ICFF 2002 - Offsite Events

The official ICFF show took place at the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan, you can see exclusive Core coverage of that here. There were also tons of "offsite" parties, galleries, exhibits and openings all around town. Here is a small sampling from Core jr. :

The Apartment
One of our favorite SOHO design shops, The Apartment, opened up their doors on Monday night to help Fernando and Humberto Campana, architect and lawyer, and brothers of product design, from Brazil, to celebrate their new pieces for Edra:

The most comfortable guests let themselves sink into the plush purple of the "Boa" seating system.

Less crowded for framing shots, downstairs at the Apartment highlighted more traditional, yet clean-lined, chairs:

Across from this laid back, styleasy chair was the sultry and lush bathroom set up, not part of the furniture installation, you'll have to stop by the Crosby store yourself to check out their bathroom installation with live grass growing around the bathtub, sink, toilet, and toes.

Group Inc.
The interactive, collaborative, and ambitious Group, Inc opened two separate shows for the week: "Consumer" at Art is Superior Gallery in crazy NOLIta and "Commune" at the Tribeca Grand in trendy, you guessed it, TriBeCa.

At the all black superior art gallery, simple designs like this turn on all kinds of ideas, from lamp shades that flicker with a Cheshire grinning ambivalence to the need for a clean, well-lighted mobile.

The starkly minimal set up of "Consumer" painted with flat designer black underscored the installation's focus on low cost concepts for mass production.

The Tribeca Grand show was a revision of the group's "Commune"' at Felissimo Design House in March with designs based on humane interaction. New items to this show were their see-saw bar stool and staccato coat rack. The opening on Saturday was a blast with more than one hot design fan trying out that rockin' bar stool.

Domus Design Center
The Domus Design Center, a miracle on Madison Avenue, had more than the nicest models and hottest gift bags (with a towel!): surrounding the funishings, all of the Karim's new wallcoverings (er, wallpaper?) for Wolf-Gordon are on year-long views. Pictures don't do his "Digital Nature" any kind of justice, so just check out these furnishings:

Hmmm...that's my kind of surrounded-by-sexy-city-style lazeeeboy...just look at that sloping back side!

Here's the leathery soft, round seat to spend hours and hours in...Thanks for the towel, Domus!

Deitch Gallery
No link needed to this sweet space on lower Grand street, SoHo; you can't miss it. The rooms and best party on Monday were given up to the Karim Rashid and his objects. Still not pictured are the "Digital Nature" wall coverings or his new line of floor vases, but here's a couple of snapshots:

Ever inviting, even without the super model sitting within, the "Superblob" organic seats done for Edra.

The Karim surrounded by equally fashionable design scenesters and about-to-get-surrounded by even more sexy design fans...

Dakota Jackson
Dakota Jackson surprised with the concentration of items at their new space "DJ: Public Access," on Mercer Street. After giving their space up for a ceramics show from Parson's Design students, they wowed on Monday night with a packed opening party filled with some of the best from the DJ stable.

True to the overwhelming Core theme of "sit down!" on these pages, as well as to DJ's well-known beautiful chair designs and craftsmanship, is this simple, soft leather club.

Hallo Holland
Live at The Art Director's Club, up on 29th Street, was the Hallo Holland show, featuring a wide array of Dutch designing power, including graphic designers and cartoonists, as well as awesome products for the home or office:

"Powershelf, the designer bookshelf, by designer Henk Stallinga, made from metal and plastic. The shelf is drilled into the wall with the drills, which remain to keep it stable, as well as provide service as bookends.

The award for coolest top-shelf liquor chiller goes to this ice sculpture....mmmm, Cosmopolitans...

"Jut," the design coat hook, by designer Henk Stallinga, made from the disconnected wood and steel of 3 claw hammers to mount directly on the wall.

Appelius + Dumas at Ingo Mauer
Ingo Maurer unleashed furniture, clothing, and lighting lines in his downtown store that kept people flashing and talking. He also, true to design for design's sake tenets, belying his core interest in helping the community around him grow, turned over a large downstairs area to the young designer team of Appelius and Dumas (contact via email).

Julian Appelius and Fabien Dumas, from Germany with a great appreciation for magical aesthetics, showed their "Lightable," complete with a semi-impermeable liquid layer conducting rays of LED light across the table top, outlining any objects on the layer.

USM Modular Furniture
USM Modular Furniture, from Munsingen, Switzerland, partied in their new flagship showroom on Greene Street. They've taken the entire building, featuring a 35,000 square foot showroom that dwarfed their party guests while underscoring the beauty and mobility of their furniture.

Key to their modular furniture designs are these office workstation frames that facilitate the sharing of office spaces by allowing separate users to plug in personal wheeled carry alls (the file cabinet looking things by the mural). With this arrangement, an office of 300 stations services 900 employees on rotating time schedules.

See you next year....back to core for now...