More Temari News

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

Temari

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

Park Bench Competition Results

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

Park Bench Competition

Plex has recently submitted a proposal for the Park Bench Competition sponsored by the Nakasatsunai Art Village, out of Hokkaido, Japan. We cannot say much at this moment because the judging has not taken place yet, but in our entry, we are continuing our pursuit for humans to more closely share space with nature. We’ll post images as soon as we can.

Filed under: Competition, Product Design