Stay Gold, Amit
My friend Amit was recently diagnosed with Leukemia. These gold-plated Sorapots will be auctioned to help locate a bone marrow donor.
Why?
South Asians are severely underrepresented in the pool of registered bone marrow donors. 100% of profits from the auctions will go to drives, both here and in India, to find and register potential donors.
More info here: amitguptaneedsyou.com
Click here for a free bone marrow test kit: j.mp/freemarrowkit
Sorapot?
Amit was one of the first people to see the Sorapot, back when it was just a rendering. His input on marketing the Sorapot was invaluable, and led directly to the successful start of my company.
These Sorapots, limited to an edition of three, are plated with food-safe 24 karat gold.
Office Hours @ Swissmiss Studio
After introducing the Felt Mouse and glass teacups at ICFF this year, I’m trying something new. Whenever I travel to New York, I spend at least one day catching up on work. Tina Roth Eisenberg of Swissmiss has always given me a space at her Dumbo studio while I’m in town, and I’ve gotten to meet some of the fascinating Studiomates while working there.
This year, I’m inviting anyone who’s interested to stop in while I work. I’d love to share my process, give advice, and discuss opportunities for collaboration. Like an open studio crossed with a teacher’s office hours.
RSVP here: http://joeyrothopenstudio.eventbrite.com/
I’ll be there on Tuesday, May 17 from noon until 3 pm.
Location:
10 Jay Street
Suite 612a
Brooklyn NY 11201
Felt Mouse
A computer mouse made from wool felt, teak, and aluminum.
This prototype will be show for the first time on Friday May 13 – Monday May 16, 12PM to 7PM daily, as part of the American Design Club’s exhibit “Use Me” at 45 Great Jones Street.
Glass teacups for Sorapot
These teacups will be shown for the first time with Fair Folks and a Goat in New York:
7 East 88th street, buzzer #0006
The opening is Thursday, May 12 from 5 to 9 pm
More information here: Room for Two
Ceramic Speakers in June / July issue of Out.
Charlatan, Martyr, Hustler
This was my submission for 48 Hour Magazine, which was put together completely over the course of this weekend. The theme of their first issue was “Hustle”. Enjoy:
Artists, entrepreneurs, and people who work with ideas all choose how much to work and how much to talk about their work. I’ll represent three work/ talk archetypes as structures:
One who evangelizes lazy, boring work is a charlatan. His structure is quick to build, but top-heavy. It will fall with an unassuming push, or under its own weight if given enough time.
The martyr spends her time head-down in the studio. She produces amazing work, but it will enter the world only if it’s discovered by some outside force. Her structure is a pyramid- solid, but inefficient.
The hustler realizes that work is invisible when nobody cares about it, but that getting people to care about bad work is energy misplaced. The hustler’s goal is to convert people to his or her vision, thus laying claim to the next cultural moment.
Ceramic Speakers: November Press
The Ceramic Speakers are featured in the current issues of ID, Men’s Journal, and 7×7:
ID Magazine “New and Notable”, page 56:
Men’s Journal “The Wish List”, page 46:
7×7 “The Holiday Issue”, page 76:
Rain, Feedback Loops, and Missed Opportunities
Urban designers seem to consider rain to be an intruder, and the city tries to hide the downpour as quickly as possible. The weather’s swept under the carpet with inconsistent success.
The same thinking informs cars that lose value the second you drive them off the lot, fashion that only lasts one season, and iPods that look terrible when they get scratched through daily use. Our culture so values factory-freshness that the moment of box-opening is the only stage of a product’s life that’s usually designed. The rest is left to fate. We need to make products that exist in a user’s world, over a substantial period of time, instead of in stasis on a hoped-for shelf in MoMA’s design wing.
Read more
Harnessing the Gift Fair’s Waste Stream
I’ve been to a few tradeshows with my work at this point, and I always find an obscene amount of waste as booths are constructed. It’s all the more ridiculous because these booths are taken down after a few days.
Interview with Kevin Rose
Sorapot from Kevin Rose on Vimeo.