November 22, 2009 • 8:37 pm
Here are some new photographs of the Temari Japanese Art Ball. As a reminder, if you’re free the day after Thanksgiving, stop by Pavilion at 2055 N. Damen for the opening reception of “Worth Your Salt,” a pop-up shop put on by Object Design League. (See below for more info.)
We are also very excited to announce that Temari will be taking part in another pop-up shop for the Holiday season. “Clairvoyant,” a three-day pop-up shop put on by subports.com will be active December 10,11,12 at 303 Grand St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. There will be psychics, text messaging and Temaris, so you really can’t go wrong. We’d like to thank Subports for this wonderfully creative idea, and for including us in their show. 
Filed under: News, Product Design, Uncategorized
October 30, 2009 • 10:48 pm
Plex is very proud and excited to announce our participation in “Worth Your Salt,” Object Design League’s Pop-Up shop, produced in partnership with Chicago design boutique Pavilion, and sponsored by Orion Offset and Subports. Plex will be displaying and selling our Temari Japanese Art Ball, from Black Friday through December 11th. We kindly invite anyone interested in joining us at the opening reception on November 27th (Black Friday) from 5-9 PM at Pavilion.
Pavilion
2055 N. Damen
Chicago, IL 60647
The Temari is a traditional Japanese ball, which prior to the advent of rubber and plastic, was an everyday object in every Japanese child’s life. Since the industrial revolution the Temari has shifted from being a utilitarian toy, to being recognized for its intricate and beautiful stitching and colors. Today the Temari is used either as a charm to adorn bracelets and mobile phones, beautiful holiday ornaments, or as a larger household decoration, adding warm splashes of color to any room, easy to replace and customize for any time of year or special occasion.
In an environment of growing technological dominance, Plex would like the Temari Art Ball to remind homeowners of the importance of hand craft and everyday beauty. The evolving meaning and use of the Temari is a reminder of the necessity of change, and with the new line of fun and modern color pallettes, we hope for you to find your own use and meaning for the Temari Art Ball in your life.
Please contact Plex at info@plexdesign.net for more information.
Filed under: News, Photos, Product Design , Object Design League, Pop Up Shop, Product Design, Temari
A while ago, Plex were lucky enough to work with SoulStice on some artwork on a few of his hip-hop albums. For those who don’t know, SoulStice is an up and coming hip hop artist based in the Baltimore/DC area, and a close personal friend. He’s also a signal processing engineer at Johns Hopkins, so if you’re trying to criticize him on ANY front….good luck. The man’s got pretty much everything pretty much figured out.
Well, as it turns out, Soulstice has a new album out called “Beyond Borders,” and iTunes has decided to highlight it on their hip hop front page. So please check it out – and don’t forget to go through some of his older stuff as well – you might see a bit of Plex out there! Plus, don’t forget to check out his collaboration entitled “Wade Waters” – it’s certainly a keeper.
Plex wishes SoulStice all the best of luck – but really – he doesn’t need luck. He’s got all the skills, intelligence, and integrity to make it on his own.
Filed under: Graphic Design, News
Plex Design recently participated in a Park Bench competition sponsored by the Nakasatsunai Art Village in Hokkaido, Japan and judged by Kazuyo Sejima. Unfortunately, we were not selected as one of the finalists, but the good news is we are now able to show images of the model which we submitted. More material will follow soon, but this model was the only submission material allowed for this particular competition.
Our design continues Plex’s pursuit for humans to share space with nature in their everyday lives. Our idea came from the wonderful feeling one gets from lying in a field of wild flowers. By lowering the level of your body to the Earth, you are able to share space with the flowers and enter a new atmosphere that we are not often able to experience. Unfortunately, it can also be uncomfortable, dirty, and difficult for some people to achieve this position on the ground. Therefore, we have used the level of the park bench as a new “ground” datum, so that as people move towards the Earth, the flowers also move UP towards the people – and meet in the middle, at the level of the park bench. The bench becomes the new ground.
The vertical elements of the bench legs are widened, and hollowed, allowing soil into each leg, tranforming the utilitarian legs into varying sizes of planter. Flowers, shrubs and small trees are planted, and these platers actually hold up the bench surface. When people then sit on the bench, they share the space with plant life, increasing their awareness of the Earth and its wild life.
Filed under: Competition, News, Photos, Product Design
We at Plex Design would like to congratulate Peter Zumthor on his Pritzker Prize.
In these times of instant media, publicity-seeking wunderkinds stealing most, if not all, architecture headlines and glossy computer renderings (look who’s talking), it is fantastic to see Mr. Zumthor receive the credit he most certainly deserves. His is an architecture of meaning, physicality and reflection. He began his career as a cabinet maker, and uses his profound knowledge of natural materials to bring a unique human, sensory experience to modern, minimalist architecture.
Both of our personal and professional lives were enriched by a 2006 visit to his Therme Vals bath in Vals, Switzerland. Immediately after arriving at the site, we realized in person what the Pritzker Foundation has just acknowledged in this award. As fellow architects, we recognized that the mind who created this wonderful space was more than merely talented, but a truly gifted creator. As humans, we recognized that space and experience could be molded and heightened by contemplation and thought for life, light, and natural elements. We would like to thank Mr. Zumthor for his life-long dedication to improving this planet, and the Pritzker Foundation for recognizing a genuinely remarkable talent.
Filed under: Architecture, News
Thanks for visiting Plex Design @ WordPress. If you haven’t yet, please visit our full site at www.plexdesign.net.
We set this blog up to make it easier for the viewer to be connected to us and vise versa. We’ll use this blog to quickly keep everybody updated as much as possible, and post some content like photos, thoughts, links, and other information that might not be right for the full site.
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Filed under: General, News
