Remember that pop-out power outlet from earlier this year? That was a wall outlet, but at Holz-Handwerk we saw a bunch of nifty designs for hideaway sockets that are designed to be integrated into furniture itself.

Ziegelmueller Beschlagtechnik is a German purveyor of furniture fittings and had a bunch of these socket designs on display at their booth. Here's the first one that caught my eye, which I was actually able to shoot:

That's the Steckdoseneinheit ("socket unit") Eight. A less fancy design is the Square, which at first appears more primitive as there's a little door that you manually slide to the side. But that door features a neat trick in that it can wirelessly charge your phone:

Both of those designs have their sockets below the surface of your desk or countertop. If, like me, you're nervous that you'd spill a drink down there in no time, an alternative design is the EVOline Port, which elevates the sockets:

If you've got the desktop real estate and need a greater amount of plug options, you should check out the FlipTop Push:

Another nifty option is the Backflip, ideal for kitchen countertops. When closed it's splashproof, and it keeps the sockets elevated when exposed:

Credit where credit is due: While Ziegelmueller Beschlagtechnik distributes these products, they were designed by supplier Schulte Elektrotechnik as part of their EVOline electricity interfaces (except for the Eight; I have not been able to discover who designed that one).

More from Core77's coverage of this year's Holz-Handwerk Show!

This is a wood toy set design for preschoolers, aiming to stretch children's imagination, is easy to assemble and safe to play with. The product concept also tries to explore a second life for the product to be sustainable.

We're never slow to talk about the principles of our buying philosophy—Utility, Story, Design. The arrival of the new Vetra collection is a proud moment for us, a continuation of practices born out of a belief that function and purpose are tantamount, heritage and intrigue are essential, and the simple idea that well-designed gear works and works for a long time. Vetra has it all.

Utility
Edouard Bereens started Vetra in 1927. By 1930, he and his family were making the best workwear in France and demand forced them to move to a bigger facility. The company has continued to grow and change shape to fit the demands of the stylish, efficient and intentional worker.

Vetra chore coats are cut short for mobility, functional pockets limit fuss and keep your essentials in close range, and tough twill stitching is classic and no-nonsense. The Striped Linen Work Shirt features an extra-long cut in back to make sure your tuck-in stays well, tucked in, and it combines a soft feel with durable, tough fabrics. The pants are no exception in this Vetra line—strong-stitched, slim fit, a single pocket for your wallet or wash cloth, and an old school zipper/hook fly is a nod to Vetra's roots in 20th Century European Industry. Vetra effortlessly combines class and constancy.

Story
Cheekily combining the first letters of vetements de travail (work clothes), Edouard Beerens launched Vetra in 1927. The Beerens and their few employees started making aprons and overalls out of their small factory, and within a decade were outfitting the French army during WWII. Refusing to work for the Nazis, Edouard broke all but one of his machines and cut the existing uniforms to pieces. He fled to Western France in 1941 to start Vetra's work again—all from scratch.

A classic example of a family company, Vetra is still operated by the Beerens in Western France. They've never wavered from their values or strayed from their intentional approach to quality, durable, comfortable workwear. With history sewn into early 20th Century European industry, Vetra continues to blur the line between workwear and fashion. Just like the Beerens themselves, Vetra pants, coats, and shirts don't quit—they're stitched for a long, strong and stylish life.

Design
Vetra works just as well outside the shop as it does inside the shop, lean and mean at work or simple and stylish at play. All Vetra colors are deep, beautiful, and perfect for layering. The slim cut of all the Vetra gear keeps you safe and mobile while you work and let's you step out for dinner, drinks or an evening stroll in easy style. 

The bold buttons on the jackets and coats offer a subtle accent, the light stripes of the linen shirt are a subtle pop, the buttonless cuffs of the tops make for a cool roll up, and the pants are true to size, a toughened-up classic for any sort of making or moment.

Shop the collection.

If you're currently near Los Angeles and a fan of pared down furniture, wiggly graphic design, or slick home and office goods, you might want to check out the West Coast Design Showcase. Curated by Seattle's JOIN, the show features fun work from American design's left side and kicks off this Thursday.

The list of designers spans the entire west coast (all three states!) and includes disciplines from lighting to jewelry. It will include familiar favorites Eric Trine and Matthew Philip Williams, showing signature furniture with simple-lines in metal and leather and solid wood, respectively.

Matthew Philip Williams

There will also be new home offerings from Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, cork and wood from Melanie Abrantes, ceramic work from Pigeon Toe, and more.

Ladies & Gentleman Studio

The showcase will be hosted at the Poketo flagship store, and runs through May 7th, after a snack-filled and designer-attended opening party. Keep up with more details and Facebook RSVP here.

For the past five years, fashion brand COS has worked with design studios and architects on a series of conceptual installations during Salone del Mobile in Milan, including Snarkitecture in 2015 and Nendo in 2014. For this year's edition, they collaborated with Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, known for his minimalist yet playful built work that constantly blurs the line between inside and outside, nature and architecture. Actually, it's not the first time the brand has been inspired by Fujimoto's design aesthetic, they also created a pair of special-edition shirts as a tribute to his Serpentine Pavilion in 2013. 

For his upcoming installation in Milan, referred to as a "forest of light," Fujimoto will create his most ephemeral space yet. Countless cones of light will emanate from spotlights to define a very abstracted, forest-like space. The lights will pulsate at different intervals of time, inviting people to interact with the space in different ways, meandering through "as if lured by the charm of the light." 

