Tag: design

Designer Desire: Evelyn Ackerman

Mosaic of Evelyn Ackerman artworks | H is for Home

Alongside her husband Jerome, Evelyn Ackerman (1924-2012) was a leading light in California mid-century modernism. They were contemporaries of the likes of Alexander Girard and fellow married couple, Ray and Charles Eames.

Evelyn Ackerman worked across a variety of mediums including mosaic, textile tapestry, metalwork and enamelware, stone casting and wood carving. They designed, produced and sold their work through their companies Jenev and ERA Industries.

Although mostly available in the United States (as expected), her work can occasionally be found on Etsy and eBay.

Jerome & Evelyn Ackerman in their homecredit

Hand-in-Hand book by Jerome and Evelyn Ackerman
Hand-in-Hand: Ceramics, mosaics, tapestries, wood carvings and hardware by the California Mid-Century designers

Image credits:

1st Dibs | Artnet | Invaluable

Designer Desire: Laila Zink

Mosaic of Laila Zink designs | H is for Home

Earlier this week, we discovered the designs of Laila Zink (1915-1999) whilst researching the identity of the designer who created a large pottery charger that we’d bought at the flea market. She worked for pottery manufacturers Kupittaan Savi based in Finland. Her work is very distinctive – stylised folk art figures, flowers and landscapes. The elongated facial features and almond shaped eyes of the ladies (and it does usually seem to be ladies) are instantly recognisable. Her pieces are all hand painted and very individual.

We couldn’t find out much information about either her or Kupittaan Savi. A book has been written about the company… however it’s in Finnish. Her work isn’t very commonplace however, there are currently a few examples available on Etsy and eBay.

Portrait of Laila Zinkcredit

Image credits:

Bukowskis | Pinterest

Designer Desire: Philippe Starck

Mosaic of Philippe Starck designs | H is for Home

Philippe Starck is probably best known for his ‘Juicy Salif’ metal citrus squeezer or polycarbonate ‘Ghost’ chairs. However, he’s such a prolific designer – he has turned his talents to such an array of products. He has designed motorbikes and cars, clocks and wristwatches, restaurants and hotels, mineral water bottles and bottles of Champagne, spectacles and shoes. Is there anything he hasn’t designed?!

He has worked with many leading design houses including Kartell, Alessi, Driade and Vitra. He has designed a smart thermostat for Netatmo, a hard drive for LaCie and even a micro wind turbine for Pramac.

Starck considers himself:

A Japanese architect, an American art director, a German industrial designer, a French artistic director, an Italian furniture designer.

Many of his designs are always available online – with prices from under £10 for a fly swatter to almost £10,000 for an illuminated room divider. Check out  Amazon, Etsy and 1stDibs.

Philippe Starck on a 'Pibal' scooter-cycle he designed in collaboration with Peugeotcredit

Designer Desire: Ryohei Yanagihara

Mosaic of Ryohei Yanagihara designs | H is for Home

It’s taken us a whole 5 years to revisit the work of graphic designer and animator Ryohei Yanagihara (1931-2015) – 柳原良平 in Japanese. His most famous work was his Uncle Torys character for Suntory Whisky. The other main brand for whom he produced work was shipping company, Mitsui O.S.K Lines. They even have a virtual museum and shop on their website dedicated to his work.

He also illustrated several children’s books including The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Babies Onomatopoeia.

It goes without saying that you’ll mainly pick up examples of his work in Japan. However, you can occasionally find his designs popping up internationally on sites such as Amazon and eBay.

Ryohei Yanagihara portraitcredit

Here’s a selection of Yanagihara’s animations from YouTube

Additional image credits:

Flickr | Pinterest