Style Scout: Design to the People

A national outlet connects artisans to the broader community.

Plywood creations by ROLU

Image credit: Marshall Franklin Long

Recommended by the Editor

Style Scout: Bring on the Fresh Blood

Style Scout: Down the Rabbit Hole

By: Cy Winship |   November 2010   |  From the print edition

Sometimes it dismays me how often we’re encouraged to think of ourselves as just shoppers. Our imaginations need to be guided by more than what’s plunked in front of us. Why can’t we really look and see what’s going on around us, not only in design but in the communities where we live?

Last month I visited the local outlet of Design Within Reach and saw an example of just what I’m talking about. DWR was throwing an event that spotlighted creations by the local art and design studio ROLU. On display was furniture that ROLU created within the self-imposed limitations of common plywood. The results were funny and imaginative, and fit the bill for the kind of things I like to work with—designs that look original and make me laugh (in a really good way).

We all know what Crate and Barrel and Room and Board have to offer, and OK—sometimes they have just what we need. But DWR was using its space to feature local artisans, and going one better: bringing those designers into its space to meet the customers, creating a community environment where people could share a vision and maybe bring home a piece that inspires their concept of their living space. That’s what it’s all about, cornball as it might sound. Modernism can seem cold and inhuman, but it doesn’t have to be.

It turns out that what I saw is part of DWR’s unofficial corporate mission. First, they staff their local stores with design geeks, and then they give them the freedom to seek out local artisans. They understand that you’re not going to discover new talent unless you’re out there looking for it.

So along with design icons—Nelson chairs, Noguchi tables—DWR is looking for the next generation of classics. And they’re doing it the way that gets me inspired: building things well, combining brilliant design with stuff that lasts. We’re talking furniture that we want to keep restoring and handing down to future generations, not stuff that ends up abandoned in an alley after several years.

What I saw at DWR was what I love: people who are interesting, and interested, who aren’t content just to sell some furniture, punch a clock and go home. Design is all about human beings, and the extraordinary results when people get together, create lasting ideas and change the way we look at the world and ourselves. That’s a lot more fun than plain old shopping.
 

Design Within Reach
2939 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.