Layer upon layer of stained and unstained woods come together to create artist Joshua Abarbanel’s depth-ridden artworks. In the name of examining creation and impermanence, Abarbanel uses forms and natural patterns evocative of biological, botanical, geological, and even mechanical structures. Further inspiration is derived from fractals, accretive formations (the accumulation of particles into a massive object by gravitationally attracting more matter), and the Fibonacci sequence.

Abarbanel’s work is full of juxtapositions between made and grown, life and death, and microscopic and aerial perspectives. He refers to his sculptures and projects as “visual metaphors for archetypal relationships between people, individuals, and communities, and humankind and the planet.”

“For Cardboard City 2022, an exhibition and creative space from ReDiscover Center, I was invited to make a work in cardboard. Already I had been experimenting with using cardboard and making structural material from the copious amounts of paper and packaging materials that suffuse our daily lives,” he said. “The onset of the pandemic crystalized something that I had been wrestling with for a while: feeling inundated by, and guilty about all of this waste. These works in cardboard and pulped paper start to address my concerns about privacy, consumerism, consumption, and sustainability. I also love how the graphics and messaging on the boxes become part of the piece, making little poems and narrative vignettes.”

Germination 01, Cardboard, Dims variable Created for Cardboard City 2022 in Santa Monica, California Photo courtesy of Joshua Abarbanel

Germination 03, 2023, stained + unstained wood, 13’x5’x1″ Private residence, New York City Photo courtesy of Joshua Abarbanel

Germination 03 uses subtle highlights within the sculpture’s palette to help define the topography, while its individual shapes are loosely inspired by New York City’s five boroughs.

Germination 02

Mega Reef 02, 2021, stained + unstained wood, 14’x9’x3″ Permanent Collection of the US Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka, US Department of State Photo courtesy US Embassy

“As with much of my work, the sculptures in the Reef series are an outgrowth of my fascination with natural forms, which I return to again and again as meditations on the act of creation and the passage of time,” shared Abarbanel. “Sea life and plant formations, with their mathematical structures and marriage of amorphous and geometric shapes, have always captivated me.”

Mega Reef 02, seen above, was commissioned by Art in Embassies of the U.S. Department of State for the lobby of a new U.S. Embassy located in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Serving Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the dark pieces that form the foundation are inspired by some of the larger atolls in the Maldives. The larger, lighter-hued pieces of the outermost layers reflect the shapes and growth patterns of coral and animal life in the ocean region surrounding Sri Lanka.

Mega Reef 03, 2023, stained + unstained wood, 14’x9’x3″ Private residence, Palo Alto, California Photo: Art Gray

“For Mega Reef 03, I also took visual cues from an old California buckeye tree that was formerly sited on the property. The smaller shapes around the perimeter of the piece are reminiscent of buckeyes – the shiny, nut-like seeds that are dark brown with a light-colored spot that gives them the appearance of a deer’s eye – and the hues of this installation also reflect pine, oak, redwood, and walnut trees, all California natives.”

Mega Reef 03, 2023, stained + unstained wood, 14’x9’x3″ Private residence, Palo Alto, California Photo: Art Gray

Mega Reef 03, 2023, stained + unstained wood, 14’x9’x3″ Private residence, Palo Alto, California Photo: Art Gray

Mega Reef 04, 2023, stained wood, 17’x5’x6″ Private residence, Wison, Wyoming Photo courtesy Joshua Abarbanel

Mega Reef 04 is installed just outside of Jackson, Wyoming. It pulls from the coast, where the owners moved from, and the nearby Tetons and native flora. The woods included are aspen, cottonwood, fir, pine, spruce, and willow trees, as well as huckleberry and lupine.

Mega Reef 04, 2023, stained wood, 17’x5’x6″ Private residence, Wison, Wyoming Photo courtesy Joshua Abarbanel

Mega Reef 04, 2023, stained wood, 17’x5’x6″ Private residence, Wison, Wyoming Photo courtesy Joshua Abarbanel

To learn more about Joshua Abarbanel and his art, visit joshuaabarbanel.com.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she’s likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.

