When New York-based Architecture Plus Information (A+I) was called to design a new creative workplace in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City for Publicis Groupe, the expectation was high. After all, the French advertising giant is one of the oldest advertising and public relationships company in the industry and the second largest communications group in the world. Not only did the firm deliver on the promise of excellence, it also formed a new collective called “Le Truc” (French for “thing-a-ma-jig” or “whazzit”), a model within the Publicis Group that breaks down conventional advertising norms to unleash next-level creativity. This collective of “monsters” leans into the spirit of a start-up but wields the vast resources of a world-leading marketing powerhouse.

To start, A+I had to figure out how Publicis goes about its work – the logistics of their creative process and the system under which the company operates to create its magic. Recognizing that the traditional advertising company workplace is bound by outdated norms, they set out to design a multifaceted office experience.

Like the non-linear nature of creativity, the new space supports creativity’s  ebb and flow with diverse environments that support different modes of working. There are not an equal number of workstations as there are employees. Instead, a number of flexible, non-deterministic areas offer flexibility and opportunity for collaboration. Bullpens, auditoriums, libraries, nooks, niches, and lounges are available so that everyone can find a place where they work best, and at any stage of their creative process.

Vibrant yet minimal, every vignette feels like a movie set from a utopian film. Curves are a repeated motif throughout the office, as if to challenge the traditional idea of something  boxed in, and echoes in the seating, the arrangement of furniture, additional furnishings, the windows, ceilings, surfaces, and more. Sunken rooms and benches establish a casual environment, both for heads down work and impromptu meetings.

A cafe and lounge space offer the opportunity for social connectivity and camaraderie to fold into work.

The spaces are bold and rich in color, which is found on the walls, floor, and furniture. Playful surprises, like the upside-down mirror and mirrored ceiling below, create a sensorial experience atypical of corporate workplaces.

Employees can even choose to work in niches and nooks, all in different moods, sizes, and modalities.

Without a doubt, A+I’s goal to create a “Clubhouse for Creativity” for Le Truc has been achieved, setting a new standard for contemporary offices of the future.

Photography by Magda Biernat.

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.

Lovesac founder Shawn Nelson’s entrepreneurial journey began when he was 13 years old, a kid on a bus on the way to middle school, when, he says, a transcendent moment alongside his classmates made clear the principles that guide his brand today: “They are equally worthy of every opportunity, accolade, or award. These are people with dreams no less than mine, and I need to love and respect them. I need to love and respect everyone for that matter, just by virtue of their existence.”



How that became the ethos behind Lovesac – the furniture company selling bean bags and modular furniture around the globe, feted by Richard Branson, and more – is Nelson’s life story, one he shares in his new book: Let Me Save You 25 Years: Mistakes, Miracles, and Lessons from the Lovesac Story. It’s part memoir, part business case study, part photo scrapbook. Some of the book’s best moments show how Nelson’s experiences have walked the line between “lucky” and “exceptionally well prepared.” Before getting the company off the ground, Nelson was working toward a “high-paying international consulting job now waiting for [him] back in Shanghai” – and part of that prep was interning in China and graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in Mandarin. Those language abilities came in handy when he was able to source supplies for an exceptionally large order in China, avoiding markups and middlemen, and walking into those negotiations with those suppliers already speaking their language. It covers the business from its DIY birth at a Salt Lake City JOANN Fabrics in in the 1990s through the brand’s next 25 years, instigating a “‘buy it for life’ movement among all consumers everywhere” and “achiev[ing] our stated mission to build ‘The most beloved brand in America’ someday.”

In this Milkshake, Nelson takes a brief break from those ambitious goals to talk to us about his hopes for the brand and hardwiring sustainability into its products. “Our stated purpose is to inspire humankind to buy better stuff, so they can buy less stuff,” he says. “And that’s how I intend to spend the balance of my life, if it takes it. It’s hard to find really, really good stuff anymore.” He also shares the books that sustained him on his own entrepreneurial journey, as well as what he feels is the most important lesson of the 25 he shares in the book. It’s the final one. “Maintain top ambition with infinite patience,” Nelson says. “As someone who is ambitious, being patient – or sometimes telling people to be patient – feels really unambitious. Being forced to take it slow, I’ve learned great patience – it’s become a superpower. Don’t take your foot off the gas – but take the pressure off that [idea] that ‘By this age, I have to be so wealthy’ or ‘By this age or by this year, we have to accomplish so much.’ You can just say, ‘Look, here’s what we’re trying to do – inspire humankind to buy better, to buy less’ – and we’ll take as long as it takes to get there.”

