Jimmy likes Eames Aluminum Group Chair

The set decorators of the Daily Show should be ashamed. They have defaced a modern American classic piece of furniture.  If it were me, I would be waking in a cold sweat at night, praying for forgiveness at my altar of miniature modern classics by Vitra. On the left, exhibit A, the American classic, by Charles and Ray Eames, the aptly named Mesh Management Chair from the aptly named Aluminum Group seating collection.  Yep, Charles and Ray preferred uncomplicated names for their pieces "Lounge and Ottoman" "Soft Pad Chair" "Molded Plywood" "Chaise" etc etc....On the right, exhibit B, the chair as it appears on the set of The Daily show, with HUGE ASS casters, reminding me of the shoes Kramer wore when he shared a cab with Mel Torme, who thought he was, well, "special." You know, the shoes that Jimmy designed to make Jimmy jump higher.  Jimmy doesn't like misunderstandings.
I just noticed this in Tuesday night's interview of George Lucas and speculated George Lucas had some weird thing in his appearance contract about not appearing shorter than anyone in the room, which would really be a feat when Jon Stewart is interviewing you. However, it was the same in tonight's interview so that quirky theory is gone.
Why oh why?  How could they do such a thing?

"What a waste of money"

This post on Hacker news really defines for me why I need to take a break from design, especially corporate design.  Many the comments in here are exactly what clients and end users think.  Yes, there are a few comments rebuking the concept that good design is expensive but most focus on the perceived "wasted" resources-money as well as energy-going into space design.  To be fair, Interior Design is essentially a luxury service, icing on the basic need of shelter.  Yes, there are lots of studies done on improving productivity, morale and decreasing employee attrition.  However, no one seems to care about that when it really gets down to brass tacks.  All that matters is money.  And sometimes, it's not even the actual amount of money you spend.  I have had more than one client that was concerned about "optics"  They spent MORE money to make it look like they spent less so employees wouldn't think that the company valued how their space looks over how much an employee was paid.  So, they spent the same amount of money building a life-sucking dilbert-ville instead of a space that the employees might like with access to views and sunlight; control over the lighting in their space; better common areas where people can get to know their co-workers and feel connected to them.  I have had clients tell me that red paint "looked expensive"  Are you kidding me?  Paint costs the same, no matter what color it is!!!  The business of Interior Design is stupidly demanding, given what it is.  Partially because Interior Designers do not get paid nearly enough for the the ridiculous amount of hours and energy put forth in an effort to please your client and create a design that you are happy to have your name on.  Just to define this a little more, since everyone thinks they are not paid enough.  The minimum work week is 45 hours.  Even then, you can't get everything done that needs to be done.  There is always more-one more drawing to do, one more design iteration, one more hour on that detail...it's never done.  In my twelve years of working in the industry, I have been treated for TMJ and panic attacks, and been admitted to the hospital twice with life-threatening asthma attacks because I was too busy to take my medicine.  Yes, all of that is my fault, not the industry's fault, as I am ultimately responsible for my own health.  However, none of my friends in other industries report similar issues.   The other issue I have with this industry is value.  We do not value ourselves.  We give away our services for far less fee than other professional services. THEN we perform extra services without asking for more money.  Just dumb.  If we don't value ourselves, how can we expect people who are uninformed about what we do to value us?
I suppose my real question is, is there a way to change the perceptions of the general public, so they think that Interior Design is something worth spending money to hire a professional?  Do we charge more, don't back down on those fees and embrace the luxury nature of our services?  By charging more than we do, does this make people want it because they can't have it?  I would love to hear thoughts on this-both from people in the industry and not in the industry.

Photo credits: from my portfolio. SRAM Offices, Chicago, Illinois by RTKL Associates. Photo by Steve Hall, Hedrich Blessing.  This project was one of the few exceptions to the above.  The client was very involved in the creation of the space, even in the development of custom furniture for the space, and really appreciated what we as interior designers could bring to the table.  I think mainly because they were designers themselves and "got it."

Mr. Drysdale will see you now, Mr. Clampett.

I am now officially taking (at least) a year off to take care of Jackson.  In honor of that I am re-posting one of my favorite emails I have ever gotten from a co-worker.  Jeffrey, you rock.  I hope they let you out of the sandbox soon.

From: Jeffrey Warren
Sent: Monday, September 01, 2008 12:34 AM
To: Katie Bowman
Subject: RE: our awesome building

http://www.som.com/common/modules/gallery/dsp_image_gallery.cfm/inland_steel_building?galleryCategoryID=503999&ImageIndex=5

Mr. Drysdale will see you now, Mr. Clampett.

