ODL

6/6/12

DesignMarketo stages the latest installment of their Bar Alto series in Atlanta, Georgia. ODLCO is honored to be providing a set of glasses for the bar, modified from the classic Duralex, used at Milan Design Week's famous Bar Basso. Flocked with fibers normally used to create animal hunting decoys, our tumblers bring a bit of the sporting outdoors to the bar.

6/6/12

Tele Vision: Graduate Design Thesis Show 2012 at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

"Tele vision, interpreted through its Greek and Latin roots, means “seeing from a distance.” The projects presented in the 2012 Graduate Design Show share this long view perspective, far-reaching in speculation, application, or duration."

Lisa Smith and Caroline Linder (of ODLCO and ODL) along with Odile Compagnon (architect) have guest curated this year's Architecture, Interior Architecture, Designed Objects and Fashion Graduate Show at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, entitled Tele Vision. Preview work by the 2012 graduating class and read the curatorial statement at saicdesignshow.com.

The public reception is on June 11, from 6-8 pm. Click "read more" for all the details.

05/18/2012-05/21/2012

Balloon Factory at Japan Premium Beef

New York, NY

Balloon Factory was invited by Sight Unseen to design a window installation for Japan Premium Beef as part of the NoHo Design District, a recurring gathering of off-site design events during the annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York each year.

The Balloon Factory project started as a performance, but it has persisted as a factory. We produce balloons for special events and by request. For Japan Premium Beef, we made a set of butcher-themed balloons (in the tradition of Sam Baron's sausage installation there in 2010). A selection of uninflated steak balloons were displayed on butcher trays, framed by an installation of hanging sausage balloon links. This iteration extends the original Balloon Factory project and carries a strong reference to the intricate fake food prevalent in restaurant windows in Japan.

The meat balloons are up for sale until supplies run out. Get one at the ODLCO online store.

Prepping the sausage links for display on the morning of May 17th.

5/16/12

Sneak Peek: Meat Balloons at Japan Premium Beef

Sight Unseen invited us to participate in this year's NoHo Design District for New York Design Week. We've made custom butcher-themed meat balloons as a storefront display for Japan Premium Beef. Come by and see it if you're in town, and don't miss the rest of the design events this week.

3/15/12

Jerszy Seymour speaks at SAIC Tonight!

Tonight, Berlin-based designer Jerszy Seymour will present A General Theory of Design," at the Columbus Auditorium at the Art Institute of Chicago at 6pm. Seymour is one of our design heroes, working with casual, "low" materials to investigate ideas about utopia, non-industrialism, and amateurism in event spaces provided by institutions across Europe.

2/20/12

Radical Hospitality at the Smart Museum of Art

University of Chicago's Smart Museum of Art is currently exhibiting Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art, featuring works by Gordon Matta-Clark, Marina Abramović, Rirkrit Tiravanija, and etc. The exhibitions is accompanied by a program of participatory food-related events, including Tom Marioni's The Act of Drinking Beer with Friends is the Highest Form of Art (pictured above, via Bad at Sports), basically a free beer bar opening several times over the next few months, bartended by different characters from Chicago's art scene.

2/5/12

Popcorn in the Wabi Nabe

This week, we made some Wabi Nabe popcorn in the ODL kitchen (our house). The lid of the Wabi Nabi is easy to tilt to the side, allowing the steam escape without losing any popped kernels. Makes enough for three episodes of your favorite sitcom, roughly.

2/2/12

ODLCO at Big Big City Pop Up Art Market

ODLCO will be participating in Big Big City: Chicago, a one night pop-up art market put on by Big Big Things at Public Works Gallery in Wicker Park. We'll be selling our Wabi Nabe Cast Iron Pot and Balloon Prints. Come see us this Tuesday between 5 and 9pm.