Writing about an object designed for al fresco dining could not be a better way to tempt the weather gods to bring on the return of spring. This object of the day is ‘Plack’, a picnic tray designed by Jean-Pierre Vitrac, and produced by Diam in 1977. In contrast to indifferently designed plastic picnic ware...

Today’s blog post was originally published on June 18, 2013. In 1970, Steven Frykholm was working as the in-house graphic designer for the furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, Inc., when a company vice-president stopped by his desk.  Every summer, the VP said, Herman Miller hosted a company picnic.  Perhaps Frykholm would make up a poster for the...

The Tillett Cold Wax System was one of the techniques Jack Lenor Larsen covered in detail in his 1969 book, The Dyer’s Art. Leslie Tillett explained, “I began serious research on a screen-printable resist material about three years after arriving in this country in 1947… I was after a formula or substance that would easily...

The weather in New York City is playing a funny joke right now. Visible from the windows of the Cooper Hewitt are sunny blue skies, trees with new green leaves, tulips, daffodils and some cheeky birds flirting with each other. After gray winter months of slush and ice, the city beckons with the promise of...

Sumptuously crafted by the Paris silversmith Gavet, this cutlery set was a luxury object intended for stylish travelers in the early nineteenth century. Cleverly designed with nesting parts, the set includes everything an affluent city dweller could need to dine outdoors, including a fork and spoon with detachable ebony handles inlaid with silver, a folding steel...