Chrysalis Lamp

During a recent trip to DC, I discovered this amazing, silk cocoon pendant lamp hanging in a restaurant (more on restaurant later) in the buzzy heart of developing "U" Street. From the Thai design firm Ango, it's made entirely of empty(?) cocoons woven together with wire threading and resembles a dense cluster of supernovas in The Milky Way. It is available as a pendant, floor, …

Disturbance at the Great Eastern Hotel

The future starts in London this weekend, with Disturbance at the Great Eastern Hotel. It's a showcase for fourteen design students from the Royal College of Art, and includes new product ideas scattered around the hotel that are meant to provoke participation and interaction. Of the eighteen pieces on show, I've picked out three of my favorites. Brit Leissler's Punch'n'Cuddle Bag is what you would …

ILVA

A big Scandinavian furniture store with a four-letter name that starts and ends in vowels is about to open a gigantic branch on the outskirts of London. No big deal, you might think. However, this is not the Swedish behemoth you're imagining, but Danish competition in the form of ILVA. The firm began in its homeland 32 years ago, before opening a flagship in Ikea's …