left showing. Place on tray or plate.

Fill Wabi Nabe pot 1/3 to ½ full of canola oil. Heat to 350-400 degrees. While pot is heating, mix batter.

Batter

Mix all together; beat until all ingredients are moistened and batter is smooth. Ingredients may be doubled for a larger batch.

-1/2 cup milk

-1 egg

-1/8 c. oil

-1 Tablespoon sugar

-½ teaspoon salt

-1 pinch of white or red pepper

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-2/3 c. corn meal (I used yellow)

-1/3 c. flour

DIRECTIONS:

When oil is hot enough, take a teaspoon of the batter and gently drop it in the hot oil, close to the surface so you don’t splash yourself with hot oil. The batter should swell and start to brown. Turn with a slotted spoon or other utensil until it browns on the other side, then remove.

Now take one of the uncooked, floured and skewered corn dogs and roll it in the batter, covering completely. Keep turning it while lowering and releasing it into the hot oil. Repeat with another corn dog. You can probably cook two at a time fairly easily. Turn over when the bottom side is golden brown; cook until both sides are golden brown, then remove to a plate covered with a paper towel to absorb any additional oil. Keep warm until all are cooked. Serve with mustard. Yum! Allow 3-4 of these per person.

There's light in the trees if you tap 'em.

2012-01-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

Pipe Candle Holder

by Pernille Vea

for MENU

A modern take on viking design: tap in for light where needed.

Wood Flock

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Gibson, Eames, Vedel, Bouroullec

Black Eyed New Year

2012-01-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

Black Eyed Peas

For the new year and your Wabi Nabe

via Micah Hargrove
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

2 cups black eyed peas

1.5 cups sweet onion, chopped

1/2 of a large green bell pepper, chopped

2 sliced hickory smoked bacon (substitute a hambone)

1 clove garlic

1 bay leaf

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Cayenne pepper, to taste

2-3 links browned andouille sausage, cut thin and on a bias

PREPARATION:

Rinse peas; soak in Wabi Nabe for at least 2 hours. Drain. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic, bacon, and bay leaf. Pour enough water inthe Wabi Nabe so water is 2 to 3 inches above the beans. Cook on a low burner for 3hours or until peas are done.

Smash 1/3 of the beans to thicken, remove bay leaf, add smoked sausage, andcook for additional 30-60 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

NOTES:

Serve hot, over rice.

The texture of this meal comes from the peas and sausage, whereas the onion and bell pepper will be very soft- and mostly contributing to the flavor the dish. Therefore, it is imperative not to overcook your peas.

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR

...and good luck to you and yours!

Natural Filter

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Charcoal Ashtray

Kumagaya Sumizara

Playboy Spread, 1961

2011-12-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

Nelson, Wormley, Saarinen, Bertoia, Eames, and Risom.

July 1961

ll= Wisconsin Countryside

2011-12-27T17:55:00.001-08:00

Polaroid 600 film on an SX-70 with ND filter

A little gem of a recipe I found last night...

2011-12-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

Sewanee Rum Tea Punch

"Watch Out" Serves 100-150

*An omitted addition to this recipe, which you will not find in published versions of the Charleston Receipts Repeat, are two dirty socks at the bottom of the trash can.

Difficulty: Easy, Serve Immediately

1 20- gallon trash can (clean)
3 gallons dark rum
3 gallons tea, brewed strongly
9 16-ounce bottles real lemon
10 pounds sugar
30 pounds ice
4 dozen lemons

For smaller quantities:

1 quart tea
1 quart rum
1 cup sugar
12 lemons

Directions

Fill trash can half full (of ice)
Pour in warm tea and dark rum
Blend together
In a large bowl, combine sugar and real lemon and add to mixture
Slice whole lemons and add to mixture
Stir ingredients well
Keep plenty of ice on hand to add

-- via Mr. Edward Drummond Izard (Bru)

For the Holidays

2011-12-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

Shaker Onion Basket
DIY or store bought, I don't care.

2011-11-30T04:00:00.000-08:00

available here

2011-11-29T09:33:00.000-08:00

via brad

Black Friday Shopping

2011-11-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

On Sale

2011-11-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

"Isamu Noguchi did not draw a distinction between formal sculpture and functional forms; he approached both in a similar way yielding..."

Classic Graphics

2011-11-22T10:02:00.000-08:00

\\\ = Mono Ha =

2011-11-21T16:48:00.001-08:00

Katsuhiko Narita, 'Sumi' (1969)

Seen: Horses

2011-11-18T09:51:00.001-08:00

Alex Valder, Baenkkle 320

Per Sundstedt, Ving

Cheryl Pope, Colts
Miron Lior, Rocker

Digitial Holga

2011-11-16T09:28:00.001-08:00

HOLGA.D concept

Saikat Biswas

All around great concept and exercise in commercial restraint and minimalism. I would very much like to see this produced. via jordan.

In black, perhaps.

2011-11-15T05:30:00.000-08:00

monica graffeo, designer

cu, kristalia 2004: rigid polyurethane

KIOSK

2011-11-14T15:35:00.000-08:00

A go-to fresh maker, and something for the pocket

Each available here

A short curation: Google image search

2011-11-12T05:26:00.000-08:00

2011-11-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Riuku Stool, Matti Syrjälä

Freedom of arms

2011-11-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

I am especially a fan of the Napsack

2011-11-09T17:31:00.000-08:00

H.G. "Skip" Brack salvages tools from all over New England to resell at affordable prices, in an effort to support his local economy and craftsmen.

Read the full Etsy blog post: http://etsy.me/libertytool

Collaborating with ODLCO

2011-11-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Are iron works and wabi-sabi antithetical? Typically, but not exclusively, examples of wabi-sabi objects refer to earthenware for the Japanese tea ceremony. Preserving qualities of wabi-sabi that are rough, natural, simple, and accessible to consumers may only possible through industrial methods when considering the iron production and its costs.

In choosing iron as a material two methods are most practical for an atelier: casting in lost wax or ramming patterns by hand. Unfortunately, the products remain inaccessible as everyday objects, commanding prices of art pieces. To be affordable industrial production is called for. Green sand casting and standardized equipment make each piece uniform, but should not be considered perfect.

The lost wax process used to make the protoypes shows every intention, flaw, and detail in craftsmanship from the wax model. This method embodies humble and imperfect qualities of wabi-sabi, but is cost prohibitive. Like most prototypes they aren't modest in price; inaccessible to most. The collaboration with ODLCO took the design of four experimental iron pots into mass production; the greatest outcome for me as a designer is the transformation of the Wabi Nabe project from being merely an "expensive reminder of a dynamic moment" (Koren 85).