The decision to use spotlights was a nod to the historic setting of the exhibition venue, the former Cinema Arti, located in Milan's San Babila district, which was originally built in 1930 but has been derelict for years. Through the installation, Fujimoto says, "the spotlight becomes an interface which connects fashion, space and forest as a form of architecture."

As Fujimoto explains in the video below, exploring the forest as a concept is one of the central themes of his work. In some projects the idea comes forth very directly— House NA, for example, emulates the structure of a tree with it's staggered, open floor plates that create surprising social and spatial dynamics. Referring to the project, Fujimoto has noted:

"A tree has many branches, all being a setting for a place, and a source of activities of diverse scales. The intriguing point of a tree is that these places are not hermetically isolated but are connected to one another in its unique relativity. To hear one's voice from across and above, hopping over to another branch, a discussion taking place across branches by members from separate branches. These are some of the moments of richness encountered through such spatially dense living."

Sometimes, the forest appears in a more symbolic way. In the Musashino Art University Library & Museum, a maze-like structure of ceiling-high, timber bookshelves creates the sensation of navigating a dense forest. 

Fujimoto's installation in Milan will be a similar exercise in evoking the experiential qualities of being within a forest, the glimmering light projections playfully recreating the mysteries of walking through a forest at twilight. 

House NA, Tokyo, Japan, 2012

Musashino Art University Library & Museum, Tokyo, Japan, 2010

More from Core77's coverage of Milan Design Week 2016!

Candidates must have a Bachelors in Industrial Design or Advertising and will contribute to the development of game design strategies, maximize current technologies and trends, and leverage best practices. A minimum of 7 years of progressive experience in consumer packaged goods design, and previous experience developing licensed products is required.

How do you become a successful furniture designer/builder? We've covered the topic before—but always with Americans. And as you've seen, the precise career paths taken by a Jory Brigham, a Hellman-Chang, a Tom Sullivan would be impossible for most to reproduce. That's because America has a rather Wild West approach where you only follow the rules if you feel like it, and you can hang your shingle out whenever you're ready.

In Germany, the procedure of producing a master craftsperson is much more codified. The standards are not up to you. While not every master craftsperson's journey there is identical, each and every one of them has presented a masterpiece of theirs (like the ones pictured in this entry) to a commission that will pass or fail them. If they get the thumbs-up, they are legally allowed to open up shop; if they get the thumbs-down, it's quite literally back to the drawing board.

Work by Thomas Sekula of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

In order to even reach this test, would-be designer/builders in Germany must attend a sort of finishing school for craftspersons. There are a variety of these in Germany, which can't help but make an American curious: Who attends these schools? How old are the students? What are the application requirements? What or who defines a master craftsperson? What do they study there? How long are the programs?

Michael Bücking, Holzfachschule Headmaster

At Holz-Handwerk we had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Bücking, a man who runs one of these schools, the Holzfachschule ("Technical School for Wood") Bad Wildungen in Hesse, central Germany. Bücking speaks fluent English, has a wry German sense of humor and gamely answered all of our questions. A Tischlermeister (Master Carpenter) himself, he explained how the system works in Germany, what his school does and how they do it. He also spoke frankly about the struggles those in his industry face.

Core77: What is your title?

Michael Bücking: I'm the headmaster of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen. 

And what does your school do?

We are focusing on our guys becoming master of guilds in cabinet making and furniture making.

For our American readers unfamiliar with this educational system, can you provide some context?

Sure. If you want to be qualified as a master craftsman here, it's a title. But you have to attend a course which is anywhere between nine months and 1.5 years. And you need to attain your mastership. You cannot compare it to the Master's Degree which you get from university; in this case, you require this qualification to run your own workshop and that entitles you to train and educate trainees or apprentices. And if you don't have it, you're not allowed to open up your joinery workshop.

And there is a body that is organizing, regulating all of this?

That's correct. All of the crafts here are organized in guilds or chambers. So we have a craftsmanship chamber, and they have a kind of commission. And you're supposed to present—you have to pass an exam in theory and also with a bigger practical component. And so you're supposed to build some masterpieces. We brought one of these with us which is over there. [Bücking points to Thomas Sekula's piece, below, which was what initially drew me into HBW's booth.]

Work by Thomas Sekula of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

And these guys, they've got about four weeks to complete it. I mean, before that they have to make the design and the construction, and they have to present their plan. It's actually very close to what you're supposed to do if you want to get a contract with the customer. The first thing is you discuss with the customer what the requirements are. And then you're coming up with a sketch, a draft, basically. You have to sell it to the customer before you get the order.

And so our commission is doing more or less the same. They take on the role of the customer. So you have to convince the commission about your idea, your approach. And after approval and after making all these drawings and presentations, then you actually have to build it.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

What are the application requirements to get into a school like yours?

The minimum qualification is you have to be a qualified joiner or furniture maker. So you have to [have completed] your apprenticeship. And in the old days—"old days" which is about eight or ten years ago—you also had to have three years' minimum experience before you were allowed to pass this mastership program. Now [the rules have] changed a lot. These days, basically after apprenticeship, which takes three years, you can start immediately. So, nowadays there's no practical experience required.

Are you okay with that?

Well, if you ask me—I mean, I'm a master craftsman myself so if you ask me what is right or wrong, I don't have the answer for that. Because in the beginning we thought this might be very difficult, that the students would be too "green" going into the program. But then on the other hand, if they're good, if they're coming fresh from school being highly motivated, sometimes we have some jewels.

