Design news, culture, events and resources. A daily must-read for designers world wide.
David Chipperfield Design's Plywood Bathtub
11 May 2026 @ 2:00 pm
When it comes to high-end bathtubs, you've got your enamel-coated steel or cast iron, or stone. Wood is reserved for Japanese-style soaking tubs. But now David Chipperfield Design, the industrial design arm of the UK's David Chipperfield Architects, has created this Tambre tub out of Okumè plywood. (Okumè is an African hardwood used to make high-end marine-grade plywood.)



Alessandro Stabile's Beautiful Areo Chair for Kristalia
11 May 2026 @ 1:00 pm
The iconic Thonet chair, designed in the 1850s, never really had a spiritual successor. Michael Thonet's mastery of both material (Beech) and production process (steam bending, then placing in cast iron molds to hold tight curves), yielded something both easy to manufacture and easy on the eyes.
In the following century, Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer made tubular-frame chairs out of steel. But while these were considered classics in their own right, the production technology at the time simply couldn't match Thonet's extreme bends. The 20th century chairs, though designed 60-plus years after Thonet's, seem primitive in comparison.
In the following century, Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer made tubular-frame chairs out of steel. But while these were considered classics in their own right, the production technology at the time simply couldn't match Thonet's extreme bends. The 20th century chairs, though designed 60-plus years after Thonet's, seem primitive in comparison.Core77 Weekly Roundup (5-4-26 to 5-8-26)
8 May 2026 @ 3:00 pm
Here's what we looked at this week:A tensegrity-based side table made out of pipes.
An airline pilot's disappearing staircase references work.
MVE-Collection: An architect and designer make furniture out of construction site waste.
An airline pilot's disappearing staircase references work.
MVE-Collection: An architect and designer make furniture out of construction site waste.A Concrete Weed Grinder
8 May 2026 @ 2:00 pm
For the weed smoker seeking a more tactile grinding experience: This Sphere Grinder, by German weed paraphernalia company Herb Studio, is made out of concrete. It's begging to be handled.
Inside is an anodized aluminum grinder, and a neodymium magnetic closure.
Inside is an anodized aluminum grinder, and a neodymium magnetic closure.
Grabo Finds Yet Another Market for Their Portable Suction Cups: Riggers
8 May 2026 @ 1:00 pm
Rigging is the art and science of hanging equipment, like lighting or cameras, for film or stage production. It involves erecting sturdy supports and mechanically attaching equipment to them, which sounds low-tech. But it's a field that technology is having a major advancement on. First Pipe Lighting changed the game with their inflatable, lightweight LED lights, which offer a massive amount of lumens with minimal rigging.
Now Grabo, a company that makes portable suction tool
Now Grabo, a company that makes portable suction toolA Mid-Century Modern Classic: Hans J. Wegner's Daybed with Hidden Storage
7 May 2026 @ 3:00 pm
Hans J. Wegner designed this GE-258 Daybed in the 1950s.







When Bathroom Scales were Leather-Clad
7 May 2026 @ 2:00 pm
Leather, whether synthetic or real, isn't a material we typically associate with the bathroom. But in the 1970s, it was a thing in Germany to clad bathroom scales with it. These olive and yellow models are by Krups:



Industrial Design Student Work: A Collapsible Touring Bicycle with 3D-Printed Components
7 May 2026 @ 1:00 pm
This Touring Bicycle was the thesis project of Sebastian Andraschko, an Institute of Industrial Design student at Austria's FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences, Graz. The idea was to use metal 3D printing to create strong but lightweight connectors between straight runs of tubing.
Gaya is a collapsible touring bicycle constructed from metal 3D-printed parts. It combines the geometry of modern

Gaya is a collapsible touring bicycle constructed from metal 3D-printed parts. It combines the geometry of modern A Fold-to-Assemble Spiritual Successor to Braun's AB 20 Clock
6 May 2026 @ 3:00 pm
This clock concept is by Argentina-based industrial designer Agustin Papadopulos. Spiritually, it recalls Braun's iconic AB 20--except it's made out of steel, and laser-cut from a single sheet:


Industrial Designer with a Sense of Humor: Alberto Essesi's "Oops" Lamp
6 May 2026 @ 2:00 pm
With his Oops lamp, L.A.-based industrial designer Alberto Essesi channels that moment in the studio when you realize you've made a terrible mistake:
This has been an idea I've had for a few years and always laugh when I think about it. Finally, I've gotten to design it, a simple moment that inverts the expected. A moment we've all experienced after building something and a small detail was missed. Inspired by a hanging light bulb.
This has been an idea I've had for a few years and always laugh when I think about it. Finally, I've gotten to design it, a simple moment that inverts the expected. A moment we've all experienced after building something and a small detail was missed. Inspired by a hanging light bulb.