In every method blemishes of some sort will be unavoidable, the degree of these are lessened as control practices are more refined. In the final production run each of these pots are hand poured and finished, the hands of the craftman are evident; touch-up marks from a grinder will be a detail that varies from piece to piece giving them their own distinct character. Therefore, the design of each piece down to the most minute detail can be considered and appreciated.

Organic forms are represented by the handles, and overall the design remains modest. Details such as a flush-resting lid and the inset trivet ring (in place of another lip on the bottom) keep the profile minimal: all aesthetic considerations otherwise in line with wabi-sabi.

Additional Reading

Yours?

2011-11-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

Is this your cowichan?

History of the World in Objects

2011-11-02T10:33:00.000-07:00

This is what I love about the internet: free and abundant access to information. I almost can't believe that I don't need a subscription for this. Here BBC Radio gives Neil MacGregor the floor in a series of segments tracing world history through 100 objects. MacGregror is the Director of the British Museum and author of A History of the World in 100 Objects. In this short segment one object vies for the (coveted?) 100th position of objects in the history of the world. An Antarctic explorer's outfit composed of a cagoule, insulated boots, and pants represents Man's preparedness for "the last point in the world that humanity has actually lived in." Though its not likely that this is open to voting, it has mine. As few other clothing has made it into the list for archival reasons, this makes a good choice. More likely though, since proper clothing is among the 10 essentials for survival in the backcountry, it stands to reason it has been essential to the evolution of man.

The whole series is an interesting curatorial work from MacGregor and is available online here.

Ethics and Capitalism

2011-11-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

After hearing some months ago about Patagonia's seemingly counter intuitive selling strategy, I re-read Yvon Chouinard's 1972 Catalog of salable goods and climbing conduct. What I rediscovered among the essays were some early ground rules for outdoor ethics congruent with their current efforts to minimalize our impact on their Earth, despite being in the business of making and selling more stuff. For more reading see the Common Thread Initiative.

Two Chopsticks

2011-10-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

Two Chop Sticks
and
Wabi Nabe

Halloween 2011

I just read the proof copy of the Wabi Nabe catalog to be released with ODLCO's first shipment of Wabi Nabe cast iron pots. In one recipe Thom Moran calls for the implementation of two chopsticks. It calls to question my own cooking habits. Even in applications where I find a fork lacking as a tool, I still use it. Here, I am reminded of chopsticks' versatility, and am excited again about the simple varied uses of chopsticks in cooking.

Being the most minimal and elemental cooking tool in my kitchen, it is a crime that I rarely use them. During my stay with ODLCO Co-Founders, Lisa Smith and Caroline Linder, developing the project I got the invaluable opportunity to observe user behaviors in the kitchen outside of my own (with our prototype no less). For example, most mornings I witnessed a simple decision to use the chopstick over the fork for tasks like beating eggs.

Short of listing every use of sticks and pot, I will suffice it to say, "Store a pair in your Wabi Nabe." If not for the simple reason that, as with all cast iron cookware, moisture (ergo rust) will build up in the pot if the lid is stored flat. I am looking forward to hearing how each of our backers use the Wabi Nabe pot, and would be pleased to share them.

Draplin Continued

2011-10-20T21:21:00.002-07:00

Draplin

2011-10-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

STARTING A STUDIO

2011-09-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

Rob Giampietro's Top 10 for Designers

Starting a Studio

An untended garden quickly becomes a field: plant what you want to grow.
Have partners, but don’t do the same things: make sure you both do something you enjoy.
Hire people for what they can teach you, not for what you can teach them.
Everyone should be able to take criticism: creative trust is built on critical honesty.
Design is only one part of the puzzle: savor the discussion, development, debate, and dissemination of your work just as much as the making of it.
Goals may be arbitrary, but not having them will be maddening when there’s no one else to tell you if you’re doing a good job: set 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year goals at the outset.
When you take your favorite clients out to lunch, it’s a good time to propose what you’d like to do together next.
Knowing more designers doesn’t necessarily translate into having good clients: spend your development time wisely.
Be known for something: it helps.
You will never work harder than when you’re building something: find balance. Sometimes the best way to solve a creative problem is to take a vacation or read a book.

Flocking Decoys

2011-09-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

Duck Decoys and the Art of

via Ready for the House

and then...

via DONJER

Making

2011-09-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

On the balloon factory line.

Chicago, IL Sept. 2011

2011-08-13T15:05:00.000-07:00

TONIGHT:
Chicago residents should make their way over to the Whistler tonight for a selection of short documentaries made by recent graduates of Stanford's Documentary Film MFA Program, curated by Rory Fraser, will be presented at The Whistler on Saturday, August 13th, at 7 pm.
No cover
2421 N. Milwaukee Avenue

Films presented:

Shangri-La
by Adam Smith
6 min.
A Tibetan monk describes his transition into American life and the challenge of setting up a monastery for fellow exiled monks.

A Changed Landscape
by Tijana Petrović
7 min.
This conceptual film observes the mundane lives of cows, donkeys, ducks and humans, and the changing world that they inhabit.

Well-Fed
by Anna Moot-Levin
7 min.
A journey into the world of carnivorous plants where nature has taken an unexpected twist.

Wooden Boat
by John Rory Fraser
7 min.
Inside the world of wooden sailboats in Sausalito, California.

Plasticity
by Ryan Malloy
6 min.
While cities have historically served as dynamic places of innovation and experimentation, contemporary uses of urban space have generally conformed to certain mainstream expectations. Plasticity reveals three instances—a rooftop apiary, an occasional restaurant, and a mobile pizzeria—of people redefining how urban space is used in San Francisco.

Tuned In
by Kevin Gordon
6 min.
Naturally produced radio signals surround us all the time but are invisible to the human ear. This film explores the world of one natural radio enthusiast and his journey to capture these sounds.

Love Hacking
by Jenni Nelson
22 min.
A virtual relationship becomes a reality when a robot inventor journeys to Nepal to meet his fiance for the first time.

SAINT
by John Rory Fraser
14 min.
The story of John Renken - a former Ultimate Fighter, Army Ranger and Satanist, now a born-again Christian and the founder of Xtreme Ministries in Clarksville, Tennessee. SAINT examines John's life and his philosophy of a masculine Christianity.