The ongoing collaboration between Globe and the Eames Office has proved a fruitful venture over the years. Focusing upon the nexus between furniture design and skateboarding, the brands have worked together to interpret the Eames design perspective and creative process into numerous 4-wheeled collector items. Their newest addition to the Eames Office x Globe collection, the Eames Lounge Cruiser, draws inspiration from arguably the most iconic representation of the Eames design legacy, the Eames Lounge Chair.

As an homage, the limited-edition cruiserboards are an uncomplicated interpretation of the bent wood and leather lounger with subtle details, including embedded metal badges and deck bolts with the Eames logo. The simplicity plays into the relaxed and enduring spirit of the design classic, with the cruiserboard style emphasizing a more leisurely, yet playful approach to life.

The three different color variations also come with varying sizing: the wider Eames Lounge Cruiser 30″ Cruiserboard in Ash and White measuring at 30” x 10” x 17”; the slimmer yet longer Eames Lounge Cruiser 32″ Cruiserboard in Walnut and Black edition measuring 32.2” x 8.6” x 14.5”; and lastly, the all-black Eames Lounge Longboard 38″ in Black Oak and Black stretches out even further at 37.5” x 10” x 28.25″.

Of the three, our favorite is the lightest hued combination in Ash and White, a wide-sized reminder of our own youth spent cruising supermarket backlots, bombing downhills, and carving up embankments. But indicative of our grown-up aspirations, its the actual Eames Lounge and Ottoman in the same ash and off-white leather combination staged by Eames Office and Globe to advertise the limited edition release that now tops our wishlist.

The boards also include an Eames printed Dot Pattern tote, further emphasizing while all three skateboards are very ride worthy, they’re more likely to be desired as a collectible rather than a means to tackle the daily grind.

The Eames Lounge 30″ Cruiser Ash/White retails for $260, the Eames Lounge 32″ Cruiser Walnut/Black for $250, and get ready to pony up $340 for the largest Eames Lounge 38″ Longboard Black Oak/Black. All three Eames Lounge skateboards are available via Globebrand.com.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

One minute your baby is learning to crawl, the next minute they’re putting together furniture by themselves. At least with Interlockables they can! The collection, designed by New York-based design brand House of RoRo has a whimsical yet functional quality, very much reminiscent of the iconic wooden Elephant by the Eameses. In fact, like the Eameses, Belgian interior designer Anne-Sophie Rosseel (who also founded Rosseel Studio) believes that child-friendly furniture and objects should be able to exist in adult spaces and be given every bit of consideration as any other design, especially to reduce overconsumption. “I was looking for ways to combine toy storage with functional furniture that would look good in our home, while reducing the clutter. Kids grow fast and if I was going to make a product, I wanted it to be as sustainable as possible and not have it end up in landfill after 2 years,” the designer shares.

Made from plywood, Interlockables are furniture puzzle pieces that can be assembled together using the slot cutouts and the help of a friend or rubber mallet. There are eight total pieces: the Uma chair, Raymond rocker, Riva stool, Riva table, Sky side table, Box table, Book tower, and Box stool. Audrey Louise Reynolds, an artisanal dyer, custom developed food grade vegan wood stains specifically for House of RoRo using natural pigments – such as mushrooms, flowers, mica, and moss – mixed with a bio-based wood finish. The dyes give the collection a colorful, uniform, slightly transparent color wash.

Like the impetus for creating House of RoRo, which is to create long-lasting furniture that grows with the child’s needs and tastes and stays out of the landfill, the collection is sustainably made using FSC- and TSCA-certified wood, which means the material is sustainably sourced and passes toxicity checks. The pieces are all shipped flat packed with 100% recyclable packaging to further reduce its materials usage and carbon footprint. The wood finishes are zero VOC, food safe oil-based sealers and the waste CNC cut outs are turned into color samples shaped like small toys and puzzles.

To shop the Interlockables collection, visit houseofroro.com.

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As the Senior Contributing Editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She’s probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.

