This Time With Feeling: Prince and Prototypes
How we figure things out by building.
Hi there, housemates.
One of the things I love most about design is how personal it gets—and telling those stories is one of the reasons I started this whole operation in the first place. This week, I’m sharing two articles from our first issue that show just how much of ourselves we pour into the things we make. First, Diana Budds’s deep dive into designer prototypes, which continue to serve as vehicles for tinkering and experimentation, even as digital tools proliferate. Second, the tale of a Prince-themed bedroom dreamed up by an adolescent who found himself as much through the artist’s music as he did through feathering his own nest. These stories feel like bookends: One is messy and coming-of-age, the other is strategic and stripped-down. Both are about figuring things out by building.
Before we dive in, though, a couple of fun notes—first, let it be known that you all know how to have a good time! Last Tuesday, a design crowd gathered at the Vitra showroom in New York City’s Chinatown to welcome this publication into the world.
Massive gratitude to our launch sponsors: Vitra (of course); Parachute, for footing the “house shoes” (!) that attendees took home; Aplós and Voga for the choice beverages; and UrbanStems for beautifying the homes of our Issue 01 contributors. And thank you to my dear friend Jessica at The Freckled Fork for catering, and Freakout Spot for the tunes!
After the jump, a few other things I’m thinking about this week:
My Prince-Themed Bedroom Was a Revolution
The “Kiss” singer taught me I could be whoever I wanted to be. Starting with my own room.
Trust the Process
Despite the wealth of digital tools available today, iterating through physical models remains an indispensable way for designers to land on their next big idea.
Also, Don’t Miss:
Luke Malaney’s slanted-floor Brooklyn apartment was featured on Architectural Digest yesterday (shout-out to “Trust the Process” writer Diana Budds for penning this Only-in-New-York story). There are only a couple of photos in the AD piece, but Luke’s Instagram shows some of the more utilitarian custom builds he made for the unit. I can’t stop thinking about the radiator cover and spice rack. Should Wrong House do a creative radiator-cover story?!
In the spirit of Wrong House’s prototypes story, I’m loving the stills from Pearson Lloyd’s just-opened exhibition Comfort Lab, which unpacks the 1:1 model-making process for their new sofa for Cozmo, Hug. Tom Lloyd shares that the sofa was “designed through feel,” and also notes that their prototyping and model-making method is a form of “thinking through making”—something you’ll see echoed in the sentiments of several designers in “Trust the Process.” The show is currently up as a part of London Design Festival at The Wax Building in Shoreditch.
Photos courtesy of Pearson Lloyd HELP. I have discovered a $300 1970s ceramic rat pitcher at Love Adorned and unfortunately my body and mind will not rest until it’s in my hands. Novelty housewares are my personal millennial avocado toast. :(
OK, ‘til next week!
xx
Lila
