Our enthusiasm for fine craftsmanship goes beyond strolling though isles of furniture. At the end of last year’s ICFF we returned to San Francisco and transformed many of our client’s homes with an array of pieces sourced at the fair. Although there are hundreds of dazzling designers out there, we’ve listed 10 design firms we’re crushing on, and some of the varsity all-star artisans we look forward to seeing again this year.

1. Gabriel Scott

Gabriel Scott Kelly Chandelier; (also pictured Tom Dixon pendants) LOCZIdesign Vineet Remodel Image courtesy of Bryan Alberstat

With backgrounds in architecture, industrial design, and fashion design, GABRIEL Kakon and SCOTT Richler, have brought a rich bank of skill, creativity and style to the furniture world since early 2004. It is since then that the Canadian duo has exclusively designed and manufactured for the to-the-trade market, both in Canada and the U.S. We were beyond excited that our client agreed to use the Gabriel Scott KELLY CHANDELIER (above) in his Noe Valley remodel, adding playful splendor to the vibrant dining area.

2. Siemon & Salaza

Happy Kiss, Gong, Growlight, and Elbow Sconce lights; Works and image courtesy of Siemon & Salazar

Caleb Siemon founded his glass studio in 1999 in Costa Mesa, California. With the help of a group of friends, which included Carmen Salazar, he transformed an old auto body shop into an artists’ enclave complete with a village of vintage trailers in the parking lot. They outgrew their original home and moved to a facility in Santa Ana. Caleb upgraded to a highly efficient furnace which recycles the exhaust heat and cuts fuel consumption by a third while creating stunning home accessories and lighting.

3. Token NYC

Printed Token Sideboard; Image courtesy of TOKEN NYC

Will Kavesh and Emrys Berkower’s collaboration, TOKEN, is a Brooklyn-based design and manufacturing studio that develops contemporary handcrafted furniture and lighting objects embodying the evolving intentions of American modernism. We’re looking forward to showcasing Token’s furniture in a current LOCZIdesign transformation that will no doubt be a stunner—stay tuned!

4. Wüd Furniture

Wüd Furniture Design’s Patchwork Dining Table; (also pictured Tom Dixon vases) LOCZIdesign San Francisco Remodel; Photograph by Bryan Alberstat

Wüd is more than luxury. It’s luxury for our time. Design that is elegant, yet still informal, steeped in fine art, yet eminently practical, at home anywhere people live and gather. It pleases, excites and invites. Their work combines innovative and contemporary designs with strong, classical joinery that makes it durable. Steel encased in resin, their stunning Patchwork Dining Table was the perfect touch to a Noe Valley remodel that also included many pieces obtained from last year’s ICFF.

5. Eskayel

Eskayel Feudal Facet Prima Wallpaper accent used in LOCZIdesign San Francisco Remodel; image courtesy of Bryan Alberstat

Eskayel is a Brooklyn, NY based design studio focused on applying a uniquely artistic and environmentally responsible approach to interior surface design. By reproducing their hand painted patterns locally in the northeastern United States on natural and recycled grounds, their made to order fabrics and wall-coverings are an Eco friendly and visually inspiring option for home and commercial projects. Above, we used their Feudal Facet Prima Wallpaper to accent the wall of this guest bedroom.

6. Lindsay Adelman

14 Bulb Agnes Chandelier; Image courtesy of Lindsey Adelman Studio

Lindsey Adelman Studio(s) design, prototype, build, and show their work in their NYC studio. Forms and ideas evolve collaboratively through 1:1 model-making and testing. The focus has mainly been on hand-blown glass and brass lighting since the studio’s inception in 2006, but has now opened up into jewelry, vessels, tiles, and wallpaper, in materials including wood, concrete, porcelain, gold, and stereolithography.

7. Todd Von Mertens

Tod Von Mertens Platform Sleigh Bed; LOCZIdesign San Francisco Remodel; Photograph by Bryan Alberstat

Tod Von Mertens first began making furniture as a child, with his father, an accomplished craftsman. While attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, he learned to weld in order to integrate steel elements into sculpture. In 2008 his family took a leap of faith to follow his long held dream. He closed his successful metal fabrication business in Seattle, and moved across the country back to New Hampshire where he grew up. He bought an old farmhouse to live closer to the land, did some simple farming, and rebuilt his business focusing once more on furniture of his own design. The maple Platform Sleigh Bed (above) was used in recent project, reflecting the epitome of the elegant style and grace one can only find in nature.

8. Sami Haiyak

Sami Hayek’s 270 chair; Work and Image courtesy of Sami Hayek

Sami Hayek’s design is based on an ongoing dialogue of powerful thoughts and moments in time translated into colors, textures, forms and compositions. Born in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico to a multi-cultural family, Hayek’s work is strongly influenced by the diversity and richness of his upbringing. After receiving his degree in environmental design from the Art Center College of Design, he established his own studio. The Los Angeles-based multi-disciplinary practice engages in a wide array of design projects at various scales, from affordable products to luxury furniture for both residential and commercial design.

9. Uhuru Design

Cyclone Lounger, Image and works courtesy of Uhuru Designs

Our recent design crush, Uhuru, is a design + build furniture company dedicated to sustainability and creating timeless designs. Uhuru builds each piece by hand, in their Red Hook Brooklyn studio. Many of the items they create utilize materials that have been reclaimed, recycled, re purposed, reused or otherwise rejected from their original function—an element in furniture craftsmanship we truly value.

10. Trove

Trove Wallpaper vignette in LOCZIdesign’s Edwardian Flat Remodel; photograph by Bryan Alberstat

Trove is one our favorite wallpaper companies. We have used their unique designs on the walls of various clients, particularly in this Edwardian Remodel. Based in Manhattan, Trove is the brainchild of Randall Buck and Jee Levin; their work is known for being both innovative and ethereal. Most recently, The Brooklyn Museum, which houses the second largest art collection in all of New York, selected six patterns from the design company to use in its permanent Decorative Arts Collection!

Expect an exclusive full report on all the action of this year’s New York design week: which designers’ works we plan to interpret into our newest remodels, and what pieces worth swooning over. Have a splendid weekend, friends!

The post LOCZIdesign’s Top 10 ICFF Favorites To Look For appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

CymaScope Vignette

As you may know, LOCZIdesign was asked by curators of The San Francisco Exploratorium to design a Seed of Life lounge dedicated to Earth Sciences for the Gala event connected with the Grand Opening. We embraced this opportunity to shine and join forces with local influential artisans in the Bay Area who like us, honor the earth in their everyday practice. Karly Sue Smith, an experiential artist who teamed up with LOCZIdesign to help create this designedCOLLECTIVE experience, specifically designing and editing the video montage we displayed during the evening’s installation, was influential in our success. She introduced us to Cymatics as a powerful way to display sacred Geometry aligned with sound and our natural environment. In doing so, we were able to meet John Stuart Reid, one of the most celebrated masters of Cymatics:

“Sue Smith, we were immediately taken by the name of the opening event planned for the Exporatorium: Seeds of Life,” John explained. “This title is particularly resonant with the CymaScope team because our work has repeatedly shown that the creation of life on earth seems to have been intimately connected with sound. When we see what appear to be living, dynamic forms in sonically imprinted water, when in fact the forms are merely life-like in their dynamism and shape, that leads us to believe that sound may have been the very seed of life in the primordial oceans.  We were delighted to support the new Exploratorium’s Gala event and hope that one day children and adults will be able to see such dynamic, cymascopic seeds of life in an Exploratorium exhibit.”

English acoustic-physics researcher, John Stuart Reid, is co-inventor of this new scientific instrument. He has researched the world of sound for over 30 years and has spoken extensively on his findings to audiences in the US and the UK. Reid was kind enough to give us his personal notes (below) to help further explain the beautiful geometry and important aspects of the cymascopic imagery on display in the installation.

By adding layers of visual interpretation of sound, tactile sensation and smell, Loczi aimed to integrate a complex sensory experience to the lounge, creating the effect of being wrapped in a cocoon of soft light and sound. Inspired by the very center of the design, the Douglas Fir tree, the lounge drew attention to life on a complex and grand scale.

“This designedCOLLECTIVE installation was a synthesis of art, creativity, science and technology creating a temporary environment,” said Loczi. “We wanted to honor the life and natural science exhibits paying homage to both our planet and human creativity by showcasing the world seen and unseen.”

The ‘Seed of Life’ installation had two distinct areas: Since the interior of the tree naturally creates a personal, reflective setting, the “dwell” portion, inside the massive trunk, was furnished with low tactile objects and elements to create a quiet space. The use of wool, metal, alpaca and leather added richness to the environment. The “lounge” portion, set outside the tree, was designed to be more conducive to banter, relaxing and eating. Layered with earth-toned soil, wood, soft wool and formed steel, the living-room-inspired space was surrounded by a screen woven from lightweight materials and a wall of flora. Nestled to the side of the 14′ root system, stunning images from our video montage entranced the viewer.

Some of the footage displayed had only been seen by the public at the Smithsonian, whereas some footage had yet to be witnessed outside of the team at Cymascope in the United Kingdom. The patrons at the Gala opening would be the first to witness these images in the United States. Included images and footage displayed the sonic signatures of sounds from our natural environment; the Sun, the stars, a woman’s voice, a human heartbeat, a living cell, The Schumann Cavity Resonance, and special content from an artistic Cymatics video entitled “Sound Made Visible” by Bay Area video artist Stephanie Ku. All images rendered visible were made on a new scientific device known as the CymaScope, which completed the vignette .

CymaScope Display of the Sun; LOCZIdesign “Seed of Life” installation at the Exploratorium; image courtesy of Rikki Ward.

Here are a few notes on the videos we displayed during the “Seed of Life” installation at the Exploratorium:

Atmospheric Science Schumann Cavity Resonance (Shown at the Exploratorium for the first time at this gala installation.)

Schumann Cavity Resonance; Imaged on CymaScope

The Schumann Cavity Resonance was named after physicist Winfried Otto Schumann who predicted it mathematically in 1952 and is popularly known as ‘the heartbeat of the earth.’

The SCR occurs in the spherical cavity formed between the surface of the Earth and the ionosphere with the electromagnetic resonance occurring in the ELF band between 3 Hz and 60 Hz. The highest intensity mode occurs close to 7.83 Hz, which is the frequency made visible for the first time on the CymaScope instrument. The excitation of the cavity is theorised to be driven by electric storms although its resonant properties can also be influenced by solar-induced perturbations that affect the cavity’s upper ‘wall’.

A growing body of research appears to be indicating that SCR has an influence on all living organisms both in the ancient past and even today, particularly in brain wave rhythms.

Asteroseismology Star Sounds Made Visible (first shown at the Smithsonian Institute)

The atomic processes in stars make very low-pitched sounds that cause the light from the star to twinkle faintly. The faint twinkles of starlight can be converted to sounds with special equipment and the sounds can be made visible using a CymaScope instrument, which imprints the sonic vibrations on the surface membrane of pure water, creating sound patterns consisting of small waves with valleys and crests. The sound patterns are invisible to the unaided eye but when viewed under special lighting, the valleys reflect the light back to the eye and reveal the sound patterns.

The study of star sound is called ‘asteroseismology,’ which is a branch of astrophysics and the star sounds can help scientists learn more about the atomic processes deep inside the star.

Cardiology Human Heart Beat Made Visible

A leading cardiologist, Dr Cuneyt Konuralp, believes that making heart sounds visible on a CymaScope instrument might one day lead to a novel way of diagnosing heart diseases. In this video we see the stethoscopically-recorded heart sounds of a male subject made visible, cymascopically. Interestingly some of the imagery resembles a living heart, including ventricle features in the center of the imagery.

Phonology Human Voice Sounds (the world’s first female vowels made visible cymascopically)

The CymaScope represents a significant breakthrough in the study of phonology and as a powerful audio-visual aid in speech pathology/therapy and vocal coaching. The instant production of voice figures or “CymaGlyphs” as a result of the client’s own vocalizations can provide visual feedback that not only allows the client to shape their sounds visually, thus improving articulation and intonation, but also provides an effective method of enhancing pitch recognition. In addition vibrato can be taught or modified.

Previously it had been assumed that each of the five vowels would have the same basic form for every person. However, our present cymascopic study of vocal sounds has revealed a surprising result. The geometry of vowels actually varies from pitch-to-pitch for each person and from person to person. Nature, it seems, loves variety.

The female voice test subject is that of graphics artist, Vera Gadman.

Musicology Piano Notes Made Visible

The sonic energy envelope of a piano note changes over time as the string’s harmonics mix in the piano’s wooden bridge. Instead of the envelope being fairly stable, as had been imagined, the harmonics actually cause the resulting sound images to be wonderfully dynamic. Our ears can easily detect the changes in the harmonics of an individual piano note, as a string vibrates, and the CymaScope now reveals them.

MusicMadeVisible The Video Art of Stefanie Ku, in collaboration with CymaScope.com

Flower Still; Image and art courtesy Stephanie Ku and CymaScope

While the CymaScope’s main function is that of a new breed of scientific instrument that can make sound visible, the beauty of its imagery also has artistic applications, such as cymascopically-inspired fine art and video art. The Exploratorium CymaScope showreel includes two examples by Bay Area video artist, Stefanie Ku, in which she has woven CymaScope footage into two short videos, titled Flowers (above) and Snow. In the future it will be possible to transcribe any music to MusicMadeVisible, not only rendering its frequencies visible for study but to enjoy.

