bltd

Yes, we've jumped on the bandwagon (albeit rather late) due to many a request. For those of you with iPhones, you can now add our BLTD webclip icon to your homescreen, allowing access with a mere touch of your finger. We actually created it a while back, but are a little late in letting you know...apologies, apologies. Just delete your old link and add it in again to pull up the new icon. If you've not added BLTD yet (gasp!) or if you're not sure how, here's a quick walk through: On your iPhone: 1. Find BLTD in Safari 2.…

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If you're curious at all about how or why we started BLTD, Gigi over at roadsidescholar invited us to a little q&a over at her site. Thanks Gigi!

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So, we've made a few minor changes to the site recently. If you haven't noticed yet, the search bar is now at the bottom of the page, near our other useful/informative buttons and we've replaced the previous logo with our original (yet updated) one. You can, of course, also search by category with our drop down menu (located in the grey bar below the tabs). Please shoot us an email if something is out of place and we'll fix it. Also, for you iPhone owners, we've jumped on the bandwagon (albeit rather late) of doing a BLTD webclip icon, so…

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If you've got a great idea on how to make household chores easier, now's your chance to show off your smarts. Simple Human is holding a design competition with the grand prize of $5,000 scholarship, which is enough to get you motivated into putting your thinking cap on I'd think. "The goal of the simple solutions competition is to promote creative problem-solving among students through product design, and by doing so, increase public attention and awareness of industrial design. Endorsed by the IDSA, students at all U.S. design schools are invited to participate by designing a new and innovative product,…

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Last night I attended a great event in Los Angeles at All Purpose (a great up and coming menswear store) sponsored by Citizen:Citizen and the endlessly charming Philip Wood. Also in attendance was super talented designer Cory Ingram of the Crude Line, and the design/engineering genius Ethan Imboden behind the little steel line by JimmyJane.It was refreshing to see all the lines in person and get to meet the minds behind the designs.

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So, we promise not to go crazy with holiday this and holiday that, but we do want to make sure everyone knows that we do have a gift category, where you can search by price for that special recipient. (If you're unfamiliar with BLTD, you can find all of our categories in our drop down menu, located in the gray bar below the header image.) Please do let us know if any of our links are broken, and we'll do our best to fix them so that everything is up to date. Also, if you know of a great gift…

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The Muji Store is opening it's first large-scale retail store in Soho in the US on Friday, and designophiles couldn't be more excited. I was able to see into the store last night as the workers were moving merchandise in, and it looks pretty similar in size and layout to the Tokyo store (shown above). There were textiles for home lining the back wall and sweaters and shirts lining the right wall. The most exciting part about the new store is all the larger scale furnishing items that you can't order from overseas, and of course the electronic items will…

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DWR has 10 limited-edition Florence Knoll Benches (donated by Knoll) for auction, and all proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. "On Thursday, October 25, nine auctions will be held at nine DWR Studios across the country. The proceeds will go to the local chapter of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation, so your donation will benefit your community. Auctions will take place at the following DWR Studios: * Bethesda, Maryland * Chicago, Illinois (North Ave) * Dallas, Texas * Newport Beach, California * New York, New York (Flatiron) * Portland, Oregon * Princeton,…

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Today was opening day at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in NYC. There were tons of booths with emerging designers as well as some more established lines. We've created a small slideshow with some of our favorites. Probably my personal favorite as a group was the Austrian Design Platform, which showcased some of the country's up and coming exports.

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I'm fascinated by the idea of people taking mass produced items and then altering them to fit their needs. I'm sure this is more of an art piece than a project that arose out of a necessity for a coffin, but you get my point.

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The British designer Richard Shed has an inspiring collection of work that includes conceptual ideas made real, that result in some designs that would be functional, beautiful pieces in your home. The breath-taking beauty of the "Discovery" pieces coupled with the quirky yet equally well-constructed pieces inspired by the antics of Keith Moon make Richard Shed a forerunner in upcoming design today. Several of his pieces are available from Thorsten Van Elton in the UK, but hopefully more of his pieces will be available stateside. If you are interested in some of his pieces, perhaps you could email your favorite…

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Japanese designer Kouichi Okamoto has both executed simple and complicated designs with equal finesse. There is a technological aspect to his work that makes it interesting and beautiful. His LED balloon lamp creates a soft glow and is simply stunning in multiples. He also developed a dvd that slowly changes colors, turning your tv into a mood-lighting device. His honey-comb lamp is especially beautiful.

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With a playful eye, Soop Group has established a collection of products that's sure to be enjoyed. From pea game plates to biscuit mugs, the common thread lies in each item being a bit more interactive than what we're used to. In the Ready Meal Plate Collection, outlines guide food placement while ingredients are listed on the underside. With the Plate is for Pea, numbered indentions/dimples encourage using peas to score points before, during, or after partaking. I especially like the cork Fleur placemat with it's detailed design. All in all, this collection is an entertaining way to liven up…

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Melissa Borrell makes some pretty cool modern jewelry that is definitely worth checking out.

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London based Sam Johnson has charming, quirky and refined designs which we should all make efforts to bring to the States. He brings modern sensibilities to old-school techniques (such as laser cut marquetry--allowing mass production) to create designs that are both well made and beautiful. My favorite piece is the "light reading" design which is a lamp which blends in amongst your books until you turn it on and it illuminates from the inside, revealing the title of the book. Clever and useful. His works are available from Thorsten Van Elten. Johnson has also collaborated with Richard Shed (see below)…

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Turkish design at it's best, don't you think? The elegant designs of Autoban this year at ICFF are certainly worth taking a look at; they're just enough slightly 'off' to be exactly just right. That might not make much sense, but I think that's the best way to describe it. The proportion is what sets the designs apart and adds a bit of wit. The red lamp shown is actually a larger floor lamp with a really glossy finish (available in other colors, of course) and the Bergere Chair shown has other upholstery options and a larger sofa option as…

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