Alright girls, make sure you give me the low-down on who you think Marcel is...
try to find a video (or two) of him talking (hint: interview with the design journalist Cedric Morisset).
Also take a look at the program Designer People.
http://www.ovationtv.com/programs/689-designer-people

Marcel Wanders

Marcel Wanders

Marcel Wanders




- Marcel Wanders was born and raised in Boxtel, The Netherlands on July 2nd, 1963. 




- In 1988, he graduates cum laude from the School of the Arts Arnhem. 


- Rose to fame with his design, the Knotted Chair


- He is the Director and co-owner of Moooi, a company founded in 2000. 


- He is most know for his work for the Dutch conceptual design company, Droog.




                                                                                                

  

Knotted Chair

- His designs were nominated several times for the Rotterdam Design Prize

- Marcel Wander's work is mostly focused on interior design projects, but he has since started designing consumer home appliances. 

- In 2005, with Peter Lute, they invent the "Lute Suites"

- In 2007, he designs several lifestyle products with Puma, mostly beach accesories. 

The Museum of Modern Art in New York and San Francisco, the V&A Museum in London, the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Museum of Decorative Arts Copenhagen, and the Central Museum in Utretcht have all had exhibitions of Wanders' design.

VIDEOS

Marcel Wanders answer some questions about design and his work:

Marcel Wanders on Inspiration

Marcel Wanders on Design

Marcel Wanders on Old and New

"The new should be recognize from the past (...) I want to make things that are connected with who we have always been"


LINKS

Click here to watch Marcel Wanders interviewed by Cedric Morisset


Click here to see Marcel Wanders' explanation on the Senseo and his theories about design

Teddy Bear - QUALITATIVE

-       Medium:

o   What is it made of?

§  First teddy bear made in Germany by Margaret Steiff: She cut a pattern out of brown mohair pile fabric and created a bear whose head, arms, and legs were articulated so they could move independently and so the bear could sit or stand. The toy was stuffed with excelsior (wood shavings used as packing material), and he had shoe-button eyes and an embroidered nose and other features

§  In the 1920s, this changed and glass eyes were used because button eyes could be pulled off too easily, this is why in a lot of movies you see a teddy bear with only one button eye, because it became a national symbol.

§  Turns out both glass and button eyes could be easily pulled off so in 1948, a woman named Wendy Bolton came up with a screw-in eye which was made of nylon. However, these were also replaced in the 1950s by the final model, a plastic eye that was mounted on a stem and attached within the bear so they would be safer. Since the 1960s, these are the standard issue eyes.

§  There have been many changes to how a teddy bear is made since the 1900s: before the disks used were made of wood, and pins were used to hold the bear together which made it less flexible. Today, companies have replaced these by plastic disks.

 §  Fabrics have changes as well, the most popular ones today are the fabrics that are fur-like. The first bears were made of mohair, sheep’s wool, rayon or silk. Today nylon, corduroy, denim, calico, terry cloth, and velour are more frequently used as they are more durable.

 o   How can it be reproduced using its raw materials?

 §  First blueprints must be made into paper patterns.

 §  The shapes are then cut out and pinned to the fabric chosen.

 §  Then you stack layers of plush with the pattern pinned on top.

§  Add the small pieces first, then the eyes and then stitch the parts together.

§  Then stuff the bears with tightly packed dual polyester fiber (this means that it is a mixture of fine fiber and a thicker, wavier fiber, because this lasts the longest)

§  Put more in the arms, legs, and head so that they are firm, but the body should be softer.

§  Then, the “hug test” (which is actually recognized, and some children are paid for it). You hug the bear to evaluate how cuddly it is.

§  Sow the bear back together, and use an electrically powered wire brush to fluff the seams.

        

   Style 

      

      The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear.

Usually stuffed with soft cotton and have a smooth and soft fur.

In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items. Now, teddy bears come in various styles and people can dress them up in many different styles and articles of clothing.

The design varies from one bear to another. This goes much link with the importance of the expression. However, Teddy Bears are very different one from the other. They are first design by an artist and secondly there are analysed to find possible flaws. Many trials may be required to create the perfect teddy bear with the perfect design. It has to be remembered that for most of the cases they are going to be destined to large-scale manufacture and things such as popularity, where will it be sold need to be considered.
• i.e. A bear producer in California sells a stuffed bear resembling the bruin on the California state flag, but this item would not necessarily sell well elsewhere.

Teddy bears are different form the other objects of their families because of their history and their originality. They can be given many uses and they are associated with many things that the other types of stuffed animals are not.
• Their name comes from President Theodore Roosevelt whose nickname was Teddy. The name originated from an incident on a bear-hunting trip in Mississippi in November 1902
• Teddy bears had become very relevant mascots for Olympic games and the favourite toys of many people. They shape are particular and al kind of look the same. 

