Poppy(shop) June 4-6!

It is my distinct pleasure to (help) announce the upcoming, up and coming, pop up shop, Poppyshop! which boasts "a mix of vintage and handmade finds, new and mid-century furniture, art and home accessories". The first run will be in Oakland CA in less than 10 days, and will include paintings from Alison Kendall, furniture from Thomas Wold, works by Marina Luz, and felted housewares from Papaver Vert, among many others. Hello lover!

Come check it out Friday through Sunday, June 4-6, from 11am-6pm @ 3217 Lakeshore Ave in Oakland. In the meantime you can find them on Facebook. I believe this store will be a nice segue to Indie Mart on Sunday.

Ana Kraš

Serbian designer Ana Kraš has created a wonderful body of furnishings that includes lamps, chairs, side tables, and a clothing rack. Her designs contemplate how we use the functional objects in our home, and bring the handmade and well-crafted front and center. My personal favorites include the Ksilofon, a simple construction clothing rack of understated elegance that blatantly thumbs fellow contemporaries of the ersatz plastic variety, and the Bonbon lamp series comprised of colorful yarns manually knitted over steel wire frames. Kraš most recently showed at this year's Salone Satellite, part of the Milan furniture fair dedicated to new and emerging designers. [via Design Klub]

Studio Pepe Heykoop: Brick Series

Speaking of forward chandelier shapes, check out the Brick Series by Dutch artist Pepe Heykoop, composed of wooden children's blocks. The series originated as a exploratory reaction to a chair drawing made by James Gulliver Hancock (above). FURNISM will soon produce and manufacture the chair, an exercise in "extreme seating" no doubt.

Studiomama: Branch Out

Using a 3D scanner and 3D software, Nina Tolstrup of London-based Studiomama captured and digitally manipulated real branches into rapid prototypes, and finally cast branches. These cast pieces were then used as connectors between the fallen branches to make basic furniture like trestles, table frames, stools and coat stands. My personal recommendation: a branch chandelier. [via Design Klub]

Simple Home by Mark and Sally Bailey

Simple Home is the new book (the first one being Recycled Home) by Mark and Sally Bailey of destination home-ware store Baileys. The sparse, rustic interiors are beautifully captured by photographer Debi Treloar — be sure to check out her website for more stunning images. [via Pacha Design, by way of Dress Design Decor]

Hindsvik

Daniel and Valeria are a young couple who run an online vintage store called Hindsvik. They sell more than furniture (I just have a thing for chairs), including home decor and lighting, but it was this 1960s map desk that first swept me off my feet. Check out their Etsy for purchase (based in Canada). [via What Katie Finds]

Brothers Dressler

Canadian twin woodworkers Jason and Lars Dressler are the Brothers Dressler, a custom furniture company dedicated to using salvaged and upcycled materials with an heirloom design objective. The craftsman pieces are truly beautiful, and no scrap from their creation goes unused. "Wasting material is taboo to us and we believe that with a little creative thinking much of our potential waste can be repurposed into useful and beautiful objects." The brothers turn the left over off-cut material from their furniture series into handcrafted jewelry and children's toys. Simply fabulous. [via Reuben Miller]

For a great interview with Saul Griffith — the man who coined the term heirloom design — check out the winter 2010 issue of GOOD, Slow Down.

The Lesters Store Wrap-Up

Congratulations to Ali, Megan, Morgana, Clare, Jessica, Amber, and Ray! Be sure to keep up with The Lesters Store folks in the new year.

Bokja

I feel like I've been seeing Bokja everywhere, but to be fair, it popped back into my view at JuBella. Beirut based design partners Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri started Bokja in 2000. They employ 10 full time artisans in addition to collaborating with local craftsmen. Thus their textiles are regionally specific and, lets face it, a white room's raison d'être. It's so haute-bohemian that the buying celebrity A-list is outstepping Bokja's bold pattern in the press. Still, for those of us who love rich ornamentation, these textiles are the stuff of dreams.

PunkAlive: Get Closer to Nature

Sustainability? Reclaimed wood? Elegant design reflecting the unspoiled beauty of the Punkaharju countryside? Yes Please. Finland based furniture company PunkAlive sports a rockin' collection of chairs, tables and storage units, "all crafted from wood collected within a hundred kilometers of their factory. The pieces are made from scraps of Kerto, a laminated spruce veneer manufactured by Finnforest."
[via Designklub. More at INHABITAT]