Zoology ‘Humble Bumble’ Grizzly Bear sounds made visible

Still Image from Humble Bumble Video; courtesy of EarthFire Institute and CymaScope

Zoology is the branch of biology that focuses on the structure, function, behavior, and evolution of animals. The study of animal sounds in science has so far been focused on the Spectrograph or Sonagraph instrument (Sonagraph is sometimes confused with the “Sonogram” an ultrasound medical diagnostic instrument). The Spectrograph or Sonagraph are forms of spectrum analysis that provide a three-dimensional representation of a sound signal, the three co-ordinates being frequency, time and intensity. Intensity is typically represented by shading or color.

The CymaScope instrument provides a cymascopic analog of what our eyes would see if we could see sound. All audible sounds are spherical in form, not wave like as is commonly believed and the CymaScope shows us a 2D slice through the sonic bubble, allowing us to observe the interior structures of a given sound. Still photographs can show us a moment in time of a given animal sound and these have been named “CymaGlyphs.”

In the video we see the sound of thumb-sucking “Humble Bumble” made visible, a Grizzly bear who likes to suck his thumb! He is cared for by the Earthfire Institute, a wildlife sanctuary in Driggs, Idaho. The video shows a surprising amount of structure in what appears to be a simple sound.

For more information about the amazing scientific exploration of cymatics, visit CymaScope[dot]com.

The post Seeing Sound Through Cymatics appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

In the spirit of the famously interactive museum, which relocated to Piers 15 and 17, the opening gala featured 24 Bay Area interior designers’ artistic interpretations of the fusion of science, art and technology in the form of hosted lounges.

“Seed of Life,” a designedCOLLECTIVE installation by LOCZIdesign, was one of the featured interior design vignettes tied to the evening’s theme, “Now this is where things get interesting.” The lounge rested in the heart of two halves of a majestic 330-year old Douglas Fir tree, surrounded by a section of its trunk and gigantic root system. The Douglas Fir “Tree Experience” is one of the museum’s permanent installations, designed by artist Michael Brown.

“I really appreciated the fact LOCZIdesign took inspiration from “Big Wood” as their starting point,” said artist Michael Brown. “The amazing fact that a small seed contains all the information necessary to produce a tree is an inspiration. All life starts out as a single cell containing all the information required to become a living organism, even us humans.”

“We were so honored to work with such a magnificent piece of nature,” said Paige Loczi, founder and creative director of LOCZIdesign. “Michael’s tree exhibit created an intimate, contemplative space and we really wanted the lounge we designed to pay homage to his intention. The objective was always to highlight the feelings of reverence and inclusion that you feel in the presence of such a massive natural sculpture, to remember that in a number of ways, we are all still connected.”

Loczi’s design utilized the tree’s distinctive natural qualities and created multiple spaces within the installation. Since the interior of the tree naturally creates a personal, reflective setting, the “dwell” portion, which seats six people inside the massive trunk, was furnished with low tactile objects and elements to create a quiet space. The use of wool, metal, alpaca and leather added richness to the environment. Wood sculptures by Sedonya Kay and a hanging metal fixture by G Magnus Schevene completed the space.

The “lounge” portion, set outside the tree, was designed to be more conducive to banter, relaxing and eating. Layered with earth-toned soil, wood, soft wool and formed steel, the living-room-inspired space was surrounded by a screen woven from lightweight materials and a wall of flora. A wool felt rug by Amber Bieg depicted a view of the Bay Area from 10,000 feet above, as the terrarium installation by Crooked Nest depicted the natural ecosystem of the tree.

Aside the 14’ root system, images of “sound made visible” Cymatics videos and Bay Area Video artist, Stephanie Ku, entranced the viewer. The exhibit also included video footage of sounds of the sun, the stars, human voice, the human heart and even the heartbeat of the Earth, provided by Schumann Cavity Resonance – all rendered visible on a new scientific device known as the CymaScope.

“We were immediately taken by the name of LOCZIdesign’s lounge: The Seed of Life,” said John Stuart Reid of CymaScope.com. “The title is particularly resonant with the CymaScope team because our work has repeatedly shown that the creation of life on earth seems to have been intimately connected with sound…, leading us to believe that sound may have been the very seed of life in the primordial oceans.”

By adding layers of visual interpretation of sound, tactile sensation and smell, Loczi aimed to integrate a complex sensory experience to the lounge, creating the effect of being wrapped in a cocoon of soft light and sound. Inspired by the very center of the design, the Douglas Fir tree, the lounge drew attention to life on a complex and grand scale.

“This designCOLLECTIVE installation was a synthesis of art, creativity, science and technology creating a temporary environment,” said Loczi. “We wanted to honor the of life and natural science exhibits paying homage to both our planet and human creativity by showcasing the world seen and unseen.”

A term coined by Loczi, “designedCOLLECTIVE” is a group of talented interior designers, architects, furniture makers, industrial designers, landscape architects, contractors, musicians, painters and activists. Like “Seed of Life,” a designedCOLLECTIVE project showcases the collaborative spirit of LOCZIdesign’s work.

Loczi added, “Environment can shift you, allow you to take pause and reflect on the people and elements around you. I wanted to showcase the interconnectedness of life by focusing on scale, intention and collaboration. Seeing a human cell and then the heartbeat of the earth all within this massive tree is quite an experience. We were thrilled to be apart of the lounge exhibit because it was as a great opportunity to work alongside other esteemed designers, while visually expressing the same intentional connection that we use in our unique design practice. That is what designedCOLLECTIVE is all about.”

###

About LOCZIdesign:

Our Mission is to create spaces that balance and inspire. What is important to us is listening and contributing; providing you with an environment that reflects your style and taste and reminds you of whom you are and what you’re committed to. Our approach is personal, interactive and iterative. We provide non-toxic finishes, natural materials and locally obtained furniture and art, supporting both the environment and our community.

About designedCOLLECTIVE:

Paige Loczi started the designedCOLLECTIVE as a forum for community connection, bringing together local artists and designers to provide the furniture, textiles, lighting and sound to give life to spaces. We hold an annual “salon-style” gathering to celebrate artistry, craftsmanship and our community. Here’s a brief look at our last event and an introduction to the designedCOLLECTIVE.

About the collaborators:

Leslie Benson: An artist and a performer. She specializes in a sculptural technique of three-dimensional paper weaving that she developed in 2008 while studying Studio Arts at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is a person of many varied artistic interests; sculpture, print-making, film acting, clowning, classical guitar, costume design and astrological studies are a hand full of the endeavors that have captured her creative spirits over the years.

Amber Bieg: A textile artist for fabricshed.com- contributed a wool rug created for collective dreaming, previously used during the deYoung’s Social Dreaming in the 21st century month long exhibit and workshop.

Coup d’Etat: Their furniture is often vintage or beautifully crafted locally. Their showroom is exquisite. Their pieces and ethos are the perfect synthesis of exquisite craftsmanship and reference to the past.

Crooked Nest: These talented ladies create Foliar Juxtapositions, Terrariums and Urban Landscaping, and often collaborate with LOCZIdesign to create unique and beautiful landscapes.