Diana Ostrom, who has written for Wallpaper, Interior Design, ID, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets, is also the author of Faraway Places, a newsletter about travel.

Milkshake, DMTV (Design Milk TV)’s first regular series, shakes up the traditional interview format by asking designers, creatives, educators and industry professionals to select interview questions at random from their favorite bowl or vessel. During their candid discussions, you’ll not only gain a peek into their personal homeware collections, but also valuable insights into their work, life and passions.

This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!

A storied creative journey conspires with the distillation of abstract shapes and material experimentation in Lostine’s expanded Modernism Lighting Collection. The Philadelphia-based marketplace and design studio adds four fresh fixtures to the range: Onslow Floor Lamp, Onslow Table Lamp, Cora Table Lamp, and Malcom Table Lamp. What was originally intended to be fashioned from clay is now fully realized in a variety of woods, which anchor the furnishings in a natural richness and warmth emanating from the variegated patterns.

“This new collection of table lamps was inspired by a direction of strong, simple forms that would allow the material to speak for itself. Exploring that concept in our material vocabulary of wood was really interesting,” explain Natalie Page and Robert Ogden, the husband-and-wife creative duo behind the brand. “We also found that in evolving this idea we talked a lot about the primitive but sculptural style that we revere in African antique furniture as well as the abstract, curvaceous shapes of the Bauhaus Period that inspired us.”

The offerings effortlessly navigate a smattering of aesthetics often bridging the gap between traditional, modern, and organic design languages – proving to be a useful lighting solution for eclectic spaces. Each new edition is offered with a variety of curated customizations, which include a homespun linen shade in black or ivory, wood bases in aspen or walnut, and beige or hazelnut rayon cords. The designers also hint at the possibility of introducing products in the ceiling and wall light categories, but there is plenty to love until then.

Svelte yet understated. Impressive in stature but not overpowering. The Onslow Floor Lamp manages to scale the elegance of a tabletop sculptural form up while maintaining an approachability and organic materiality without pandering to campier aesthetics.

The smaller sibling to the floor lamp, the Onslow Table Lamp is equally alluring while being self-assured in its compact form. Like the other objects, it marries an organic material palette with a streamlined, modern silhouette more practical for smaller spaces.

The Cora Table Lamp is reminiscent of a bottle shape boasting a gracefully slender neck and bulbous base. The contrast in thickness articulates a unique form that can read as ultra-modern while still being classically romantic and oddly beguiling.

With a sturdy build and slightly more traditional silhouette, the Malcolm Table Lamp helps round out the expanded collection. Its presence exudes a timeless style while flirting with the contemporary making this a great option for those who want something more reserved.

Learn more about the design studio and their marketplace at Lostine.com.

This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!

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.

Attend enough CES shows and you’re guaranteed to feel a sense of deja vu. That’s because many concepts revealed at the annual consumer electronics trade show are in reality years ahead of becoming a product – proof of concept designs – and they come back to reappear over and over as various iterations. Samsung’s Ballie falls within that category, an AI-powered personal home assistant that rolled into our hearts way back in 2020. The spherical robot has returned for CES 2024, this time with a more impressive array of household functions serving family members, right down to the four-legged variety.

Compared to the simple spherical launch design, Samsung’s newly updated Ballie robot rolls back into the spotlight with a much more polished and capable 3-wheeled mobile design. It ditches the mostly faceless, Dune stillsuit ribbing of its predecessor for a form reminiscent of the Pixar-designed robot that Samsung’s device rhymes with – with a colorful dash of Among Us thrown in.

Most noticeable is Ballie’s front facing monocular visage that gives the AI-powered assistant its “face.” It’s also a port from where Ballie can project images from to communicate or to be used as a mobile video projector that can be aimed at walls, floors, or ceilings via an onboard projector.

Ballie is being promoted as an autonomous personal home assistant, one that can greet you at the door with the enthusiasm of a beloved canine companion. Your pet may be cuter, but Samsung hopes to make AI robot companions an invaluable member of the household by interconnecting them with their own network of home appliances while also operating as a mobile monitoring system.

Samsung’s CES presentation conjures situations where Ballie is tasked to dispense treats via a connected compatible pet food dispenser (cool!), while also keeping the dog entertained using projected video (questionable).

