Dwell On Design Also Happening This Weekend

In addition to the 6th annual CA Boom design show in Los Angeles, Dwell On Design is also happening this weekend. Lots to do!

The West Coast's Largest Modern Design Event.
Friday 26, Saturday 27, Sunday 28 June. Los Angeles Convention Center.


ON STAGE Design conference, continuing education classes for design pros, round-the-clock seminars for design seeking consumers.



EXHIBITION Prefab Homes, Outdoor, Food + Wine, Kitchen + Bath, Furniture + Accessories, Energy + Solar, Design Materials, Modern Family, Modern Lifestyle, Design Technology.

HOME TOURS Tour some of LA’s most modern and livable homes.

SPECIAL EVENTS Restaurant Design Awards, Film screenings.

learn more about it here.

CA Boom Show in New Venue This Year

CA Boom Design Show #6 - 2009

The CA Boom Show (www.caboomshow.com) 2009 takes place Friday, June 26 through Sunday, June 28 in the former Robinsons flagship department store on the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards in Beverly Hills, Calif.

A mix of contemporary & modern design incubating companies and products making their debuts, the show draws both the design trade and design savvy consumer. CA Boom combines everything relating to modern design under one roof, includes shuttle tours to never-before seen, stunning architecture in the Los Angeles area.

Exhibit Admission is $20 per day in advance or $25 at the door, which includes panel discussions. Sunday’s “The Homes of the Hollywood Hills” tour costs $75 and includes exhibit hall admission.

A Stahl House Fundraising tour includes special twilight tours of the famous Stahl House (Case Study House #22), and takes place on Friday and Saturday from the exhibit hall for $65. Each ticket contributes to the historic home’s preservation.


above: Julius Shulman's famous photo of the Stahl house

Sunday’s “Homes of Beverly Hills” tour costs $75 and includes exhibit hall admission. Special twilight tours of the famous Stahl House (Case Study House #22), and takes place on Friday and Saturday from the exhibit hall for $65, which includes a $25 contribution to the historic home’s preservation.

The Stahl House by Pierre Koenig:



Other homes on tour at CA Boom:




New Venue: Former Robinsons Flagship Department Store - Beverly Hills, CA (9900 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210)

2009 Dates: Friday June 26 to June 28

The show has grown exponentially in its complexity and “hipness,” combining everything relating to modern design under one roof, including shuttle tours to never-before seen, stunning architecture in the Los Angeles area. This season’s impressive line-up will feature domestic and international designers, furniture and home manufacturers and architects.

Who attends CA Boom?
* 58% Design Trade / 42% Design Savvy Consumers
* Architects, Interior Designers & Hospitality Designers
* Residential & Commercial Developers
* Contemporary Gift & Furnishing Retailers
* Lifestyle & Design Trade Media
* Entrepreneurs
* Savvy Design Consumers

Mr. Jones Watches: Telling Time With 'Tude.

We expect watches to tell us the time, but to tell us whether to say 'yes' or 'no'?

Whether or not we are loved and whether or not we are blessed?

These witty wristwatches from mr. jones (aka Crispin Jones) do exactly that and more.



My personal favorite is the "Accurate" (special edition shown above) which holds no punches by reminding us with every glance at the face that time is running out.




Mr. Jones Watches is the new cult watch brand from London with all the designs by Crispin Jones. The watches (and the packaging) are designed with modern looking graphics and fun uses of color without being 'too novelty'. The combination of clever kinetic movements or sayings on the face and hands, stainless steel cases and contrast stitched leather bands (often in 2 colors) make them unique to any other brand. They are genuine indie products entirely conceived and executed following a singular vision. The watches are witty, sassy and silly... and affordable at average price of $130.00 USD

The full line includes two 'special edition' watches, three 'limited edition' watches (numbered to 100 each) and a permanent collection of five styles:

Special Editions

The Accurate:

The New Decider:


Limited Editions


Loves Me, Loves Me Not (words alternate between reading 'loves me' and 'loves me not' each second):

The Watcher (eyes on either side of the face move left and right):

The Future: (words in windows read 'is' and then 'now' alternating with every second)


Permanent Collection


The Accurate:

The Average Day:

The Mantra: (positive reads "you're blessed" and negative reads "no chance" which alternates every second)

Decider (the white words on red say 'yes' and on the black say 'no')

The New Decider: (word in bubble alternates between yes in green and no in red with every tick of the secondhand)


The Packaging

The packaging below features either artwork by illustrator Nadine Faye James:

or by illustrator Kate Street



Mr. Jones himself, Crispin Jones:


"today everyone has a mobile phone to do the really functional timekeeping, this means that the wristwatch is free to do something a bit different. the watches i design reflect and comment on society, both on the role that time plays in all our lives and also on the social impact of technology. of course because i would like people to wear these watches, i also work very hard to make them beautiful objects in their own right." - Crispin Jones about the design of his watches.

You can purchase all the mr. jones watches directly from the site. And yes, they ship worldwide!

Lego® Replicas Of Eames, Corbusier and Michelle Kaufmann Homes

above: left, the homes recreated in Legos; right, the original homes


The following amazing replicas of modern homes are not Lego® kits but the creations of various Lego® builders - artists, really. Very impressive in their detail, I wanted to show you the images compared with the original homes. Each of the originals (and the Lego® recreations) were designed and built by different individuals.

First off, the Charles and Ray Eames Case Study House #8, situated in the Pacific Palisades in Southern California built from 1945 to 1949:


above photo by Julius Shulman





Now, in Legos:
The Eames Case Study House #8 as recreated in Legos® by Stacy Sterling:




Interior details:



see more of Stacy Sterling's amazing Lego® creations here.

The Villa Savoye was designed by by Le Corbusier, is located in Poissy, France, and was constructed from 1928 to 1929:







above photos courtesy of greatbuildings.com

Now, in Legos:
From Brick Architect Matija Grguric, comes this great Lego® version:






interior and details:



see more of Matija Grguric's Lego® creations here.

Contemporary architect Michelle Kaufmann who specializes in pre-configured, pre fab and custom home designs created the mkSolaire®. "The Greenest Home in Chicago" was on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago as part of the exhibit "The Smart Home: Green + Wired".

The mkSolaire®:






see more and learn more about the mkSolaire® here.

Now, in Legos:
The Lego replica of Michelle Kaufmann's "Green" Solaire home was designed for the Smart Home: Green and Wired exhibit. This tiny replica is surprisingly true to the original, with it’s cement board and Ipe wood siding, glass doored garage, and even green roof.

The LegoSolaire: