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Every day the function key highlights items carefully culled from the worlds of design, art, and fashion. The treasures we select accurately capture what we value in culture — past, present, and future. our services: + editorial proofing and content management + graphic faciliation + graphic design + design consultation + event planning Our design team specializes in graphic design, event planning, and editorial services. If you’re interested in finding out more about our experience and what we can do to bring your ideas to life, email us at: thefunctionkey (at) gmail.com.

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ICFF 2010 Favorite: Studio Dunn.

 We almost missed Studio Dunn entirely! We started out the afternoon on the opposite end of the show space and by the 5:00 p.m. closing time we were only half way through. Thankfully, we sped up and rushed through the second-half of the exhibits, where we happened upon Studio Dunn.

The New England-based studio was founded by Asher Dunn (a graduate of RISD) and an offshoot of Keeseh Studio, which is a Rhode Island-based commuity woodworking studio. Studio Dunn strives to be environmentally concious by minimizing waste and using solid American hardwoods sourced from sustainable forests. We were immediately struck by the craftmanship that goes into each piece. The shapes are mindful of midcentury Dutch design but ultimately evoke a decidely modern appeal -- something we saw across the board at this year's ICFF.  If accolades are any indication as to a design studio's industry appeal, Studio Dunn's trajectory looks promising -- this year it won the ICFF Editors Award for Best New Designer.

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ICFF 2010 Favorite: Deborah Bowness wallpaper.

    Deborah Bowness's Trompe l'oeil-esque hand printed wallpaper hit our chic spot. The petite Brit has been designing wallpaper for seven years. Ms. Bowness starts with a digital image,  then screen prints or digitally prints her designs, which are offered in drops or in kits -- individual pieces that can be arranged to create a unique scenes on your wall. Her images evoke a modern sensibility, influenced by mid-century aesthetics. Her collections include, "Frocks" -- a collage of dresses; "Utility" -- selections of chairs, lamps, books, and drawers; "Flora & Fauna" -- flowers, etc.; "Books" -- stacks and stacks of books; and "Illusions of Grandeur" -- distorted and faded patterns. We chatted briefly with designer, who informed us that she's soon launching her Web shop, which will very much imitate her workspace. We can't wait!!

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ICFF 2010 favorite: Brinca Dada.

    When we spotted the Brinca Dada booth from across the convention hall aisle, and we immediately abandoned our planned trajectory to check out the miniature house perched atop a table. Since there were so many people gathered around, Brinca Dada founder Douglas Rollins (super nice guy) gave us a tour!The Emerson dollhouse is the first in the Brinca Dada line (with a townhouse and miniature furniture line to follow very soon). Not only is the entire house made of non-toxic and lead-free wood stains and paints, but its six rooms -- living room, library/office, master bedroom, bathroom, and child's bedroom -- are powered by solar panels! And yes, they really work! The Emerson also features mitered-glass corners, two fireplaces, sliding glass doors, and recessed LED lights. Let me tell you, The Emerson beats the pants off the second-hand Fisher Price dollhouse that I exhaustively played with as a kid.

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ICFF: Saturday evening.

Later that evening after a nap and some delicious homemade turkey burgers (Thanks, Rich!) we headed to Greene Street for the Poetic License show at Moss. We arrived late to a packed gallery but managed to enjoy ourselves and pick out our favorite pieces.

Afterwards it was back up to Chelsea's Milk Gallery to catch the much-anticipated launch of Dune's newest collection Enamored, which featured new works by Karim Rashid, Harry Allen, Richard Shemetov, Claesson Koivisto Rune, Jozeph Forakis, and Carlos Gastelum. The collection is quite futuristic, featuring space-age shapes and bright flourescent hues -- certainly not for everyone, but then not everyone can afford to outfit their home with furniture that isn't mass produced. We threw in the towel around 11:00 p.m., walking back by Chelsea Market where we started our day.

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After the art installation, we were off to take in ICFF 2010 at the Javits Center. We milled about for three hours, chatting with designers, vendors, and oogling over all of the amazing pieces, it was a blast. I've included some photos below of my favorite sights so that you can see what we liked, but I'll be writing more about these later.