Expression
Most of the teddy bears are simply and unanimated. But recently more and more companies have created robotized teddy bears (i.e. Japan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwWeN1ARy74 )
Teddy bears have many uses and they have become more and more important in peoples, and specially children life. Some of the most important uses of Teddy Bears are:
• Museums: The first one set up in Petersfield, Enfland (1984). In 1990 a similar one appeared in Florida (US). Now a day there are many teddy bear museums around the world.
• Teddy bear cops: Giving teddy bears to children in a crisis situation stabilized them. For this reason police, fire and emergency oficials created the Teddy Bear Cops program, which distributes teddy bears to police, fire and emergency officials in the US so that they can be given to the children in specific situations.
• Teddy Bear festivals: They became more and more popular around the world. Most of them take place in America, Canada, Japan and Germany.
• The most common use for a teddy bear is as a toy. They are usually offer to kids and in many cases they become the “best friend”
• Love object: Teddy bears are used in san Valentines day more and more frequently
• Advertising campaigns with other objects of the same family: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1hFMHIAjr4&feature=fvst

Tomatoes - Qualitative

Qualitative

- The English called it the "love apple," and English romancers presented it as a token of affection; Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have presented one to Queen Elizabeth.

- The early American colonists regarded the tomato as poison because it's related to the deadly nightshade plant (but so is the potato!). Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson stood on the steps of the Salem, New Jersey courthouse in 1820 and ate a tomato-and then a few more-without any adverse effects, to the town's amazement. However, another source claims that a certain M. F. Corne is the first man to eat a tomato, His fellow citizens of Newport, Rhode Island, erected a monument to him, because the tomato was considered poisonous until Mr. Corne dared to eat one.

• Bathing in tomato juice is an effective way to remove the smell if a skunk sprays you or a pet;

• Wash your hair with them after swimming in a pool in order to remove the chlorine from your hair;

• To tenderize meats; and

- To clean copper pots instead of using harsh or abrasive chemicals.

- Tomato juice is the official state beverage of Ohio. Arkansas' official state vegetable is the vine ripe pink tomato (of South Arkansas).

- The jelly-like substance around the seeds contains the highest concentration of vitamin C.

- There has always been a debate concerning whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable; in 1863 the Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes were to be considered vegetables.

- More than 60 million tons are produced each year. This is 16 million more tons than our friend the banana, the second most popular. The third most popular are apples (36 million), then oranges (34 million), and watermelons (22 million)

- If you suffer from a skin disease, a tomato a day may keep the doctor away. Tomatine, tomato's principle alkaloid, heals certain fungus disorder

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Value

o What is the cost of production, distribution & sustainability?

- Tomato is one of the most commonly grown fresh vegetables. 

- Tomatoes are both high yielding and labor intensive so most farmers don’t grow more than one acre 

- Tomatoes yield 650 to 800 boxes (30 lbs. each) per acre in the the central US. This equals between 19,000 and 25,000 lbs or 10 to 13 tons per acre. 

o In 1990, the tomato yield nationwide was 25,100 per acre

- Production and marketing costs can be over $4,000 per acre with an expected return of $4,000 to $8,000 per acre. 

- Efficient harvesting, handling, and marketing techniques are extremely important in the production of this highly perishable crop. 

o Labor intensive = estimated 350 hours of work for each staked acre. 

- For storage and shippin, it can be picked at the “breaker” stage of maturity, when the blossom end turns pink. 

- Post-harvest temperature management is critical to maintain quality. 

- Tomatoes may be damaged when stored below 55 degrees Fahrenheit

- For the longest shelf life a tomato should be stored from 55 to 70 degrees F

- Tomato market fluctuates with growing season -> starts high and drops as summer season progresses. 

o Plasticulture and hoop house production are techniques which increase earliness or extend the tomato season which is why they have become so popular. 

- Tomatoes are often picked unripe and then ripened with ethylene. 

- Tomatoes are often grown in greenhouses in cooler climates. 

Variety Selection

- Selection of tomato varieties include market demands, disease resistance, suitability to production systems, and regional adaptability. 

Suitability to Production Systems

- Tomatoes have growth habits ranging from determinate (bush) to indeterminate (vining). 

o Limited access, closed – sometimes overlap

o The privilege of rents

- No dominant coalition is permanent. Stability is maintained through the balance of interests in the rent-creation process.

Production in the US

- In 2004, Florida had 42,000 acres of tomatoes and California had 37,000 acres. 

- China produces the most tomatoes in the world, with the US right behind it. 

- Percentage of fresh tomato supply that is exported is 6 percent. 

- Mexico accounts for 71% of the American imports.