A small pop-up remote control emerges from the top of Ballie to send signals to turn manage lights, air filtration units, laundry, and other smart home devices.

Ballie is also presented as a home office assistant, summoned to aid in video conference calls and projecting images during collaborative work sessions.

We’re old enough to remember the Sony Aibo and the brief excitement it created with its promises of companionship and robotic services. AI and robotics have evolved considerably since those early days of rudimentary electronics, and an entire emerging market of AI-powered home assistants and other partial-to-fully autonomous robots will pervade spaces interconnected by their devices and appliances. Whether it will be a cute little yellow Samsung droid is yet to be seen, noting the Korean manufacturer has yet to reveal pricing, specs, or availability.

This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!

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.

Mentally out of office, dreaming of sun-filled days and owning enough beachfront property to recreate this setup of the Contour Daybed. Haldane’s architectural statement piece features circular geometries and oversized details, inspired by organic shapes and, fantastically, body positivity. Designed by Haldane Martin, the Contour Daybed instantly upgrades the luxury level of any alfresco situation through its impressive color, form, and materials.

The designer’s organic approach is evident in the object’s lines. The outdoor piece is also a nod to Ubald Klug’s layered Terrazza sofa from the 1970s. Martin started there, working his way through to a fresh prototype that would ultimately become the daybed. The canopy is a definitive highlight, inspired by a honeymoon visit to Mauritius, where these types of furnishings are common.

Available in eight fabrics and 22 powder-coated colors, the choices offered remain consistent with Haldane’s palette. The hues reference Cape Town’s triple union of sea, land, and sky, while greens and pale browns of the West Coast provide even more inspiration.

The Contour Daybed’s framework is constructed using Marine grade stainless steel (SS316) tubing. To maintain its luxury and durability, Haldane uses Crevin Fiji, a high-end jacquard weave blend that features a unique texture, is cleanable by bleach, and UV-resistant. It performs great outdoors against the elements, thanks to an internal laminated water-resistant lining.

The upholstery foam is resilient and high quality as well, providing the daybed’s seating with shape that holds. For the shade-providing canopy, Haldane turned to fabric by Screentex, specifically an open-basket weave that’s long-lasting while ensuring optimum transparency and control of natural light.

To learn more about the Contour Daybed, visit haldane.co.za.

Photography by Emma Jude Jackson.

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.

Breaking away from the conventional, Toronto-based architecture firm StudioAC designed the Everden Residence to be “unapologetically contemporary,” while still paying homage to the traditional notions of a “house.” The three-story home plays with the idea of offset stacked boxes, creating a visually captivating structure that seamlessly blends form, space, and design. The architects at StudioAC aimed to transform the archetypal gabled roof from a mere icon into a spatial experience that tells a narrative through each floor.

What sets Everden apart is the deliberate decision to extend the gabled motif to the ground floor, which is typically cubic space. This move enhances the sense of “house” throughout the living spaces, making it feel as if each tier is on its own.

The emphasis on the experience of space allowed StudioAC to work flexibly within the client’s budget plan and vision: to create a home that’s impactful without indulgence. Everden’s exterior showcases a cladding of corrugated metal that’s durable, affordable, and familiar. With meticulous attention to detail paid on each level and parapet, the cost effective material appears high end, resulting in the perception of neatly stacked boxes.

The minimalist, neutral interior is elevated with the peaked wood ceiling that runs from the front of the house to the back. This strategic move not only adds a touch of grandeur but also allows other details to take a backseat, proving to be a more cost-effective approach without compromising on impact.

The main level is flanked by walls of windows on the front and back, creating a light-filled space not often achieved on the ground floor of a house design like this.

The top floor houses the primary suite, also featuring an open layout with the bedroom and bathroom at either ends and the closet in the middle. On the back side, the main bathroom includes a floating tub centered in front of windows looking out to the covered deck.

Passthroughs on either side of the open closet connect the primary bedroom to the bathroom.

Model of the Everden Residence in the hallway of the house

Model of the Everden Residence

Model of the Everden Residence

Photography by Doublespace Photography, courtesy of v2com.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.

