News

See You At ICFF!

Site admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 12:38:50 +0000

Come see Linea at the Wilsonart booth at this year's ICFF, May 19-22, at the Javits Center in New York City. It's still two months away, but I'm already looking forward to the wonderful mayhem of Design Week in my favorite city in the world.

On set at the Wilsonart photo shoot, December 17, 2011

Game Night

Site admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 06:21:00 +0000

For thesis, the CCA ID senior class has been exploring games and the concept of gaming since last September. The research and prototyping culminated this past week in a Game Night intended to be something of a dry run for the big end-of-year show in May. The event was held at Submission Gallery in the Mission, which, as we hoped, provided just the sort of casual ambiance for a semi-chaotic jumble of gameplay.

I brought Matchmaker, the strategy-based pattern game that might be described as a mash-up between Scrabble and Dominoes, with a dash of Tetris thrown in. In truth, I had apprehensions as to how well it would capture attention in a raucous environment, but I was pleasantly surprised that people actually waited to play ("oh, can I jump in the next round?"). All in all, I probably played four rounds with as many as 16 people over the course of the night. (These were sustained, 15-20 minute rounds.) The feedback was quite positive overall, and I'm looking forward to moving some of Matchmaker's underlying concepts into new games for the remainder of the term. Read more about Matchmaker here.

Keeping score. Good idea for next time: a wall-mounted white board for better visibility.

Introducing the Linea Chair

Site admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:59:00 +0000

I'm proud to unveil my latest furniture piece, Linea, which yesterday was named a runner-up in the 2012 Wilsonart Chair Competition. Judges included two Wilsonart associates, the L.A. Times design critic and a curator from New York's Museum of Art and Design. Read all about Linea here. ICFF here we come!

Wilsonart Chair: Sneek Peek

Site admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:54:00 +0000

Less than two weeks until the final presentation...

L.A. Field Trip: A Weekend of Surprises

Site admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:38:00 +0000

This past weekend was one to remember: Our Wilsonart Chair class traveled down to L.A. en masse to take in LACMA's "California Design" show...and along the way were fed, housed and entertained by the gracious Hillis family, introduced to glam interior design star Kelly Wearstler and taken on an impromptu tour of a private Frank Lloyd Wright House. Memorable would be an understatement.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Storer House

Inside the Storer House, the sweetest little desk and chair

New Year, New Challenges

Site admin — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:14:00 +0000

After a relatively relaxing summer, it's been back to the grind for the last month or so. One of this fall's major projects for me is shaping up to be the Wilsonart Chair Competition. Since CCA is the first California school to be chosen for this annual collaboration, the design brief this year is to embody the concept of "California design"—and to use Wilsonart laminate in a beautiful and novel way, of course. I've taken L.A. freeways and the work of Ed Ruscha, one of my favorite artists, as starting points, and spent the last few weeks twisting and bending strips of paper into Mobius-like configurations to explore the idea of turning something 2D into 3D. Very excited.

Learning about heat-bending laminate from the Wilsonart rep

Bay Area Now 6 Opening Party

Site admin — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 08:02:00 +0000

And the results are in: Sergio Sandoval's cardboard tables have been chosen to be produced for YBCA's Grand Lobby, with Wobble Chair named runner-up! The good news is that both—along with Sarah Ward's bench combo and Michael Wlosek's walnut/steel rocking chair—will be exhibited as part of YBCA's "Bay Area Now 6," the museum's every-six-years retrospective of SF-based art.

Tonight was the opening party, which I was excited to attend with Sarah and Sergio. The Grand Lobby, which we have grown accustomed to seeing empty and hushed, was bustling and packed. To my great disappointment, I was told Wobble Chair was put upstairs in the office area for "safekeeping" during the party (seriously, isn't this the best opportunity to put it to use?), but it's still gratifying to know it will be part of the exhibition later on. A good night was had by all.

With Sarah (second from left) and Sergio before entering

Introducing...Wobble Chair!

Site admin — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:02:55 +0000

I'm excited to officially unveil Wobble Chair, the result of the recent collaboration with SF's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts that I first mentioned here. Made of solid medium-density cork, Wobble Chair adds warmth and organic curves to the rectilinear modernity of YBCA's Grand Lobby, while providing visitors with a way to play and interact. Read more about it here. Even more exciting, Wobble was recently named a finalist for the museum's commission. Stay tuned for YBCA's final decision!

New Products Launching Soon

Site admin — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 19:30:18 +0000

All has been quiet here on the site for a couple months, but not for long. New products will be joining the "Projects" section very soon, so check back often. Here is a sneak peek of projects in process...

Trading Inspiration

Site admin — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 19:14:15 +0000

Big shout-out to designers David Kim and Kat Coburn, who recently released the first batch of their LoveSeat pendant necklaces for Click Boom Pow - inspired by none other than yours truly and my long-distance boyfriend! (I am very flattered.) Writes Kim: "Like many modern couples, our friends J & K have lived in separate cities for a significant portion of their relationship. Since they are unable to sit next to each other, we wanted to make them a love seat that could be carried around whenever they're apart." Click over to Click Boom Pow's website for more, including details on some of very exciting new projects, including a fab collab with design legend Milton Glaser.