The Artemis Collections

2011-07-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

The Artemis collections are housed in premises in Holbeck and consist of around 10,000 artefacts and original works of art to support and enhance classroom teaching and learning. The collections are continuously being enhanced with additional material to reflect schools requirements and teachers requests, and to ensure that the items on loan are of a quality suitable for school use.

SHOP NOW: ODLCO

2011-06-26T20:14:00.000-07:00

Lisa Smith and Caroline Linder

are expanding Chicago's Object Design League into

ODLCO, an online storefront

STORE

2011-06-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

STORE opens in Chicago

Wabi Nabe pots now available through ODLCO

VERSUS

2011-06-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

compare yourself

HOMEGROWN: Opens in Nashville

2011-06-05T10:36:00.001-07:00

@Wright

2011-05-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Available Now

Tove and Edvard Kindt-Larsen

Thorvald Madsen Snedkeri

Denmark, 1957
teak, leather
13 w x 13.5 d x 25 h inches

It is safe to ride; the apocalypse has passed.

2011-05-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

resorted, restored

The Difficulties of Practicing Experimental Design by Lisa Smith

2011-05-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

Let's be Honest: The Difficulties of Practicing Experimental Design in Chicago

Last week, I attended the How Chicago Are You? discussion at the Graham Foundation. Ten panelists were invited to show five "likes" and "dislikes" related to their experience of the city. Though Bob Somol's talk on the academic instution as a disciplinary embassy was a high point, the rest of the discussion felt overly personal and undirected. The moderator wondered, "How important is a sense of place to creative production?" but the more specific question of the current state of Chicago's creative output, as a whole, was left unaddressed.

Our friends over at Golden Age felt similarly:

As most boldly titled, openly structured explorative endeavors, it was almost entirely inconclusive. The only real consensus from the panel (which consisted of 40% diehard Chicagoans, 50% cultural workers who believed place was unimportant and 10% insecure people who were waiting to move to a coast but scared about their impending decision) was that Chicago as a place is what you make it and comprised solely of the places and people you visit there.

In response, they listed a few spots they regularly visit. I was honored that ODL was included among them, and started thinking about how the "place" question relates to our budding designed objects scene, specifically. Chicago is a nice city for living and working, but what are we making?

The design community here is small enough that cohorts are often competitors and colleagues are also close personal friends. This produces a nurturing, supportive atmosphere, but at the same time, one that's too comfortable. For instance, even when mindfully critical of others' work, deep down I'm cheerleading—sincere but, ultimately, biased. It's easier to like the work when you know the person and the effort behind it. Because we're so invested in each other's success, we miss out on the opportunity to judge and be judged.

Over the past two years, it's become clear that we have a strong experimental design community in Chicago. Now, it's increasingly important that we treat Chicago as a home base to make works that play on an international register. Frankly, I don't think we're there. We pat ourselves on the back for being able to pull it together, but that's a baseline requirement. We should expect more, pushing each other in the relevance and resolution of our endeavors.

Like any city, Chicago comes with baggage. In my experience co-managing Object Design League for the past two years, the primary challenges this city poses for experimental designers are:

The stickiness of our mid-century modern legacy

Eastern Michigan is an epicenter of furniture production, but companies based there (such as Herman Miller) are incredibly risk-averse, churning out more or less the same thing every year. Mid-century modernism is not a bad thing, but our undying faithfulness to its values feels stiff and anachronistic. The Chicago (and American) market does not demand a new perspective, even while they demand new chairs.

The aesthetic conservatism of consumers and clients

Clients and consumers are resting on their laurels when it comes to setting themselves apart or considering their domestic space. Why investigate independent design when one can walk into CB2 or IKEA and buy a neo-modernist knockoff? There's a wide world of formal, material, and philosophical approaches to everyday objects, but the market is dominated by efficient companies with great distribution channels and bad products. Availability impacts taste, but how can we compete with the wide reach of Target? How can we combat the lack of pluralism in the design goods market and get our work into the world?

It is no coincidence that our largest design fairs—NeoCon, SOFA, and the International Home and Housewares Show—are off the map as far as contemporary furniture and object design goes. We don't need an ICFF or Salone del Mobile, but it may be up to us to cultivate new attitudes towards consumption, commissions, and design work in the Midwest.

Lack of solid design writing and criticism

Chicago has its share of talented designers and thinkers, but no platform for their voices. Where is our Apartamento Magazine, Pin-Up, T Magazine, or Mike Meiré? We need a force to bring our best voices together and challenge the way we think as makers and consumers of objects. Local weeklies like Time Out do their part, but we can't expect them to carry the weight of the experimental design discussion.

To rise to these challenges, there is much that we, as designers, should work on. I've tried to isolate a few things that I've noticed across the board from thesis shows to professional exhibitions (Object Design League events included).

Polish and completeness

Despite considerable potential, experimental design in Chicago is hindered from garnering the attention it deserves because of a lack of polish and completeness. Perhaps because of the comfort provided by our supportive community, projects tend more towards first drafts, when, to compete at an international level, details should be ironed out and sensibilities and concepts deeply explored. By polish, I don't mean "slickness," but granularity of resolution and sophistication of concept. In Chicago, we can win the approval of local supporters by doing something "good enough," but to make a big impact, we need to work it all the way out, even if it means risking more, planning better, failing often, and working longer.

Proactiveness

Why aren't the top notch design lectures and exhibitions always full? It's disappointing and embarrassing when talks by Matali Crasset and Jurgen Bey are sparsely attended, not to mention smaller events like Jonathan Muecke at the Graham Foundation or the Objects of Desire panel discussion at the Architecture Film Festival this past month. It's a basic step in establishing a rich dialogue and set of voices coming out of Chicago. If we want more events, we have to support them.

Accessibility and originality

Unless we want to preach only to the choir, we should focus on making work that captures the attention and imagination of non-designers as well as designers. It's a line to walk any way we want, but a careful negotiation between accessibility and radicalism could result in brilliant, original work that appeals to many. It's equally lazy to make things that are opaque and non-working as it is to produce visual puns or ipod cases. We should strive for a mix of idiosyncratic, original, relevant, legible, and resolved. This doesn't meant that we can't be enigmatic or definitionless, just that we do it convincingly.

The solution is not to draw lines, build silos, and make enemies, but it is important to provide and seek real criticism, demand grounding, participate, and ask questions. At the same time, we should approach our work as an offering to the international design community, not to our already captive local audience. This will help us develop a wide, outward-facing perspective and impact.

