From circular design innovation via Estonia to souvenirs by NYC’s design community, this part 3 tour of NYCxDesign represents the diversity typical of the week. JONALDDUDD returns with a curated collection of experimental design and I check in with Herman Miller to see their design icons and enjoy a picnic.
For the complete tour, don’t miss Part 1 and Part 2.
JONALDDUDD
Independent experimental design show JONALDDUDD returned for 2024 after taking a couple years off. The show’s aim is to explore the fringes of design and personal expression and much of the work occupies the grey area between functional objects and art. The show was held in a former sex shop in Soho and required wandering through to a secret back room. Jed Heuer’s Chandelier 1, mashed up car parts and vintage lighting with some ABC Carpet vibes. Scott Newlin’s modular Torre vases break apart the idea of a monolithic vessel into a rhythmic collection of stacked shapes.
Souvenir
Souvenir took over a vacant retail space in Hudson Yards and feature the contributions of 50 or so designers that created prototype NYC souvenirs. The show was as much physical commentary about the state of the city post-pandemic as it was a serious design show. There were some really clever ideas that got into gradual details about the city. Probably my personal favorite was the orange plastic street steam pipe reimagined into a table top incense burner.
Night Lights
Located on a seemingly forgotten edge of Chinatown in the president streets of Manhattan, the IRL Gallery hosted the work of five NYC-based designers exploring the artistic/collectible side of lighting. While being a pretty compact show, the range of materials included, from pig intestines to loaves of bread made Night Lights worth the trek.
Upmade In Estonia
Part exhibition, part popup shop, Upmade In Estonia was my favorite offsite of NYCxDesign 2024. The show focused on sustainable design and presented a number of innovative Estonian designers work grouped into categories. These included tradition and craftsmanship, upcycling, recycling, biomaterials and showcase of contemporary sustainable design businesses. It was a dense and thought provoking exhibition that included creative ideas for repurposing textiles, skateboards and diverting waste like eggshells and cigarette butts into new and useful materials.
Herman Miller
Herman Miller staged a multi-day picnic on Park event around the debut of a new hot dog picnic poster. It was an excuse to get a Chicago-style hot dog from their custom cart and wander around the showroom. It’s a favorite space on mine for all the interesting prints displayed and the casual layout of the interior.
Photos and Text: Dave Pinter