Carfreax

OVER THE FENCE

No one home, a walk around the compound, a look over the fence. This is as close as we can get. Mind the dog. "Do you see those welding lines across the pillars? Top chop". Stacked polyester moulds sandblasted by the desserts winds of the Mojave. Future surrounded by history. That could have been  one of the police cars from the Robocop movie.

Shaved. Car bodies reduced to their essentials, as flush as possible. Who needs door handles anyway? A white and crisp canvas over here, a rusty bucket over there. A landscape of projects. Where to start or...where to stop.

"Pasadena find, old lady owned". What we are looking at is the gold mine of Gene Winfield's Rod & Custom Shop. A place where American car history is being recycled, remodeled and refined. Lower, wider, longer. Turning old sleds into the sleek sketches they once where on Detroit's drawing boards. Circle closed. And what about Gene? I did not have the guts to walk up to the door. It turned out he was not at home anyway, but that is on another page.

to be continued.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART FIFTEEN

Maxi Mini

Maximal impact with minimal input. Clever marketing from Munich, positioning the Mini in a world of design and art. For little money you will have your product in Wallpaper and Surface magazines laid out on stylish coffee tables. The car as a canvas. Automotive....no, interesting....perhaps.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART FOURTEEN

Free D 

Strijp S, probably not the most exotic section of the Dutch Design Week, but definitely the right indicator. A spot where artists and designers meet the industry. Commerce with warmth, personal and mass produced. The two might blend together if we believe the signs. It is all about connections. Three-dee printers on every corner.

We take a walk through the Klokgebouw and think of the applications.I could design my own shoes. Although, there is a lot of footwear inspiration in Eindhoven. Another trend? In the evening we hammer together our own Eek at a friends place. Do it yourself is still the most rewarding for a designer. 

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART THIRTEEN

Eek

Big tables, big lamps and some big prices at PHE. Picture of the day: narcistic bike.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART TW3LV3

Perception 

A low poly car mimicking a Reventon seems out of ceramics. It turns out a quick welding job. A spotless white dress made out of......things are not what they look like at first glance. Lots of free work and movie projects. Liked the industrial crappy look of down town Schellens Factory.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART ELEVEN

Scratch & Scale

Is it a pattern or made by hand? We stand in front of a long blue table and wonder about the creators process as Joost turns up with a screw driver. Some times big ideas come with a simple solution and loads of determination. Upstairs in the museum like room we find the oversized wooden toolbox. Scale is still a Kiki theme. My high light is the alchemistic looking lamp.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART TEN

Laser

Arnhem coming, another of many graduation exhibitions that are attracted by the exposure of the Dutch Design Week. Lots of laboratory styled objects with a love for ceramics and glass. Clean and sterile looking designs after years of decoration. Like the laser cut leather gloves.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART NINE

Design Academy

Coming home at the Design Academy. The place is always a good spot to hook up with old friends and walk the floors of the former Philips building, scanning this years themes. Hand crafted, woods, ceramics, material exploration, foods, social. Most projects are supported or explained by long threads of text. Little self explaining or smart story telling to find here. 

Where is the hig-technology factor in Eindhoven? Maybe I have to unlearn myself. I love the smart ceramic vase and the surf board style table. Dressed up furniture, water filtering objects and a love for shoes seem to be the hot topics at this years DDW.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART EIGHT

Hide

Strijp T. Furniture and art at Studio Lieverse. Just love the photo realistic painted cow hides.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART SEVEN

Natural

Greenest impressions of Eindhoven this year. Has the sustainability bubble collapsed or has it become an integral part of the process? Someone takes a ride on a natural fiber composite longboard and....fails. So far for usability,....or skills. Love aesthetics of that folded seat.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART SIX

Smart

Entree! Industrial, bricks, Eindhoven. Social Design, smart, flexible, foldable, wrinkled wood. Coffee please! Vertical herbal garden. Want.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART FIVE

Different Angle

Lo Poly, triangles, cutting edge, modeled patterns, hand made or computer based. Emulating machine aesthetics or the machine as a designer. This year 3D printers are everywhere, turning the consumer into a designer and producer.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART FOUR

Eau Rouge

Lots of reds at this years Design Week.  

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART THREE

Conflict

After a first glance we read the text, talk to the designers and then take a second look. Every year the Dutch Invertuals work around a central theme and present their work as a team underlined by a strong format. This year it is all about conflict and the set up is rather intimate. I love the vases of Jeroen Wand who has experimented with different conditions and drying times of gyps to give each one its own character. A conflict between water and gyps resulted in rather thin coated or rough plastered surfaces.

-Matt.

DUTCH DESIGN WEEK 2012 - PART TWO

Genuine

Strijp S, Clock Building. In a far corner of the main exhibition we hear a tickling sound, click click click. A table surrounded by gray hair and young people. Knitting grannies passing craftsmanship skills to the next generation. Nothing but smiling faces. That DIY pullover from grandma is hip again.

-Matt.