Old News, New Chair

2011-04-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

The Bouroullec Brothers never fail to impress; without exception is Osso created for Italian manufacturer Mattiazzi. Manufacturing processes are green to boot, utilizing solar powered CNC routing according to sources. The collection will include stools and armchairs, as well.

2011-04-02T17:26:00.001-07:00

Paddle Lamp

2011-03-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

Benjamin Hubert's Paddle Lamp

Manufactured by Fabbian

Homegrown

2011-03-29T19:03:00.000-07:00

Homegrown Design Show

Fluorescent Gallery

627 N. Central St.

Knoxville, TN

Make the Opening

Friday, April 1 · 7:00pm - 11:00pm

Works By:

"Livingroom of the Countryside"

2011-03-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

LANDET

Found at the Stockholm Furniture Fair:
Products and furniture inspired by "Livingroom of the Countryside" designed by Carl Hagerling, Karin Hartman, Johanna Nilsson, Julia Treutiger and Martin Vallin

Ready for the Farmer's Market

2011-03-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

Levanto, Italy circa 2009

Cabins I've Loved [Continued]

2011-02-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

Somewhere, CA

2003, Medium Format Film, Holga Camera.

Post (Modern) Office

2011-02-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

Promote Rural Preservation

This post office, dedicated in 1984, is a striking but simple building hidden away in Fawnskin, CA. It is one of my favorite structures in the area, so recently I returned to Fawnskin for these photos just in case the USPS decided to cut its budget. I would like to have more information on this building; I love its projected front facade, the vertical wood siding and brushed aluminum lettering. The font is especially interesting, as I cannot place it. It is most similar to Neutra Text, and it shares attributes with Avenir, Futura, and several others. The most distinguishing/differing characteristics are the terminals of the A and T, which are shortened and slanted slightly.

Over 500 US Post Office sites, many of them rural, will be closing before next June. Thankfully, Fawnskin is not among the list of proposed office closures resulting from the budget crisis. However, I encourage you to be proactive regarding your own local situation here.

Concerns about local closures near you can be addressed to:

The Honorable Patrick Donahoe

Postmaster General

U.S. Postal Service

475 L’Enfant Plaza, SW

Washington, DC 20260-0010

Cabins I've Loved and Lived In

2011-01-20T11:13:00.001-08:00

Bob's Cabin- Somewhere, North Carolina

more after the jump...

Dick Proenekke- Alone in the Wilderness

2011-01-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

Design Loves Art

2011-01-19T23:55:00.000-08:00

Design Loves Art

Reception Jan. 20th

5pm - 8:30pm

As described by the Pacific Design Center:

Design Loves Art is an experimental arts program launched in late 2009 with the aim to provide a platform to explore art and design issues. The program addresses the design centers unique context of interior design to reflect particularly on design as an extension of artistic practice, spanning a variety of disciplines and mediums.

Come early and catch Andrea Zittel (Group Formerly Known as Smockshop, HDTS) among others...

Self Repair Manifesto

2010-11-09T21:44:00.000-08:00


www.ifixit.com

Design Is Thrifty

2010-11-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

Design for Frugality

There was a time not long ago when Core77 published my thesis work that I wished for better examples of objects that expose agency; here is a good example for those of you who are interested in where life and design intersect responsibly.

From the Mirage

2010-10-24T17:42:00.000-07:00


High Desert Party Kits by Nicholas Dowgwillo

Previously Available@

Sky Village Swap Meet
7028 Theatre Road, Yucca Valley, California

Design for Decency

2010-10-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

Design for Decency

Preamble: Design stewardship is an initiative to raise self-awareness in the practice of industrial and product design while continuing to keep forward progress through innovation, new material exploration, and embracing technological advances. Like art history, as design matures, it is important to recognize that with each new product or service that is integrated into our history we recognize its effect on future object interactions. The benefits of design stewardship, for example, are what is presently lacking in social media technology.

When telephones were more like strung cans than Walkie-Talkies, they were tied (literally) to the homes where etiquette and decorum were enforced. Phone privacy went two ways:
it was something that was not only given to others, but had to be taken for yourself. For instance, while you were not (supposed) to listen in on others conversations (because it was fun and easy to do), similarly you took phone calls out of the room if others were in it. This was not an easy feat! The radius of conversation was anchored to one of two phone jacks in a small home, which were tugged, dragged, and whipped to a secluded spot. The structure of technology, because it was limited, was easily self-governed. The guidelines were laid out by the likes of Emily Post, the end-all authority of etiquette. While her legacy lives on in a form, it is time that technology supports valued forms of behavior in society. Is there a self regulating application that knows to silence my phone in a movie theater, or even the dinner table of a residence- much less in a nice restaurant? Would it be a stretch to disable texting from the drivers seat in a moving vehicle? I can't count the times I've wanted a pocket e-bomb on the subway or whenever the free use of technology encroaches unwontedly, dangerously into the lives of the public.

Whoa, what?! This is design heresy! Products should reflect the behaviors of people- not direct them!

To that I say, even adults require teaching tools from time to time, and it may be safe to say that the time has come. Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers Freshman, committed suicide this last month after his college roommate illicitly recorded and distributed Clementi's sexual activity online. Lawyers are now navigating several legal offenses including the invasion of privacy, collecting images showing sexual content or nudity without the subject's consent, and transmitting the relevant content. This follows on the heels of NPR's short and poignant article Tyler Clementi and the Virtual Death of Decency. Due to the orientation of the sexual act, the role that technology plays in this incident has been greatly overlooked. As the author, Michel Martin, points out, "so much of technological innovation has outstripped the moral code to regulate it". And yet, there is no apparent regulation of technology. While the actions of Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei are their own and only they should be held accountable, it is not out of the realm of imagination that they will be given leniency for being born in... well, the nineties. For as much exposure to the world teenagers might have via the internet, they still remain sheltered in young adulthood-where apparently they haven't been taught the mores that were inherited from analog times.

So, who are the "stewards of design"? If the answer is designers then this sounds like the kind of autological question that pervades most grad school theory nonsense. Sorry, designers are the stewards of design. While the subject of What is Good Design? has kept art and design critics very busy over the last ten years, it has been mostly in respect to form, function, and innovation. Not until only recently when factions like "discursive design" were recognized could designers address issues other than performance through the medium of design, and we couldn't ask for a more powerful, democratic venue than the industrial process.

The Hudson Way

2010-10-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

Available @

On Sale

2010-10-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Available @

Re:Cycle Opening

2010-10-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Tyler Stallings for curating such a diverse group of people; thanks to everyone who came out to the Re:Cycle show, and an extra point to the two guys I met that biked all the way from Los Angeles!

