Gressco children's furniture offers playful learning

The bright colors and fun designs caught my eye from across the room. So I had to stop and see what was new in children's commercial furniture. Although Gressco markets to the commercial sector, so many products would be a big hit in residential playrooms. Their interactive play systems will keep kids busy for hours stimulating their minds and increasing eye-hand coordination. Gressco is know for their high quality, colorful and kid-friendly library and classroom furniture, seating and tables, lofts and play walls, and storage systems. Check out their website, http://www.gressco.com/ for more information.

Heller's ergoErgo chair offers health benefits and fun

For fun and fitness, try the ergoErgo chair designed by Alan Heller, Heller, Inc.,
http://www.ergoergo.com/. This accordian looking UV-stable recyclable technopolymer plastic chair is made with a gas injection molding process to give it stability. As a UV-resistant product, it can be used indoors or outdoors.

ErgoErgo is health inspired and can be used to strengthen core muscles, making it a useful chair for persons with back issues. An additional benefit is balance training and it keeps the blood flowing improving circulation.

ErgoErgo reminds me of the 1977 version of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh when Tigger says of himself, "They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun." How exciting it would be to bounce, trounce, flounce, and pounce throughout the day while sitting on this fun chair? I have an accordian type office chair in my home that I love. I don't sit in the chair all day but I have a lot of fun on it.

Alan Heller says, "It is a good design at an affordable price." ErgoErgo is available in four sizes, including a children's version. The three adult sizes come in warm red, black, white, and grey. Children's chairs come in the same four colors with additional red and yellow colors. More colors are planned for production. Adult chairs retail for $100 and children's chairs retail for $75. They should be available for purchase on their website in mid-July.

Visit http://www.helleronline.com/ to see other products from Heller, Inc. Heller has worked with leaders in design and architecture, such as Mario Bellini, Frank Gehry, Lella and Massimo Vignelli, Vico Magistretti, Studio 65, William Sawaya, and Studio De Pas: Donato D'Urbino and Paolo Lomazzi to produce furniture.

View, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzH5Mg5KYJk for video of people having fun on ergoErgo.

Sparks of excitement flew at Neocon during the premier of Sparkeology

A new furniture company, Sparkeology, introduced themselves to the world at Neocon. They caught a lot of attention with their fun, colorful, interactive showroom. The chalkboard wall was filled with well-wishes from Neocon attendees. Their Press Release states the Michigan based company is a collaborative venture between The Worden Company, a library furniture maker, Via Design, an architecture nad design firm, Viable, Via's sister company, and Square One Design, a graphic design firm. Together they introduced an initial nine products with more products planned for the future. The strong, lightweight, playful, and fun furniture is made to be used in the public spaces of libraries, higher education facilities, restaurants, or any lounges or lobbies where people get together to converse or work.

I flipped out when I saw how many things you can do with Flip. On top of being a table, stool, or book holder, Flip can be used right side up, up side down, or however you want it to stand. I like the horizontal lines and sparkeology star design. They give it a lot of character.


Al sits pretty in an upholstery, metal or wood finish. Al is available in both table and bar heights. His concave seat invites one to sit down and relax for a bit.




Ty, Ty-Pad, and Ben are coordinating units when "tied" together create a half-wall, pod, or a simple bench. Ty is a bookcase type of unit that can be lined up to divide a space or configured in stations. Ty's power hub makes it an attractive work station. Ty-Pad provides the seat back for Ben.



The sturdy steel legs and soft upholstery make Manny the ottoman a wonderful resting place to stretch out or sit on.




Pete and Stu are two hard-working tables. Pete, with a center base, is available in a circular, square, or rectangular shape and two different heights. Pete can be used with a resin top and can be ordered in a variety of base colors. Stu is a sturdy rectangular table supported by side legs. It is advertised to have an easy-sliding sled base. I don't remember seeing this at Neocon, the showroom was packed, but I think that the table top slides back and forth like a keyboard drawer that you can move to a desired position that is comfortable to work in.



Last but not least, there's Phil. A display cabinet that showcases monitors, collections, books, programs, graphic messages/images, or anything else you would like to display.

