big plans

After cleaning out the studio last week, we found a LOT of pieces that have never seen the light of day. This hanging light from our show at The Clay Studio is pretty amazing - and a nice addition to our room. I love living with what we make, even if it is the one offs and strange ideas that not everyone sees.
We have been talking over the last month, and have some radical new ideas in the works that we let you in on shortly. Big plans for the future of Non Fiction - and our own personal art and research as well.
Close up of the the wolf chandelier - made from a salvaged metal lampshade - truly a one of a kind piece. The centerpiece is from the first rapid prototype of Wolfie that we had printed.

Summer Reading

The Arcanum - The true story of the discovery of porcelain in Meissen Germany 300 years ago. An amazing book that follows the life of Johann Frederick Böttger (inventor of porcelain), Johan Gregor Herold (porcelain painter and alchemist), and Johann Joachim Kaendler (the greatest modeler to ever live). Click here to find out more.

blogged

We wanted to say thank you! to everyone who has blogged about us in the past couple of weeks.
Lloyd at Treehugger did an amazing post - and even recorded a short video that you can watch from their site - click here to watch and read the article. (photo credit treehugger).

Party!

First of all, I love this image and had to post it. High Street Cincinnati threw us a party on Friday night, in celebration of our first trip to ICFF. I think I have mentioned before that this is an amazing store - and how wonderful everyone who works there is.... You only get this kind of love in Ohio (drinks for all and no list). We had a great time, so much that we forgot to take photos of the four of us - too many cool people to meet. I did take a picture of a case that we set up...

Thanks to High Street for everything, and thank you to everyone who was able to attend.

ICFF

Our booth - which turned out great. The floor was a hit - and really created an environment unlike any other in the show. Steven engineered some amazing furniture - a "couch" for us to sit on, and two butcher block tables/lamp poles that our lighting could hang from. We had a wonderful time, met SO many amazing people - and saw great work from all around the world.
With all that said, it is nice to be back home in Ohio sitting on our real couch.

Road Trip

We are off - taking a road trip to NYC at the end of the week to set up our booth for ICFF. (booth 1755 if you are going to be there too). The floor is ready - the furniture is almost done - and we are at least halfway packed and ready to go. We will post more images once we have everything installed and set up on site - exciting!

icff - the floor

We have been working for the last few days on the flooring for our booth next week. Steven laser cut a William Morris style stencil (see below)
And we used it to cover 100 sq. feet of foam anti-fatigue flooring. (we don't want to strain ourselves) It looks a crazy rug in rubber...

new cards

Our new business cards for ICFF - with our booth number 1755. We are feeling lucky - because in 1755 Marie Antoinette was born in Vienna and the first edition of A Dictionary of the English Language was written and published by Samuel Johnson. We have stacks and stacks of these- plus Rebecca is letterpressing some as well - more pictures of our ICFF progress soon.

rat redo

We have redone Rattus Norvegicus Rex - added fatter leaves to the top and a set of smaller rats to the bottom. The leaves are hand sewn with red thread, and the porcelain has the nicest glow when the light is on.

High Street

We are very pleased to announce that you can now find our work at High Street in Cincinnati. It is a beautiful design, furniture, and accessories store on Reading Rd. downtown.
They did an amazing job with over 600 pounds of bricks
Our studio porcelain, invasive species ware, and the Dada light - so nice....
I LOVE the bricks in a wagon!

and then there were two

We are in love with these lights - hung in pairs they look amazing. These are the first prototypes - so we will have to give them a thorough testing (in our living room). Hopefully we can have these up and ready for your home in the next couple weeks.

The Wolf Light!

Finally - the Wolf Light is complete. We have had this idea stuck in our heads for a hanging wolf head with a mouth full of light bulbs - and here it is! Guy and I hung this in our living room last night and it looks super nice... but now I want two - one on either side of the couch. Maybe, just maybe, that can happen and I will post a picture later this week.
Porcelain with nine 3w bulbs wired in back, 7" x 10" x 7", with an 8' cord.

In print

A couple days ago, the newest issue of Ceramics Monthly arrived in the mail - and we are in it. They did a nice little article about our show at The Clay Studio in January of this year, Shakespeare Wooden Minnow. Thanks!

Paper Rat

ICFF is only a month and a half away - time to start going into production... We have narrowed down the pieces we want to take, and my vote was for the paper rat light. So, I spent all day yesterday die cutting rats and ringing them together to make our prototypes into a product. All all our dies are hand drawn by us, and the paper is cut on our proofing press. Maybe the rat curtains will make an appearance as well?

experiments

I keep having this idea of stringing balls of floral garland to make porcelain swag. (see here) So, this is a first attempt. I see these moving across a wall or room, with the swags changing shape across the space - dipping high and low. A work in progress...

springtime

It is officially spring (well - in one more day) and we have vases on the brain. This is a sweet little bud vase made from our white logs, ideal for a coffee table or breakfast in bed. We have a large vase I will post later this week - and also a tablewide floral takeover in the works.
Slipcast porcelain, 5.5" x 6"

The RAM process

Today we RAM pressed around 50 platters, for a new series of studio porcelain we are excited about. The press was amazingly fast, and it feels great to have a batch of new shapes to work on. The first RAM was actually built in Columbus Ohio at OSU by two ceramic engineers.

