Arts and Crafts redux: Sardar delves into a newish trend in the design world: crafted industrial design, as practiced by two European designers with an ecological bent, Tord Boontje (above) and Tom Dixon.
Tom Dixon believes objects emerge from fabricating technique: Dixon's heading up his own label now and believes the way to make a dent in the American market with it is through design that's "not slick or fashionable," but rather "honest and long-lasting." OK on the last part, but why can't we have slick, too?
AROUND THE HOUSE: Susan Fornoff focuses on home audio gadgets this week, and her best find is Kohler's forthcoming waterproof SoundTile speakers.
Hmmm. We think it's time to bury the acronym "WAF" (Wife Approval Factor), used in the the home electronics biz to rate the attractiveness of audio products (the term was submitted by Keith Brandman and quoted by Fornoff). When the iPhone debuted last week it seemed abundantly clear that men have good taste in industrial design.