The exciting aspect of Sparkeology furniture is the unlimited number of configurations that can be made with the lightweight and easily movable pieces. See the website,
http://sparkeology.com/ for more information and look for more fun interchangeable products in the future.

Neocon forum discusses the future of design

On Monday, June 14th, IIDA, The International Interior Design Association, held a forum: Rethinking, Redefining, and Reinventing Our Work to discuss how designers can stay ahead of the game. Nine designers from all sectors of the design industry joined together to share advice on how to stay on top of the market. Main themes include

• communication including the use of social media (facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter)
• visionary attitude, create a concept and develop the means to carryout that concept
• creator of change
• know regulations and standards, rules and guidelines
• global thinking
• differentiate yourself

It was interesting to hear designers from government, education, corporate, healthcare and other designers throughout the U.S. share their strategies as they face change in their workplaces. Their inspiring and encouraging attitudes helped kick-start a successful Neocon.

Luxo introduces new energy-efficient and ergonomic lighting solutions

Luxo, a leader in the luminaire business, is committed to providing the best design, functionality, durability, and energy efficiency of lighting to the professional market. With many years of researching Light Emitting Diodes (LED), Luxo is a trusted source of these latest light sources.

Ovelo, designed by Stephan Copeland, is a fabulous new task light perfect for the modern office. The donut shape is whimsical and attention-getting but, better than that, Ovelo is a user-friendly, energy efficient task light. With four dimmable LED lights, it's life span is 45,000 hours! One of it's special features is a timer that turns the light off after eight hours. I love that feature!

Designer Vesa Honkonen is responsible for two new interior lighting options. Levit is a sleek sophisticated looking free standing energy efficient luminaire available with a single or double head (see example to right). Both flourescent or LED dimmable lighting is available on the Levit.


Honkonen's second new design is the Reed single pendant with a T-5 lamp, silver reflectors and high quality optics. Dimming lights, sensors, and LED emergency lights are available. The Luxo website, http://www.luxo.com/, calls this "slim and elegant." I would not dispute that, however, I am confused by other pictures describing this light that, look to me like another light(see example below).

Luxo also introduced a bed head luminaire for the medical community. Luxo designed the LE-35 with functionality, user-friendliness, and energy efficiency in mind. The LE-35 is one of many Luxo products available with a spring balanced arm.

In addition, Luxo updated many of their luminaires with LED lighting. I saw some of their high quality products on display at Neocon. I was impressed. I particularly love the shape and overall look of the Ovelo task lamp.

Sensitile Systems sharpen visual senses with playful light panels and surfaces

Lighting is one on my favorite design applications. Sensitile Systems has a wonderful selection of panels and concrete slabs/tiles with a variety of creative lighting. Interactive light panels in the Scintilla product (shown in the picture to the right) respond to movement and creates shadows in the light conducting pathways. This is an especially fun product for children and it has been used in children's hospitals. It reminds me of the tubes I've seen in the childens' museums where you push your hand or face on one side and the image appears on the other side.
Sensitile System products are visually dynamic using lighting in creative ways. New for 2010 is the Reflections light reflecting panels made of acrylic resin with an opaque mirrored backing. The shimmering light reflection is a particularly stunning application for signage. Reflections panels can also be used for feature walls, screens, or any vertical/horizontal surface. Reflections comes in six patterns and 500 color options. Visit http://www.sensitile.com for more information on creative wall lighting.

Use Canvas Press as a stunning visual in your design

Canvas Press, my first stop at Neocon on Monday morning, caught my eye from across the room with their brightly colored eye popping wall displays. New this year is wall covering allowing for large applications of wall art. This is a wonderful option for two-story walls where smaller artwork is lost. Custom design the wallpaper with your own photos or pick your favorite from their many stock photos. Eye-catching metallic enriched beads in their "Bling!" collection help create a sophisticated look for special projects or allow for a unique touch for themed projects like, "Under the Sea." Wallpaper can be applied with traditional wallpaper paste or with their new terralon adhesive that is easy to remove and non-damaging. I just love the large artwork and bright colors. The quality is impressive and it is such a fun design tool to take your own photos and display them like professional artwork. Check out their web-site, http://www.canvaspress.com/ for more information.