But then if you ask me what would be best [for you to have accomplished before coming to the school], I would say get three, four, five years of experience because you also have a personal standing.

What do you mean by "personal standing?"

For example, if you're a very young master—a "green" master if I may phrase it that way—without experience, and you have your mastership degree, and you're coming to join a workshop, it's the same wherever you are—the [guys above you] will tell you what's right and what is wrong.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

I see. And speaking of young, or green, what's the average age of a student in your program? Twenties, 30s?

I think on average, maybe 24. The youngest master we produced was 19. We also have some guys who are 30, 35, 40. And sometimes they used to run their own workshops [of different specialties]. Because in Germany, it's organized in a way that [having a mastership means] you can only do certain jobs. Depending on what you hold you might not allowed to make windows, or you're not allowed to produce furniture, for instance.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Interesting. Can you explain that a bit?

Sure. Let's say you run a business where you can buy windows, or doors or what-have-you, from a supplier and you're capable of mounting them, installing them in a building. But once you want to build them by yourself, or you want to cover the whole range of things, you must have a mastership. That's how it's organized. And I think by doing it that way, we can actually manage to have a fairly good level of performance and standards in Germany which I think is the right way to do it.

So some professions require a mastership and others do not?

Correct.

How do they determine that?

We have a regulation in Germany: Whenever there's a possibility of certain dangers to the client or customer—for example, if you're an electrician—you have to have your mastership. If you are a joiner/carpenter who's making windows and stairs where people can be hurt, you have to have your mastership degree.

But if you are, for example, a goldsmith—which is a wonderful trade, no doubt about that—the danger to the customer is not that big, actually. So while you can get your mastership for goldsmithing, you are not required to have it to run your own shop.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Going back to the age thing, do you have any idea at about what age your potential students decide that they would like to attend a school like this?

Well, we've got two or three different kinds of students. First of all, we have the successors. I mean, this is basically the son of the father who has his own workshop. So he's looking for his son to take over. And at our school we have a tradition for about 60 years where, the first thing we ask new students when they come to our school is, "Why are you here?"

[These days] about 60% say because it was recommended by my father, or by my master, and they're sending me, more or less, to this school. I think that for these successors, this decision is made when they are 15, 18, 20 or so.

And then we do have fairly young professionals, and they decide they want to advance. So they make the decision when they're perhaps 18 or 19.

So, I would think on average, for people who are willing to join these trades, usually by the time they've reached 20 they've decided "I want to become a master," because the reputation is still very, very high.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Has this always been the traditional student makeup?

No, it has changed. If I was asking guys ten years ago "Why are you here," the majority would say "I'm looking for better prospects, I want to find a new job" [because those jobs were plentiful back then]. And now the successors that I mentioned, they have become the biggest group. The second biggest group says, "My boss sent me, he wants me to be qualified to take over certain things in the office. He's sending me and he's paying me, and he keeps my position safe while I'm training." They do this more for long-term thinking, to develop the human resources. That's what's happening.

How do schools like yours mesh with Germany's current manufacturing economy?

Well, at the moment we are experiencing a phase in Germany where if you've got certain qualifications, it's very easy to get a job. We've got so many workshops that are looking for good people for taking measurements on the building site, making plans, et cetera. Also, something that's changing is that in the old days, one master was able to run six or eight journeymen, to keep them busy and to make a lot of preparations. But now you've got CNC machines. You've got customers who require CAD/CAM technology. And so we're moving more from the building side to the workshop where you need better-qualified people. And therefore, quite often we have workshop owners who send their people, saying "Well, I need more [qualified folks] in my workshop." And so we train them for eight, nine months, and then they go back to the workshop.

Are you saying that the rise in the popularity of CNC machines has actually increased the demand for craftsmen?

No. It has increased the demand for qualification.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

I see.

I mean, on one hand the productivity gains of CNC technology are enormous. But then on the other hand, if you're investing $200,000 in a machine and not investing in the people, it doesn't make sense at all. It's like you're buying somebody a Porsche and you don't train them to become good drivers. It's the same with that technology.

I think 15 years ago shop owners were very proud of their machinery. And so they were showing off what kind of stuff, hardware they had in the workshops. But if you don't have the qualified people to run that one, it's a piece of old metal.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Do schools like yours face challenges attracting students?

Well, something that has changed is that we do have a kind of qualification crisis, in the sense that we no longer have as many people who are willing to go the hard way into craftsmanship. They have got this tendency to become white collar workers. Kids are used to playing around with iPads and computers but not with a hammer and a jigsaw anymore. And this is of course having an effect [where the trades don't seem] that attractive anymore. And there's a perception where if you're not studying and trying to become a lawyer, it's like you did something wrong in your life.

So, we are working very hard to keep up the popularity of these trades. And if you get some good people who appreciate what the craftsman and a joiner is doing, then we do get to have these guys. They are really good, they're excellent. But if it comes to numbers, we are fighting for all the qualified people at the moment. And so it's a tricky business.

A similar problem exists in America. What do you think is a potential solution?

Well, first of all I think you have to make the work more attractive.

Meaning in terms of compensation?

In terms of salary, sure. But also, I believe, how much you take care of, how much you try to bond people with your shops. Having an appreciation for the people and taking an interest in their development, not a hire-and-fire mentality.

For example, we work together with this one workshop, the boss has about 30 people working for him. It's a medium-sized craftsmanship workshop doing some interior design and building. And within his company he has eight masters. So each of the masters is running his own small team. In the old days it was, you know, any master you hired was a competitor to the boss.

