Composed / Dims Vanity Desk

We're thrilled to announce our new vanity desk we design for furniture brand, Dims.

'Composed' Vanity desk began with a simple question:  how can a vanity be reimagined as a platform for healthy rituals around self-care?  We imagined a place where one does more than dress themselves up but rather nurtures themselves physically and mentally as a daily wellness ritual integrated into contemporary life.  
From this, our mission became clear - create a less vain vanity!

photo courtesy of Dims

Our vision is to create a spot to take a break and focus for a moment on what makes one feel right and good.  We believe this requires a focused piece of furniture to fit its environment, so we set out to create a 'just-right' center for self-care with a set of simple, useful features:

• Flexibility to be used as a desk or everyday storage surface in addition to a vanity.

• A stature that doesn't consume too much space, but functions exceptionally.

• Thoughtfully sized storage sized to hold everything from jewelry to jars to tall product bottles. 

• A mirror size that isn't too dominating, adjustable, and removable to suit different conditions and preferences.

• A simplified, contemporary form to fit a variety of interior styles.

photo courtesy of Dims

Available in 4 color options with or without mirror on DIMS WEBSITE.

(L&G) + (NYC x Design) = NEW EXCITEMENT!

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L&G is proud to introduce two entirely new collections debuting at the upcoming NYC x Design week starting May 17-20th.

MIRAGE- A collection of optic-bending furniture from shelves to tables.

MARU- A collection of lighting and accessories that explores the functional and aesthetic versatility of mix materials in all types of circular forms.  ​

Check out the collection HERE​.

For the past month, we've been practically running on non-stop adrenaline straddling between excitement, caffeine,  and sleep deprivation while gearing up to launch 2 collections, 7 new products, at 5 venues during NYC x Design 2013!  

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For the past month, we've been practically running on non-stop adrenaline straddling between excitement, caffeine,  and sleep deprivation while gearing up to launch 2 collections, 7 new products, at 5 venues during NYC x Design 2013!  

Here are the list of events that we'll be part of!

1. NOHO NEXT 2013 (we will be there, so come say hello!) @ Subculture, 45 Bleecker Street; May 17–20, 12pm to 7pm. Dylan & I will be there in person while exhibiting our brand new collections Mirage & Maru- a series of work from furniture, lighting, to small home accessories.

2. AmDC’s TROPHY  @ Underground at The Standard, East Village Hotel, 25 Cooper Square; May 17–20 / 12pm to 7pm. We'll be exhibiting our special mirage shelves.

3. RECLAIM x 2  @ 446 Broadway, 3rd Floor; Thursday, May 16, 2013 / 7pm- 11pm. We've donated special one-off editions of L&G wind chimes made in collaboration with artist Nicholas Nyland for Reclaim's second charity sale. 

4. STDARD SOCKET @ Wanted Design- 269 11th Avenue; May 18th-20th / 10am-7pm. Our ‘Full Turn’ lighting will be displayed as part of Standard Socket’s inaugural lighting collection.

5. STORY @ 144 10th Ave; May 1st-May 30th / 11-7pm. We're part of STORY's ever changing retail concept store offering some small gift & home goods at their current [DESIGN] theme popup shop.

Ovis Lounge in LEATH-AH....

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Finally! We made a special leather version of the Ovis Lounge Chair in untanned leather version for Tenoversix's new Dallas shop about a month ago and is really loving the look!

The best thing about the untanned leather is that it will get darker & shinier with use and I can only imagine the whole chair will age beautifully over time.  We also made a new pillow with industrial wool felt with some added little details. 

Here are some photos below. 

We shall soon add this to our Ovis line soon as well as a macramé sling version, oh my! 

VALUE DESIGNERS at VALUE SHOP: Part 2

Here's the second half list of the participating studios!

13. Ladies & Gentlemen Studio:  That's us... Jean & Dylan (also co-organizer of the popup, Brite Collective, and JOIN)  like to keep a diverse array of things from chalkable piggy banks, to servers, to jewelery, to serving trays, and even lights.  Some might call it lack of commitment, but they prefer to call it diversification!