Poppytalk Handmade

As of next week we will be participating in the month long Poppytalk Handmade market Green Pop. The theme is everything related to eco, spring, easter, and green. So, I thought our
“Mammalian Shrines” would be a nice fit. Check it out as we add some recycled dinnerware, rabbit lights, hanging sheep tumblers and more seasonal gems.

what are these called? and does anyone sell them?

Reclaimed bricks. We take fired bricks from Beldon Brick, paint the top with a white brick oxide, and then silkscreen layers of imagery using enamels and china paint. Then, we refire each brick to about 2000 degrees so the designs are set for life.
What can you do with a brick? Here are a few ideas: door stop, decorative element, small painting that stands on its own, heat it up and put it under your covers at night to keep you warm - put it in the freezer and put it under your covers in the summer, tie a note on it and throw it through a window, start to build something, hold down items on a windy day....
Who couldn't use one? Let us know, and we will pick you out a good one. 30.00 each.

Wolfie continued

The wolf head is finally starting to take shape - and we have several big ideas for the form. First up: floral garland balls inspired by this stone building ornament.

logs

We have been casting logs by the hundreds (well, maybe not hundreds - but we made at least 50 in the last week) and making more log lights and log hooks.

Side note - the log hooks are going fast - only 5 left in stock. Once they are sold out that is it...

big bowls

Our newest studio porcelain - super large bowls. (think 10 apples for size) These came out so nice... all they need is a little china paint.
slipcast porcelain, 60.00 each.

in progress

To make a plaster mold off of a three-d print is a little tricky. You cannot pour right onto the rapid prototype because of the porous nature of the material. So, we have covered the Pug Head in tin foil - to make a plaster shell to pour rubber into. I kind of like the tin foil head.

like I said

The squirrel makes an excellent chair caddy. Also, could be door knob warmer...

late night stacking

It seems like we always come up with the best ideas while we are cleaning up - the last 20 minutes of the day. Mike was showing off his new vase and talking about finishing up the squirrel. So he stuck the squirrel in the vase, and I grabbed a platter to sit on top. Perfect for a serving dish! Also, the squirrel makes a good chair caddy...

Finished!

Our new website is up and .99998% finished. I will do the rest tonight - I promise. But, in the meantime check it out - we have a ton of new work added.
Go here: nonfictiondesigncollective.com

Make, Scan, Mill, Print, Adjust, Repeat

Mike and Steven have an article in the newest Ceramics Monthly about their work with three-d scanning, printing, and CNC milling. The article explains how the rat was created and modeled, and also how Steven scanned and then milled a perfect wooden pillow. Check it out if you get a chance.

Facets

For some reason I have facets on the brain. We finally cast our large Wolfie in rubber - and now we can start making models for slipcasting. The first pour had some air bubbles, so I started carving it up - making a crystallized version that resembles the pixilation on the 3-D modeling software. So far so good.

Blown up

We just had our Mops head scanned and enlarged - and then rapid prototyped. This head is 2xs the size of the original, so the bulging eyes and meaty face look even more intense. Once the model is printed, the whole piece has to be infused with super glue, creating a hard shell so we can start to make a mold from it. It is a slow process...
Half a bottle of Zap glue, an hour an a half later. Getting closer.

Made Better

Also getting a do over - our website. It will be cleaner and easier to navigate - with added buying and shipping features. Exciting... should be up and running in the next couple weeks.

next up

This squirrel. He has been waiting patiently in the freezer since early summer - a gift from a friend. We have big plans for this guy, so stay tuned for more. (actually, we have to taxidermy it first, so it will be a little while...)

One last piece

I wanted to make sure that "For L.A.M.B." made it onto the blog - I love how Steven scanned a plaster pillow and then milled out a wooden twin. Mops looks very comfortable there. The German name for pug - Mops - came from Marie Antoinette, who owned a pug of that name shortly before her marriage to Louis XVI.
Porcelain, three-d scanned and CNC milled wooden base, tons of tiny leaves, gold luster, electricity and a flicker bulb. 9.5" x 16". 1800.00

Got Lucky

Our newest studio porcelain - a lot less drips and a lot more gold. We really like where this is going....

