The DWR Champagne Cork Chair Contest Winners, Finalists and Honorable Mentions.

Congratulations to the winners of DWR's 2013 DWR Champagne Chair Contest. Reportedly choosing the top three was one of the toughest decisions the judges ever had to make in this contest. The judges DWR President and CEO John Edelman; COO John McPhee; VP of Merchandising Kari Woldum; and VP of Marketing and Creative Michael Sainato -- send their sincere appreciation to all of the entrants this year.

Instead of simply sending you toview the winners on their their blog (which is bizarrely narrow and small and makes it hard to see the images), I've enlarged them and included the finalists and honorable mentions for you.

First Place Winner:

$1,000 DWR Gift Card goes to Miwa F. for her "Rockin' Chaise." This design is truly masterful with a functional drink holder that moves. Our judges loved the innovation of this design using mid-century aestethics and were impressed with how the materials come together into one seamless piece.

Second Place Winner:

A $500 DWR Gift Card goes to Jeffery Molter who designed a modern folding chair as well as a case to store it in. Our judges were so impressed with this design and we cannot remember ever receiving anything like this before. Form meets funciton with this whimsical yet useful piece.

Third Place Winner:

A $250 DWR Gift Card goes to Aaron Padilla. Named "F8 Chaise," this is beautifully constructed, unique design. The underside of the seat is fully sculpted of cork and the the upholstery overlaying it is a foil basketweave. Thank you Aaron for this clean and well thought out design. We also loved the packaging it came in!

Finalists:
Wing Back, Designed by Kathryn Bachen:

Mantis Lounge, Designed by Billy Wages:

Rowan Rowan, Designed by Purin Phanichpant:

Champagne Chair, Designed by Willie and Tess:

The "O" Chair, Designed by Alfonso:

Champagne Chair, Designed by Alison Brummer:

Chateau Chair, Designed by Sawa Sakane:


The 7 Honorable Mentions
Mackwire, Designed by Devin Mack:

Circle Gets the Square, Designed by Catherine Choi:

Poltrona W., Designed by Mauricio Avilés del Río:

Champagne Twist, Designed by Dan Nawrocki:

Watch Your Step, Designed by Tony Abraham:

Royal Scrapenbaum, Designed by Dario Polaco:

Grape Divine, Designed by Tony Enn:


DWR would like to congratulate the winners and all of the contestants on their beautiful, innovative and functional designs this year. You can browse all 319 submissions here.

Drink Up and Start Designing. It's The DWR Champagne Chair Contest.

Once again, Design Within Reach has brought back their Champagne Chair contest. All you have to do is create an original miniature chair using only the foil, label, cage and cork from no more than two champagne bottles.


Info from their site:



A panel of DWR champagne and chair experts will judge the chairs, and three winners will receive a DWR Gift Card. The deadline for submissions is January 14.

To get inspired, here's a few of the past submissions from previous years.

Anna Uniezyski:

Alex Garzon:

Brandy Shih:

Emily Kann:

Erin Mitchen:

David Ethan Sanders:

Edward Cristma:

Gavri Slasky:

Isaac Krady:

Ivan Supraha:

Kalina Toffolo:

Lynne Mulvihill:

Monte Allen:

Phil Dwyer:

Tim Jacobsen:

Tony Nemyer:

Tracee Pickett:

You can see more finalists from their 2007 contest I covered here.

The contest began December 28th and you have until January 14th, so get on it! After you've designed your chair, feel free to share it on Instagram and Twitter with #dwrchampagnechair

images and info courtesy of DWR

Molly-Meg. Modern Design and Hip Furniture For Children.

Molly-Meg of the UK is a company that is dedicated to bringing the best of 20th century and present design into the world of children. They specialize in modern iconic and vintage furnishings in scaled down sizes, for the hippest of children and their design-loving parents.


above: amongst their offerings are child-sized Rietveld and Bertoia chairs.

The majority of the products are chairs, ranging from classic vintage Danish wood furnishings to mid-century molded fiberglass chairs. Scouring the globe for hard to locate items and furnishings ranging from the 1950s to the present, they also carry classic and vintage toys and various design objects and decor.

Here are some of their presently stocked items at the time this post was written:







Visit Molly-Meg, Design for Children to see more items and learn about their shipping policies.

There are other companies producing new miniature and scaled down versions of design classics, check out

Mature Style For Your Mini Me: Modern Furniture Design Classics for Kids

Alessandro Mendini's Nod To His Own Design: Proust Chair In Miniature

Based on the Italian designer's own 1978 Proust chair, Alessandro Mendini has created a series of 14 miniature ceramic versions in conjunction with SUPEREGO editions.

The original chair (source):
The Proust Armchair was first designed by Alessandro Mendini in 1978. This unique armchair represents the original meeting between handcraft and design, between classic and modern. It is part of Mendini's series "redesigns furniture". Believing that Modern Design had reached the end of its natural life and that designers could no longer create innovative designs, Mendini "redesigned" acknowledged classics. The Proust chair is inspired from the Louis XV style. Mendini was attempting to create a feel for the work of late XIX Century author Marcel Proust and used a style of chair of the period.


above: The Proust Armchair, now produced by Cappellini, is hand-carved on a hand-painted wooden frame, upholstered with fixed multicolor fabric matching the colours of the structure. This armchair is the re-edition of one of the historic pieces of contemporary Italian design. It is available in two multicolored versions.

Now, the new miniature ceramic versions:

Each miniature ceramic Proust chair measure 40cm high. The solid colors are limited to 55 of each, the three metallic versions are limited to 45 of each and the two pixel patterned versions are limited to 35 editions of each.

Solids:









Metallics:



Patterned:



The piece were shown at the Tingo Design Gallery in Milan, Italy during Salon del mobile. If you are interested in purchasing one, please contact the gallery.




About the artist:

Architect Alessandro Mendini was born in Milan in 1931. He directed the magazines Casabella, Modo and Domus. Monographs on his work and his projects with the Alchimia group have been published in different languages.

His focus is on objects, furniture, concept interiors, paintings, installations and architecture. International collaborations include Alessi, Philips, Cartier, Swatch and Hermès. Alessandro Mendini is a design and image consultant to many different kinds of companies, including ones in the Far East. He is an honorary member of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. In 1979 and 1981 he was awarded the Italian Compasso d’Oro of design; in France he carries the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres; he is the recipient of an honorary title from the Architectural League of New York and was also awarded an honorary doctorate degree from the Milan Polytechnic. At the Universität für angewandte Kunst in Vienna, Mendini worked as professor of design. His work is featured in many museums and private collections.

With his brother Francesco Mendini he opened Atelier Mendini in 1989, designing the Alessi factory in Omegna; the new Olympic pool in Trieste; a series of subway stops in Naples; the refurbishment of the Naples City Hall, the Byblos Art Hotel in Verona; the new Trend Group headquarters in Vicenza, Italy; a commemorative tower in Hiroshima, Japan; the Groninger Museum in Holland; a district of Lugano, Switzerland; the Madsack office building in Hanover, a commercial building in Lörrach, Germany and other buildings in Europe and the USA.

Now, I have a thing for chairs. If you do too, check out:
Artists Take A Seat: Various Paintings of Chairs By Contemporary Talents