14. Material Good:  Founded on a vision that a company can include working for a cause in it's core vision, material good donates a portion of all sales to causes that promote curing and preventing cancer.  Their "Little Shirley" vases are an homage to founder Lauren Burman's grandmother, who inspired the idea for Material Good.

15. Meet Me Here: Jonas DeVerona creates simple well-constructed bags, accessories and clothes with quality materials and a keen eye for details.

16. Metrode: Caitlin collaborates with skilled small town hobbyist & crafters to create products in their craft with her creative vision and aesthetic.  The result is an elevation of traditional crafts beyond kitsch to the point of high design.

17. Object: Photographer Charlie Schuck is a man of many visions, but fortunately for us he has a soft spot for design.  Through the opening of Object, a Belltown design store and event space he champions good design with a minimally curated collection of furniture, lighting, home goods, jewelry, accessories, and vintage objects.

18. Paper Hammer: A paper studio/shop founded by Ed Marquand  (of Marquand Books - Seattle publishing company) that's all about bring back art of paper goods and book binding.  Their studio based in Tieton (a small Eastern Washington town recently revitalized as an artist town) creates their goods with the loving care that few care to give to papergoods these days.

19. Perhacs Studio: Founded by Brandon Perhacs and based on Bainbridge Island, the studio creates graphically playful products many of which can be customized by their users.

20. R&L goods:  Jean & Chika whip up a lovely collection of handmade wallets, notebooks, and other softgoods with prints in collaboration with Piano Nobile.

21. Studio Arno: A brand new company founded by Justin Lyle who makes sophisticated modern bolo ties using an array of exotic woods.

22. Ta+Ma:  We love Designer Tamae Satsu's eye for details and materials in her line of simple soft goods made from high quality leather and felt.

23. Urbancase:  Darin Montgomery of Urbancase is all about designing objects and spaces that contribute to a simpler, pared back lifestyle. 

VALUE DESIGNERS at VALUE SHOP: Part 1

On behalf of Brite Collective & JOIN, I'd like to just share what all this VALUE SHOP excitement is about!  We now have 20+ design studios which we'll feature at the VALUE (pop-up) SHOP for this coming weekend!!

We got some design "O.G."s, but also some new friends in the mix! Here's a sneak peak & a little something about each of the designers  alphebetaically ordered starting with the first half of the list....

1. Ample: Is a modern furniture & lighting studio founded by Andy Johnson.  The studio produces everything right here in Seattle, Washington with a strong preference for local materials and a deep conviction that furniture can and should be built to last a lifetime - or two.  

2. Aleks Pollner: Ceramic porcelain artist who tests our perception of precoius porcelain objects and what it  means when things are just meant to be broken.

3. Ashley Helvey: the multi-talented textile artist, stylist, foodie, prolific blogger, and ultra-skilled thrifter. 

4. Blkpine Workshop: Christa Thomas & Nin Troung (also the co-organizers of this popup) have this amazing knack for juggling multiple creative businesses and roles at once. They are the founders/designers of Blkpine Workshop (Seattle-made bags),  Maiden Noir (menswear brand), Cafe Weekend (a delightful cafe), and on top of that Nin's a creative director for Stussy.  And we think we're busy with just one studio!

5. Brackish:  An up & coming furniture company founded by Forest Eckley & Andy Whitcomb.  Their thoughtful approach to design is based on a simple balance of carefully salvaged materials to create one-of-a-kind furniture pieces that are equal parts warm and industrial.

6. Erich Ginder: A PNW native who draws upon natural and traditional imagery from his youth to create fresh, playful remixes of classic forms.

7. fruitsuper: A seattle duo that puts the fun in fundamental with their simple, colorful, and functional products.

8. Glasswing: A collective founded by three roommates (Forest, also part of Brakish, Alisa, and Sean)who see eye-to-eye in all the little things that matter for living a quality life.  They have a shared interest which sent them on a mission to gather the best sources for delightful everyday essentials from scented homemade candles, honey from nearby farms, accessories, and more.

9. Grain:  Our Bainbridge Island-based friends whose thoughtful designs are dedicated to social and environmental responsibility.  Their goods are produced in small batches at their island studio or through special collaborations with expert artisans in the US and abroad.

10. Herman Yu:  A Seattle designer who creates beautiful printed cards and calendars featuring artfully manipulated natural images that are simultaneously graphic and ethereal.

11. Iacoli & McAllister:  A collaboration between Jamie Iacoli and Brian McAllister that yields an impressive line up of lighting, furniture, jewelry, and small products.  Their work never ceases to be an amazing intersection of materials and geometry.

12. Jessalin Beutler:  A collection of accessories and clothes that are feature bold geographic patterns HAND-painted by Jessalin herself!

So yah......quite a list already, eh? This is like rounding up all the super hereos with all their super making powers!

Well, guess what? we're only at the half way point! More designers to follow for part 2!

VALUE SHOP: Design Pop-up Shop

.....This is happening in 8 days!

SHOP HOURS:
9/21- 12pm-8pm
9/22- 10am-8pm
9/23- 10am-6pm

LOCATION:

On John street (between 9th &  Westlake) see MAP for exact location of Design Block

MORE INFO:

Go to our FB EVENT page for more info & invite everyone!

The Value Shop is a 3-day desing popup shop which will feature 17+ local Seattle studios. Our mission is to bring together all the great Seattle design studios by not only highlighting the products, but also share each a bit more about studio's approach, process, and way of designing.

Our shop will be amongst a group of large shipping containers that will be placed in South Lake Union neighborhood right by the Discover Center on John Street (between 9th ave N & Western)

Hopefully the weather will look just like this dream rendering!

Natural Selection Lookbook FINISHED!

We're SOOOOO very excited to share our very first lookbook!

We simply can't wait to share this 70 page lookbook with y'all through the magic of the world wide web!

click "EXPAND" to see it full screen! (This whole online publishing is freakin' amazing!)

Launching Natural Selection has been a total learning experience for us. It challenged us in so many great ways and also lead us to so many wonderful opportunities to collaborate with talented people we've admired.

Besides this being first attempt in creating a furniture & lighting product line, it was also our first collaborative project with an artist, Ashley Helvey, our first time having a professional photographer like Charlie Schuck help us take fantastic studio shots, our first time showing at Noho Design District during NY Design Week, which then lead to our first feature in Surface Magazine!

We couldn't be any happier with all the great responses we've been getting so far!

We really hope that this can lead to some more exciting opportunities down the line! 

 

Natural Selection Lookbook Sneak Peek!

We've been working long and hard....(mostly long) on putting together a lookbook for our Natural Selection collection we launched back in May during NY Design Week!

We wanted to create a visual guide that communicates our vision & inspiration behind the collection.  More and more, we realized just how much of the PNW surrounding has influenced us and our work. Whenever we go on nature walks, we end up collecting random nature findings, taking a ton of photos of everything we see...colors, texture, shapes, materials, and scenery with the hope of capturing all the wonderful feelings we experience when being out in nature....

The Natural Selection collection is very much about how we reinterpret the humility and warmth that nature provides.

Here are just some of outdoor shots we took around our neighborhood in Seattle for the lookbook! (which we'll soon share!)     

 

Natural Selection on Anthology!

We love it when there's mutual admirations between us and the people that we absolutely love!! We feel so lucky that Anthology is one of them as they recently featured our new Natural Selection series AND our home in issue #8! WEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Ovis & Aura featured on Remodelista!

Besides being excited about the upcoming Remodelista Market, we're even more excited to see couple of generous mention of our new work on their site!

Read the post of our Ovis chair:

Read the post of Aura Lights:

We're so happy to see our love for each other is mutual.  ;)

Getting ready for NY Design Week!

We've been feeling like Super Mario Brothers for the past week and a half trying to pass every level of finishing our products, taking photos of our work, editing the photos, sending out a newsletter & press releases,  pack & shipping our furniture & lights so it'll get to NY in time, remembering to pack our clothes (and underwear), making sure our water bottle doesn't have any water in them when going through security,  and remembering to put our shampoo, contact solution, utility knife, hammers, drill bits & screws in the checked luggage and NOT in our carry on.... 

It's usually stressful leading up to catching the flight, but once we're on the plane we feel we can at least relax a little being so far away from work...and instead be able to enjoy a view like this....the high altitude sunset and little itty bitty frost crystals that forms on the window...so neat.

Then we land in NY....and then it's back to frantic town all over again!! So now we're on to the next challenging level of dealing with all the logistics in New York to set up our work up in time for Noho Design District!! And this level is all about doing errands in middle of Manhattan....WITH A MINI VAN! And boy did we let loose on the horn.

It's only been our first full day in NY and we're already exhausted from all the rush and trying to get everything set up!!! Luckily there was enough adrenalin going through both of us that kept us from just passing out....

Anyway....here's what we did and some photos of our first day

11am-1pm Arrived at Zero + Maria Cornejo to scope out the space and figure out a plan of attack on how we can set up our lights, hanging chair, floor chair, side tables and plant hangers.

Lovely window display of paper cranes in Z+MC

And me (Jean) getting distracted/tempted by all the amazing beautiful Z+MC shoes & clothes.....

1pm-2pm: Went over to Heller Gallery in Meatpacking district to deliver our Nyth bowls  for RAW+UNFILTERED show by AmDC.  We got a little sneak preview and is totally psyched to have our works be shown amongst some amazing works there. Here's our bowls next to our table buddies, Fort Standard, who made these cast bronze candelabras!

2-4pm  did some major driving around where we borrowed a 10ft ladder that we somehow fit in the mini van, then  got a bunch of light bulbs at a hardware store, and went to this awesome plant called Plantworks for plants for our plant hangers.... I got to look at some AMAZING giant plants and cacti I wish I needed. I love NY for all their little mom & pop shops with the best things.  

430pm We set up a mobile work station in our friend's classy mini van and illegally parked for an hour and a half just to claim a street parking spot by 6pm...yah....parking in Noho, that's the kind of fun logistics we love. I know I should be ashamed to even admit doing something as desperate as camping out in a van just to claim a parking spot...but it was TOTALLY worth it for the spot right outside the shop and that we didn't have to pay $12/hr. Wow...I'm totally starting to sound like a cheap old lady!  yay!

6pm-8pm: Then for 2hrs all we were able to do is hang some Aura lights before everyone at the shop had to leave!! Despite the little progress we had, I was really happy with how the lights look in front of the amazing large scale photo of Maria's clothes by Mark Borthwick,  an artist/photographer and also Maria Cornejo's husband.  Talk about a super couple....seeesh!

So now....we gotta get up in butt crack of dawn to head over there and do the rest of the set up. woo hoo!!

more & more for later!

Sneak Peak Process Shots on Sight Unseen

We love process shots and apparently so does Sight Unseen!

They shared a nice post sharing some pics of our chairs in collaboration with Ashley for Noho Design District.

We've been pretty active on posting our process almost daily on our tumblr & Instagram (jeanLGstudio), so you can see more there, too!

Also the Sight Unseen post shows more sneak peak process shots of other talented friends from Iacoli & McAllister and Fort Standard... plus others talents we hope to meet like Caitlin Mociun,  Makers & Brothers, Bec Brittain and more...more...more!!!

Just awesomness all around!

We're ON for NY Design Week May 18-22!!

We we're incredibility excited that on top of us being able to FINALLY go check out ICFF for the first time EVER, we'll get to be in NY during the best time of the year, AAAAAAAND we'll also be part of few extremely exciting satellite events happening during design week!!

Neither Dylan & I have gone and we've only been talking about it for like....8 years...and FINALLY this year we decided that we would go for realz!!! We were just hoping to go for fun and then few opportunities came along where places was doing open calls for shows....so we figured...why not?! We might as well make a worth while trip, right??

Well, lucky for us, we're able to be part of 3 awesome events!!

1. We're extra stoked (and still can't believe) that we'll be part of NOHO Design District!! NDD is organized by the talented ladies of Sight Unseen where they coordinate & curate shows to be shown all around shops and galleries in Noho.

When we got the email from Monica and Jill that our submissions got accepted and that they'll paired us with this amazing clothing brand, Zero+Maria Cornejo, I think I might have even screamed outloud for a long time....then absolute silent with me staring at my computer screen for like another hour....just in total shock.

We  just can't believe that we'll be part an all-star group and be featured along all our design crushes like Tom Dixon, Bec Brittain, Lindsey Adelmen, Jonah Takagi, Brenden Ravenhill, Tanya Aguiniga, Fort Standards, Chen Chen & Kai Williams, and companies like Roll & Hill, Areaware, The Future Perfect ...and whole a whole lot more!! I'm feeling high just thinking about all this....

So needless to say, we're MORE than ecstatic to be able to show our work at Zero+Maria Cornejo. Her work is absolutely stunning and I'm already eying up some pieces...SO TEMPTING!!!

The show will begin on MAY 18th at Zero+Maria Cornejo. More event info HERE.

2. Is another awesome show,  Raw+Unfiltered, organized by Kiel Mead and head of AmDC. Last year our Cane & Able was shown at the "USE ME" show, but we weren't able to party with all the amazing talents there.  So this year...we're definitely NOT going to miss out again!

Here's a sneak peak of what we're showing!

The show will open on SUNDAY MAY 21st at HELLER GALLERY. More event info HERE and to RSVP.

3. We'll be part of FAB's popup shop which will start on MAY 14th.  They requested a limited batch of custom red piggy banks! Aren't they cute?!

They FAB sale will beging online. More info TBA.

We're so excited for all this!!!!!EXCLAMATION MARKS FOREVER!!!!

BLANC: a Winter JOIN Design Popup!! NOV 18-19

I'm SUPER excited for this design Pop-Up shop that JOIN and Brite Collective are organizing, which will be happening next week! eek!! 

Its been awhile since we've done an event for both JOIN & Brite in Seattle, and figured this is the perfect time to gather everyone and jumpstart the shopping season with lots of awesome work from independent designers!

We gathered 30+ designers and artists to do a special curated works under the theme BLANC.

Full details below!

JOIN Design Seattle and Brite Collective presents:  

BLANC-A Winter White Design Pop-up Shop

We're ready to ring in the winter holiday season with a one-of-a-kind market of great design. In celebration of winter, BLANC will feature a curated selection of limited edition objects that are white, blank, or otherwise achromous in color or spirit. Additionally, the pop-up shop will offer a cornucopia of other well-made goods from 30+ talented emerging designers from the West to the East.

DAY 1 / NOV. 18th / BLANC PREVIEW PARTY 8pm-12am 
Celebrate independent design. Special preview of "BLANC" curated items, BLANC cocktail menu, live music, and more. Wear something white! 

Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm BLANC preview shopping event. 9:00pm - 12:00am DJ & special guest performance by NODDY. 

Location: Sole Repair Shop 1001 East Pike Street Seattle, WA.
Suggested Donation: $5.00

DAY 2 / Nov 19th / Design BLANC Pop-Up Shop 11am-5pm 
Support independent design by checking off your gift list early with items from the BLANC curated collection as well as other original design goods ranging from furniture, art, housewares, jewelry, accessories, ornaments, and more. Also enjoy special activities by Brite Collective holiday, hot beverages from Caffe Vita, pizza by Big Mario's, and more. 

Time: 11:00am - 5:00pm
Location: Cafe Vita Bean Room 1005 East Pike Street Seattle, WA.

Get a sneak preview here!

Featuring Works from:
&c. Jewelry / Aleksandra Pollner / Alisha Louise / Ashley Helvey / Blk Pine Workshop / Brandon Perhacs / Cairo / Chadhaus / COATT / Elizabeth Patterson / Erich Ginder / Fleet Objects / Fort Standard / Free Time Industries / Fruitsuper / Grain / Herman Yu / Iacoli & McAllister / Jessaline Beutler / Kiel Mead / Ladies & Gentlemen Studio / Meet Me Here / Piano Nobile / plainMADE / R&L Goods / Studio Gorm / Thomas Im /  Zanna Printed Textiles / Handpicked items from OBJECT and more...



