Cool Hunting

Frank Willems: Madam Rubens
After studying advertising and presentation techniques at St. Lucas College and the Design Academy Eindhoven , Frank Willems worked briefly with rising design luminary Joris Laarman. Now participating in various group exhibitions and creating unique studio work, Willems has joined the ranks of many young Dutch designers for whom personal expression is paramount. The Madam Rubens collection, his most fully realized furniture design, saw...

Stephen Burks: Cappellini Love
Yesterday at the Fiera Milano, walking through the sprawling campus of the supergroup Poltrona Frau, I ran into the New York designer Stephen Burks, who took a moment to chat with me about his new line of eco-conscious ware for Italian manufacturer Cappellini. Called Cappellini Love, the collection is comprised of a series of vases and bowls made from glass fragments, and a small...

EcoSystems Furniture
by Laura Neilson This past weekend's Bklyn Designs show was host to an array of local designers and manufacturers, including EcoSystems brand bamboo furniture. The green-minded company utilizes a innovative tool-free assembly system that relies on interlocking aluminum pieces rather than nuts, bolts and screws, allowing for construction of the brand's modern-looking Bamba chair in a matter of minutes—a godsend for the Ikea-weary. In addition...

Tweet-a-Watt and Other New Energy Monitoring Devices
by Laura Neilson The design competition at this year's Greener Gadgets Conference showcased ten innovative finalists, each utilizing technology to facilitate greener lifestyles. By and large, the majority of the conceptual gadgets functioned on energy "metering" ideas, including the winning design, The Tweet-a-Watt (pictured above right), a power meter that automatically publishes your power usage wirelessly via Twitter for friends and followers to see. The...