Australian New Volumes’ approach to furnishings and objects could be surmised to be one in response to the diminishing presence of the natural, textural, and the imperfect – designs defined by a materiality serving modern living innately attuned to the earthly elements. The brand’s terrestrial aesthetic and ethos is in full display with the brand’s follow-up collection dedicated to various applications of baked clay, aka terracotta, for seating, lighting, entertaining, and display.

The Pitcher Table and Pitcher Stool by Adam Goodrum are sculpturally simple forms with just enough sharp angularity to keep the design contemporary.

A sequel to the brand’s first collection represented by objects made from 250-million-year-old Elba stone, the Collection 02—Terracotta is a more humble material and one described by New Volumes’ Creative Director Thomas Coward as “stories made from the mud.” The combination of clay mud with water aided by heat and time impart terracotta with its distinctive color and texture, a material that’s possibly the world’s first manufactured medium. Put to varied use by a small group of designers invited to interpret the traditional clay, the eight-piece collection takes on forms both recognizable and experimental at once.

Earth Wirri by Lucy Simpson was inspired by the form bark coolamons, water carriers, and other Australian Aboriginal designs.

The linear Pinch wall lamp designed by Kate Stokes is both lighting and wall sculpture characterized by a central sharp line or ‘pinch’ that allows light to fall differently on each side of the terracotta form.

Pinch wall lamp by Kate Stokes

The curvaceous Sol by Hattie Molloy was shaped to stoke curiosity and provide adaptable display opportunities for flowers or incense with its quartet of bulbous protrusions.

Designer Chris Connell borrows the Greek word ‘Skafos’ meaning “vessel” to communicate the purpose of this contemporary umbrella holder and smaller vase.

Megan Morton’s Harvest is a creation of multitudes: multipurpose, multiple of pieces, and a multitude of configurations.

Applied across various forms – seats, side tables, stools, vases, and even a sculptural modular colander set – the New Volumes Collection 02—Terracotta would not look out of place within the Arcological settings of Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti (or perhaps as set pieces in the next season of Andor), tinged sumptuously by Australian mineral mud and shaped wearing the telltale signs of its creators.

“The designers who took part in this collection are as diverse as the products they have created. From established names to exciting new faces, all possess a fiercely individual approach and style, and have taken to the material with gusto,” notes New Volumes Creative Lead, Thomas Coward.

Thomas Cowards’ Cove chair highlights the strength of terracotta and its organic beauty.

The Skafos fruit platter by Chris Connell reaches out in three directions, with a ribbed base designed to elevate fruit allowing each piece to breathe.

The contemporary exploration of classical forms celebrating terracotta operates in stark contrast to the increasingly manufactured artifice of modernity. Whether admired separately or in sum, New Volumes’ Collection 02— Terracotta is a reminder why we are naturally drawn to play and shape mud as children, a medium that can be manipulated with abandon by hands young and old alike.

To view the entire collection and learn more about the Collection 02— Terracotta, venture over to newvolumes.com.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

A symphony of rich textures play while gossamers dance in the sunlight of Ulla Johnson’s Los Angeles, California, flagship store designed by Kelly Wearstler whose repertoire of collaborations with furniture makers, craftsmen, and artisans give the space its local gusto.

The immersive shopping experience begins upon arrival as visitors park in an oasis-like lot – designed in collaboration with landscape architect Miranda Brooks – and proceed through the structure’s side entrance. The facade’s weeping mortar brick finish is a simple prelude in contrast to the warm, duetting styles that resound throughout the expansive 3,000-square-foot urban building.

“Ulla’s collections are layered and colorful, so the design needs to embody these elements. The inherent femininity of her style presents a fascinating challenge in crafting an interior that can juxtapose those characteristics,” Wearstler says. “The goal is to ensure that Ulla’s fashion remains the focal point, with the space serving as a beautiful backdrop to showcase her pieces.” And so it is with an ensemble of European White Oak parquet flooring accented by Rosa Corallo stone inlay, polished plaster, and woven raffia fringe walls by CMO Paris that syncopate with the visual merchandising.