The show runs till the end of the 2010; so if you didn't catch the opening, come and see this beautiful new space and a great exhibit.

-Gabriel

Opening Tonight

2010-10-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

Jack White on Upholstery

2010-09-27T12:42:00.000-07:00

The following addresses excerpts from Your Furniture is Not Dead by The Believer with Jack White regarding re-upholstery, of all things. As a musician, Jack White might be considered the revivalist of Detroit garage rock; here his thoughts on the value of a dying trade run analogous to his approach to music. His interest as a young adult in a then-waning trade seems in line with many of the other varied themes prevalent in his work in music and film. All of this is made especially relevant coming from a native of Detroit, the ground zero of economic collapse.

What's changed over the last hundred years

It used to be that you got your parents’ furniture when you were married or whatever and you had their mattress re-upholstered and it would last for thirty, forty years. You spent a lot of money on it initially, but you never got rid of it. Now, the whole method of how people get furniture is just disposable. You go to Art Van or whatever and buy a $400 couch and throw it out a couple of years later. That whole method just killed the upholstery trade, and [reupholstery] became a rich person’s thing.

Why, though the loss of trades are tragic, Ikea may not be such a bad thing

So many places ignored [style] for the last 40 years or so. Then all of a sudden places like Target started making things. What else can you do when you don’t have any money? At least you can get something cool if you don’t have that much.

Finally, this last anecdote reveals an important commonality on how artists and master craftsmen work, delving into a subject of interest- or "getting serious about it" as the schoolmarm says.

At one point I thought, “Well, while I have my own shop I should really get into every mode of upholstery I can and learn what I can about everything,” so I remember calling up a bunch of places that were upholstering coffins, three or four in the Detroit area. I called them all up and they just would not hire me. I was like, “I’m an experienced upholsterer and I’ve been working in the trade for years,” and they were like “Why do you want to upholster coffins?” They thought I was some sicko or something, but I wanted to learn that part of the trade because there are certain techniques used in tufting and working with silk in coffins that you don’t get to do in regular upholstery, but they just wouldn’t hire me. They were like, “You know, a lot of this stuff is prefabricated and we just glue it together when it gets here and you don’t want to work here.”

While one happy ending to this story might have been reading about Jack White, master upholsterer, performing on a Nelson day bed by Herman Miller to a sold out crowd, there is still the reassuring thought that trade craft is still valued and not forgotten. Though pursuing efforts to assimilate dying trades in modern culture are met with skepticism and resistance ("You don't want to work here") they are not without worth, even to enrich the foundation of an impressive future body of work.

via riha

frames 41, 42, and 43

2010-09-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

Field FA07, Meier 1979, Nicholson bryinths

soft buildings

2010-09-16T17:48:00.001-07:00

Anshen & Allen 1968

pre planned obsolescence

2010-09-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Primus stoves fire up first time after spending 43 years in an abandoned Antarctica depot.

camp virtues

2010-09-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

via the kerningking

i.n.

2010-08-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

RE:CYCLE

2010-08-16T15:05:00.001-07:00

someone outbid you...

2010-08-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

in the manner of andy beach, i almost had this one.

Toy Control

2010-07-21T13:04:00.001-07:00

At first glance this toy may come off as unremarkable and vaguely ubiquitous. It is interesting, however, when one considers the market of toy guns like this is driven by America’s perpetual fantasy of the Wild West, its right to bear arms, and glorification of guns in popular culture. To the chagrin gun control advocates, these toy guns continue to exist, despite lobbyist efforts and legislation, because as actual gun manufacturing and engineering continues to evolve, so does the toy industry- and vice versa. Designers in both fields may already be taking note to collaborate and find the niche for fantastic and creative new designs for both industries.

Just Not Working

Ironically, all good intentions restricting our gun obsession only manage to produce more resourceful politicians and creative law. While concerned parents and legislators are watching toy companies to keep them from imitating firearms, actual firearms, in turn, developers got the hint and took note from their biggest research team- toy companies themselves.

The chief legal concern in legislature, and a legitimate one, is to protect children from the dangers of mistaking real guns for toys, and conversely to prevent the general public from mistaking toys for real weapons. The design, shape, and color of the dime store pistol are outlined by deliberate market research and strict governmental regulations as a result of these issues. The above plastic pistol is made from either a blaze-orange or red; the orange color of the body is bright, and unmistakably plastic. Its color is determined by laws that require toy guns to have a blaze-orange plug at the tip of their barrel, or be colored entirely bright white, bright red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink or purple for safety reasons.

This is a relatively new restriction, established in the last 20 years. Cap guns have been manufactured since the nineteen-thirties and water pistols followed soon after; it was not until the nineteen eighties that laws were passed to control the close mimicry of actual firearms in toy design, laws that require that the manufacturers mark a trade name, brand, or other identifier legibly on the toy. This particular toy gun is a generic amalgamation of the style of pistol popular during the WWII era, it includes other details like a slide stop, receiver, front and rear sights. Unmistakably, it is a toy, even if the only markings read “Made in China”. China was chosen for its cheap cost of production, also manufacturers could ignore any existing patent law protecting the rights of gun-makers like the American Hi-Standard, Japanese Nambu, or German Luger, elements of which contribute to the design of this toy gun in some way, because what gun maker would be concerned with what toy companies are doing? Apparently, a few.

Industry Collaboration

Laws that are currently in place, like bright distinctive coloring, are doing little to curb violence, because many children are either raised with erroneous myths concerning guns, or know nothing at all regarding their safe use. The fight to control guns by way of placing restrictions on manufacturing toys, as well as controlling the availability of actual firearms is ineffective. Allowing the boundaries of toy design and firearms to blend may seem like the equivalent of Joe Camel endorsing cigarettes. The prospect of further blurring the lines between toys and firearms is provocative, and it is directly in line with critical design that is being practiced today. Moving forward in this direction will certainly raise alarm, but it may address a few important questions, as well as, identify the need to reflect on the current paradigm*. Only after answering these questions is it possible to deliver a completely different solution to controlling gun violence.

While there are measures preventing toy guns from looking authentic, there aren’t any laws that prevent weapon makers from mimicking toys. Although producing firearms in the bright exciting colors outlined by gun laws is not currently a crime, it probably would not be a viable selling strategy. However, firearms are beginning to resemble toys in other ways.