Jeffrey

post script...

This photo is in the Inland Steel Building, where my office was located when I worked for HOK in Chicago. (They have since relocated to CNA Center) When I transferred to the San Francisco office, I was surprised to be in essentially the same building at One Bush Street, same architect, built about the same time, same shaped floor plate, but not as shiny.

Because I just couldn't leave well enough alone

After 3 months of looking at the walls in Jackson's room, I've decided that I have to paint. So...the process of paint selection begins. Hopefully I'll have something selected before he's in college.

Sir John Soane's Museum

I started collecting rocks as souvenirs when I studied in Europe in my third year of Architecture School. We had a free week and Rebecca and I were yearning to hear someone speak some form of English so we went to England and Scotland.  After a trip to Canterbury, we stopped near Dover to see the famous White Cliffs and I was surprised to see the beaches were composed entirely of rocks Having only seen the beautiful powder-white sand from beaches on the Gulf, I was completely amazed and took some of the rocks with me. It turned out to be a great souvenir so I did it a few other places that had cool looking rocks. I've amassed a collection and was starting to think I should display them in some way. I found these glass apothecary jars and added the labels so they seem like specimens. It reminded me of Sir John Soane's Museum, which I visited on that same trip to Europe.

I'm Spicy!

Behold my new spice rack! It is a lovely celebration of my anal retentiveness. All rows carefully arranged, all the spices alphabetized. Take a good long look....this is my last delusional grasp at having an adult household.  Once Jax is completely mobile it will either be destroyed or moved up a couple feet out of his reach and possibly mine as a result. I'm enjoying these last few months of freedom before everything has to be 4 feet off the ground. As I made all the labels and moved the spices into their rightful place and neat rows, I envisioned a scene, years from now, where I was ONCE AGAIN rearranging these spices BACK into alphabetical order because either Jax (or future child) or Andy (or the two of them in collusion) have moved them around just to screw with my head.  It gets me all riled up just thinking about it.



This setup is from IKEA in one of my many many trips with my domestic partner-in-crime, Jamie.  The red sheet metal piece was originally intended to be a bulletin board with magnets.  The jars are being used as intended.  I did my research before choosing the IKEA jars.  I looked at the ones from Bed Bath and Beyatch but they were a tiny bit more expensive and too small to hold an entire spice jar, meaning you have to throw out half of the expensive spice you just bought or store the jar in a cabinet, COMPLETELY DEFEATING THE PURPOSE!  Or as my twenty-something nerd friends would say..FAIL.    Just the thought of that makes me throw up a little in my mouth. I cannot STAND designs that are not thought through.  That is what design is about.  Identifying and Solving problems in the best possible way, considering not JUST aesthetics but also function.  Is that so hard?

The Jacksons...

Looks like I've gotten my creativity back. I have all these projects in my head, with plans for cakes, knitted stuffed animals, and artwork for Jax's room in addition to getting the back yard so it is not only habitable but enjoyable...photos will be posted when I actually complete something. It's just so nice to have my brain back to be able to use it for me and not work. These new found hobbies are yet more evidence that with each day that goes by I am more and more like my dad. Oh boy did he have his hobbies - woodworking, fly tying, gardening. But, to paraphrase my mom, he enjoyed reading about and buying the stuff for the hobbies more than finishing them. So, let's hope I can complete these projects all the way to the end before moving on to something else. Not such a bad thing to be like my dad. He was mellow but definitely could get his dander up about things. I miss him most during football season. I watched the Auburn vs. Tennessee game Saturday night and I could just hear him yelling at the TV with every play. I even found myself rooting for Tennessee before I remembered who they were playing. Hey, wait a minute...WAR DAMN EAGLE! Beat those hillbilly Vols! He taught me all the rules and ref signals and I even learned from him how to spot the penalty before it was officially called. That impressed many a guy in a sports bar in Chicago. I guess all the southern boys were used to girls that knew football. Funny that I ended up with the guy that hates sports and is thoroughly unimpressed with my knowledge of college football. Actually "hates" is too strong a word. That would indicate some level of emotion about sports - Andy is actually apathetic about sports. The only time he cares about sports is when I am watching a sporting event on TV and he wants to watch something else.
Speaking of Jacksons...Jax has had a couple of milestones! Jax slept almost 8 hours straight Sunday night. Didn't have a full repeat last night but he did go right to sleep at 7:30 and slept until midnight, instead of his usual fussing every 20 minutes for 3 hours. He's also starting to get some better motor skills. He's figured out how to use his head and his fist to put the pipe (the Bakun name for pacifier, funny considering his namesake smoked a pipe) back in his mouth. And this morning he rolled over from his back on to his side. GO JAX GO!!
Oh, and a third Jackson comes to mind. I have a new euphemism - "Tito's crying" now means it's time to feed the baby. Thanks to dooce for this post, I get a little giggle during feeding time.