But this thinking is old-fashioned, and today if you need to delegate you have to have the right people with the right capabilities to do jobs more or less by themselves. And that's something which is happening because, as I said, it doesn't make sense to invest enormous money and not have people qualified to run it.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

About how many students are in your school at any given time?

That's a very simple question, with a difficult answer. In the mastership programs, which take about eight months, we're running two courses a year and we produce about 60 masters every year. And another part of our school is we have the modelmakers, they produce about 20 masters a year. And then we produce about 20 industrial masters and sawmill masters, each.

What is a sawmill master?

They're in the industry of primary wood processing, sawmilling and planning. You can study that field and become an engineer, but one level below that is the mastership degree we offer for sawmillers. But the bulk of masters we produce are still joiners and furniture makers.

And there are other students: Our school offers, prior to the mastership program, courses in the safe operation of machinery, which are compulsory. So each student or apprentice has to have attended these courses. And we run about two courses every week, so if I'm adding all this up, at any time we've got about 150, 180 students on our campus.

Work by Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Adam Czernia of the Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

How many staff and faculty members do you have?

We've got about 16 colleagues focusing on lecturing and training. About half of them are from a practical background, so they are running the different workshops. We have got about nine independent workshops, technical workshops. And we run a full boarding school, it's like a hotel with full board at our place. And the rest of the staff is basically catering. So it's up to about 40 people.

Okay. And about how many hours a week do the students put in?

[Laughing] Supposed to or actually doing?

Both!

In the mastership program we deliver about 1,080 training hours within 7.5 months, which adds up to 46 hours a week. But there's a lot of things happening in the evening hours as well because the program is very intense. So our slogan is "It's hard, but good."

And we've got a concept of open workshops where our master students have got a key. They can run the workshops by themselves. And also there's CAD and computer rooms. Sometimes the lights are on until 11, 12 o' clock at night. So it's tough.

Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

During the training at your school, what's the ratio of theory to actual hands-on work?

To give you a bit of historical background, that's changed tremendously as well. In the old days—old days of about 20 years ago—they spent much more time in the workshops preparing themselves for the exams. But now its moved much more towards computers, CAD technology and CNC technology. But overall I would think that from roughly 1,100 hours, they spend about 300 hours with the practical background and workshops.

Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

How important do you think the theory component of the education is? I ask because I feel some design schools focus too heavily on theory and the students come out without a lot of practical physical skills.

This is just my personal point of view, but I think if you're a designer or an artist and you do not understand the material capabilities and you do not have the basic—not even a high level anymore, but the basic—understanding of manual operations, well, I believe it's difficult to run a CNC machine if you cannot run a molder. That's my personal opinion.

Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Sure.

In terms of learning programming, yeah, that's fine. But it's not a video game or a computer game. It's actually real workpieces that demand an understanding of construction.

In the old days our guys were trained very hard in manual drawing, like basic paper and pencil. These days I haven't seen such a drawing since 20 years in our school, so it's all CAD. But sometimes what students do is, they try to develop a design on the computer which is not working, to my opinion. So my colleagues which are focusing on design say "I want a piece of paper and I want a pencil. And I want your idea. Put it on toilet paper or tissue, I don't care. But make lines first. And after this design is good and we like that one, and after I see your model where I believe it's a good design, then you run the computers."

[So there's a danger to] focus too much on the computer without having understood what is actually behind all of that, in terms of construction and proportions and such. So we put our guys through one week of hand sketching. But I also believe that this is just one component, and we cannot focus on just that at the expense of the technology. If you cannot cover technology these days, my opinion is that you earn the money in the workshop and you lose it in the office.

To be continued.

Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen

Up Next: 

The admissions procedure; the pass/fail rate; Germany's dual system of study & work; the future of craft education in Germany; what design educators from other nations could learn from Germany, and what German instructors could learn from them. Stay tuned!

Lazy Susans have often been used in kitchen cupboards or other cabinets to keep things in the back from being hard to see or reach. But they can also be used quite well on workbenches, desktops and more.

The galvanized lazy Susan organizer from Park Designs is a multi-purpose organizer that can hold spices, desk supplies, craft supplies, etc. But other rotating products are designed for more specialized uses.

Users who like to have their tools out and visible, and who have some space to spare on their work benches, might appreciate the rotating tool stand from Discreet Furniture. These stands come as kits and have an expected assembly time of 15-30 minutes. They're made with hand tools plus a Lasersaur—an open source laser cutter.

Some rotating products are even more specialized, such as the Foredom rotating bur (and tool) holder. The spacing of the holes (which seems to be offset from tier to tier) would make it easy for end users to see and retrieve the specific items they want. I've seen a similar holder for drill bits where the holes were much closer together and the tiers were shallower. That fits more stuff into a given amount of space, but also makes the holder more awkward to use—probably not a good trade-off.

Sharp Tools has another design for a rotating tool and bur caddy, with a magnetic strip to hold tools that don't fit in the holes. One drawback: A purchaser noted that the black holes on a black surface can sometimes make it hard to see the holes.

For end users who need some heavy-duty storage, there's a lot to like about the steel Rotabins from Durham Manufacturing. The four shelves on this model (the 1104-95) will each hold 60 pounds, evenly distributed. Each shelf has four fixed dividers, but extra dividers can be added, creating up to 16 compartments on each shelf. That's some nice flexibility! And each shelf rotates independently.

At the other end of the size (and price) spectrum, this Rotabin (the 1605-95) holds 2,000 pounds per shelf. It's a bit over 66 inches tall. Durham says the shelves (which rotate independently) will turn with fingertip pressure. 