Non Fiction Design Collective presents

Shakespeare Wooden Minnow at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. The show looks amazing - we could not be happier. Here are a couple gallery shots of our show right before the opening. Steven's screen house is an engineering marvel and came together perfectly. We envisioned a large hedge to display our lights - he responded by CNC milling over 25 panels with a William Morris pattern.

We put most of the Dresden lights on our flat pack pedestals inside, and wired them up with flicker bulbs. Lovely. This last shot is from the outside looking in.

the finishing touches

Steven's amazing hedge house for our show at the Clay Studio. We worked on it late into the night - getting everything assembled, labeled, and ready for the cargo van. Our show opens tomorrow night - so if you are in the Philly area, stop on by. Gallery photos coming soon - we are almost finished!

King Mops

Similar to our evil eyed rabbit lamps - we now have added a Mops into the mix. The yellow and red lights go nicely with the gold lustered crown and bells. 7.5" x 12", 2008. Porcelain, luster, and electricity.

Shakespeare Wooden Minnow

One of Steven's amazing pieces for our show at The Clay Studio - "Shakespeare Wooden Minnow". We spent all day taking photos and cataloging the work before we break for the holidays. Tons of photos coming soon - more work and our lovely light installation inside the gallery...

“Leda Diprossopus” Dresden porcelain with CNC milled and goldleafed firewood – flicker lights wired. 6” x 14”, 2008. 1800.00

dada light

This light started off as an unfinished piece - which turned out to look pretty amazing with a light bulb for a head. For the full dada effect - set this beside your Dali lips couch using your lobster gloves. For you everyday folks - we like it on the floor.

Good Design

Last night we went to the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati for the Good Design for the Holidays show. We are super excited to be included - and to see our pieces in such an amazing space. The sale is going on until January, so if you are in the area, go check it out.

whoops

Three out of four of us participated in some holiday shows this weekend - Renegade in Chicago and the Shadow Art Fair in Michigan. We accidentally took no photos.

paper garland

Perfect for this holiday season! Paper garland made from die cut atoms, molecules, and snowflakes - sewn together with red string. Each piece is 4' long and can be connected with other strands to create large hanging ornaments. We will be making a limited number of these for the next couple of weeks - so send us an email if you are interested.
10.00 a strand.

Tree Ornament

These little 3.5" ratties don't mind hanging by their tails, especially if the tree looks as good as they do. White as snow, they can even decorate the mantle, protecting your favorite holiday card display. Fifty bucks a pop.

Thanksgiving

We are all going to do the best we can to take a well deserved break this weekend. In the meantime - check out Guy's turkey head salt and pepper shakers.

Ten Times - project #3

Our newest Ten Times piece - "Log Hooks". The ten times project once again means that we take ten objects and make them ten times better, in a limited edition of ten, charging ten times the cost of the original item. To see project one, click here. Project two, click here.
Wooden bathroom hooks, with porcelain logs screwed into the top of each hook. Fully functional - a little more fancy.
10" x 7.5". Wood and porcelain, 2008. Limited edition of 10. 20.00 each

Flipping Eras: Industrial Age Techniques Reemerge in the Studio Process

NFDC was invited to exhibit in the Flipping Eras exhibition at the Ohio State University. On top is the brick kicker, and 3 Bears Headlights. Above, our hanging lights attracted swarms.

multiples

We are getting ready for a couple shows next month, and making tons of cups along the way. Here is the newest batch of invasive species dinnerware on bone china. Also - we have some beautiful new studio porcelain as well - pictures coming soon.

Other Projects From The NFDC studio

This is another one incredible projects we have been working on, here at the Non Fiction Studio,where anything can be made in porcelain. Hand Carved forms combined with digital prototypes, are cast in porcelain. This Minilith and Monuette project has exploded since the residency at the Dresden Porcelain Manufactory. Click here to see the origin of the branch forms.

a start

It seems like we are forever coming up with more and more prototypes. This is a start to a hanging light - we wanted to create an embellished bare bones structure - and then go from there. So far so good. Later this week we are going to have tomato cages specifically built for this idea - stay tuned.
Tomato cage, tiny porcelain flowers, epoxy glue.

Wolfie the Great

Fresh from the Z corp, Wolfie is in full alpha mode. Watch your back.....

Ten Times - project #2

The second piece from our 10 times series - Cuckoo (redo). The Ten Times project in a nutshell - we take 10 regular objects, and make then ten times better. Each object is produced in a limited edition of ten, making 100 pieces in all. Each item will cost ten times the amount of the original object. We throw in the labor for free. It is the idea that is the expensive part.
Pre-existing IKEA clock altered with rapid prototyped wolf head slipcast in porcelain, porcelain pressed leaves, and slipcast pine cones. The face of the clock has the molecular structure for china clay printed on the surface.
8” x 16”, 100.00 each. Edition of ten.
*with stocks falling - think about investing in art this quarter*