Munich’s Valencia Store by Dear Design

Barcelona-based design firm Dear Design, along with leading Spanish fashion and sport footwear company Munich, have recently collaborated on an innovative retail arena for the Calle Jorge Juan neighborhood of Valencia, Spain. For Munich’s second Valencia store, Dear Design has constructed a slick stadium space to exhibit each season’s latest line. The interior resembles futuristic scaffolding, with Munich’s representative “X” trademark themed throughout. If you’re ever in the area, it’s definitely worth a pass-through.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

State of the Obvious by Mash Creative

UK design firm Mash Creative has created a series of objects — State of the Obvious (S/O/T/O) — in which each item’s design is a description. Consisting of tote bags, notebooks, shirts, mugs and posters, each product defines its own brand.

They explain that these designs are the result of consumerism in our current society: “With consumerism at an all time high and brand image playing an ever more important role in consumers buying choices, we felt an overwhelming desire to challenge what has become ‘The Norm’.”

S/O/T/O is available to buy from Magma Books, Counter-Objects, and Blanka.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

Photography Studio in Colorado by Nathan Jenkins Studio

Architect Nathan Jenkins converted an old Masonic temple into a light-filled and functional photography studio in Denver, Colorado. The new building uses the old one’s original footprint but with the addition of a modern entrance and an expanse of glass.

From the architect:

With the intent being to minimize the construction waste and disposal of building materials, a substantial portion of the original building materials were salvaged and sold on Craigslist. Left with a hallow box of approximately 18′ x 86′, the first move was to bring the natural light back into what had become a dark and bad spirited place. A series of three 10′ x 10′ openings was introduced to the north side and several simple lines were drawn to contemporize the otherwise vanilla painted concrete block exterior. The northeast corner was lifted to exaggerate the natural perspective drawn from the street and the once asphalt lot adjacent to the building will be left for landscape and a private park.

Before:

Architects: Nathan Jenkins Studio, LLC
Location: Washington Park neighborhood in Denver, Colorado, 80210
Area: 1800 square feet
Materials: Ipe wood, glass, steel, stucco
Photos: Andrew Clark, Trevor Brown, Paul Winner

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

Friday Five with Scott Wilson

Scott Wilson, founder of Chicago-based design studio MINIMAL, is an accomplished designer and former Global Creative Director at Nike. Over his eighteen year career Wilson has lead design organizations such as IDEO, Thomson Consumer Electronics, Fortune Brands, and Motorola. Most recently, Wilson and MINIMAL have garnered much acclaim for their TikTok + LunaTik iPod Nano Watch Kits, which shattered records to become the highest funded project in the history of Kickstarter.com, a crowd-funding platform for creative projects. Other recent design collaborations include Microsoft’s Xbox 360 + Kinect Sensor, Dell’s Venue Pro Smartphone and the SW1 Conference/Lounge Collection for Coalesse, which we checked out at NeoCon 2010 and it was pretty sweet. An extensive 45-piece collection, the SW1 rethinks the conference setting and the notion of live/work. Supporting more social engagements and informal behaviors, the collection promotes a relaxed “lean back” ergonomic attitude through its physical proportions, materials and composition.

Five favorites…

1. Muji aluminum card case
I have used this card case as a wallet for the last 10 years, and I can’t part with it. Just love the fixed size and that it never expands, as well as the way the aluminum has patinaed over the decade.

2. Our roof deck
Love hanging out on our roof deck with friends and family for the few nice months we have in Chicago. It’s essential to have accessible outdoor spaces like this in the city.

3. Nau Clothing
Perfect blend of performance, aesthetic and flexibility. It’s rare that I don’t have at least one piece of Nau on my body. Their materials and cuts are ideal for urban-outdoor climates like Chicago, New York, Seattle and Portland blending protection with refined minimalism.

4. Shade Shade by Jurgen Bey for Moooi
Long time favorite of mine and have it hanging in my studio. Never get bored of the transformation that a simple material idea can have. Love the idea of taking an old irrelevant chandelier and giving it a second modern life.