Assault Toys

The Nerf N-STRIKE VULCAN EBF-25 is a fully automatic, belt-fed, tripod mounted, foam-firing toy gun. It is targeted, or at least deemed suitable, to kids 6 years and up. It was made available in the fall of 2008 and gets high consumer reviews. With its bright colors, three legs, and complex armor-like exterior it is zoomorphic, resembling an invertebrate. Beyond its bright orange and yellow exterior, the construction of this toy is overly complex. The design of this assault-toy goes where most toys should: big, bright, and somewhat ridiculous- unlike the design of most firearms. Details like the ergonomics of the handles may be too soft for actual firearms, also telling signs that it is a toy. If it were painted black, it could be mistaken for a real firearm...perhaps. The foam projectiles are whistle tipped, so you can know that the other 24 darts are coming soon after the first one gets you in the back of the neck. It runs on six D size batteries, rather hefty for a toy, and is being marketed alongside a pair of matching nighttime vision goggles. Whether or not it is appropriate for children to imitate war scenarios is out of the scope, and it is presumptuous; however, there are significant indicators to the future potential of weapons concealed in the toy design of today.

Since weapons manufacturing is a billion dollar industry, it should come as no surprise that progress has taken firearm design full circle to emulating toy guns. Take, for example, Corner Shot, a firearm released in 2003; it is essentially an armature that converts a pistol into a multi-directional short-barreled rifle. Its scope consists of a camera and a liquid crystal display, allowing the user to see around corners. This strongly resembles Larami’s 1992 Super Soaker MDS (Multi-Directional Soaker) not only in recreating the pivoting nozzle, but also its conscious attention to surface decoration and outright gadgetry- though useful. The LCD screen folds back into the weapon, revealing decorative fluting along the backside. This gives the weapon an overall coherent look provided by the repetition of its decorative motif. This is progressive design, as it breaks away from the conventional less-is-more approach to firearm design. There is reason to believe that firearms will only look to toy design as it is creatively unrestricted (with the exception of a few color choices).

Designers, law makers, and gun control advocates have several choices after recognizing that romantic gun myths still exist and are, potentially, the chief problem in gun violence; to ignore this fact will continue legislative rigmarole. As toy design, not just gun design, becomes more divergent, firearms will evolve similarly, perpetuating an exciting development of objects, albeit ineffective legal cycle. It may take completely blurring the lines between actual firearms and toys before gun education gets as much attention as the objects of the industry.

*As it is currently being practiced, gun control is a proven failure in thwarting crime in America. The more important and effective prevention is proper gun education as proven abroad. Ultimately it is the parents’ responsibility to properly develop children’s ways of thinking about guns. The glorification of guns by youth can develop flippant attitudes the realities of guns that will carry over to young adulthood. There are non-profit interest groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and Ducks Unlimited (DU) that aim to educate about gun safety. Both of these organizations are in line with hunting and sport shooting, but the image of the NRA is more politically aligned and DU is dedicated to wetlands conservation, though these are issues that may not engage children until a later age. The opportunity for gun education is never too early. Therefore, in the interest of realizing the public image of guns, helping parents educate their kids, and keeping children safe, it is time for both firearms manufacturers and the toy industry take an initiative.

White washed tires turned planters. loc: Chicago Southside

2010-07-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

"The Bummer" 1966

2010-07-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

Dan Henry's hammock style bicycle saddle, The Bummer, consists of inverted drop down handlebars, stem, and sling.

What is Sustainablilty

2010-06-30T19:18:00.001-07:00

On what are European companies like Vitra and Alessi are doing in regards to sustainable manufacture similar to American upcycling practices in place by Herman Miller, AlbertoAlessi put it to me:

"Iwork in a very traditional world in terms of my production. My most notablecontribution to that area is maybe, probably, the fact that we are actuallyproducing object(s) that never end. So the word to recycle just doesn't exist inmy field."

European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century Symposium 2009

Material Falsehood

2010-02-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

"Could emptiness in the form of sound really be conveyed thousands ofmiles? Science couldn't be busying itself with nonsense like that-science was an important matter whereas a radio was somethingaccidental, and moreover it couldn't write, it didn't leave you anydocuments, and so there was no guarantee that the cardboard trumpet wastelling the truth."
-Andrey Platonov

Mountain Men

2010-01-10T13:54:00.000-08:00

Haiku

2010-01-03T13:13:00.001-08:00

topiaries of literature
an indoor winter garden sowed

trimmings from the top

lie fallow in dusty shelves

still much left to reap

Arguments for the Old

2010-01-03T11:28:00.001-08:00

Henry David Thoreau writes, "Men sometimes speak as if the study of the classics would at length make way for more modern and practical studies; but the adventurous student will always study classics, in whatever language they may be written and however ancient they may be. For what are the classics but the noblest recorded thoughts of man? ...We might as well omit to study Nature because she is old." Does moving toward modernity have to come at the cost of values? Is "the suppression of the old by the new... a general, eternal and inviolable law of the universe" as according to Mao Zedong?

Jonathan Ben Tovim- Dangerously Safe

2010-01-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

Patricia Urquiola- Enameled Tub

2010-01-03T11:23:00.000-08:00

Moonshine Further Reading

2010-01-03T11:20:00.001-08:00

"Moonshining as a Fine Art," in The Foxfire Book, ed. Eliot Wigginton (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1972), 301-45.

"The Motherland of Electricity," in Soul, Andrey Platonov (N.Y.,N.Y.: New York Review Books, 2008), 261-279.

Whiskey Bootlegging and Ethanol Farming

2010-01-03T11:15:00.001-08:00

Moonshine is a high proof alcohol, also known as ethyl alcohol, ethanol, or pure grain alcohol; simply, it is derived from the process of converting sugars to alcohol. Traditionally, corn is used to create liquor through a process of mashing, fermentation, and distillation. As an entrepreneurial activity however, Moonshining can be considered broadly as the process of converting the value of farmable resources from a low value commodity to higher value manufactured product.

A real market has always existed for liquor, and purity of the product is desirable. The stereotypical hillbilly jug with three X’s refers to the number of times the alcohol has passed through a still, meaning higher proof. This ‘makers mark,’ therefore, is a literal sign of quality. This investigation looks at the practicality (and legality) of producing either food grade alcohol, or clean burning ethyl alcohol fuel on small scales as it is traditionally practiced in areas where resources are scarce. However, being re-contextualized in the urban context, the needs of these new distillers will outline design parameters for objects that will aid in making this processes practical. Both the efficiency and practicality of creating moonshine versus alternative fuel will be examined through concepts of sustainability and upsizing.

