So much to tell...

The new ABLE And BAKER design studio is up and running in Ventura, and we've already managed to crank out several cool projects, with several more on the horizon.

We've had more work than expected, and haven't had time to work on our little art/furniture gallery. As a result, we're postponing the opening date to mid October. When we pick a real date, we'll buy a case of the finest Charles Shaw and let you know.

In an effort to get more of my personal creations out there, I've been working evenings and weekends (which is pretty much my M.O. anyway). I recently whipped out this cool table.

I'm a big fan of institutional furniture, which is typically built to take some abuse. This table includes some classic elements from Ernie Pyle Elementary School classroom furniture, including high-density 13 ply maple, high-pressure laminate table top, and steel tubing. Of course, there's more to it, including the obvious connections to mid-century modern, and sci-fi design. The sci-fi influence is really a result of looking to the future of design, rather than trying to capture elements of sci-fi specifically.

"Would you put these two beavers in motion?"

I don't know a lot about Roosevelt's WPA program but it sure seems cool.

This past Saturday we did one of those things you plan on doing before you move, but never do. There's a million great things to see in the Bay Area, but as permanent residents, we've barely taken the time to be tourists. This weekend we finally hit Coit Tower. I really got into the murals in the lobby. It took 26 artists 6 months. I like how consistent their work is, yet it's easy to see that the work was created by different artists. Different brush strokes, different line styles, differently shaped faces.

In one of the little paragraphs that described the history of the work, they mentioned that some of the work had to be changed because of some potentially pro-communist imagery.

It seems so funny to think of those times. Those cold war James Bond & various war movies where the Commies were our enemies. There should be a VH1 special - "The Commies. Where are they now?". I guess they traded in those big furry hats for turbans.

It's nice that we haven't had to face more than one major enemy at a time in the last 60 years. We're lucky the Taliban & the communists never hooked up.

Anyhow, you should check out the 2000 Tim Robbins film "Cradle Will Rock". It's a great film, and a good commentary on how our fear of the Red Scare affected the WPA Theatre Project, as well as Diego Rivera's mural in Rockefeller Center.

Ryan's Yo-Yo's

I've known Ryan Williams 15 years or so, from my Fresno California days. A couple of months ago, when we came over to his house to hang out, he said, excitedly, "I've got something to show you."
He ducked into the hall, but I could still hear him talking, "For years I've been meaning to show you these, and every time you come over, before you show up, I try to remember to bring them out..."

Yo-Yo's.


So here's the story...in brief.
When Ryan was a (younger) boy, he spent a lot of time hanging out with his Grandpa, Walter Cull.

As I remember the story, Ryan and his grandfather were in a toy store one day when young Ryan found a Yo-Yo. His grandfather, dis-satisfied with the plastic yo-yo's quality said he could make a better one, and so he did.

And then another and another.

He collected exotic woods, and created one unique design after another. He made them so well that he began to sell them, and he sold quite a few. Each yo-yo he sold included a little booklet describing the various exotic woods used for making them. But here's the coolest part - He made 2 of every design ; One to sell and one for Ryan.

Now Ryan has this awesome collection.

Here's a full page article from the Modesto Bee, April 20th, 1987, about Ryan, and his Grandfather.
"The designs emerge after he laminates small pieces of wood into a block, then cuts the yo-yo spools on the lathe in his garage shop."

The fun continues with Ryan and Remy.

Average vs. Half-ass vs. Bad-ass

I'm so sick of average stuff. It's everywhere. Particularly architecture. I was at the Dwell On Design show at the LA Convention Center last Friday. There were a couple of cool things (I'll post them later, cuz they deserve it), but for the most part, nothing mind-blowing. But dammit, I'm ready to get my mind blown!
I mean...I get it. There are certain inevitable constraints. The number one constraint is typically budget. I'm familiar with that one. If I had an unlimited budget I'd....well...you'll see.
And the half-ass sucks too. Half-ass is the result of average designers trying to be bad-ass. Jeez this sounds critical and egotistical... but how 'bout this - Anyone wanna take me on? Let's get out the pencil & paper, clay, Legos, papier mache, Lincoln Logs, 2x4's....or lets just grab a stick and find some wet sand and see who can come up with what. I mean, it's not like this is a new idea. Most contemporary designers can't keep up with the Egyptians or Greeks. I'm not saying there isn't any cool stuff out there. There is. And it's MIND BLOWING! But it's rare. And it's the exception to the rule.
Think about it this way: When you're driving around (or riding) take a look at all of the stuff you pass....all of the objects. Take a look at the cars, the mailboxes, the landscaping, but mostly the buildings. There's so many of them. They're everywhere! Everybody's got at least one, but how many of them would qualify as bad-ass? Not enough. That's how many.
Well, anyhow...if you need some examples, here's a guy I like - Art Dyson. There's others of course, but he's the first that comes to mind.
Now let me get some dough together so I can go visually squash some fools.