Siroco's craft turntables have buckets that stay firmly in place but can still be removed when that's useful. This version has labeled buckets: scissors, pens, paperclips, stapler and pencils—which is great if that matches what the end user plans to put in the buckets. If not, there are versions that are just solid colors, and end users could always create their own labels.

The Nifty cosmetic organizing carousels are nicely sized for most cosmetics. Some purchasers said they would work better with a bit more space between the two tiers, though, so slightly taller things could be stored on the bottom and so items on the bottom were easier to see. The carousels could also be put to other uses; one purchaser uses them for travel-size and sample-size toiletries. Another uses it for crafting, to hold her bead containers and tools.

The rotating pill organizer from Jobar is a nice way to store a month's worth of pills, along with other items such as cough syrup. (But one purchaser cautions about putting anything too heavy on the top.) The four sections of the daily pill boxes won't be large enough for all end users, but they are big enough for many. Those who only take pills once or twice a day, though, might prefer boxes with fewer but larger sections, and that's not an option.

Since each pill box is for a single day, the containers are small enough that end users can easily take one along when they leave home. One problem: Purchasers complain about the letters and numbers wearing off over time. 

While lazy Susans have long been used in the kitchen, I'm seeing some new twists. YouCopia's 11-inch Crazy Susan turntable has a shelf that slides out to make it easier to reach things in the middle. (The 16-inch version has four shelves that slide in and out.) Having the shelf does mean that some larger items that would fit on other lazy Susans won't fit on this one; that's a design trade-off that many (but not all) purchasers are perfectly happy with.

While it's common to use lazy Susans in corner cabinets, it's not common to have ones like Glideware's Not-So-Lazy Susan, designed to hold cookware. This doesn't solve the lid storage problem (if the lids aren't designed to slide over the handles of the pans), but it does make it easy for end users to find and reach the pans they want—and put them away after they're used. The other Glideware products handle heavy pans such as Le Creuset, so these most likely do, too.

The Stack-On carousel caught my eye because the end user can use a single tray or stack the trays to make a taller organizer. (One purchaser has 10 or so of them stacked together.) However, the bottom tray, which serves as the base, does not spin, which is a distinct drawback noted by many purchasers.

Poplar 

Lirodendron tulipifera

Poplar, lacking bold coloration or an exciting grain pattern, doesn't often get the respect we feel it deserves. The Poplar tree is widespread across all of North America and Europe, and it grows very rapidly and to large sizes, meaning it's very easy to sustain. Because the wood is often painted or used in secondary applications where it isn't visible, it is very easy to find wide, clear sections of Poplar for a variety of uses. At J. Gibson McIlvain lumber company, we usually have a large supply of Poplar in stock, and, due to the wood's high availability and locality, we can very quickly obtain new stock and kiln dry it for a stable product. 

Rapid growth and wide range make it common for us to stock 15" and wider Poplar lumber.

Poplar is very easy to work, is highly stable, and takes paint and stain famously well. The combined factors of low cost and high availability in a variety of widths and thicknesses make Poplar an outstanding secondary or paint-grade wood that is perfect for interior building or furniture applications. Poplar is most commonly used, however, in architectural millwork, because it is soft enough to be gentle on cutting tools, yet hard enough to retain details. The fine pores finish very well, taking an even and smooth coat of paint, primer, varnish, or shellac. 

In general, when the final project is to be stained or painted, there usually is no better choice than Poplar.

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This continuation of the Wood Species series is written by Shannon Rogers, a/k/a The Renaissance Woodworker and founder of The Hand Tool School. It has been provided courtesy of the J. Gibson McIlvain Lumber Company, where Rogers works as Director of Marketing.

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More Wood Reference:

Species:

» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 1: Properties & Terminology
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 2: Pine
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 3: Oak
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 4: Maple
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 5: Walnut
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 6: Cherry
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 7: Mahogany
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 8: Rosewood
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 9: Ebony
» An Introduction To Wood Species, Part 10: Teak

How Boards are Made:

» How Logs Are Turned Into Boards, Part 1: Plainsawn
» How Logs Are Turned Into Boards, Part 2: Quartersawn
» How Logs Are Turned Into Boards, Part 3: Riftsawn

Wood Movement:

» Wood Movement: Why Does Wood Move?

» Controlling Wood Movement: The Drying Process

» Dealing with Wood Movement: Design and Understanding

Looking at Patricia Urquiola's stunning Shimmer collection, launched for Glas Italia during Milan Design Week last year, one would never guess that it was the designer's first foray into using glass. It is a material she had been avoiding for a simple yet unexpected reason: she hated it. "If you're working in tableware or little items, it can be very interesting," she stated, "I hate glass when you have to do furniture. It makes me vomit."

It seems like that collection was a turning point for the Spanish designer, because this year she's at it again. At Spazio Pontaccio, Urquiola will launch a line of furniture she has been collaborating on with Federico Pepe, the design polymath and creative director behind Le Dictateur. 

The Credenza collection—which will include a series of cupboards (pictured below), screens and low tables—draws its name from the Italian word that means both "cupboard" and "belief." Similarly, the designers are seeking to fuse functionality with the ethereal beauty of stained glass. 

As a process, stained glass hasn't changed much since it was first developed in the middle ages. Despite Credenza's contemporary geometric patterns and colors, its production process is steeped in the historic tradition of the stained glass technique. In the images below, we see Italian artisans deftly crafting each piece by hand. The process begins with cutting individual forms out of sheets of glass and laying them out in intricate patterns.

