Commune

Carlos Raul Villanueva designed a small utopia of art and architecture for the students of La Ciudad Universitaria In Caracas, Venezuela. In a pretty forward thinking manner (or ancient) He approached design/art holistically: working artists and artisans directly into various functional roles within his design…Including acoustical paneling by Calder and stained glass windows by Leger. The lines between art, design, and sculpture are merged making one insanely inspiring school to attend.

A small selection of some great punk posters…In a way, they are examples of perfect graphic design: They have a point of view, hold information, look pretty, and were done in 15 minutes.

Around 1922 when Mussolini (full title: His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Duce of Fascism, and Founder of the Empire) had hit his stride in political power, he had personally taken over the ministries of the interior, foreign affairs, colonies, corporations, defense, and public works. In true Fascist form all public utilities, as well as art and architecture, were controlled and regulated by the state so that they all worked toward the advancement of their ideologies. Architecture became Mussolini’s preferred vehicle for launching Fascist propaganda. It was forcefully portrayed, in the solidity of its materials and the vastness of its measures, the sublimity of imperial power. Fascist ideology aside…it’s an an awesome example of design backed by a united philosophical consensus. 

All Images from the book “L’Architettura Delle Case Del Fascio”
Thank you Tony for the tip.

More inspiration from a recent trip to Turkey.

Some inspiration from a recent trip to Turkey.

A collection of unique signatures by Swedish furniture designers from 1650—1850 used to brand their wood furniture.

1938

1921

1926

1922

1927

1931

1922

1922

1944

1926

1943

1939

1935

1950

1942

1922

Steve Halterman takes us through the process of creating and installing his new stained glass piece for Ace Palm Springs.

Poster board inserts cut to the size of each window — and the drawing begins

Inserts with the completed design drawing are assembled on the windows to fine tune the design and ensure a perfect fit

Glass cutting begins

All pieces of the design are cut from the glass

Construction begins — lead and zinc strips are used to hold the glass in place

Glass filed down for perfect fit

Construction continues

Putty is pressed between the glass and track on lead-zinc straps to secure the glass

Putty Team

Whitening process to harden and remove excess putty then patina is applied to the straps

Whitening process

Patina applied

Panels loaded and transported to the Ace Hotel

Panels are cleaned and polished prior to installation

Cleaning glass

Panels are installed then a second layer of clear 1/8” glass is installed over the stained glass for protection and easy cleaning

5 panels

6th panel

7th panel

Installation complete

Bravo Steve!

Check out Steve Halterman’s stained glass lanterns for Commune at communeshop.com

Our second collaboration with Valerie Confections: Super Choc-o-Food. Each and every label was hand stamped….a true labor of love. Taste the finished product at communeshop.com

“The fullness of man’s life may lie in the balance between instinctive longing that reaches down through the flesh of ancestry and an intellectual unrest that seeks an etherealized universe.” - Paolo Soleri

On a recent trip to New Mex, we stumbled upon some fantastic hand painted windows by D.H Lawrence in the bathrooms of the Mabel Luhan house.

 ”In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. It’s interior decorating. It’s the fabric of the curtains of the sofa. But to me, nothing could be further from the meaning of design. Design is the fundamental soul of a human-made creation that ends up expressing itself in successive outer layers of the product or service.” - Steve Jobs (1955 - 2011)

Welcome to E.R Butler’s incredible studio in Red Hook. We dropped by on a recent trip to New York and were given a personal tour by Mr. Butler himself. It’s the Willy Wonka factory of beautifully hand crafted hardware.

What’s Rhett up to next?….How about a swimming pool for the studio

Check out the the stacking candle sticks we made together at communeshop.com

Lately Allen Jones has been popping up on our radar, and being big fans of his work, we thought it would be a good opportunity to do a post on him. Here is a little crash course.

The early 1960s at the Royal College of Art in London saw the birth of British Pop Art. Allen Jones was among the group of students (including David Hockney, Derek Boshier, and Peter Philipps to name a few others) who challenged the boundaries of British art with their precocious and unconventional works.

In his works, Jones, whom always had an interest in the female figure, was responding to the cultural changes and increased sexuality that arose in the 1960s. “Every Saturday on the Kings Road,” Jones remembers, “you went out and skirts were shorter, the body was being displayed in a new way. And you knew the following week somebody would up the ante.” His works, which fluctuated between painting and sculpture, focus on the female figure as the subject matter, and while Jones hoped to produce a strong reaction in the viewer, he did not expect his work to be a subject of such feminist hostility (on one occasion his show was stink bombed).

Luckily enough someone in the studio happened to have this book, and we were able to sneak a few scans from it.Jones recalls, “I was reflecting and commenting on exactly the same situation that was the source of the feminist movement. It was unfortunate for me that I produced the perfect image for them to show how women were being objectified.”

In 1970, Jones received a call from Stanley Kubrick. He wanted Allen Jones to design the set for the Korova Milk Bar in his upcoming film “A Clockwork Orange.” Jones sketched initial designs for Kubrick, however he ended up turning down the offer, when Kubrick refused to pay him with anything more than credit. The final set in Kubrick’s film is clearly influenced by Allen Jones’ sculptures.

Jones work appears in other unlikely places. Like this poster for the 1972 Munich Olympics…