Sedonya Kay: A sculptor and artist whose works are made of found fragments of wood from collapsed buildings and structures. She seeks out and recovers the wood fragments locally in northern California. The fragments include native California species, such as redwood and Douglas Fir. Her work explores curved forms in wood that show evidence of the passage of time and that are simply beautiful.

Stefanie Ku: Is a San Francisco-based intermedia artist. She divides her time between helping people achieve wellness through sound and vibrational healing, playing keyboards and synths in electronic rock band Beautiful Machines, and transmuting her visions from the dimensionless realm of pure thought into an accessible language, the audio-visual language of sound and light.

Paige Loczi: A designer, she grew up surrounded by beautiful design. Her father is a famous car designer. She has a varied background that has prepared her for both big and small projects. She has lived and traveled all over the world, constantly inspired by the people and places she encounters. In addition to design, she has a passion for teaching and mentoring the world’s youth. Design for Paige is about creating an environment that supports the entire person and comes from being of service. It is also about excellence and execution. “Why not do something flawlessly?”

Lorn Dittfeld’s Propeller: Grew up in Miami and spent summers working in his uncle’s custom furniture shop. Lorn opened Propeller in 2002, with the aim of making furniture, doing interior design and selling the work of emerging artists. “A delicious array of furniture + accessories built + offered by people who have a stake in your happiness.”

John Stuart Reid: An acoustic-physics researcher, Reid, is co-inventor of this new scientific instrument called the CymaScope, a new instrument that reveals detailed structures within sounds, allowing their architecture to be studied pictorially.” He has researched the world of sound for over 30 years and has spoken extensively on his findings to audiences in the US and the UK. We have the honor of showcasing the recent video created for the Smithsonian’s “Star Station exhibit”. Imagine the experience of listening to and seeing stars whilst sitting inside a 330 yr. old tree?

Magnus Schevene: A designer whose specialty is custom fixture and furnishing design. His main sources of inspiration are the experience of the human body moving through space; the volumes of space created between real and imagined solid objects; and the ability of the mind to imagine shifts in scale, movement, and rotation. (For example, imagine a cluster of skyscrapers and imagine a gesture of a hand exploring patterns of weaving through them). His furnishings exhibit a play of historical references played against simple and modern geometries.

Karly Sue Smith: A Experiential Artist who teams up with small groups to produce large scale interactive art installations since, each of which were engineered to align with Sacred Geometry bringing an added quality of harmony into the experience. She has been inspired the most by the installations she has collaborated on their healing and awakening properties that engage participants.

Michael Ufferman: Came from the corporate world of the big Fortune 500s. He made the valiant jump to the creative world when eBay hired him to manage operations at their brick-and- mortar auction house, Butterfields. He later became one of their illustrious auctioneers. He has worked with the Black Rock Arts Foundations and has collaborated on large-scale temporary art installations.

Media Contact: Melinda Peffer

Creative Partners West

(323) 547-3426 (cell) | (323) 936 -1447 x 219 (office)

melinda@creativepartnerswest.com

The post LOCZIdesign Creates Lounge for Exploratorium’s Opening Gala at Pier 15 in San Francisco appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

Seed of Life montage featuring works from collaborating designers and artist; LOCZIdesign

Seed of Life, a designedCOLLECTIVE installation, can be seen at the Exploratorium’s Opening Gala on April 12th, and is one of the featured interior design vignettes tied into the evening’s theme, “Now this is where things get interesting.” Our lounge will poetically “take root” in the heart of two halves of a majestic 330-year old Douglas Fir tree, surrounded by a section of its trunk and gigantic root system. The Douglas Fir “Tree Experience” is also a part of the installation at the Exploratorium placed in a 8,000-square foot space that will focus on the life sciences.

---

“The installation is a synthesis of art, creativity, science and technology creating a temporary environment. We decided to use these sectors as a way to explore connection to our world, both seen and unseen… Once we ‘drop in’ our perspective widens, and shifts!” — Paige Loczi

---

Two halves of the majestic Douglas Fir tree surrounded by a section of its trunk and astounding root system

Michael Brown, lead designer for the Tree exhibit designed a space ‘aimed at creating an intimate, contemplative space.’ We chose to honor that with this installation, while  integrating even more of a complex sensory experience by introducing the added layers of sound, the visual interpretation of sound, tactile sensation and smell to create a cohesive environment. In a recent article in the Marin Independent Journal, Brown explained, “When you’re between these two log halves, you’ll feel as if you’re sitting inside the tree, looking at the rings and the beautiful grain. It will reveal things that you might not normally pay attention to.”

Paige notes, “Our hope in highlighting the designedCOLLECTIVE aspect of this installation  is to showcase the collaborative spirit of how we like to work. Environment can shift you, allow you to take pause and reflect the people or elements around you. It can remind you that you’re a part of bigger world, both seen and unseen. It’s a way of working whereby the ‘best’ is produced not because of competition, but through everyone offering up their area of expertise.” As such, we’ve enrolled quite a few designers and talents in their own right to create this installation.

Details of the Space

We have designed the Seed of Life as a lounge, offering two distinct spaces: LOUNGE and DWELL. Seating six people, the LOUNGE is conducive to banter, relaxing and eating in the open space. Surrounded by entrancing video with sacred geometry and and a wall of soil, the environment is layered with earth-toned glass, wood, soft wool and laser-cut metal.

Behind the roots, a screen will reflect the sounds from elements both seen and unseen…those as small as a cell and as large as the sun. It’s the kind of living room where time escapes. DWELL: seating six people, is a warmly lit, intimate space inside of trunk of the tree with low tactile objects, surrounded by wool fleece, metal, alpaca and leather, where one can imagine sipping Scotch in deep conversation.  The space is designed to wrap the occupant in a cocoon of soft light.

Installation Collaborators 

Weaving Sculpture by Leslie Benson; image courtesy of Leslie Benson

Leslie Benson: An artist and a performer.  She specializes in a sculptural technique of three dimensional paper weaving that she developed in 2008 while studying Studio Arts at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She is a person of many varied artistic interests: sculpture, print-making, film acting, clowning, classical guitar, costume design and astrological studies are a hand full of the endeavors that have captured her creative spirits over the years.

“Charting Fiber: Mapping the local textile landscape” by Amber Bieg; Image courtesy of Amber Bieg

Amber Bieg: An artist and entrepreneur.  From developing mapping software that values ecosystem services to creating felt landscapes from locally sourced wool (above), she integrates a systems perspective, or 10,000-ft view. Amber believes that by studying and understanding these natural patterns, we can begin to integrate them into human-designed systems, using nature as the guide for sustainability. She suggests that when we bring awareness to the topography of natural systems we find patterns that teach us how live in harmony with all life.