The glass pieces are then joined with lead, an ideal material for this because it is both flexible and very strong/durable. 

The actual term "stained glass" derives from a "stain" of silver chloride that is painted onto the back of the glass, which is afterwards fired in a furnace. This silver stain is used to give a wider range of colors, from pale yellow to a deep red, depending on the glass composition, stain composition, the number of applications, the temperature of the furnace, and the color of the initial piece of glass. It also imparts an even quality so that light can shine through the glass uniformly.  

Credenza will debut at the Spazzio Pontaccio Showroom in Milan, Italy on April 11, 2016. 

More from Core77's coverage of Milan Design Week 2016!

Milan Design Week is almost here and a few projects have already caught our eye(s). One noteworthy collection is Più di Pegoretti, the outcome of a partnership between the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design and certified-legendary bike builder Dario Pegoretti. Working together for weeks, Pegoretti lent his fine-tuned mechanical knowhow and elegant minimalism to the students' creative process in designing bike accessories. Guided by Professor Hans-Georg Pospischil and in cooperation with Pegoretti's manufacturer Rossignoli, the resulting work is graphic and fun.

Among the fifteen final projects are some classic design student "solutions" like a fancifully-incorporated low-security bike lock, a textured seat that would destroy your pants, and a highly conceptual windbreaker. But there are a handful of intriguing ideas as well.

The first to grab my attention was a set of LED bike lights that use soft nylon mesh as a large refractory body. The product video does literally nothing to clarify the lights' proposed functions, but the material play and forms are undeniably fresh. A simple elastic attachment lets these things perch or hang like little lanterns (or lumpen flashlights) from bars, seats or seat posts. At 30 lumens they're more cute than bright, but in a world where TruckNutz for bikes are a viable consumer item, that obviously doesn't matter.

Another idea that prompted a double-take was the Tyvek "handlebar bag." Yes, there are a ton of beautiful canvas and leather bar bags out there for you serious, gravelly, randonneuring type road riders, but this scratches a different itch. For weight weenies on the go, having an off-body spot big enough to hold a hoagie or extra layer, yet small (and light!) enough to stash in a jersey pocket is nice. I, for one, snack hard on rides, and often wish I didn't need to get my food sweaty or cram it into a seat bag. Yes, this thing could act like an obnoxious air brake, and no, for some reason it doesn't have any zip, clip or snap to keep your small precious stuff from catapulting into traffic when you hit a bump. This does offer blessedly little interference with brake levers and cables, super easy installation, and looks like it rolls up smaller than a bag of those addictive Clif Shot blocks.

The third project that made me stop and squint was this set of weirdly narrow pedals with a built-in(?) toe strap. I tend to think the pedals systems we've used for the last 40 years are fine. (Clip-in if you want more power, use toe cages if you don't like clicky shoes, go plain and flat if anything being even lightly attached to your body gives you vapors.) But there's always room for simplifying. The pedal is narrow enough to give your feet hot spots if you rode it for long, but this toe strap seems to function like a sprung band, or a plastic Power Grip strap, making for a decent fit with different types of shoes and allowing easy in and out. It's an interesting start.

You'll also find a slick reversible hi-viz jacket, a couple very cool bar tape prints, and an almost-cool bike stand that's essentially a concrete block with one plastic corner. Someone should take that and give it a hardcore Design Object treatment.

The collection opening will be on April 13, and event information is available here. 

If you do check out the Più di Pegoretti website, be warned that the product videos are pointedly uninformative and aggressively atmospheric. If there's anything that says Student Portfolio, it's using your product as an unexplored background character in a series of moody music videos shot in the woods.

More from Core77's coverage of Milan Design Week 2016!

CAD sculptors create high quality digital 3D surface models used in the industrial design and product development process. Responsibilities will include interpreting and defining the design intent of the industrial designer using Alias software. Candidates should have a BS or BA in Industrial Design or Transportation Design or related field.

We're used to seeing Apple push the designs of their own physical products. What's interesting is when they also have the capability to push the boundaries of design fields outside of their realm, as they presumably did with their forthcoming Norman-Foster-designed "Spaceship" campus. Now it's come to light that there's another industry, or at least company, that they've gotten to stretch the envelope: The furniture industry's Dutch table manufacturer Arco.

As Design Milk reports, Apple contracted the company to produce 500 tables for their upcoming campus, in a staggering 18-foot length. That part is true. Also true is that the tables are both beautiful and quite the production feat to execute. What's not true, at least judging by the photos, is that "These extra large Pod Island Tables by Arco are constructed from continuous sheets of solid Spesshart [sic] white oak sourced from the fairytale forests of Germany" and that they are comprised of "continuous, seamless white oak."

We could forgive the "Spesshart" typo (Spessart refers to a wooded mountain range in Germany where the oak is being sourced from), but the "continuous" and "seamless" part, which other publications are now quoting and repeating as fact, is simply inaccurate. Take a look at the tabletops, and look closely at the photos:

The grain pattern indicates those are veneers of the flat variety (as opposed to, say, the distorted grain patterns you see in the spiral cut veneers used in plywood) and you can clearly see that they have been glued up, side grain to side grain. 

Again I say, these tables and Arco's production results are beautiful, it is the reporting that is incorrect: These are no more "seamless" than a butcher-block table is seamless. The internet being what it is, you now have publications quoting the original article and reinterpreting that to mean the tabletops are created "from a single sheet of wood," which is obviously not true, as you can see from the visible joints below.

