design within reach?

quite often, people ask or complain that designer items (clothing, furniture, homes, anything) are ridiculously priced. when i worked on the purchasing of the spec'd furniture for office projects, i was so shocked to learn that $4000 for a table was a good price?!

today, i spent almost $700 on felt for the chair i'm making for the furniture studio. that's when i realize, it's the quality in good design that make designer items so NOT within reach. if I were to settle with industrial felt and forget about the flaring and shedding problems, i would've at least saved $250..but how could i?mass production could help cutting down the raw cost. but because of the limited demand, bulk pricing will not be available..and then it limits the designer's ability to experiment freely..

so next time, when you and i whine about how DWR is not so DWR..let's pause and observe the quality and concept of the object first. =)

500 color pencils

::500 color pencils::

sorry for the lack of updates! it would a lie if i said i saw/read/did nothing interesting since the last post, but school was/is/will be > me. ^^; the "social designer network", formerly "design 21", a non-profit organization founded by UNESCO and designated for design competitions that relate to social issues and opportunities, has opened up a video competition with the idea "good things come to those who wait". this reminds me of specht harpman did at the st. edwards university (austin texas). lets see if i could think of something interesting to enter the competition..keke =)

Tiffany & Company Gehry Jewelry Launch, Beverly Hills, CA, 2006 by Ball-Nogues Studio

vs. our project for the ben ball tech studio, ucla spring 09 i really feel like these was so much more potential in our project that was unnoticed and unrecognized....

so i saw these videos..and just had to share... who says we hi-tech is better...

book for my kids in the future ;)

::three little pigs- the architect's version::