Tom Clossey, Woodshanti: After studying anthropology and studio art in Ohio, Tom headed to San Francisco to see what the city had to offer. After a few attempts at life in the corporate world, Tom decided to go back to doing what he liked best, working and creating with his hands. Since founding Woodshanti in 1997, he has been refining his skills as a woodworker and exploring the limits of furniture design.

COUP Rhino Window Display February 2013; Courtesy of Coup d’Etat

Coup d’Etat, Showroom: On the strength of owner Darin Geise’s impeccable sense of style, Coup d’Etat is one of the designer go-to galleries in San Francisco and has garnered the attention of interior designers nationwide. Darin’s furniture is normally vintage or beautifully crafted locally. It’s the perfect synthesis of exquisite craftsmanship and reference to the past.

Crooked Nest Terrarium made by and image courtesy of Crooked Nest

Crooked Nest: As architect and artist, local San Francisco design team Candace Silvey and Elena Powditch approach their urban landscaping by creating dynamic gardens in unexpected places. Candace adds, “We view our installations as happenings. Ethereal — almost like a dance, or a performance piece. Plants are so in the moment and they force you to meditate on being present but also to imagine what the future holds. Our installation for the Exploratorium is a gesture towards the gorgeous tendrils of the root structure of the Douglass Fir. We are creating a series of our large-scale, hand blown glass terrariums alongside an installation of luscious ferns and bromeliads – all plants that would be deriving nutrients from a decomposing tree trunk. The glass, presented as a series of water droplets, represent a gesture towards the life-giving properties of water and if you look closely, you will observe entire symbiotic forest floor environments housed within – microcosms of the forest.”

Raimond light designed by Raimond Puts with hundreds of LEDs between 2 concentric low-voltage spheres delivering design and electricity; Image courtesy of Propeller Modern

Lorn Dittfeld, Propeller: Known as a delicious array of furniture and accessories built and offered by people who have a stake in your happiness. “We’re psyched to work with Paige and the LOCZI team on such a momentous SF cultural occasion as the opening of the new & improved Exploratorium. For Propeller it’s about creating a space that fosters an experience. Through the building of relationships – the collaboration with Paige and the other designers & artists involved and, ultimately (and intimately) with the folks who will interact with our creation is a slam-dunk!” Owner, Lorn Dittfeld.

Their web store is an, “exciting shopping experience that offers a sense of discovery that will introduce their admirers to new things.” We’ll be using an eclectic mix of their pieces, one of which is the Raimond LED pendant light fixture made by Mathematician Raimond Puts.

Oro En Paz after harvest; image courtesy of Oro En Paz

Ben Herod and James Davids, Oro En Paz Winery: The name, taken from the old San Francisco; its meaning is simply, gold in peace. These native San Franciscans share a passion for wine and love what they do. Oro En Paz in an urban winery located in San Francisco. Their hands on approach to wine making pushes them to be skilled in many facets of creativity including the welding project they collaborated on for this installation.

Fire & Water 28″ x 18″ x 8″ Mixed Recycled Wood and Milled Steel with a Black Patina by Sedonya Kay; Image courtesy of Sedonya Sculpture and Brian Alberstat Photography

Sedonya Kay: A sculptor who’s works are made of found fragments of wood from collapsed buildings and structures. She seeks out and recovers the wood fragments locally in northern California. The fragments include native California species, such as Redwood and Douglas Fir. She has a passion for living things and the nature of her home state. Her work explores curved forms in wood that show evidence of the passage of time and that are simply beautiful.

Image courtesy of Stephanie Ku

Stefanie Ku: (also known as Kukie Matter, Cosmic Cupcake, s.L.k. and Silverslik) is a San Francisco-based intermedia artist. She divides her time between helping people achieve wellness through sound and vibrational healing, playing keyboards and synths in electronic rock band Beautiful Machines, and transmuting her visions from the dimensionless realm of pure thought into an accessible language, the audio-visual language of sound and light.

Bronze entry sculpture  by Magnus Schevene; Image courtesy Jefferson Mack Metal

G. Magnus Schevene: A designer who’s specialty is custom fixture and furnishing design. His main sources of inspiration are the experience of the human body moving through space; the volumes of space created between real and imagined solid objects; and the ability of the mind to imagine shifts in scale, movement, and rotation. His furnishings exhibit a play of historical references played against simple, modern geometries. Magnus is a designer at LOCZIdesign and also produces work independently.

16Hz Sine wave & water; courtesy of Cymatics

Karly Sue Smith: An Experiential Artist who teams up with small groups to produce large scale interactive art installations. Her most recent collaborations include Robert Bengtsons “Collective”( www.collective2011.com), “Flight” and “Memortrees” (www.memortrees.com). Each of which were engineered to align with Sacred Geometry bringing an added quality of harmony into the experience. “We’re interested in exploring how to showcase the sounds that are all around us, but sometimes below our register, showing how patterns in sound are replicated throughout life, displaying the geometric patterning in both the macro and micro world,” Paige adds.  To this effect, we’ve teamed up with the talented programmers at CymaScope to feature the sights and sounds of stars within our solar system, the cells in our bodies and the vibrations from the center of the earth.  We’re honored to showcase a video from a recent Smithsonian exhibit called “Star Sounds” among others. We’re also featuring videos from esteemed Bay Area artist Stephanie Ku.

For more information on the event, to purchase tickets to the after party, and a chance to see touch and smell the Seed of Life in person, click no further.

The post Seed of Life: LOCZIdesign Designs for San Francisco Exploratorium appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

Armed with my old maps, beautiful handmade paper, Vintage posters and some supplies, we were ready to adorn our kitchen wall Decoupage style.  Decoupage, if you don’t know, is the process of pasting pictures on a surface.  You can decoupage walls with pictures from magazines, photographs, fabric, or just about anything thin enough to lay flat onto a smooth surface.

With Emerson placated with glitter glue, play-doh and paints, I was primed for my own craft hour! (well, evening, actually…)  I started by laying out all my papers and seeing the shapes and then taped them up on the wall to see the patterns I wanted to replicate.  I usually start in a corner and work my way across and up.  Decoupage is more forgiving in some ways because you can always add another piece, or change the shape of something by adding another layer.  Remember that there’s overlapping, so determine which image you want to appear on ‘top’.  I like using crafting scissors to create interesting edges on the images.

Be sure to make it personal!  We have an embossed heart-rock in our backyard, which served as my inspiration…

Tape up your images on the surface before you glue them in place.  You can lay them on a surrounding surface ‘in order’ once determined.  Work in small segments so as not to overwhelm. And, remember, it’s fun!

Shopping List:

• Images of inspiration: Scrapbook paper, posters, pictures, magazine or book pages or photographs
• Modge Podge Glue
• Scissors
• Cheap paintbrush (you’ll definitely want to throw it away after)
• Wallpaper smoother

Instructions:

1. Go to your local craft store, vintage store, or pull out some of your favorite maps, magazines and post cards you’ve been keeping around for too long.

2. Create a concept for your layout. There’s no wrong or right way to do it.

3. Clean the wall thoroughly and let the wall dry completely.

4. Lay drop cloths over the floor and move furniture away from the wall to protect the items in your home

5. Dip a sponge brush into the glue and brush it on the back side of a picture. Press the picture on the wall. This will firmly attach the picture to the wall.

6. Keep going: As you reach up out and all over your wall be sure there’s consistency in the thickness of your wall. Repeat the process with the rest of the pictures to your heart’s delight

7. Push the brush over the pictures to smooth out air bubbles. Work quickly so that the bubbles don’t dry out and stay on the wall.

8. Let the pictures dry until they are firmly attached to the wall. This could take several hours.

9. Dip the sponge brush into the glue and brush it over the dried decoupage. This protective layer of glue will help the decoupage last longer and will make it shine.

10. Let the area dry completely and enjoy!

Here’s my husband enjoying our breakfast nook replete with hanging pot rack, a large floorlength mirror and our decoupaged wall!

The post Crafting with Wiggles: DIY Decoupage Wall Tutorial appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

Stretch, Miguel Arzabe, acrylic on canvas, 47 x 32 inches, 2012 On view at K. Imperial Fine Art

As Bohm examines our spectral interconnections, Thinking Like the Universe brings two galleries and two cities into conversation: K. Imperial Fine Art in San Francisco and Hatch Gallery in Oakland. Both shows are curated by K. Imperial Fine Art director Aimee Friberg and include works by artists from the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Portland and New York.

Staring Into the Void 2 (Night), Claire Colette, graphite on paper, 58 x 42 inches, 2012 | On View at Hatch Gallery

The theory of Bohm’s Implicate Order contains an ultra-holistic cosmic view; it
connects everything with everything else. In principle, any individual element
could reveal “detailed information about every other element in the universe.”
The central underlying theme of Bohm’s theory is based on the “unbroken
wholeness of the totality of existence as an undivided flowing movement without
borders.”

Working Title, Jesse Schlesinger, deodar cedar, 50 x 50 x 8 inches, 2012 | On view at Hatch Gallery

It is this unbroken wholeness and the inter-relation of all things that is the
impetus for this exhibit. The art in the shows approach this in different ways.
Some works reference energetic patterns or geometric connections as in the work
by Gina Borg and Claire Colette.

Ochre Expand, Gina Borg, acrylic on paper, 30 x 22 inches, 2012 | On view at K. Imperial Fine Art

Other works such as Adam Sorensen’s Untitled (Pink Stone) consider the
landscape in a hyper-hued palette or infer the duality of chaos and order as in
Fritz Chesnut’s dynamic yet monochrome poured acrylic paintings.

The Colony, Fritz Chesnut, acrylic on canvas, 42 x 54 inches, 2012 | On view at Hatch Gallery

Bohm demonstrates this inter-connectedness, explaining that even two
subatomic particles that have once interacted can instantaneously respond to
each other’s motions thousands of years later and light-years apart. With this
exhibition Friberg examines our collective desire to make order from, or
understand the interconnectedness of the universe, from subatomic particles up
through the species. Whether observing expressions of landscape– abstracted,
bastardized or imbued with mysticism or zooming in to see the patterns that exist
at the particle level, we intuit the moving force that connects.

Untitled (Pink Stone), Adam Sorensen, oil on paper, 14 x 11 inches, 2012 | On view at Hatch Gallery.

Exhibiting artists include: Miya Ando, Miguel Arzabe, Gina Borg, Claire Bowers,
Claire Colette, Fritz Chesnut, Randy Colosky, Bryan de Roo, Lauren Douglas,
Alan Firestone, Llewelyn Fletcher, Desiree Holman, Treasure Frey, Sarah Jane
Lapp, Terri Loewenthal, Rebecca Najdowski, Tahiti Pehrson, Jesse Schlesinger,
Adam Sorensen, Andy Vogt and Lena Wolff.
Thinking Like The Universe is up at K. Imperial Fine Art and Hatch Gallery
through Saturday, March 2nd. Hatch Gallery will be open on Friday, March 1st
from 6-9 pm for Art Murmur (Oakland’s First Friday event). K Imperial Fine Art
is located at 49 Geary Street in San Francisco on the 4th floor. Hatch Gallery is
located 492 23rd Street in Oakland.
For more information on the artists or to inquire about the work, please contact
Aimee Friberg at (415) 277-7230 or aimee (at) kimperialfineart (dot) com.

The post Thinking Like The Universe appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

Alex and Martha Gold-Dvoryadkin; image courtesy of Martha Gold-Dvoryadkin

“It all started with a craigslist add”, she told me yesterday afternoon.  Blissful Bedrooms was founded in 2009 by Martha and Alex Gold-Dvoryadkin. The married couple decided to paint the bedroom of one of Martha’s former physical therapy/yoga students, Tamisha (“Butterfly”), a young woman with fixed contractures of her extremities who can basically only move her head. “When my husband and I started, it wasn’t the greatest remodel. We hung up some butterflies and painted the wall her favorite colors… Even so, at the end, the expericence was really touching. I’d hate for it to sound cliche, but it really moved us.”

Martha has been working as a physical therapist since 2002 in a New York City District 75 public school for children with a wide range of disabilities including cerebral palsy, Down’s Syndrome, spina bifida, mental retardation, autism, and other neurological impairments and they range in age from 9-21. As a licensed physical therapist and graduate with a Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy from NYU in addition to being a Certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher, her intention is to one day establish a home base for what she calls Yoga Wonderland, which will bring yoga to children of all abilities, focusing on children with special needs.

Cristine’s Bedroom Makeover Before (top) After (below); image courtesy of Blissful Bedrooms

It makes perfect sense then that she would create an organization and community whose main mission is to make life happier and more meaningful for young individuals with disabilities who are economically and socially challenged. They do this by:

BEDROOM MAKEOVERS: They create dream bedrooms for young individuals with significant physical disabilities who are wheelchair-dependent, ages 15-25, economically and socially challenged, and spend a great amount of time in their home because of decreased mobilities in society.

COMMUNITY: They invite bedroom makeover recipients, as well as other young people with a wide variety of disabilities,to be part of our community. They nurture this community by organizing regular events, parties, trips, etc. This way young individuals with disabilities have the opportunity to get out of their bedrooms and socialize with their peers, as well as the Blissful Bedroom volunteers they’ve formed bonds with.

“I firmly believe that your surroundings really affect your mood. It doesn’t matter if they are humble, but that it reflects you and who you are. I find that really inspiring!”

“We’ve grown into the role of designers, which is really exciting to me. We’re really proud of that”, Martha adds. “But I couldn’t necessarily say that there is a particular type of design that we stick to. Usually the recipient of the remodel becomes the master designer. We prefer to be the translator of their ideas through the design. We try to make it functional and unique for them. We definitely love design but we don’t want to sacrifice our budget or creativity. As we grow as designers, we are looking forward to trying some styles that are more design oriented.”