5. Extremis Qrater
Always liked the simply execution and use of materials from Dirk Wynants at Extremis. The Qrater fire dish is made from weathered steel, which allows it to form a protective rust the moment it is taken out of the box. Many of Wynants ideas center around fun and togetherness but with an unexpected, refined twist.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

iPhone 4 Griptape

SlickWraps Board Series is a laser-cut skateboard grip tape for your iPhone 4 combined with a wood grain vinyl to mimic a skateboard. Now, all you need are wheels!

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

The Shade Store Giveaway

The following post was sponsored by The Shade Store. Our sponsors are hand-picked by the Design Milk team because they represent the best in design.

Pohang Panel System in bronze, available at The Shade Store

In your comments below, tell us which of our exclusive products you’ll mix and match and you could win a $500 gift card from us. For example, you could say: “I’d go for DwellStudio Roman Shades + Custom Throw Pillows. I’d love to add more pattern to my bedroom.”

Whether you are in the midst of a full renovation or just sprucing up your place, we make custom simple with free samples, free shipping and free measuring. Shop window treatments, accessories and designer hardware at The Shade Store. Mix on.

Don’t miss a beat, follow The Shade Store on Twitter @theshadestore and Facebook.

Rules: See above for entry details. Contest is open to US residents only. One entry per person. Contest runs from January 10, 2011 to January 14, 2011. We will choose a winner at random.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

Soap Flakes by Nathalie Staempfli

Just discovered this via Swissmiss and it is genius: created by Swiss designer Nathalie Staempfli, these two soap dispensers shave bars of soap into flakes so you don’t use more than you need and bonus: you don’t ever need to touch the bar of soap!

The hand-held one is like a soap pepper mill.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

Destination Design: Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Barcelona

Luxury hotel chain Mandarin Oriental opened the doors of a new hotel in Barcelona, Spain in 2010 with interiors by Patricia Urquiola and architecture by Carlos Ferrater and Juan Trias de Bes. Yes, I know — another hotel with interiors by Urquiola, but what can I say? I think she does good work. Now, if every hotel starts using her to design their interiors we might run into a problem, but for now Urquiola’s interior design is still much of a novelty.

Located on the stylish street Passeig de Gràcia, just minutes from landmarks like Las Ramblas and Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló, the hotel fits right in with Barcelona’s rich history of architecture and avant-garde design. Featuring custom designs and Urquiola’s Axor collection throughout, the hotel was named the best hotel project of 2010 by Interior Design magazine.

I don’t often think of work by Uquiola as minimalist, but the furnishings, decor and rooms are sparsely elegant, contrasting to what you might see of Urquiola’s other hotel interiors. I especially enjoy the outdoorsy, tropical feeling of the lounge and restaurant, dotted with plants and situated underneath a lattice canopy (pictured above).

Photos courtesy of the Mandarin Oriental.

Are you packed yet?

What: Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Where: Passeig de Gràcia, 38-40, 08007 Barcelona, Spain (map it)
How much: Starting at ~$400 per night
Highlights: The hotel has 88 rooms and 10 suites, full-service spa (with its own pool), rooftop terrace, lush gardens in the city. The hotel has 5 bars and restaurants to choose from specializing in Catalan cuisine, one of which is right next to the lengthy pool.
Design draw: Hotel interiors designed by Patricia Urquiola featuring her Axor collection, along with architects Carlos Ferrater and Juan Trias de Bes
Book it: mandarinoriental.com/barcelona/

Go virtually on vacation with more design destinations right here.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---

Studio Project Concept One

Studio Project Concept One is a new line of modern children’s furniture. Their first pieces include a project table and stools. Each piece is made of Baltic Birch Multi-ply with hand laid Walnut veneer faces and a Formica® laminated table. The table has a white top and the stool seats are available in five fun colors.

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

The Rainbow House

Ab Rogers Design — in collaboration with DA.Studio — created the Rainbow House, a living piece of art. This funhouse-meets-home is situated on a busy street, so when you enter it offers a magical escape from the hustle and bustle of reality.

Highlights include a rotating circular bed in the master bedroom, centralized rainbow spiral staircase spotlighted by a skylight, trap door to a slide that brings you down into the living room, and an oversized 26″ x 40″ piazza living area.

Watch the video:

[via Plastolux]

Discover more great design by following Design Milk on Twitter and Facebook!

---