Image Left: Vintage sconces by Barovier & Toso; Custom wall tile by Bantam; Vintage Italian mirror circa 1950s; Custom sink by Jonathan Cross Image Right: Raffia Frange wallcovering by CMO Paris; Custom bench by contractor; Custom cushion by Kelly Wearstler; Vintage African runner sourced from Jamal’s Rugs; Afrital Stool by Christian Astuguevieille; Ceiling lighting: Vintage flush mounts by Lisa Johansson-Pape

Earth echoes through the entry into an airy, two-story solarium flanking the rear and reaches the most intimate of programming – quite literally – anchored by a 16-foot indoor Brachychiton tree. The casual public realm on the ground floor is reflected in the decor of two spaces joined by a passageway, which conceals service components and change rooms, that feel plucked from a personal estate more so than staged to be points of sale.

Vintage Nictea ceiling pendants by Afra and Tobia Scarpa; Bisque Terracotta Planter by Taliny Chhung; Vintage Cornaro 140 Armchair by Carlo Scarpa; Vintage coffee table circa Belgium 1970; Side table by Hiroyuki Nishimura

Generous skylights allow every textural element from furniture to fabrics to be sun-kissed while customers lose themselves in conversation encouraged by intentional seating. LA-based Ross Hansen’s sculptural resin table and California artisan Vincent Pocsik’s table anchor microcosms for socialization.

“Burl Wood Room” featuring consoles by Jeff Martin; Vintage planters by Willy Guhl

Jewelry from collaboration Ulla Johnson x Kentshire collaboration

Adjacent to the solarium is a lavish display for accessories and objets coined the “burl wood room.” It reads more like the interior of a jewelry box than a simple showcase and mimics a Wrightian technique of compressing space, which accentuates this whirling textured enclosure, before releasing patrons back into breathier rooms. The shift adds to the impact of revisiting a double-height volume. Canadian artist Jeff Martin’s eccentric jigsaw tables add to the effect.

Oak and stone flooring by FAME; Vase right “Growing Pains” by Dee Clements; Vase left Normany Deco Urn by Chris Brock, on loan from JF Chen; Wall Sconce by Olivia Bossy

Behind the flora and opposite the accessories is a mirrored staircase that ascends to an area exclusive in access, which hosts a generous VIP fitting room and can accommodate press events or the discretion required for particular clientele.

Custom console/bench by Kelly Wearstler; Vintage lamp by Gianfranco Frattini for Arteluce; Vintage wood chair circa 1980s; Corner plant stand by Brittany Mojo; Vintage lounge chair by Joe Colombo, upholstered in vintage textiles; Custom Floret table by Ross Hansen

Wearstler’s staging throughout is masterful. Every interior vignette is as anthropological as it is the practice of interior design. Retail items are positioned in staccato between a mixture of both vintage goods and locally sourced contemporary designs. Three sconces crafted by Olivia Bossy hang in the main atrium while a handmade ceramic sconce by French artist Olivia Cognet stuns in the VIP fitting room not far off from a Moisart chair by French artist Christian Astuguevieille. Noteworthy still is a pair of Carlo Scarpa 1970s Cornaro wood-framed armchairs, Ingo Maurer’s fan-like Uchiwa wall lights, and a high-backed carved wood hall chair by Urano Palma.

Moissart Chair by Christian Astuguevieille; Jabin Totem side table by Daniel Orozco; Vintage wall sconce by Gunna Asplund; Custom plaster wall covering by Studio 1 Plaster

The project marks a significant milestone for the renowned interior designer. “It was our first exterior architecture project. The building hadn’t been updated in decades, so we needed to revive the architecture first and foremost,” Wearstler says. “We embraced tons of natural light and found opportunities to bring the outside in. The Brachychiton grounding the center of the boutique near the staircase couldn’t have existed prior to the renovation.”

Implications of the store’s location are twofold for the fashion designer. “We already have a connection with many of the makers, producers, and incredible denim dye houses here, and now our proximity allows us to harmoniously create custom and exclusive pieces for the store,” Johnson says. “I look forward to expanding what we can make in L.A for L.A.” But more importantly is its positioning with potential to serve as a hub in West Hollywood’s Design District. “Creating community and public space here felt very important, the local makers, and the women who have long been supporters of the brand,” Johnson continues. “This intention is aligned with some of the initiatives West Hollywood has undertaken, in so far as nurturing permeable soil and creating a rich pedestrian life.”