At the end of the day, It doesn’t really matter what your personal design tastes are. The impact from these bedroom transformations are immensely moving. Most of these young adults and their family have very little and come from poor communities. It’s needless to say how powerful it is to have someone not only care about you, but the environment you live in.

Color is also one of Martha’s way of expressing herself creatively and within each bedroom remodel. ”I am a very colorful person. I can’t wear all black. And I choose to express myself through color and through my emotions—particularly when caring for the kids in my program. I like to make each one of the bedrooms stand out. I want it to be special for them. Most kids with special needs are treated special, but often in a negative way. So they sometimes end up loosing their identity. We want them to feel special in a positive way and to be able to fully express themselves. We feel that we can help them do that by remodeling their rooms.”

Jesus’s bedroom makeover After (top) Before (bottom); image courtesy of Blissful Bedrooms

At Blissful Bedroom, their goal is to remodel one bedroom every month. Their volunteer crew is usually made up of about 20 people per remodel. None of these individuals receive compensation. There is no office, nor is there a place to store their mateirials. But yet and still these volunteers take care of the wide range of tasks; from building, designing, to planning their “reveal” party.

There’s more, Blissful Bedrooms has an exciting project planned to begin this May. They need your help and support more than ever to make it happen! This undertaking merges their passion for designing unique and functional personal spaces for disabled youth with the commitment of nurturing a meaningful community, and organizing joyful opportunities that nourish the minds, bodies and souls of the members in their community.

A team of volunteers will be building a BLISSFUL CABIN in the Catskills Mountains of New York. The cabin will serve as a community hub for regular camping trips and retreats for groups of young individuals with disabilities. It will be a place to escape the challenges of inner city life and recharge.

At LOCZIdesign we care about our local, national and global communities just as much as we care about design. To learn more about how you can help Blissful Bedrooms or any other member of our charitable community, please contact us at designer@loczidesign.com or click here for more details.

The post Changing the Lives of Disabled Youth One Room at a Time appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

This DIY project is merely a tutorial on how I winterized a perfectly swoon-worthy vintage mod chair. This winterizing, if you will, seemed like the perfect solution to creating a cozier corner nook in my teeny Brooklyn flat. The winter here has been a fickle mix of harsh winds, snow, rain, hail, and sunshine—sometimes all in one day. It is COLD, and I have to admit that often times the NY winter weather triggers fond memories of frolicking in the San Francisco Indian summer month of February…

I was initially inspired to create this look after noticing the surge of chunky knit all over the interior design world. While trolling Etsy for a proper desk chair, I discovered the shop CIRCA60 that had an array of mid-century modern pieces. This chair was perfect! The owners were kind enough to let me put down a deposit (during my frugal holiday season) until I could schedule a trip to Jersey to pick up the chair and avoid a $60 shipping fee. The mod look of this side lounge chair was the perfect complement to the other items in my apartment. The vinyl, however, made for a not so comfortable place to sit when ice cold.

You should probably know that when I lived in San Francisco, I fell hard for ImagiKnit—a quaint yarn store on the corner of Dolores and 18th street. They offer an array of yarns, classes, and even have an old school yarn spinning machine. I picked up about 14 skeins back in October, on a mission to crochet a chunky queen size blanket for my soon to be cold New York bed. I successfully finished crocheting all 14 skeins over one weekend. But it wasn’t until my next trip to ImagiKnit, and an extensive search on the Internet, that I learned the yarn had been discontinued. And so, I decided to use this 4×10 half-finished blanket to re-create the chunky knit look on this mod lounge chair.

Because the chair was in pretty good vintage condition, with the exception of some minor tears, I chose to cover the original upholstery instead of completely stripping it.  I did, however, dissemble the chair to wrap the crocheted fabric around the mold. To my surprise, while unscrewing the bottom, I discovered that the chair was originally made in Brooklyn on 100 Jewel street—a ten minute bike ride from my apartment!

After securing the ends where the fabric had been cut, I wrapped it around the mold of the chair, being sure to smooth away any major lumps. The best way to do this (as shown above) is to cut a piece of yarn, double it, and create a web-like drawstring. This will create a secure fit around the mold of your chair, allowing the fabric to be evenly pulled taught to your liking. I chose to keep it slightly loose for added cuddliness and cushion.

Reassembling was a breeze since I had photographs documenting exactly how the swivel-bottom was attached to the seat. I would recommend using a power drill and setting it to the lowest speed in order to keep the screw from stripping the holes and tearing through your crocheted or knitted fabric.

The entire process took about 5 hours (not including the three days of crocheting). All and all, I would say that I’m very pleased by how the cozier version of my lounge chair turned out. I was able to unravel some scraps into a fresh ball of yarn for another project. And the entire other half of the blanket is now being used as a dog blanket. Zing!

Do you have any questions, ideas or suggestions on this or another DIY project? Drop me a line in the comment box below. We’re always obliged to inspiring ideas here at LOCZIdesign!

The post DIY Chunky Knit Lounge Chair appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia. It is also the name of an artist who uses number 11 blades to create cut-out kaleidoscope works of magic. He has been doing so for nearly 15 years. We had the chance to chat with Tahiti Pehrson about his work and how he was born to be an artist.

Where are you from?

“I am from Nevada City, California. I lived in the Bay Area for about ten years or so and decided to move back.”

What’s your background?

“My parents are both artists and my dad was an art teacher. He went to California College of the Arts back in the late 50’s/early 60’s. My parents were the bohemian type so I lived without a television until I was about ten-years-old… I had a lot free time and art was always around in the house. But I didn’t end up going to the San Francisco Art Institute until I was in my 30’s.

What’s your process like?

“These days I work so much—it’s crazy. I just finished two months of 16 hours days. The work in Vineet’s remodel [pictured above] is a 4′ x 10′ piece, so it took a lot of long hour days to complete. The work that I’ve been doing lately is based on a fairly old type of Geo pattern; the kind you see on money. So a lot of my work is around that concept. And it seems like the piece worked really well in his place. I actually ended up working up with Vineet through Aimee Friberg, the curator at K. Imperial Fine Art. It was a great match and worked out really well. “

How would you say your artistic style has evolved?

“I always painted, growing up as a kid, and even throughout my 20’s. I was also into skateboarding and most of my friends were professional skateboarders. So it was only natural that I ended up doing a lot of skateboard graphics.

While traveling in Europe I went to several squatter-type art galleries in Berlin and in Geneva. All the energy there was really inspiring. But I never felt that kind of energy in school. Painting [at the time] seemed so flat and antiquated. I wanted something more. So I started doing street art in San Francisco and it was more exciting and invigorating. The exploration was a lot of fun and I started doing stencils and then grew from there.  I found that the stencils were so beautiful all white.  And here I am now—been doing this for 15 years.”

What does being an artist mean to you?

