Gary Moore, a furniture builder in St. Paul, recently completed this striking chair for the Arts Center of St. Peter, Minn. Its bold shape is a little different from what we usually see – sharp angles provide a clear form for the camera.
Source: Gary Moore Furniture
Students and professors at the University of Michigan’s architecture and design program are finding new ways to use an almost limitless resource in the city: old home materials. Since the city’s transportation system is so fractured, comfortable and engaging bus shelters are a sorely needed commodity.
Source: Fast Company
Michiganders with an eye for modern furniture, jewelry, accessories, housewares and more – heck, anything modern – can find something at the Michigan Modernism Exposition. The weekend-long swap meet and antique fair meets April 25-27 in Southfield, Mich.
Source: Michigan Modernism Exposition
The St. Louis couture community has been abuzz for weeks now about St. Louis Fashion Week, which kicked off yesterday. Attendees and fans can follow along using the hashtag #STLFW. Designers, boutiques and models will take over the city through Friday.
Source: St. Louis Fashion Week
The folks at Treanor Architects in Lawrence, Kan., marked Administrative Professionals’ Day yesterday with flowers for their staff. “We absolutely could not survive one day without you,” they said on Facebook.
Source: Treanor Architects
The Lewis and Clark branch of the St. Louis County Library system is being considered for demolition, says Dwell. The 1963 modernist building was designed by Frederick Dunn, but county officials want to replace it with a totally new structure. Check out a slideshow of the library at the link below.
Source: Dwell
The Museum of Danish America in Elk Horn, Iowa, celebrates the Danish community in the Midwest. This neat Zippo was a gift from The Danish Brotherhood in America. Their interns run a pretty neat Tumblr that gives an inside look at the museum.
Source: Museum of Danish America
Artcrank, the touring bikes-and-poster-art show, is hitting the road again this year, and they’ve just unveiled their national poster. Designed by Anne Ulku, the poster will be available at Artcrank shows throughout the country. The Midwest will get a taste of Artcrank in Chicago and Minneapolis.
Source: Artcrank
Heyday, the new restaurant from former Union chef Jim Christiansen and ex-La Belle Vie manager Lorin Zinter, opens tonight in Uptown Minneapolis, and Midwestern foodies are getting ready to chow down.
Source: Minneapolis Eater
BlackBlue, the St. Paul boutique and lifestyle destination, is no stranger to beautiful aesthetics. The store always has some eye-catching displays, but this lineup of Red Wings is a consistent crowd-pleaser.
Source: BlackBlue
Campus Martius Park calls itself “the heart of downtown Detroit,” and for good reason. During the summer, all sorts of attractions can be found – especially food. They’re now accepting applications for food carts, restaurateurs, hawkers, stands and vendors for their Downtown Street Eats program. Download an application at the link below and get cooking.
Source: Campus Martius Park
The folks at Forage Modern Workshop in Minneapolis are having an Earth Day flash sale online and in-person. Get 20% off everything in the store and show your support for an important holiday – and a local design mainstay.
Source: Forage Modern Workshop
Minneapolis College of Art and Design faculty member Erik Brandt’s ongoing project, “Ficciones Typografika,” is a constantly rotating exploration of type and form as art. With help from friends, fellow teachers and artists from around the world, Brandt has turned the side of his garage into a renowned space.
Source: Ficciones Typografika
This 1951 modernist home is on the market in Michigan City, Ind., for a mere $189,900. It’s a sprawling three-bedroom house with more than 3,000 square feet and could be your entry point to modern living.
Source: Coldwell Banket
Strange Donuts in St. Louis has a pretty mouth-watering Facebook page. Each day brings new creations, and today’s post is no exception. These little “puffs” look a lot tastier than your average grocery-store donut hole.
Source: Strange Donuts
SALA Architects’ Katherine Hillbrand was recognized as an “Architect of Distinction” by Midwest Home Magazine, and the accompanying gallery of her work is great inspiration for your next home project.
Source: Midwest Home Magazine
Chicago-based Lagomorph Design posted these excellent walnut tabletops to their Facebook page this afternoon. They “will grow up to be a pretty cool side table someday,” Lagomorph writes. Nice!
Source: Lagomorph Design
Why buy little industrial widgets of a bygone era when you can buy the molds that made them? Architectural Antiques, a Minneapolis salvage shop, has a nice gallery of molds and foundry forms on their Facebook page today. Some colorful inspiration for your weekend.
Source: Architectural Antiques
A landmark of downtown St. Louis is moving. The oft-flooded riverfront area is home to “The Captains’ Return,” a statue of William Clark, Meriwether Lewis and dog Seaman. The statue was taken away this morning for cleaning before eventually being relocated nearby – in a drier spot.
Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Spring Modern, an Illinois-based modern furniture studio, posted this to their Facebook page this morning. These “walnut and spring green” end tables are almost finished, but they want to know: silver legs or black? Head to their Facebook to help answer the question.
Source: Spring Modern LLC
Curbed Detroit has a great update this morning about Gold Cash Gold, a forthcoming restaurant that’s in the process of renovating its ex-pawn-shop home. Here’s the building as it appeared originally, and you can click the link below to see their renovation progress.
Source: Curbed Detroit
Indoor farming is a cutting-edge way to handle urban decay. By turning decrepit spaces into opportunities for gardening and growth, citizens’ groups are finding real benefits to abandoned buildings. In Chicago, The Plant is the newest “vertical garden.” Here, project volunteers convert the packing factory into a space for blooms.
Source: Chicago Architecture Foundation
Is “new-bag” smell a thing? This classy pack from Detroit Denim Co. must smell great just off the line. They say it’s lined with “hickory stripe denim,” too, which must look incredible.
Source: Detroit Denim Co.
This totally unique chandelier casts new light on mid-century style. Bring the lobby of a hotel or a movie theater into your home with its unconventional form. The Green Shag Market in St. Louis has some other great modern lighting, too.
Source: The Green Shag Market
An overcast day at the Milwaukee Art Museum turns a striking hallway into a soothing walk. It’s reminiscent of some of the great surfing documentaries, or like the inside of a breaking wave on Lake Michigan.
Source: Milwaukee Art Museum