New L&G Item: Rise Over Run Stool

Our newest item, Rise Over Run hanging step stool we recently debut at the IDSwest show in Vancouver!

The idea to make this item came from the need that I (Jean) couldn't reach all the high and tall places...especially in our new kitchen with a floor-to-ceiling-pantry unit!...ooh la la! SO much storage!

And me being a storage maniac that I am, trying to reach to all the empty places to store things made me feel like a crazy 5 year old doing some risky business just to get to a cookie jar...and we all know how that usually ends...broken cookie jars, broken bones...or worst..a broken heart...

So to prevent me from pulling off some silly stunts just to reach the places I need, we came up with Rise Over Run!

This was inspired by the basic construction and elements of stairs in a home. We broke it down and turned it into a mini 3-step folding stool to then be transformed from the functional piece into an elemental abstract shape which can be displayed on the wall.

So the story ends with Jean being able to reach all the high places she needs to, no breaking anything, and a piece that we can appreciate on our wall.  Hurray!

And check THIS quick fun thing I did... BOOM. gif power!

My very first attempt at making a gif animation... oh boy! This is totally SO mundane that it's making some sort of ironic statement?

NO? not convinced?....ok. yeah, me neither...

Just wanted an excuse to make a quick amateur gif clip!

In any case, Rise Over Run will be available online soon! We promise!

Time for Fun: Hand-Making Models for New Ideas

Finally feel like we're getting around to do something fun & creative in the studio!

We'll be going up to Vancouver to be part of the Interior Design Show West (Sept 29th-Oct 3) along with JOIN. This will be L&G's first time showing some of our furniture pieces, but also it will be the first time for all of us to show in Vancouver! Very exciting...

I didn't realize how much I missed hand-making models with color pencils, chipboard, balsa wood, and all that. Totally felt like a kid again.   

More to come, but here's a lil' sneak peak...

Some sample look books

A prototype of our new concept...can you guess what will be?

Woonwinkel Swoon

We're excited when we first read about this new shop in Portland called Woonwinkel (means Home Shop in Dutch) that opened in June.

What's even more exciting is that our Chalk Piggies, Gem Necklaces, Superior Servers, and Mega-Doily rugs of various size are at the store!

It's a beautifully curated shop with things I've only seen from the far and magical place of the Netherlands combined with some great designers we totally love such as, Studio Gorm, Iacoli & McAllister, Von Tundra, and Chen Chen.

....pretty much a dream store. Perhaps if I make myself look small enough I can be a squatter and live in that shop....

Procesessing Max Lamb's Process

I'd like to do go to the beach and do something fun like what Max Lamb did....making this pewter stool right on the beach!

This one makes me nervous just watching it...the gigantic blade cutting a piece of lime stone and them running around it...



Setting High Standards

I met these guys from Fort Standards for the first time at the Feburary NYIGF in the AmDC booth, and was totally psyched that I got to trade for one of their charming merit badge necklaces.

...and since then...only being about 5 months later, they've designed & launched a BUNCH of new amazing products at this year's ICFF.

I was totally psyched to see these AMAZING Elevate tables made with crazy marble tops & white oak!! Mostly love the detail of the center notch and the clean construction of the triangle legs.
and of course me being a total sucker for terrariums...I have to love this: Terra-terrarium stand...that spins!
These classy Foundation tables are made with teak & stacked marble at the base. Clean, simple and cleverly constructed as well.
MAD Aluminum stool....just handsome.
I'm just so amazed by the scope of their work...and admire their sense for great details & general sensibility.
....Way to raise the bar on that one...and make all of us look bad!


Collected Magazine

This new online lifestyle magazine, Collected, launched this May founded by Krista Schrock and Jessica Comingore.

I love all their well-curated hand picked items. Pretty much.... I just want everything on these pages.