Petits petits tresors

Gems of the city: Roomservice Design Gallery

Sometimes you find hidden gems in your own city, little treasures discovered walking the streets or surfing the web.

This is that has happened with Roomservice Design Gallery. Since 2007, Roomservice Design is a unique space dedicated to contemporary design at Barcelona, particulary Piet Hein Eek’s work. This gallery displays international designers’ pieces with a common philosophy based on the cult of craft design and sensitivity to different materials.

Piet Hein Eek (1967) studied industrial and furniture design at the Design Academy Eindhoven. He turned his attention to the reuse of materials from other furniture or objects in order to give them a second life.

Piet Statements:

“There are always miniature stories about the materials and the craftsmanship”

“A product should be sustainable in the sense that it’s constructed well and is aesthetically pleasing”

“What I like about recycled wood is that had already had a life before”

The photos of this post are from his children’s collection. Chairs, high chairs, tables, cribs…Do you remeber this rocking chair?

You must also look at his wallpaper collection. Really cool!

Psst: If you are coming to Barcelona these days, you can visit ZITTEN (To Sit) at Roomservice Design, a retrospective exhibition on the career of designer Piet Hein Eek through the chairs he created from 1980-2012.  It’s something you can not miss it! 

Exhibition “Zitten” by Piet Hein Eek

From 13 to 20 June

Venue: Roomservice Design Gallery (C. dels Àngels, 16, Barcelona)

Monapart Living

Often we look for cool, out-of-the-ordinary, and fun items for kids, getting away from the average plastic mass market stuff. Toys and stuff that inspire, amuse and excite our children.

We recently discovered Monapart Living, online home decor store. And we like their philosophy: seeking pragmatic design objects and timeless beauty. There is, behind each of them, a story of their creation, love for a job well done. 

Their  selection is especially careful for children and combines nice design with the duty of encouraging creativity and imagination. 

Here are just a few of our favorites:

PlayShapes by Miller Goodman

It is a modular set of preservative-free rubber wood with geometric shapes which you can arrange or stack to make hundreds of 3D creations, including animals, people, faces, vehicles, buildings and much more.

Harbour tugboat by Ogas Fabrik

When it comes to toys, there’s nothing like the classics: a ball, a jump rope, a deck of cards… or a wooden boat. Ogas Fabrik has been producing these 100% handmade beautiful boats since 1898, using local certified wood from sustainable forests, and employing solvent-free, water-resistant and environmentally friendly colors and lacquers. 

Wollen dolls by Hase Weiss

This woolen dolls by Hase Weiss exudes the love with which they were made, 100% handmade. You have 12 dolls to choose from (6 mr and 6 mrs). A doll is a playmate at a stage in life where it is important to unleash the imagination.

Speedster by Vilac

Replica of a solid wood race car, it has rounded corners, and a long lasting lacquered finish. Nice and well done, beyond a passing trend, and willing to stoically endure hours of play, whether you are 3 years old, or 33.

ShapeMaker by Miller Goodman is a set of 25 rubberwood dices of colorful geometric designs with which to spend hours and hours of fun creating hundreds of different compositions. 

Take a look to their website! Not just toys, we like this backpack too.

Minimum expression

Today we present to you 5 children’s rooms of pure lines, few decorative elements and restricted color palette.

Kid’s rooms simplified  to its minimum expression but plenty of beaty.

Via 1, 2,  3, 4, and 5

A little bit more cork, please

Silent, stable and safe

just seat and play

soft and resistant

innovative, vintage and sustanaible design

ideal for all ages…This is the cork!

1-Bééth by Seletti

2-Building Block by Korxx

3-Besta by Paula Corrales

4-Vintage backgammon game at Verabiola

 More about cork products here, here and here

Lunatiques: a family of chairs

A stool, a high chair, a bench, a chair and an armchair. 

Each one with its nickname and character, but with common characteristics (materials, color, rounded).

These are the Lunatiques by Helen and Julian, the two creators of the premier reg’art. Fun, clean and functional. We love it!

Which do you prefer?

Toru Fukuda: art inspires smiles

Art that inspires us, makes us think, makes us smile. 

Art that makes your day a bit brighter.

Today we bring you the work of Toru Fukuda. He specializes in illustration, character design, cartoon animation, and motion graphic for advertising.

Check out Toru’s blog and flickr to find more jolly illustrations.

And happy day!

My hair/Mi pelo/O meu cabelo

Do you remember “Atasco“ by Abel Jiménez? We also introduced you to another Jimenez’s venture, Paiorfa, a zine publishing project for children.

The new Paiorfa zine is out now! This is ”My hair” by Joana Rosa Bragança (available in Spanish, English and Portuguese).

The zines are black and white, handmade bound and edited from Valencia.

We really want to get our hands on!

My mom is  a plain by Yulya Aronova

The mothers  are able to do anything, and no matter if it is the most difficult thing in the world.

Today we love this wonderful short film.by Yulya Aronova.

Have a nice weekendend!

lötiekids SS13

We are loving the new lötiekids SS13 collection! 

As always, they present well designed garments, made on the finest cotton. 

Do you know they have 100% their products against carcinogenic and allergenic substances?

They take special care in the election of colors and prints.

This season they propose two new prints: sea star and kangaroos in two new colors coral and turquoise.

Aren’t they lovely?

After seeing this collection, we have already found the cutest dress and the perfect t-shirt for this summer.

Check out their web and tell us what is your favorite garment.