Modern Magazine

Designer Spotlight

  • Reflections on Wendell Castle

    Wendell Castle has stood out as a fixture in the world of art-craft-furniture for nearly fifty years. He owns the genre the way Dale Chihuly is the king of American glass blowing and Frank Gehry has carved his niche in computer generated deconstructionist architecture.

  • Designer Spotlight | Jens Risom

    FOR SEVEN DECADES NOW, THE DANISH-BORN DESIGNER HAS BEEN DEVISING FURNITURE THAT MELDS BEAUTY AND UTILITY Jens Risom was present at the creation of modern American furniture. His minimal yet dynamic wood and webbed Lounge chair, introduced in 1941, was the first mid-century modern icon to reach  production, and it is enjoying renewed popularity today. [...]

  • Man of Action

    With his dynamic, often mind-boggling works, Hervé van der Straeten has become one of the hippest—and most highly collected—designers working today.
    You might be tempted to wonder whether Hervé van der Straeten believes in the laws of physics. Stunning gravity-­defying consoles, for example, are one of the French designer’s fortes…

  • John Vesey: Style and Scandal

    John Vesey Style and Scandal: “A status item in many of the best dressed rooms these days is at least one piece of furniture by John Vesey” wrote the newspaper fashion columnist Eugenia Sheppard in May 1968. Owned by tastemakers ranging from Nelson Rocke­feller to the Duchess of Windsor, Vesey’s chairs, sofas, tables, desks, and [...]

  • Sharpest Knife in the Box

    Sharpest knife in the box: He was known as the “Cutlery King,” but David Mellor also helped reshape Britain’s postwar urban landscape WE USE THEM EVERY DAY. They’re in our kitchen drawers, or on the dining table. Knives, forks, spoons—and unless they’re heirloom silver, we don’t give much thought to their history, design, or manufacture. [...]

  • Against the Grain

    Against the Grain: How a young autodidact furniture artisan became the talk of the design world If you time it right, you can snag that coveted kettle or toaster by one of the many celebrity designers for Target at an affordable price. It is even possible that one of these objects will one day join [...]

  • Making Conversations

    The boundlessly inventive Japanese design group Nendo, led by Oki Sato, specializes in products and places that are intellectual, emotional, relevant—and fun IN 2008, nendo—the nom-de-design of the Japanese architect Oki Sato and his studio—created the “Cabbage” chair.

  • Building Around the Body

    In his work on couture collections, furniture, and interiors, Charles James was not so much a designer as a structural engineer.