Signification

o How does this object go beyond initial interpretation?When it comes to dreams, tomatoes have two meaning
- You are tented by a love story
- You have too much passionate love stories
But then there are distinctions that have to be made:
-green tomatoes= your life is too superficial
or because of your impatience, you are going to miss your chance
- If you pick tomatoes: you are going to deal with strong emotions
- If you buy tomatoes: you are going to obtain what you want
- If you grow tomatoes: unexpected and happy changes are coming
A well known expression dealing with tomatoes:
To be as red as a tomato means to be all red Apparue dès 1690, "être rouge comme une tomate" est une référence à la couleur rouge qui teinte parfois les joues d'une personne lorsque celle-ci est sous le coup d'une émotion forte.

The other names of the tomatoes
- In France, pomme d’amour due to a red color which stands for the passion, as they thought them to have stimulating aphrodisiacal properties. It might also be due to a bad translation of the Italian “pomo d'amore” which comes from “pomme des Maures”
It also embodies summer, spain, south and warmth
o Does it have a cultural legacy whether it is for the mass, the elite?- It was not consummated by the American autochthonous
- It was adopted by Mexicans who obtain from it lots of varieties
-
The Moors who invaded Spain were spellbound by the heart-shaped vegetable that sang the love. They embarked it in their luggage to conquer the entire Mediterranean basin. Attractive, bewitching, tomato alters radically the kitchen and also seduces the French during the revolution.

-It was introduced in Spain thanks to the conquest in the 16th. Spanish and Italian were the 1st to adopt it as an aliment. Italian found in the tomatoes the perfect complement for their pasta and they invented the different ways of cultivating it.
- It was used in a recipe book in the 18th only. Why? Due to the smell of its stems and leaves (not really engaging) and its resemblance with toxic plants (mandragore).
- It was cultivated as a strange object only in private and botanic garden
- The Italians when they immigrated to the US, tried to introduce it. But the US (due to their English legacy) were very suspicious towards tomatoes. English people used to recommend to boil the tomatoes during 3 hours in order to erase their toxic part (John Gerard wrote a memoir in which he explained that the tomato was toxic). Until the end of 20th, the average American thinks that the tomato is poisonous plant. And the puritans thought it was too red and too seducing, hence it was a sin to consume it. Only the Louisianans (under the French influence) will consume it from 1810 and Jefferson, Bennet (New York Times)
- In China, it will only be adopted in the 20th even if it was introduced three centuries ago
- Even the witches thought it was associated with evil.
- In 1897, soup mogul Joseph Campbell came out with condensed tomato soup, a move that set the company on the road to wealth as well as further endearing the tomato to the general public.
- Now they are cultivated in lots of ways although before it was just a product without any commercial importance. Very popular.
- Now Americans obtain more of their vitamins from tomatoes than from any other vegetable.

We love tomatoes

Bananas

"Banania y'a bon..."

-       Medium:

-          Bananas are grown on plants and not trees, they are herbaceous:

o   It's a plant that has leaves and stems and dies at the end of the growing season

o   Banas are grown on the world’s largest herb plant

o   When they are grown, bananas create a hormone called ethylene which gives the banana it's flavor

§  Ethylene stimulates formation of amylase, which is an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, which is what gives the banana its dense feel.

§  When the bananas are green, thus not ripe, it’s because the starch has not totally been broken down yet.

o   Made up of pectin which makes the banana softer as they grow riper

-       - Bananas contain magnesium, selenium, iron, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and potassium.

-      -  They are made up of 23% of hydrocarbonate and .2% of fat

-      - They have three main parts: skin, seeds, and flesh

-      - Each banana stem consists of 10 to 14 hands each of them carrying form 18 to 20 bananas.

-      - Banana seeds are sterile, so you can't plant the seeds and expect the plant to grow

-      - Bananas are the most fattening fruit.

Quantitative:

Value

-       - The banana is one of the main exports fruits, the third most popular in fact, and it is exported by Philippines, Equator, and Costa Rica.

-      - India produces the most banana (23 million of tons) yet it is not one of the main exporters.

-       - This export trade is worth 6 billion dollars.

-      - In France, the price of a banana goes from 0.65 to 1.35 euros per kilo.

o   Based on how much the consumer is willing to pay

-       - Depending on the State, the price will vary

-       - 28% of bananas imported by Britain

Originality

-      - It is the only fruit that can be peeled that way, with so little effort, and no knife

-      -  Only fruit with that shape

-      - One of the only fruit that is that sweet, other fruits are sweet or bitter.

-      - One of the only fruits with no juice.

Signification

-       “Banania” y’a du bon -> France has imperialist ideology, and all it’s colonies so Black men who is “always happy” signifies the “banana fruit” that cures melancholy.

-       Joyful note of the banana was meant to show the joyful nature of the inferior races of the colonized.

Andy Warhol's "Velvet Underground"

-   "Banana Republic" -> shop