This-Into-That Stepladder

I was talking with Jim of This Into That (one of our neighbors at the Sawtooth building in Berkeley), and the subject of my stepladder project came up. He invited me into his studio and showed me his most recent acquisition: A stepladder.
I was immediately jealous, and told him that I wish he hadn't shown it to me. Oh well.

Pretty nice, huh?

If you find yourself at the Sawtooth (Kawneer) building on 8th & Dwight some time, stop in and give Jim a visit. His stuff is great.

Jean Prouve Inspired Stepladder

Jonathan Taylor is the designer for one of my current clients in San Francisco. They're having me create all kinds of interesting stuff, and I'm really enjoying working with them. Their latest request is for a rolling stepladder, based on this 1951 design from Jean Prouve. Although many of Jean Prouve's pieces have been mass produced, there doesn't seem to be any reproductions of the stepladder. Our version will differ in many ways. Not only do I want to avoid infringing on anyone else's stuff, but the overall dimensions of the original don't quite suit our client's needs.

Here is the original Jean Prouve Stepladder. After studying it carefully, I decided that it is a nearly perfect design. I rarely draw this conclusion when studying a piece, but when it's good, it's good. So where do we go from perfect? I'm not sure what the client will ultimately want, but I decided to head in a different direction, just to satisfy my own curiosity.

This is my favorite variation so far. It is somewhat inspired by Star Wars, but not really. One of the few things I thot I could actually improve was the shape of the grab rail. I think the original grab rail protrudes a little bit too far, so I held these rails a little closer to the piece. These images don't include wheels (I got lazy). Those who know me may find elements they might consider my "trademark" details, but I won't point them out.

This elevation view shows the streamlined grab rail. Both the grab rail, and the back of the stair treads hold a vertical line.

Here's the cool, and completely superfluous tread detail from the top. The top tread is rectangular, but as they go down, each tread gets deeper, with a graduating arc. The actual standing area remains the same all the way down, but you get this neat effect at the back, which reminds me of some kind of cooling fin, or exoskeleton.

I took the ladder to my Uncle George, who is the retired master fabricator of the Ganshorn family. He liked the original Prouve better than my variations. A practical man, he thot I was "some kind of jack ass" for trying to complicate things "with all those extra curves and corners!" It's hard to argue with practicality.

This week on HOW ITS MADE: Airstream Kitchens

Our Airstream client wanted a minimal place to prepare food. We gave him a small convection oven (microwaves just don't make good food) a fridge with separate freezer, and one of those water boiling electric teapots.
In the following photos, the bulk of the cabinetry is complete, so it's mostly just pictures of us applying the Formica tops.

I doubled up layers of ply, to get a nice 1-1/2" countertop thickness. I created the curves using different types of moulding. The white part is a pretty standard door casing. Clever.

Josh Ganshorn and Tom Brown. A winning team. In this photo, Josh is trying to burn Toms hand.

I don't know if this looks easy or not, but It's really a pain bending this stuff and making it stick correctly.

The final touch, the standard plastic trailer molding from Vintage Trailer Supply.

The finished bench, ready to install. What some people don't realize is that beyond the obvious benefits of a bench, it's really just a way to hide the wheel wells. Hence, the shallow depth in the lower portion. I tried to make the most out of every square inch, so I created the small but deep cubbies for books and sketch pads. The owner is an artist, after all.

The morning after drill. Tom and Josh load in the pieces. I think Andrew Benson is around here somewhere.

....And Voila. Ready for appliances. Notice the small opening where the fridge goes (on the right). It's the service access for the hot water heater.

The semi-symmetrical layout turned out pretty good. All these curves are sexy (and a pain-in-the-ass to create).