Photography by Adrian Gout.

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. A regular contributor to titles under the SANDOW Design Group, including Luxe and Metropolis, Joseph serves the Design Milk team as their Managing Editor. When not practicing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design. The New York-based writer has also contributed to exhibitions hosted by the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture and Architectural Digest, and recently published essays and collage illustrations with Proseterity, a literary publication.

Every iterative improvement of the smartphone has added to an undeniable reality: mobile devices are generally all the same in form and function. Of course, the capabilities and quality of features do differ to a degree, but compared to the earliest years of iPhone and Android most phones today are all rather capable devices. So how does a smartphone distinguish itself from the crowd beyond minor hardware tweaks and incremental annual spec updates? According to PUNKT, it is not by addition, but by subtraction.

Mobile manufacturer PUNKT has always operated with an independent punk spirit, developing devices guided by the ethos of protecting focus, stillness, and restructuring the framework in which we interact with technology. This has manifested in devices such as the Jasper Morrison designed PUNKT MP02, a minimalist phone retaining the connections while removing the distractions. Essentially, PUNKT filters out many of the distractions associated with carrying a smart phone, right down to its monochromatic OS.

The MC02 not only monitors the safety risk level of individual apps, but also the environmental imprint of apps operating on the device, with the option to dial up or down usage any time.

While the MP02’s smaller screen and large physical buttons are effective in filtering function to tactile 4G simplicity, the truth is most of us still want a mobile device with a larger screen. PUNKT’s new MC02 expands upon the simplicity, privacy with security, and quiet tech UI/UX of the MP02 to deliver an entire ecosystem prioritizing what the brand defines as “personal digital sovereignty.”

The MC02 is a no bare bones affair, and includes a 6.7” 1080 x 2400 394 PPI resolution screen, 64mp back / 24mp front camera, 6GB memory, and 5,500 mAh battery rated for over 24 hours of use.

Despite its monochromatic UI/UX intentionally toned down to deemphasize the draw of colorful app icons, the MC02’s screen itself is capable of 16 million colors at 24-bit depth, allowing users to review photos they’ve taken or watch videos just like any phones.

PUNKT claims “over 90% of smartphone apps track you across the internet,” a practice integral to Android+Google’s business model where that data is in turn sold to advertisers. Built upon the Apostrophy OS, the MC02 is built to prevent such perpetual personal data and behavior tracking, an operating system built upon the open-source version of Android that allows for support of Android apps without the inclusion of Google Mobile Services.

Apostrophy OS does this by sandboxing each application into partitioned segments. Users can still access a dedicated application store, utilize over-the-air software updates anywhere in the world, customize their on-device Virtual Private Network (VPN), while also accessing the necessities of a digital life, including Email, Calendar, Contacts, and other personal information all securely stored within Switzerland.

All of this personal privacy protection does come at a price. The MC02 operates using a subscription model, with the first 12 months of services free, and about $17 per month thereafter.

The $749 PUNKT MC02 is currently available for pre-orders, scheduled to ship January 2024, and includes a TMO/T-Mobile SIM card (but operates as an unlocked 5G device allowing support from other regional providers). More details at PUNKT.ch.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Celebrating the city’s creative talents, NYCxDESIGN presents its fourth annual exhibition and poster campaign, An Ode to NYC. Nine graphic designers were chosen to illustrate the NYC of tomorrow for a collection of one-of-a-kind posters that demonstrate the robust creativity of New York’s design scene. All posters are available exclusively through Poster House and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Design Advocates, an extensive network of designers, architects, and engineers working together to serve the public good.

“Tomorrowland by Natasha Jen, marked with the declaration ‘New York Est. 1624,’ embodies the convergence of the city’s historical narrative with the avant-garde design aesthetics of retrofuturism. The skyline emerges as both a testament to architectural ingenuity and an emblem of the city’s perpetual transformation. It conjures an impression of New York’s enduring vitality and its relentless quest for progress. This poster prompts imagination of the interplay between tradition and expectation, history, and the limitless possibilities of New York’s future.”

