Trend of the Week: Cindy Says…Hail to the Humble!
Beauty out of little or nothing? Editor in chief Cindy Allen attests that creativity can be spun from even the humblest of materials. From cardboard/glass/cotton rope…anything goes! She’s selected five inspirations to help get you going. For more… head to her Instagram (@thecindygram) and go forth and DESIGN!
1. HAND BLOWN BEAUTIES: Turkish firm Demirden Design suspended painted iron étagères filled with hand-blown orbs—some tinted, most simply colorless—to delineate zones that help showcase the different style of glass for manufacturer, Pasabahçe, in their Istanbul store. Photography by Ibrahim Özbunar.
2. CREATIVITY WITH LEGS: At first glance…this looks like a close up of a cell or some form of scientific matter through a microscope. But what is it really? South African artist Turiya Magadlela creates abstract compositions by cutting, stitching, folding, and stretching unusual artistic materials like ripped panty-hose across frames…amazing! She uses these everyday materials and takes them far and away from the average. Turiya’s work is inspired by women, motherhood, and black South African history. She even creates poems to follow alongside the works. Photography courtesy of Blank Projects, Cape Town.
3. (K)NOT EASY: Windy Chien always jokes she had three lives: Running a rad record store in San Francisco, working on the team creating Apple’s iTunes and App Store businesses, and finally…. creating art with rope, from giant, larger-than-life installations that dominate the space, to becoming an Instagram sensation through learning one knot-a-day for a whole year… 365 KNOTS! This project in particular became the Year of Knots, and has just finished another with Facebook. She is a real inspiration, for not only taking a big risk, to follow her true path, but utilizing her past experiences to create a brand in almost the snap of her fingers, or the twist of a knot. Photography: Molly Decoudreaux; Joel Wanek; Samantha Altieri.
4. I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S… PAPER? What happens when you put 12,000 linear feet of cardboard paper rolls into a café? You get the Happier Café by J.C. Architecture, a 2016 Best of Year winner for budget. Modeled on the creative spirit of a child, a café where everything is made of paper lets your imagination run wild so you can draw, draw, draw! Photography by Zach Hone.
5. CRAFTY SIDE: Makers, UNITE! Gensler designed this Dumbo, Brooklyn, beauty… gathering local makers to help create the space’s aesthetic, with almost every piece of furniture and light fixture crafted by one of 10 local studios. Colorful canopies were made of paper that they found, Macramé from simple rope brilliantly lights up the walls…Just a few of the crazy things that can come from your own two hands! Photography by Garrett Rowland.