Many of the Appalachian moonshiners practice under a rich history, often citing a responsibility to carry on the art of whiskey making while scoffing at government regulations. From this disregard for authority, an interesting design challenge is presented. Short of changing legislature, how can such nefarious resourcefulness benefit the cottage industry or hobbyist, and can it work within legal parameters? The evolution of deceptive alcohol making apparatuses, from ways of hiding a still, camouflaging the moonshine containers, to covertly distributing illegal goods is the foundation of design research for this endeavor.

Moonshine can be found in the Appalachian regions of the Southeastern United States not only due to its historical precedence there, but also because these areas are notoriously impoverished, hard to farm, and have little industry. Producing drinkable alcohol is one method of creating an income from a low value crop such as corn. Although corn is hearty, it still must be planted, maintained and harvested. This process requires labor, fuel, and other resources. Similarly, ethanol fuel is a subsidized industry, because corn crops are not a renewable resource, cause soil erosion, require pesticides, as well as fossil fuels for harvesting (Hoar). These costs lower the practicality of corn for use in fuel production, commanding a premium reserved for the sale of liquors. Furthermore, whiskey and bourbon both require further aging; decreasing immediate efficiency of the process while increasing the value of the product. Other renewable resources can be used for more practical fuel production, and will be discussed later. Whether producing for alternative fuels or libation, the intention of the user must be clear- or else a versatile alcohol still must be produced to accommodate both purposes.

The American prohibition era marks a creative time in entrepreneurial efforts-most of which disregarded issues of legality. The Government’s restriction against alcohol only ensued further law breaking and created a bootlegging enterprise concerned not only with production, but also transportation and distribution among other things. Questionable and creative practices during this time led to the higher quality standards of commercial produced liquor today. Watered down mashes, for example, that are stretched with grain sugars, produce a lower quality alcohol for consumption. However, this is a great example of the kinds of efforts made to shorten fermentation periods and overall production of moonshine, the kind of experimentation necessary in finding efficiency in a fuel-oriented system.

In the spirit of prohibition experimentation, it is sensible to seek out cheaper sugar producing resources. Kudzu (Pueraria lobata) is an invasive species of plant introduced to the United States to prevent roadside soil erosion; it happens to be highly aggressive and thrives in the warm southern climates of the nation. This plant can grow as fast as six inches a day, and because it is rhizomatous it is very hard to eradicate. The resources necessary to remove the acres of growing kudzu would be too many, unless considered as a harvestable crop. Like all sugar-producing plants, any value to be found in kudzu lies in its ability to be harvested as alcohol. Doug Mizell, a tinkerer turned entrepreneur is the co-owner of Agro*Gas Industries in Tennessee. His company is already capitalizing on the practicality of kudzu as a fuel source. Early experiments with a crude still were producing as much as half a gallon of ethanol from five gallons of kudzu mash. Comparatively, to distill 1 gallon of fine quality alcohol requires 7.5 gallons of corn mash.

The use of kudzu for fuel calls to mind the work of professor George Chan, an ecologist promoting integrated farming practices worldwide. Africa suffers from a similar invasive species, the water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes), imported for its decorative appeal. Like kudzu, it reproduces aggressively. The National Parks of Zimbabwe and Zambia have experimented with paying minimal wages to remove the plant from water sources with little success: the costs being prohibitive. Chan’s job, however, is to approach the water hyacinth as an invaluable resource: fertilizer for edible mushrooms which command an estimate US$ 9 billion dollars in the world market as well as 3.6 billion for medicinal use. (Pauli 152-169)

Chan’s work is mentioned in what Gunter Pauli refers to as Upsizing, a practice that eliminates pollution and waste. In the interest of making still-distillation a model for food or fuel alcohol production, not only must scale be considered, but also the sustainability each step in alcohol production. Creating a closed-system in each step: which the waste streams of the entire process are either limited negligible or harvested is crucial. The kudzu example is promising, as it takes a rapidly renewable resource and converts it to a cash crop- an energy positive process.

The four main stages in alcohol production, concisely, are: mashing, fermenting, distillation, and transportation/consumption. None of these four phases are without waste, each presenting an opportunity for designing sustainable practices. The target goal of each might be a zero emissions process where waste is recovered or further processed. However, the parameters of creating a small scale alcohol production system requires, for this investigation, to concentrate primarily on the later two stages: distillation and transportation/consumption.

The methods of alcohol production have existed for many centuries, are relatively simple, and produce consistent results when quality of materials and consideration is used in each step of its production. There are two basic types of distillation used to convert fermented sugars to alcohol. The first of these is a process known as simple distillation from pot stills. These crude stills are the precipice that has caused folklore to warn against moonshine, claiming it will cause one to go blind. Simple distillation does not extract the methanol and other poisonous impurities; therefore, alcohol produced from a still of this construction should strictly be used as fuel and not consumed by humans.

Fractional distillation is a method of extracting these impurities through a controlled separation according to boiling point. Depending on the construction of a fractional still, the resulting alcohol can be used as both clean burning fuel and consumable alcohol for the production of moonshine, bourbon, or whiskey. Copper, glass, and stainless steel are appropriate materials for still construction; copper being the most common due to its excellent heat distribution and non-reactive nature to corn mash. Lead free solder must be used in the construction of a copper still, less rendering anything produced as unsafe.

The production of alcohol is best done on a large scale; however, the scale of production is often limited by Government sanctions. Regardless of legality however, there are those that have persisted in what is a viable alternative source of fuel. Currently, the legality of producing ethyl alcohol today varies depending on the scale, location, and intention of those producing it. It is interesting to note that Alcohol laws fall under the jurisdiction of the department of Treasury. The agents of this department are helpful, and encourage experimentation with alcohol production especially as fuel.

A variety of ingredients can be used in its production since most any sugar can be converted to alcohol. As mentioned above, the methods employed in constructing a still will first determine its limits, followed secondly by the ingredients chosen for each run. A fractional still, therefore, is preferable since it allows a more versatile and accurate alcohol production. High proof (purer) ethyl alcohols are most appropriate for human consumption, and are created through fractional distillation. Corn is traditionally used for fine whiskeys or bourbons, and considered as a cash crop when harvested for alcohol. It becomes a resource more valuable than its relatively inexpensive ingredients: water, corn, and malt, respectively.