Pulse of the City by Standard Issue

“Pulse of the City by Standard Issue, New York-based design consultancy, is a testament to the firm’s love for this city and for design, by way of Massimo Vignelli’s classic 1972 NYC subway map connecting people from every part of the five boroughs.”

Metropulse by Scott Henderson, Scott Henderson Inc.

“Metropulse by Scott Henderson celebrates the exuberance and history of design in New York, with a nod to its mid-century roots mashed together with the fresh and contemporary. Reminiscent of a watercolor painting, Metropulse conveys the sense of fluidity that only New York City can deliver.”

New York or Nowhere by Dotun Abeshinbioke, ábiké studio

“New York or Nowhere by Dotun Abeshinbioke is a nod to the quote that can be found graffitied around NYC streets. In this poster, she created different typographical treatments using the quote on plastic bags, as a play on the classic ‘Thank You’ bags. The choice of typography is also a nod to the type that can be found in and around the city from The New York Times to store signage.”

“The Brownstone by Mia Coleman is inspired by New York’s iconic brownstone buildings, and the stylish Black and Brown people that have inhabited them for generations. It’s also an ode to Black hair and beauty as a means of creative expression from Black women of the African Diaspora. This piece honors the notion that NYC will always be the top destination for diverse people who bring culture, style and beauty to the city.”

City Flourish by Raven Mo

“City Flourish by Raven Mo captures the intricate dance of NYC’s native plants and insects thriving in the city. It is a drawing to celebrate the resilience of these often-overlooked critters in our urban ecosystem. Mo invites viewers to appreciate the delicate harmony that grows amidst the concrete jungle, reminding us of the importance of conserving native plants and insects.”

Welcome2NYC by Emanuela Frattini Magnusson, EFM Design

“With Welcome2NYC, Emanuela Frattini Magnusson invites viewers to dive into an unstructured jumble of many parts that coexist in an ever-changing productive chaos. In her own words, it ‘allows you to go with a flow that can take you in directions you were not expecting, where you can find beauty where others may not, and either way – that’s ok.’”

United by Hip Hop by Shani Sandy, IBM

“United by Hip Hop by Shani Sandy depicts a boombox, blasting hip hop’s native tongue, a force that has brought New Yorkers together from points of the city for decades. In Sandy’s words, hip hop invites city dwellers to ‘sing the songs of our neighborhoods and those we’ve never been to…together.”

Bikes, Buses, Trains & Walkable Spaces by Troy Fasilakis, Brooklyn Museum

“Bikes, Buses, Trains & Walkable Spaces by Troy Fasilakis invites contemplation of New York City’s urban design. While public spaces and transit are among the things that make NYC great, 76% of the city’s public space is dedicated to the movement and storage of cars. If this space, even a fraction of it, can be better utilized to serve the people who live here — from parks to tree canopies, to subways to bike lanes — the city can create a more sustainable and equitable future for its residents by putting their health, safety, and the environment first.”

To shop the 4th edition of An Ode To NYC, visit posterhouse.com.

As the Senior Contributing Editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She’s probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.

First designed 25 years ago in 1998, David Weeks Studio has reissued one of its earliest works: the Aluminum Bullet Chandelier. A perfect example of the studio’s genre-defining, sculptural light fixtures, the limited-edition handcrafted work has been pulled from the archives and gently revamped and refined. Clearly paying homage to the timeless bullet-shaped shades of the 1950s, the chandelier was originally designed to fit into large-scale, traditional dining spaces.

Merging traditional archetypes with contemporary aesthetics, the Aluminum Bullet Chandelier rethinks the formality of its predecessors while remaining close to the profile of a crystal chandelier with an oval-shaped top view. To achieve the lighting’s sleek profile, Weeks worked to fine-tune the piece, employing his signature, hands-on process of formal reduction.

“One of the trickiest details proved to be getting the profile right. I intentionally created the arms to be longer than necessary; this way, I could slowly trim them down until ultimately achieving the exact proportions I envisioned. In the end, I removed almost half of each arm, creating arches that were roughly 2” from the peak to the arch’s depth; a much more subtle look than originally anticipated,” he added.