Architects are inclined to believe that they can design anything and everything – often with reckless abandon – so when I was invited to participate in Design Within Reach’s (DWR) Champagne Chair Contest, in partnership with Pommery, I knew I had to do it. But to avoid falling victim to the same hubris, or producing a chair that looks like it was plucked from the screen of commercial software, I made a visit to my alma mater at Syracuse University to thumb through texts in the School of Architecture’s proprietary reading room where I first fell in love with periodicals while working for a storied specialty librarian. Leaning into nostalgia, I unpacked my original studio kit and set up shop in the building where I made some of my fondest memories and the most exceptional of friends – thank you to the school for letting me have my moment, again.

This years marks the 20th anniversary of DWR’s now philanthropic event. Makers and purveyors of iconic home furnishings, they challenge the public and invitees alike to create miniature iconic chairs from a short list of champagne bottle materials. Participants of this competition may enter in one of three categories: most original design, best likeness to an iconic design, or Pommery prize for the design that uses the novel materials provided – I chose the latter of the three.

In the spirit of Beaux-Art tradition, I approached the task as a charrette where students are presented a creative brief and meant to ideate, iterate, and bring their concept to fruition within the allotted time. The kit contained packaging from Pommery including two of each caps, wrappers, corks, and the stickers from fresh bottles of their champagne – all of which must fit within a 4″ x 4″ x 4″ volume once assembled into a miniature chair.

The process took roughly five hours from start to finish, but the best decisions weren’t made until the very end when I had no choice but to trust myself and produce. The first challenge was carving “cushions” from the corks to create the sculptural forms that give the chair its visual weight – a back that is tall and broad before tapering to meet the seat. The foil wrappers serve as two-tone upholstery to provide a bold body in contrast to a bright, reflective base from which the upper portion blossoms, and in some cases, appears to float. It is a completely self-supporting structure made from the cages that not only secure various sections together, but also articulate trim around the base. And the curling treatment, which fashion foil arms, is the final embellishment imbuing the chair with a classical sensibility – contemporized twin volutes borrowed from the ionic order.

Like most studio projects, what began with a seemingly clear vision, and the accompanying sketches, was soon turned upside by the process. I could not implement my original plan, nor could I properly manufacture the elements as I had imagined – in part because I failed to bring the correct blades, glue, or pliers. But if you’re doing it right, design should be a mixture of challenging, rewarding, and humbling. This unique shared experience is a peek behind the curtain and all that goes into thoughtful making, which our throwaway culture desperately needs. “The contest provides our community a place in the larger design conversation. It’s not pretentious or exclusive,” says Omar Nobil, VP of Product Design and Brand Creative for DWR. “Anyone can enter, and every concept is accepted. Design is universal, and we want to make it accessible through this fun and festive initiative.”

In the liminal space between an initial confidence in my craft and later relinquishing of control to the material, I was reminded how cathartic making can be. For many, creativity is an affliction, a need to exercise an idea where relief only comes once it is fully realized. But to arrive at that place requires oneself to embrace the potential for failure, something I was often unable to do during my studies. Once I stopped treating everything as precious I was able to tap into the ingenuity and resilience my education helped me access long ago.

For each entry, MillerKnoll Foundation donated $50 (up to $20,000) to United States Artists, a nonprofit that supports and celebrates their essential role in society. To read more about the competition and see previous entries visit dwr.com.

Photography, video, art direction, and light cajoling by Kollina Dacko.

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.

As usual, Samsung’s footprint across this year’s CES show left a wide and deep impression. In addition to announcing partnerships with residential power provider Tesla ahead of the show, unveiling a new ecosystem of AI-powered kitchen appliances, and rolling out a newly updated smart home companion robot, the consumer electronics giant launched the industry’s first ‘OLED Glare Free’ technology along with a transparent Micro LED television that attracted CES crowds to ooh and ahh. But hidden in plain sight at Samsung’s booth was a new audio solution aimed at the decor-minded seeking an aesthetic solution for home theater surround sound.

The customizable Music Frame is an extension of Samsung’s long lasting and popular, The Frame, televisions built around a form factor emulating framed art rather than a wall hung display. Taking a similar approach (and one comparable to the Sonos + Ikea SYMFONISK), the Music Frame introduces a surround sound speaker disguised as a modern picture frame that can display art or photography.

The Music Frame is not a digital screen, but requires an actual sized physical photo, piece of artwork, or a diasec matte acrylic plate ‘Art Print’ to complete its presentation.