The first step to creating a more efficient system is to identify the by-products of the first two stages. Distillation, as it has been discussed, produces alcohol from fermented mash, creating spent grains stripped of alcohol. The Goose Island brewery in Chicago, for example, sells spent mash to farmers at a low cost as a high protein livestock feed. This continuous feedback loop provides farmers with cheap feed/fertilizer, and alleviates breweries of possible disposal costs. In another example of professor Chan’s integrated farming in Fiji, he converts seemingly worthless brewery mash to produce high value resource. Montfort Boys’ Town in Fiji, an impoverished fishing community, now has in place a system of using brewer’s spent mash to grow mushrooms, in turn the mushrooms’ enzymes break down the spent grain making them more digestible for animals. The mushrooms can then be sold or eaten, and the grain goes on to enter a continuous cycle of agriculture on the island.

In areas where commercial beer brewing exists, mostly urban, it is in the interest of the small-scale alcohol producer to contact breweries regarding the purchase mash before it is spent, thereby eliminating the work and time involved in producing malted grains. Unless one is using a continuous distillation process (a compromises between pot still distillation and fractional distillation) the mashing process will require space to store fermenting malted grains. This practice may or may not be significantly cheaper, but the value of one’s time and (presumably small) living spaces is increased.

Why produce alcohol at all? The intentions of producing alcohol on a small scale play an important role once the alcohol is produced. Regardless of whether the intended use is for food or fuel, the distributing, transporting, and consuming alcohol is considered one stage because all its aspects are aligned through intention. The legal parameters, capital incentives, and benefits considered are determined by personal motives. Is this strictly for personal use, or can some profit come of these efforts? If profits are desirable, then cohesively aligning these three aspects is necessary. In the case of the kudzu-derived ethanol, greater liberties can be taken in its production, but branding is just as important. Alternative fuels are increasingly gaining acceptance and value. The most practical of alternative fuels will be ones that consider Pauli’s closed system- a process that markets itself as not only Earth friendly, but as being unsubsidized.

Regardless of intention, what users need are a versatile set of apparatuses for creating ethyl alcohol for either food or fuel grade qualities. A still must be able to produce human consumable-grade alcohol while alternatively capable of using viable plant sugars (like those from the Kudzu plant) to produce fuel. The means to distribute and store alcohol must be appropriate as well. If for illegal means, it would do well to disguise the product. Plastic containers, like spare fuel tanks, are not suitable for drinking moonshine as they can leach toxic chemicals. The clay jug labeled “XXX” is the archetypical vessel for moonshine; Mason and Ball canning jars are more common today. However, these are not deceptive in the least, given they are made of clear glass and readily associated with moonshine when not filled with preserves. Contemporary moonshiners will require more creative means of muddling the visual language of moonshine jars. A story from The Foxfire Book clearly illustrates such creative enterprises:

Once a man was caught selling whiskey. He has painted some of the jars to look as though they contained buttermilk, but then he ran out of paint and had to use clear jars for the rest of his supply. When the revenuers caught him, they confiscated the clear jars, but so convincingly were the others painted that they did not even bother to open them. They simply left them behind, and the salesman was able to clear a profit, despite the loss of his wares. (Foxfire 329).

Perhaps a change in materiality of banal vessels is one way of maintaining versatility. A fuel tank cast in glass or a porcelain buttermilk jars are enough to illustrate (or hide) the intent of the producer without limiting the potential of the ethyl alcohol it contains. More often moonshiners will use what is at hand, like a standard gallon milk jug. When a reproduction of the milk jug is cast in porcelain, the appearance is soft and white, the change in materiality has not altered its appearance greatly. Upon closer examination, the fine material betrays the object as something other than what it appears. Porcelain was also chosen as it does not impart any undesirable flavors to drinkable ethyl alcohol.

Similarly, the moonshine still adheres loyally to traditional construction methods found in texts such as the Foxfire book. A copper kettle is employed to distill a variety of mashes, as it this metal does not impart undesirable flavors either. Its outward appearance, however, does not read as “Moonshine still.” The kettle is housed within a CharBroil™ BigEasy® turkey fryer. Not only does the CharBroil™ fryer serve as a deceptive surface application, but also its propane element is a ready-designed even-heat distributor and it allows for a portable operation.

Both the moonshine still and the porcelain jugs are the beginning of a design investigation addressing issues of sustainability, appealing to agrarian trends, and deceptive design. The ambiguity of the ethyl alcohol is not informed further by the objects, and is undefined in its legality. The user is aided in merely producing, distributing, or storing the liquid. Ultimately the end products, although useable, are only important because it provides agency to the user.

Design Steward Studio

lattice stool

Process: Bike Rims

Don't forget to look back

Pie and a Pint- Wabi Nabe

Simple Bread- Wabi Nabe

Wabi Nabe Fruit Cobbler

USA!

Wabi Nabe Corn Doggies

There's light in the trees if you tap 'em.

Wood Flock

Black Eyed New Year

Natural Filter

Playboy Spread, 1961

ll= Wisconsin Countryside

A little gem of a recipe I found last night...

For the Holidays

Black Friday Shopping

On Sale

Classic Graphics

\\\ = Mono Ha =

Seen: Horses

Digitial Holga

In black, perhaps.

KIOSK

A short curation: Google image search

Freedom of arms

Collaborating with ODLCO

Yours?

History of the World in Objects

Ethics and Capitalism

Two Chopsticks

Draplin Continued

Draplin

STARTING A STUDIO

Flocking Decoys

Making

The Artemis Collections

SHOP NOW: ODLCO

STORE

VERSUS

HOMEGROWN: Opens in Nashville

@Wright

Tove and Edvard Kindt-LarsenThorvald Madsen Snedkeri

It is safe to ride; the apocalypse has passed.

The Difficulties of Practicing Experimental Design by Lisa Smith

Let's be Honest: The Difficulties of Practicing Experimental Design in Chicago

Old News, New Chair

Paddle Lamp

Homegrown

"Livingroom of the Countryside"

LANDET

Ready for the Farmer's Market

Cabins I've Loved [Continued]

Post (Modern) Office

Cabins I've Loved and Lived In

Dick Proenekke- Alone in the Wilderness

Design Loves Art

Self Repair Manifesto

Design Is Thrifty

From the Mirage

Design for Decency

The Hudson Way

On Sale

Re:Cycle Opening

Opening Tonight

Jack White on Upholstery

frames 41, 42, and 43

soft buildings

pre planned obsolescence

camp virtues

i.n.

RE:CYCLE

someone outbid you...

Toy Control

White washed tires turned planters. loc: Chicago Southside

"The Bummer" 1966

What is Sustainablilty

Material Falsehood

Mountain Men

Tove and Edvard Kindt-Larsen

Thorvald Madsen Snedkeri