The chandelier’s frame consists of four hand-bent, intersecting powder-coated steel rods with eight hand-spun shades on each arm. The unique format allows each arm to rotate and directionally cast light, intended to reflect its glow off the ceiling as fill light. Updates to the reissued Aluminum Bullet Chandelier include slight modifications to its materiality, as well as adjustment to it’s center shaft for easier wiring.

The light is available in several finishes, including a white satin exterior and white satin interior, a black satin exterior with black gloss interior, and an aluminum exterior with an ivory satin interior and an oil rubbed bronze frame, all with a jewelry level finish. Custom finishes are also available upon request.

To learn more about the reissued Aluminum Bullet Chandelier, visit davidweeksstudio.com.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she’s likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.

Wrapping up another year of Designer Desktops is Glenyse Thompson, a Florida-based contemporary artist known for her vibrant and ethereal paintings. In her recent works, Thompson’s use of liquid inks create organic shapes and flows are scented with a hand-drawn “conversation,” what she calls the sculptural forms that are featured in each of her works.

For this month’s Desktop, her Florida Daybreak design for A Street Prints is a soothing abstract wall mural with washes of blues, teal, purple and green. The 5-panel mural is inspired by calm yet deep waters and adds a colorful backdrop to modern spaces.

Florida Daybreak

Get the same soothing mural for your tech devices with the links below!

DESKTOP: 1024×768  1280×1024  1680×1050  1900×1200  2560×1440

MOBILE: iPhone XS  iPhone XS Max  iPad Pro

Additional original work by Glenyse Thompson:

Wonderland II, 22″ circular painting

I Do Envy (As We Are The Unaccepted), 18×12″ painting

Gifted in the Art of Conversation, 16×12″ painting

Learn more about Glenyse Thompson here and A Street Prints here.

View and download past Designer Desktops here.

As the Senior Contributing Editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She’s probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.

Our smartphones have undeniably become the preeminent photographic tool used to document our daily lives, democratizing photography to levels of ubiquity in its simplicity and convenience. But what does smartphone photography look like in the hands of a professional artist tasked to capture images guided by the emotion of nostalgia using only an iPhone 15 Pro Max? I Remember You, a two-day photography exhibition in Le Marais in Paris at the Salon Corderie focuses on the answer.

Photo: BFA/Pierrick Rocher

I Remember You exhibited the original works of five artists on November 10th, each equipped with Apple’s latest and greatest titanium embellished, iPhone 15 Pro Max, and only guided to attempt to answer the questions posed above.

Photo: BFA/Pierrick Rocher

Isolde Brielmaier, PhD and deputy director of the New Museum was the curatorial advisor on the project. During her tenure as the International Center of Photography in New York (ICP) Curator-at-Large, she conceptualized and curated an exhibition whose theme, Inward, lent itself to the use of the iPhone camera. Photo: BFA/Pierrick Rocher

Artists invited to participate include, Malin Fezehai (New York/Nairobi), Karl Hab (Paris), Vivien Liu (Hong Kong), Mika Ninagawa (Tokyo), and Stefan Ruiz (New York) collectively working around the theme of “nostalgia and a stoic empowerment in preserving moments in time just as they’re meant to be remembered.”

Photo: BFA/Pierrick Rocher

With the iPhone Pro Max’s new 5x Telephoto lens, 48 MP resolution, and the camera’s ability to alter the bokeh and focal point after capturing an image, each artist was tasked to approach the theme of memory and emotions with little restraint beyond the camera they were given.

Photo: BFA/Pierrick Rocher

The works on display during the short 2-day exhibition range from portraiture, landscapes, to more abstract explosions of floral color, in sum exhibiting the possibilities of using a smartphone as a selective artistic tool rather than a mere pragmatic option.

Photo: BFA/Pierrick Rocher

Ansel Adams is quoted as saying, “There’s nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept,” a reminder to those enamored by their tools to develop their artistic eye rather than obsess over the technical trappings of their camera gear. I Remember You reinforces Adam’s advice, proving the best camera is the one you have with you.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.