The original article also states that "Arco devised a new technique to peel away very precise, thin layers off of single oak slabs, layering these continuous sheets into a seamless surface." More detail would be nice here, so that we can understand exactly what is "new" about the technique; as described, it does Arco a disservice, as the sentence may as well be describing the production of common veneers. We also don't see any slab-width veneers here. In the photos above and below you can see the striations of alternating strips. Lastly, the choice of the word "peel" is curious as it implies the spiral-cut method used for plywood, which is inconsistent with the grain patterns depicted. The pieces in these photos all appear to have been sawn:

It is possible that by using the words "seamless" and "continuous," the original writer is referring to the fact that we can't see any end-grain-to-end-grain joints. That Arco is able to produce 18-foot-long veneers without any end-butting is indeed impressive. But we are always surprised when layfolk miss simple details like where clearly different surfaces are joined together. There is also a claim that the tables are being transported in "capacious 40' x 40' shipping containers," which would require a rather odd-looking truck to transport them.

One of the coolest parts of living in a VR-ready era is watching the emergence of other surprising tech that will make immersive experiences way more believable. The new smart headphone company OSSIC X has thrown its weight behind one of the most recent and exciting frontiers: three-dimensional audio. 

While technically nuanced to realize, the idea is so natural it's surprising it hasn't been more in demand, but now that it's out there, it's pretty much blowing up.

In short: these headphones adapt audio and its delivery to your head, so you interact with sound like you would in a real environment. 

Sound is a massive part of how we experience our favorite media, from addictive game environments to lush, beautifully produced music. But so far getting a 3D sonic experience is largely limited to those of us with multi speaker setups. Adding more directionality and lifelike surround right inside headphones could deeply change how we interact with recorded sound.

The experience of sound is physically personal. This isn't just due to the individual health of our inner ear workings–the outer shape and even side-to-side distance of our ears affects the distortion and perception of everything we hear. By accounting for each of those parts, Ossic has attempted to make recorded audio more individually deliverable, and more spatially realistic. 

To do it they use HRTF input to gauge the distance between your ears, a multi-driver array to split sound around each ear, and integrated head tracking, which combine to give a lifelike sense of depth and surroundedness. The Ossic headphones feature adjustable ear cups, durable material choices, a 10-hour battery life, standard connectivity, a boom mic, and super simple form.

While audio tech can be a dry field, their years of passionate R&D seem to have paid off. They're working with THX on audio quality and Abbey Road Red. And the campaign for these things has been blown far, far out of the water with huge campaign support and developer interest. 

All in all, 3D sound has a ton of potential. It's ripe and ready for use in VR environments and for better spacial awareness in gaming, and it can give recorded music a more intimate quality, and make at home cinema feel a lot more intense. No matter the platform you encounter sound through, if you increase the sense of space and things in it, and you increase the your ability to lose yourself in that space.

In this episode of DiResta's Cut, Jimmy creates a hinged-panel room divider for a friend's apartment, getting an assist from shopmate David Waelder. Here we finally get to see Jimmy's on-paper planning process. He also shows us how he gets around the limitations of a CNC machine that only has an 18"x24" bed, creating large panels with a repeating pattern. And be sure to look for the blue-tape hinged glue-up trick and a surprise appearance by Jimmy and David's 40-years-apart ECE block planes!

FABrics are open source chairs designed to be manufactured locally by the user. The chairs consist of CNC routed plywood and laser-cut leather. They are assembled together using 3D printed connectors.

The aim of this project was to create a collection of lounge furniture that can be made anywhere in the world using universal materials and technologies. These digital processing technologies can be found in local facilities and in Fab Labs or Maker Spaces around the world. The manufacturing process is designed to be simple and straightforward in order to accommodate a large variety of users.

Materials: Plywood, tainted Leather, 3D printed ABS

In anticipation of next week's design festivities in Milan, Core77's editors speak to some of our favorite designers about their first time showing at the world's biggest furniture fair and what they most look forward to when returning each year.

Photo by Lera Moiseeva

Luca Nichetto is a multidisciplinary designer working in product, interior design and architecture with a studio practice in both Venice and Stockholm. Beginning his professional career with Murano-based glass maker Salviati in 1999, Nichetto has since consulted with a range of manufacturers including Foscarini, De la Espada, Cassina and Seletti. In 2006, Nichetto founded Nichetto Studio with a deep passion and understanding for industrial and craft manufacturing processes and a unique perspective on both Scandinavian and Italian design culture.

Rha Floor lamp for Foscarini, 2000

Core77: What was the first project you showed in Milan?

Luca Nichetto: It was a family of floor lamps called Rha and Thor for Foscarini, currently out of production, and it was for the year 2000, 16 years ago. Time sure flies!

How did you decide you were ready to show in Milan? How did that first show and project come to be?

To be very honest I didn't have to make that decision. Indubitably, from my perspective, it was part of the process. Knowing the brands I also knew they were going to present in Milan.

Lofoten for Casamania, 2016

Why was it important for you to show your work then? Is it still important for the same reasons?

I think it wasn't important back then, it was just the standard way, and being Italian, I have grown up in this culture. I consider it still very important for me to be able to show my work in Milan, after all it's the only real design week in the world.

Cloud for &Tradition, 2016

What do you most look forward to when you head to Milan each year for the shows?

I love to see what my friends and colleagues are up to—you could say that I am addicted to design therefore I really like to get lost in all the design-related happenings. And, of course, I hope to spend time with them as well!

Vetroidi for Verreum, 2016

Phoenix chair for Offecct, 2016

Algon for Arflex, 2016

What will you be showing this year? 

