What’s In A Name?
One of the cool things about sourcing furniture from hundreds of vendors all over the world is the diversity it brings to our catalog. Diversity in styles, materials, colors, textures and overall looks, but also in names. Pieces created by designers in other countries often come with names in the native language.
Take the Italian-lighting company Flos, whose name means “flower” in Latin. Even though Flos works with some of the best British, Danish, German and Dutch designers out there, they are, at their core, an Italian company with a majority of their designers being Italian. This, in turn, means many of their lighting designs are going to have Italian or Latin names regardless of where you buy them in the world. And more often than not, the name matches the look of the item.
Here are just a few examples and their translations***…
Gatto table lamp / Gatto = Cat
Lampadina table lamp / Lampadina = Bulb
Fantasma floor lamp / Fantasma = Ghost
Lastra pendant / Lastra = Plate
Taraxacum pendant / Taraxacum = Dandelion
But don’t think we only see this kind of naming from Italian companies. Here are some other products whose names have a hidden meaning.
International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day!!
If you’ve done anything on Google within the past several hours, you’ll have noticed today’s doodle for this holiday that ranges from a general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements.
We’re big fans of equality in all its forms so International Women’s Day is right up our alley, especially when you think about all the great female designer’s that have contributed to the furniture, interior design and architectural industries. Here’s just a few… Read more
It’s National Design Week!
Running from October 15th to the 23rd and sponsored by the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, National Design Week is its “largest education initiative, [which] aims to draw national attention to the ways in which design enriches everyday life.”
As the 2011 winner of the 2011 National Design Award for Corporate and Institutional Achievement, Knoll knows a thing or two about good design.
Generation Chair by Knoll
Whether its an office chair you sit in everyday or a lounge chair that’s equal parts “art and industry”, Knoll products for both home and office are created by some of the best designers on the planet. This is something that Knoll has always strived for since its inception in 1938 by Hans Knoll. He founded the company “based on the conviction that good design enriches and improves our lives.”
Barcelona Chair & Ottoman
So what do you think? Where do you see design improving your daily life?
Designer spotlight: Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Eames (1907-1978) and Ray Eames (1912-1988)
Birthplace: Missouri and California (respectively)
Herman Miller Products: Eames molded plywood chairs, wire chair, molded plastic chairs, chaise, executive chair, lounge chair and ottoman, aluminum chairs, walnut stools, molded plywood coffee table, desk, wire-base table, elliptical table, dining and low table
With a grand sense of adventure, Charles and Ray Eames turned their curiosity and boundless enthusiasm into creations that established them as a truly great husband-and-wife design team. Their unique synergy led to a whole new look in furniture. Lean and modern. Playful and functional. Sleek, sophisticated, and beautifully simple. That was and is the “Eames look.” That look and their relationship with Herman Miller started with molded plywood chairs in the late 1940s and includes the world-renowned Eames lounge chair, now in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Their own concepts evolved over time, not overnight. As Charles noted about the development of the Molded Plywood Chairs, “Yes, it was a flash of inspiration,” he said, “a kind of 30-year flash.” With these two, one thing always seemed to lead to another. Their revolutionary work in molded plywood led to their breakthrough work in molded fiberglass seating. A magazine contest led to their highly innovative “Case Study” house. Their love of photography led to film making, including a huge seven-screen presentation at the Moscow World’s Fair in 1959, in a dome designed by their friend and colleague, Buckminster Fuller. Graphic design led to showroom design, toy collecting to toy inventing. And a wooden plank contraption, rigged up by their friend, director Billy Wilder for taking naps, led to their acclaimed chaise design. A design critic once said that this extraordinary couple “just wanted to make the world a better place.” That they did. They also made it a lot more interesting.
(image and bio via hermanmiller.com)
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