Jackson loooves the ladies

Jax's room continues to be in development. I'm sure it will be for a while. It's further evidence that I do have a designer mind, not just a technical one....the design is never done. The room has a weird echo so I got the idea to just hang up some fabric wrapped panels instead of art, inspired by my brother's stay, where he hung fabric on the wall so he could do some voice recording in there. In an afternoon that started out as a quick trip to Jamie's storage unit to drop off some things, then evolved into a latte and hey-why-don't-we-grab-a-sandwich, let's call Jeanne and see what she's doing, Jamie and I went to Discount Fabrics to poke around. I was browsing through the huge racks and racks of fabric, hoping to find cute kid prints that I could stand to look at without cringing when I happened upon an adorable velveteen print with pinup girls on it. It reminded me of the wallpaper in the bathroom at Kuma's Corner in Chicago. hmmmmm...that might make a good wall hanging for Jax's young developing eyes...high contrast black background, a lot of motion in the print. A little inappropriate for a baby's room, though. F-it. I'm getting it. At the cutting table, the tatooed and pierced woman helping me asked what I was using it for and when I said, "Wall art for my son's room" she responded "Cool." I definitely smiled inside on that one - Yay! I'm a cool mom!
I stretched it on to some painting canvas frames and hang it up above the changing table. The echo is gone and Jax can't keep his eyes off it!




















I did get some other fabrics that I'm still playing with and will publish photos once those are up and ready.

dog beds and other major concerns

So tonight Archie actually took a pass on the couch. Let me repeat that...Archie took a pass on laying on the couch. I realize that my incredulity at this notion goes without explanation since dogs love laying on couches almost as much as licking their butts. That being said, I feel the need to elaborate a bit more on his temperament. This is a dog that gets on the couch/bed/chaise/fainting couch/what have you/ ONLY (mostly) when invited and thoroughly enjoys it when he's there. I'm not saying he doesn't hang about hinting, poking with his nose, clawing at you, wagging his tail and imploring with ears perked and brown eyes all round and soft...waiting for that invite but he will wait to be invited. And if that invite comes, he never hesitates. Until tonight.
Jackson was in his crib asleep so it was time for extra Archie love time. He's laying on his sweet-ass Crypton William Wegman dog bed that I just moved upstairs last night. Andy calls him over and he just blinks and stays put. Then, after a bit more urging from Andy, Archie gets up and curls up next to him on the couch. Not 20 seconds later, everyone seems settled in but he jumps up and goes back to that bed. I've been noticing that he disappears at night to our bedroom downstairs to lay on his bed. I thought he was just trying to get a little peace and quiet considering Jackson's habit of crying starting around 6:30-7:00pm but now I'm guessing it's the bed. He LOVES that freaking bed. He couldn't love the cheap dog bed NOOOO, he has to love the stupidly expensive dog bed. It is a great dog bed and I got it so I wouldn't be ashamed to have it be one of the first things you see when you walk in our bedroom. [Because there are just herds of people going into our bedroom day after day after day to tour its magnificence and it's been published in every design magazine, right? Nooo...as always seems to be the case in every place we've lived in, the bedroom is the biggest wreck and is more of a landing space for stuff I don't have a place for elsewhere + a bed. I haven't even removed the picture hooks from where Dennis and Aimee had their pictures hanging. But I digress] So now I'm thinking "I have to buy him another stupidly expensive dog bed so he has one to lay on downstairs. Well, maybe instead of the extra large size he has now, which Clifford the Big Red Dog could lay on comfortably, I can get the slightly smaller (and thus, less expensive) one, and get one that actually is more appropriate for a 60 lb Lab-Sharpei mix." This is going through my head while I brush my teeth. Why am I thinking this? As I type, his perfectly good inexpensive (and already paid for) dog bed lays unused next to me on the carpeted floor and I'm worried about if he will want to come and sleep in our room with us but not want to lay on this horrible dog bed that we've provided for him and choose to lay on his uber-cushy designer dog bed, all alone, upstairs, missing us horribly. Like the dog that rolls around in dead sea creatures on the beach is really worried about the comfort and design of his dog bed. Well, the good news is that crypton fabric won't absorb that dead sea creature smell.