This is going to be a great year! This is what we can share so far, but please stay tuned for more updates. Are you subscribed to our newsletter? 

More from Core77's coverage of Milan Design Week 2016!

Thanks to leaps in technology, the definition of a designer can be less aesthete and more scientist or detective. In fact, success in the field almost certainly requires a particular level of curiosity due to the sheer speed at which manufacturing technologies are becoming available. You could even argue that good design now relies less on innovation of form and more on how cleverly and thoughtfully one utilizes the materials at hand. 

Envisions, an exhibition debuting next week during Milan Design Week, explores the emotive and narrative sense of materials. A group of nine curious designers will show a collection of beautiful and abstract material explorations. The exhibition also asks, to what extent does design have the power to illicit feelings or encourage different modes of thought? 

Tactile Gestures by Jereon van de Gruiter

One project featured in the exhibition, "Tactiles Gestures" by Jeroen van de Gruiter, explores the emotion of a form via a familiar object: the door handle. "Touching a door handle is one of the first sensorial encounters an individual experiences when entering a room. Yet the design of this omnipresent element generally serves purely function—cold metals and antibacterial finishes dominate the built environment," say van de Gruiter, so "by changing the door handle's look and feel, would it be possible to influence a person's perception and experience of the space he or she is about to set foot in?" A project like this recognizes how tactile experience can greatly influence our memories and perceptions. 

Transsaddles by Adrianus Kundert

Other experiments like "Transsaddles" by Adrianus Kundert examine the beauty and opportunity that lies within the imperfect. "We do everything in our power to prevent our products from aging by essentially freezing them in time," says Kundert. By intentionally using lacquers generally too delicate for furniture applications on top of soft material layers, the projects within Kundert's collection will crack over time to reveal interesting color combinations, resulting in unexpectedly beautiful layers exposed through wear and tear.  

"OYOP" by Studio Plott uses 3D printing to create  "graphic, yet tactile, surfaces" that explore how flexible 3d printed materials could be used for the creation of textiles. 

The topics explored within Envisions are vast, but all speak to one important point: in order to be a thoughtful and successful designer, one must be sensitive and curious. Progression in design can mean not being afraid to follow a seemingly aimless path of interest because that series of successes and mistakes are what make designers that much more likely to find a solid solution. Ultimately, the abstract nature of this show proves that sometimes the emotive power in design relies not on the final form, but instead the idea behind it.

'Envisions' will be on display during Milan Design Week from April 12-17th at Ventura Lambrate.

More from Core77's coverage of Milan Design Week 2016!

Core77's editors spend time combing through the news so you don't have to. Here's a weekly roundup of our favorite stories from the World Wide Web.

The Anarchist's Design Book

I've just started reading Christopher Schwarz's book, which focuses on the common furniture that everyday people actually made over the past centuries, as opposed to the fancy rich-people's-furniture that we see in museums. The description of the book sold me:

"Most of the American furniture we celebrate as the pinnacle of design is overbearing, over-embellished and a monument to waste and excess…. There are historic furniture forms out there that have been around for almost 1,000 years that don't get written about much. They are simple to make. They have clean lines. And they can be shockingly modern. This book explores 11 of these forms – a bed, dining tables, chairs, chests, desks, shelving – and offers a deep exploration into the two construction techniques used to make these pieces that have been forgotten, neglected or rejected. You can build an entire houseful of furniture using these two methods – what we call "staked" and "boarded" furniture. They are shockingly simple for the beginner. They don't require a lot of tools. And they produce objects that have endured centuries of hard use."

The physical book, by the way, is beautifully bound. The construction of the book alone ensures I will hold on to this one.

—Rain Noe, senior editor

How to Appeal to Dude Investors? Tell Them Your Start-Up is For Men

Slimfast or Soylent? Personally, I have no interest in adding either to my diet, but I did enjoy this read from Ann Friedman on the struggles of getting investment for startups geared towards women. Friedman shares some pretty sobering stats on the status of identifying females seeking funding in a male-dominated VC-market. Her advice for appealing to dude investors? "Just hike the price, change the language, and sell it to young men."

—Carly Ayres, columnist, In The Details 

Letter of Recommendation: Looking Out the Window

A humble argument for the merit of looking away from the screen and out the window every once in a while (something many of us probably forget to do more often than we'd like to admit).

—Allison Fonder, community manager

Inside the Brain Machine

IDEO designer Neil Stevenson stepped inside an MRI machine to take part in a study led by the Imagination Institute and stepped out with a new understanding of creativity: "Creativity is a mode, not an identity. Rather than being stuck in one mental mode, we should be thinking about how to shift gears between them."

—Alexandra Alexa, editorial assistant

The Petit Protector Ring Guns: The Ultimate Ring Pops

These rare and truly tiny guns doubled as dangerously stylish accessories. A Petit Protector might not win any gunfights, but with ammunition the size of barley grain and a compact carrying case, what savvy 19th century dweller could do without some bang in their bling?

—Kat Bauman, contributing writer

You've gotta see this. Using what we assume was the camera projection feature in 3ds Max, digital artist Alexey Zakharov has created some stunningly real-looking videos of long-gone urban scenes, using scans of old photos of New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. as his starting point. Take a look:

New Yorkers among you: Do you recognize the locations of the Manhattan shots? In particular there's a shot of the famed "Bloody Angle" that sent chills up my spine.

Moscow-based Zakharov calls the project "The Old New World." Here's to hoping he creates more!