In 1925 Cooper-Hewitt added to its collection “Jenny Lind Paper Doll, and Ten Costumes Designed for her Operatic Roles” from an unknown designer and was featured in the 2005 "Faster, Cheaper, Newer, More: Revolutions of 1848"  exhibition. Upon discovering it in the collection,  I was immediately drawn to it because some of my favorite childhood toys were...

Who can forget those 1990’s Levi’s commercials – marketing sex appeal, celebrity fashion, romance and rock ‘n’ roll style!  Instilling marketing slogans like “Originals stand the test of time” and “The more you wash them the better they get,” Levi’s jeans are an iconic image of American culture and style. Today, Levi’s signature button down...

This bowl is a fantastic example of work by Klaus Moje, a master designer known to “paint with glass.” To design this object, Moje used kiln-formed fused twisted canes (glass that has been stretched into thin rods or strips) of semi-opaque red-orange glass with deep transparent blues.  Next, the strips were heat laminated together to...

Edward Gorey, an author and illustrator known for his macabre stories was very passionate about ballet. One of his most well-known books is The Gilded Bat, the story of how Maudie, a girl given to staring at dead birds, is transformed into Mirelle, a chic and mysterious prima ballerina. The woeful tale chronicles her journey...

Two years ago, the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum closed for renovations and the opportunity opened up to explore a school-based program: Design in the Classroom.  This free 45-minute, single visit workshop introduces K-12 students to design thinking.  In short, design thinking is a term describing the way designers critically assess the "things" all around us....

Originally designed and installed in the entrance to the executive office suite of the Chanin Building, this finely crafted pair of gates provide an excellent example of the important role metalwork played in defining the Art Deco style of New York skyscrapers and other buildings built from the mid-1920’s into the early 1940’s. American sculptor Rene Paul Chambellan created...

This is the third year Cooper-Hewitt's Design Educators are going into New York City schools and leading free design workshops!  We are excited to bring in some new design challenges to the classrooms.  Registration is now available on-line for the 2013-2014 school year.    Target Design K-12 Design in the Classroom is a single 45-minute...

Written by Cooper-Hewitt Docent Anna Daley.  Anna is a graduate of the Cooper-Hewitt/Parsons the New School for Design Master's Program in the History of the Decorative Arts and Design. She teaches the History of Graphic Design at Parsons and the History of Industrial Design at Montclair State University.  When a museum goes dark, not only...

  The 2013 National Art Education Association (NAEA) National Convention was held in Fort Worth, Texas on March 7 – 10. The NAEA Design Issues Group (DIG) invited Cooper-Hewitt to participate in their workshop “Classroom Design for Art Teachers and Students.”  The workshop included eight stations with various DIG members presenting.  My presentation was focused on Cooper-Hewitt’s...

As manager of school and tours at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum I have the great opportunity to see design come alive in classrooms all over NYC. It's also thrilling when I can chat with a teacher who has implemented one of our workshop programs and has seen the exciting results. I interviewed Aviva Carmeli, Art...

At first glance, Figures with Still Life, designed by Ruth Reeves, looks like a modern art painting. I did a double take when I realized it was, instead, a screen printed textile on plain weave. Throughout her career, Reeves designed a variety of objects in modern styles including tapestries, wall hangings, wall fabrics, carpeting, and...

Melooni is a large-scale design made of concentric ovals in orange, fuchsia, black, and purple on a red ground. It is produced by screen printing on cotton fabric. The Melooni pattern was designed for Marimekko in 1963 by designer Maija Isola, who created 533 designs for Marimekko over the course of her thirty-eight year career....

This is the second year Cooper-Hewitt's Design Educators are going into New York City schools and leading free design workshops!  Target Design K-12:  Design in the Classroom web site  has a revised Teacher Resource Packet that includes all the valuable feedback given by teachers who participated last year.  Registration is now available on-line for the 2012-2013 school year. Target Design K-12 Design...