Interview: Formafantasma Studio

The Netherlands-based, Italian "design bastards" put together their entire body of work for a solo exhibition

by Stefano Caggiano Formafantasma—a studio based in Eindhoven, Netherlands—is run by Italian designers Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Ferrasin, who have become famous over the past few years for their alchemical approach to design and their use of live materials such as sea sponge and natural resins. The duo began working together during their university studies; now their work bends the barriers and ventures into strange …

The Aviary

A new micro-shop in Seattle sells objects that inspire and stimulate the brain

by Sam Bovarnick In Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, on an unusually cloudy summer evening, CH visited Ken Mitchell’s creativity shop The Aviary. Stepping into The Aviary is a joyfully discombobulating experience. The shop is maybe 10×10 ft and is explosive with color. The Aviary’s stimulating wares—Lomography cameras and film, journals from Binderwork, Midori and Ogami; toys like Bubber, and Kidsonroof totems—are displayed on sleek triangular shelving …

De Kas, Amsterdam

The greenhouse-turned-restaurant that cooks food the very same day it's harvested

by Jennifer Miller Imagine eating dinner inside a house made almost entirely of glass. The walls are eight meters high and one can see vibrant gardens, nesting storks and rows upon rows of tall climbing vines, strung with leaves and laden with tomatoes and melons. You also can see right into the kitchen. This is De Kas, one of Amsterdam’s most unique restaurants, where agriculture …