This year's Dwell On Design showcased many innovative brands I already love such as Green Toys and Stokke, and introduced me to a few new ones.
I chose a few impressive brands that are new to me:
My Pick for Cutest Toys:
Bholu
Bholu
Australian designer Jodie Fried's funky stuffed toys were scattered all over the Dwell show--adding a soft whimsy to the hard modern lines. Her "creatures" are artisan produced and inspired by the drawings of underprivileged children in India. The word "bholu" is a term of endearment in Katchchhi and is intended to call to mind a child-like creativity. See the full collection of children's products on the company website.
The website says:
The Bholu philosophy is about creating beautiful products that we love and live with, while benefiting communities we work with along the way.Bholu has partnered with Manav Sadhna and Australian non-profit Architects Without Frontiers to build 10 schools for children in rural India.
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| Bholu Quinton Giraffes |
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| Bholu Fredrick Elephant and some Dwell Studios board books |
My pick for Coolest Graphics:
ferm LIVING
Ferm LIVING's Trine Anderson began wanting to provide affordable graphic wallpaper but now offers an impressive array of products for children and adults depicting beauty in the collision of the natural world with the human world.
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| Powerbirds wall art (image from www.ferm-living.com) |
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| Tiny Train wallpaper (image from www.ferm-living.com) |
I found this adorable ferm LIVING robot pillow hanging out on the couch in the Modern Family Zone. It would be a great for a technology-themed child's bedroom.
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| Mr Large Robot graphic pillow |
My Pick for Most Innovative Designs:
Gregg Fleishman
Gregg Fleishman's Playgoda was by far the most popular toy at the Dwell show's "Modern Family Zone". It was just begging to be climbed all over with its inviting curves and oh-so-tempting slide.
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| Playgoda (image from www.greggfleishman.com) |
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| Playgoda at the Dwell On Design "Modern Family Zone" |
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| Gregg Fleishman children's table and chairs |
Fleishman's unique designs are formed from interlocking puzzle-pieces, using no screws, nails, or fasteners of any kind. Also, they are complex geometrical expressions. His website says of his work:
Fleishman coined the term Rhombicube referring to a diamond panel form which is distilled out of a 3-D checkerboard of cubes. The various truncations of the Rhombicube form the orthogonal variations of Archimedean solids. The assembly of these solids in various configurations form the geometrical basis for his Shelter Systems.I would need to know more about math to fully understand that statement, but one can appreciate his structures as works of art without completely understanding his artistic process. But, mostly, they just look fun!