divide and conquer

NEW NEWS!
According to Heraclites of Ephesus the only constant is change. Those Greeks were no slouches in the thinking department so we'll take them at their word. Along those lines we are changing as well, dividing and conquering, spreading ourselves thin (not too thin) and wide over the state of Ohio. Non Fiction has morphed and splintered into two new projects, based in both Cincinnati and Columbus. This means more work from us all, two NEW blogs, and a lot less driving for me.
So..... what are you waiting for!

Katie Parker and Guy Michael Davis in Cincinnati - www.futureretrieval.blogspot.com


Rebecca Harvey and Steven Thurston in Columbus - www.roughandperfect.blogspot.com

studio shots

A quick look at both of our private studios- where we have been spending wayyy to much time this summer... Above - Steve and Rebecca's secret underground lair in Columbus Ohio. To see a little bit more of what they are up to click here. Below, Katie and Mike's above ground studio in Cincinnati Ohio. For more studio images and work in progress, click here.

A little too close to home

Zebra Mussels have taken over Dallas, TX!!! My hometown! Ahhhh! They have taken up residence in Lake Texoma and will likely, if not already, move into Lake Lavon. The Dallas Morning news says "they are multiply at a dizzying rate, and no one knows how to eradicate them". (sadly, it is not an easy task) They were first noticed in the Great Lakes in 1988, and have slowly moved south - surviving for days outside of water. Crazy. More info here.

Light!

The Rat Chandelier is on the road - heading to The Blair Museum of Lithophanes in Toledo, Ohio to be part of "Ceramics Illuminated". Our good friend and ceramic expert/historian Dr. Margaret Carney is the curator of this exhibition, bringing us together (finally) with Roy Lichtenstein, Harry Allen Designs, and Jack Earl. Super cool. If you don't know what a lithophane is, take a look here to find out more.
The show opens Sept. 6th - so take a trip out to Toledo if you are in the neighborhood. I love this musuem all the ceramic history that it has to offer. (and if you haven't heard it is also Laurel Blair's 100th birthday - and there will be cake!)

Lucky!

I am so happy to announce that Non Fiction made the pages of Lucky Magazine! (Best in Show at that) I have been a loyal subscriber for a long time - seriously years - so I know how great the designers and products that they feature are. The stylists took some lovely photos of our work, and the editors even did a post on Lucky's blog - check it out here. For more tips on where to shop and what to get, check out their website, Luckymag.com. (huge thank you to Heather and Emily)

manifesto

For years I have been wanting to write a manifesto - and I will (just probably not before 2010).
In the meantime, check out the Repair Manifesto from Platform 21 - a truly innovative design collective in Amsterdam. Here are some ideas that we try to follow as we work (especially number 4). Click to enlarge.

Here's how I feel lately

Lots of new fun in the works - stay tuned....

Sunday Times (we are in it!)

The New York Times has an article this Sunday about spending 36 hours in Cincinnati. Guy and I just recently moved to Cincinnati permanently, taking the job as head of the Ceramics Department at UC, College of Design, Art, Architecture, and Planning. We are so happy to be here, even if it means thinking about how Non Fiction has to function across a 100 mile stretch of I-71. The Times did a great job of scouting out the city, and mentioned our favorite design shop High Street in the article. For a sneak peek, look online here. It seems like lately I can't say enough good things about this area and I am glad others feel the same.

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....