Connected via Samsung’s Q-Symphony, a feature that allows sound to emanate from your soundbar and your TV’s speakers at the same time, the Music Frame can add another source of surround sound when synced, filling in bass with dual built-in woofers in lieu of a traditional floor standing subwoofer. There’s also a pair of tweeters and two midrange drivers operating in conjunction with waveguides to direct a wider soundstage and also offer Dolby Atmos sound, whether connected via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

You might notice the Music Frame is often shown standing upon its own small integrated stand rather than displayed mounted on the wall. A speaker with dual rear mounted woofers operates optimally with a bit of space to prevent vibrations against the wall, so while wall mounting is an option, it’s probably best to keep these speakers on its stand. Even so, the 13″ x 13″ form factor is small enough to easily reside on a shelf, console, or side table without bringing too much attention to itself (unless desired).

Like much of the most intriguing technology on display at CES 2024, Samsung has yet to share pricing, specs, or a release date associated with the Samsung Music Frame, but we hope to test the speaker as it becomes available to see how it performs against similar consumer solutions such as a Sonos.

This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!

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.

Whether you plan to live in your home longterm or anticipate a move one day, chances are your storage needs will change over time. Perhaps you need more of it, or want to pare down your belongings for something more efficient. With Blendend, a new shelving system by German company halblang, you can adapt your furniture to whatever circumstances you find yourself in.

Blendend’s modular system allows you to add or remove shelf space as you see fit. The unique interchangeable panels, available in different patterns and materials, hides away any unsightly items, like cords and electronics, while still providing space to showcase your beautiful objects. To change up the placement of the panels, simply slide it over for a new look.

Because Blendend is shipped flat-packed and doesn’t require any tools for assembly, moving locations or reconfiguring the shelving system couldn’t be easier. The pieces are also made of European solid ash wood, which makes it durable and easily repairable for small dents and scratches. Since the system is constructed from individual parts, you can replace individual broken elements rather than buy a whole new unit.

Blendend is available as a single shelf model, as well as a four shelf unit (not including the top surface). The panels come in wood (with two different patterns) or acrylic (also with two patterns and a transparent style).

To shop the Blendend collection, visit halblang.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.

An electric motorcycle capable of accelerating zero to 60mph in just 3.5 seconds and capable of jetting to a top speed of 124mph is a tempting proposition for the thrill-seeking set. But many motorcycle riders also depend on their bikes for their daily commute, sharing city streets and highways with much larger cars, trucks, and SUVs at speeds well below their bike’s full potential. Verge Motorcycles is hoping to satiate and serve both the desire for thrills and the necessity for safety with the help of artificial intelligence.

With six cameras and an AI-assisted radar system monitoring the front, back, and sides, the all-electric Verge Motorcycles TS Ultra was unveiled and on display at CES 2024 as the future of motorcycles. “Equipped with the sense of sight,” the bike is designed to navigate traffic with the aid of an AI system that includes everything you might know and depend upon behind the wheel of a modern car: collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure assistance. In essence, it’s engineered to go fast, but with a heightened awareness of its surroundings.

Alongside safety and vital drive info, the Starmatter Dash operates as the bike’s infotainment center.

Displayed across a large Starmatter Dash, the TS Ultra gives riders a 360-degree view of its surroundings, an overview made possible by a combination of optical and high-resolution front and back radar sensors. Hazard warnings, blind spot assistance, and rear view cameras are paired with other safety features such as traction control, an anti-brake-locking system, and even a custom ride mode that sets max speed and torque limits so you don’t accidentally push the bike – and yourself – beyond safe riding parameters.

And at 1,200Nm of torque delivered by its rear wheel, there can be a lot to handle for those not yet fully initiated with riding an electric motorcycle equipped to accelerate in a heartbeat. Speaking of the rear wheel, you might have noticed the TS Ultra is missing a hub. Verge’s team hid the motor inside the wheel to maintain a low center of gravity and proximity to the bike’s underbelly battery pack. Beyond the benefit of improved maneuverability and stability, it’s obvious Verge recognizes the cool factor of its cyberpunk design.

Verge offers the TS Ultra in a selection of five colors – white, black, red, yellow, and green – alongside seasonal special editions.

Verge Motorcycles chief technology officer Marko Lehtimäki says their goals are to become the safest bike in the market, something akin to Volvo and Polestar’s automotive ethos, but on two wheels. If we’re being real, it would be safe to venture the average TS Ultra customer will arrive drawn by its slew of safety features equipped across the $44,900 electric motorcycle, but over time and with everyday use we’d suspect having those extra technological sensors will not go unappreciated noting the most dangerous drive is the one we take daily.

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.