“Being an artist means having the abilities to explore your ideas. It means that you can work one day, or have the day off, or just really be in the zone for hours on end. For me, the biggest and greatest thing is just being at home. It’s amazing—being an artist and getting to do what I want to do. But there was a time where I didn’t think I would be able to actually do that. Now that I have a six-year-old daughter, being home with my child means a lot. So structurally, to be able to be with her and involved with work is perfect. But the structure of the [traditional] workforce gives me anxiety so it’s nice to not be around that.”

What’s the most memorable reaction from your work?

“People generally react positively. And although I appreciate kind words, I feel like I’m my worst critic so it’s important for me to keep a level head about it. Having art shows are kind of like your birthday so it feels very congratulatory. But it’s nice that my art appeals to a lot of people. Someone might like it and their mother might also like it as well! Some people respond by saying, ‘I want to be inside of that’. I like that idea. Reactions like that help me move into other directions and evolve. I want people to feel like they are a part of my art.”

What would be your ideal project?

“I would like to do something in the public works and public arena. I’ve applied to the San Francisco Arts Commission - Public Art and Collection… I’d like to try something that’s more permanent and large scale—so that people can interact with it. It seems like a good idea since my pieces have that universal element that is both seen as spiritual and scientific. It’s the kind of art that is open to everyone’s interpretation. You start as a young artist telling your own story and then it comes to a point where you want to engage with your audience through your work.”

If not an artist, what would you be?

“I have worked terrible jobs before, just to get by. But I was always still producing art. I feel like there’s no other option for me than to be doing what I’m doing now. I feel like there’s no other way. There was a point of time in my life where I felt like I had to either stop doing art, or do it for real. You have to set up your life so that there’s no other option. I just decided to go for the work ethic. And that’s how I’m where I’m at today.

…You know how people say, ‘Live everyday like it’s your last’. Well, I really feel that way. If this were the last day of my life, I wouldn’t do anything else than what I’m doing now.”

If you’d like to see Tahiti’s work in person, his show Active Synchrony goes on from January 4th – March 10th in the Thacher Gallery at USF. It features his large scale hand-cut paper pieces and installations that have also been featured in San Francisco Magazine Modern Luxury‘s March fashion issue!

In the spring/early summer he will be having a solo exhibit at K. Imperial Fine Art in San Francisco from June 5th through July 15th. Too, if you’re in the Washington State area, his group show titled Love Me Tender is currently at the Bellevue Museum of Art.

The post Artist In Residence Series with Tahiti Pehrson appeared first on LOCZIdesign.

Harper’s Bazaar’s 2013 editorial with designer Stella McCartney (left), and 2013 Living Room Remodel by LOCZIdesign (right)

Let’s face it, we love fashion. We love it for the horror, for the outrageous cutting edge designs, and we especially love it for the individuality that finds itself on the streets of cities like San Francisco, Brooklyn, Paris, and Johannesburg! It can be said that Interior design is where fashion meets the home. And though our approach extends from an environmentally efficient background, we do not shy away from the style that emerges from our clients, and the fashionably innovative designers in our firm.

It makes perfect sense then, that the top 2013 trends in fashion and interior design would drop from the same tree. So in light of the completion of another LOCZIdesign remodel, allow us to celebrate and showcase some of the best design trends for the upcoming months of 2013.

Soft Neutrals, Textiles and Wool

Natural fabrics have been used since the beginning of humanity.  Sheepskin, wool, and fur have been draped on everything this year, from beds to chairs, and outdoor benches. Thankfully, a good portion of the interior design world is going back to its natural roots, using elements untamed and untainted by dyes and toxic finishes. The model (above left) is wearing designer Maiyet in their pre-fall 2013 collection. Her attire is a beautifully understated natural wool felt top similar to various pendant lights and stools—worthy items for the home. Too, the decor (top right) from the blog, Grey and Scout’s, executes the comfort and softness of the natural world harmoniously.

Color Blocking and Flora Inspirations

We were enthralled by the runway look from designer, Etro (above right), that was spotted in the Spring 2013 report on Harper’s Bazaar’s website. It is a lovely mix of two trends we love: floral prints, and color blocking.  The wallpaper from the talented Josef Frank (top left), featured on Apartment Therapy, also deserves some attention.  Wallpaper is no doubt back in action, and the romance of the floral motif is definitely here to stay. The styled dining vignette from Cool Hunter, (above left) is not only coveted by our creative director, Paige Loczi, but the superb mix and of color adds a unique charm—creating an environment full of life!

Black, White, and Bold Stripes

Black and white and bold all over.  Stripes are making a major comeback, though they only hibernated for a couple seasons.  Lines and patterns such as these are fun and make for dramatic effect—adding optical illusions where the appearance of open space is desired. The bathroom design (above left) was featured in the California Home and Design’s Small Space Big Style editorial. Speaking of which, would it be alright to mention that LOCZIdesign is a finalist for the CH+D’s 2013 reader’s choice room of the year awards? It’s true! The award ceremony takes place February 8th. We’ll be sure to let you know if and when we win. (((grinning)))

All That Shimmers Is Gold

If you’re into Pinterest, then you’ll love our designer Cristina Zuccatosta‘s pinboards.  One of her pins from a gold kitchen designed by Jean Louis Deniot, was a perfect example of this year’s trend: gold! Last fall, our entire firm took the afternoon off to visit the Jean-Paul Gaultier exhibit at the de Young Museum.  Let’s just say it was a reminder that fashion, amongst all its pros and cons, is by far one of the most elaborate vessels of creativity!  And no one knows creativity more than Jean-Paul Gaultier, who’s couture dress (above left) in his haute couture 2013 runway show, is shockingly similar to the aesthetic of the LOCZIdesign dining room (above, right). We chose the center piece, a stunner from last year’s ICFF, from Gabriel Scott and the chandeliers from Tom Dixon to complete the space.  Keep an eye out in our portfolio for a full photo essay of this new remodel.

Fashion and Interior Meet in Geometry

It’s as simple as geometry.  Not only mathematicians are drawn to it’s dramatic lines and shapes. If you take a look back, the mod style of the 50′s and 60′s where streets and homes were filled with tables, dresses, and architecture payed homage to a branch of mathematics explaining the intrigue of shape, size, figures, and the properties of space. Ray Eames may have single-handedly started the trend with an early prototype version of “The Toy” in 1951. Or maybe it was the architectural landmark of The Eames House in Los Angeles. Either way, the flowing look (above left) from designer Felipe Oliveira Baptista and the structured outfit (above right) featuring Helmut Lang, are absolutely stunning examples of where geometry has taken us.

Our love for design is what keeps our firm fresh, relevant and willing to push boundaries. And though we always keep our client’s personal style in mind, we remember that the most important element of our work is celebrating the artistic expression in you—whatever that might be!

The post 2013 Interior Design and Runway Trends in Perfect Harmony appeared first on LOCZIdesign.