Molo's Booth, which won the Booth Award for the 2010 ICFF EDITORS AWARDS

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ICFF: Saturday afternoon.

Saturday was absolutely gorgeous in NYC. We started our day with a quick brunch at 202 -- I had the hammy, eggy, cheesy sandwich, an excellent choice after the Wallpaper* Brazil launch -- and a quick stop at the Chelsea Market where my friend Matt purchased the tiniest and cutest cup of coffee we'd ever seen. Next, we strolled along part of the High Line, which was gorgeous and filled with meticulously placed wildflowers and greenery but very narrow and cramped. It's not a place where one can "lay out" and enjoy the sunshine, more of a pass through en route to somewhere more pressing.

Photographs from Make Yourself At Home.

We descended the High Line and caught an art installation by 7Eleven Gallery called Make Yourself At Home -- it runs through June 6th. The gallery was transformed into a multiroom home, each room dressed by various artists using objects they'd created. It was perhaps one of the creepiest yet most resourceful art installations I've seen since Ryan and I went to the Meth Lab at Deitch Projects last summer. There was a square, miniature "mattress" turned into a fountain, a little animatronic boy contructed or more accurately deconstruted from what seemed like the face of a Teddie Ruxpin doll, and an ethereal woman sleeping in a mesh/glass enclosed case, very much in the vein of Snow White.

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ICFF: Friday evening, Part II.

All photos by Patrick McMullan

Our final stop of Friday evening was Brazilian furniture store Espasso for Wallpaper* magazine's launch of its June issue Born in Brazil /Nascida no Brasil. The magazine recently set up its South American headquarters in Rio and São Paulo, just in time to be at the forefront of Brazil's entry onto the world stage -- it's hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. The  Brazil issue features three covers, one with Brazilan model Ana Beatriz Barros posing on top of the Emiliano hotel in São Paulo, another featuring a bronzed beauty and shot on top of the Fassano in Rio, and finally a limited edition cover designed by Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. The two-story loft space was packed with Brazil's leading designers, models, and invited guests, with gorgeous pieces of Brazilian-designed furniture scattered throughout. We treated ourselves to Wallpaper's special mix of Caprinhas, which were topped off with Chile peppers. While standing at the bar we met blogger Bobby Solomon of Kitsune Nior fame, who was also in town for ICFF. As the night died down, Matt, Bobby, and I decided it was time to eat, so we cabbed it over to Delicastessen for a quick bite. The food was pretty good, we opted for the special -- soft shell crab sandwich -- and some mac and cheese. Conveniently after we finished eating and were paying our bill, I noticed three tiny shadows running around below the tables -- MICE!! There were mice running around. You've got to be kidding. After recovering from what we'd just witnessed, Bobby treated us to a night cap (Thanks, Bobby!) -- cucumber mint martinis -- at the Mercer, and then we called it a night.

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ICFF Friday night fun: Fornasetti at Barneys and vanilla wafer ice cream bars.

Last evening was the first night at ICFF, and we headed to Barney's for the Fornesseti show first. The 9th Floor was filled with gorgeous ceramics, pillows, and dresses patterned with the designer's iconic motifs -- we even spotted Simon Doonan milling about with his monogrammed "S.D." Goyard bag.

Later it was downtown to the Diez + Diez show, where we discovered the greatest ice cream treats ever! Parked in front of the venue was Hearts Challenger, a NYC-based ice cream truck that specializes in international ice cream selections. We chose the vanilla wafer bar -- a cake cone wafer filled with vanilla ice cream and chocolate. Heaven!

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@ICFF 2010!

ICFF 2010 here we come! We'll be reporting back (and hopefully tweeting throughout) with all of the exciting new objects and designs that stop us in our tracks at this year's furniture fair. Stay tuned!

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banksy hits boston.

I opened the paper today to a giant photo of a Banksy piece on Essex Street in Chinatown (right around the corner from our place). The proper authorities have been informed (Ryan and Dollar) and are going to investigate. I love living downtown. Apparently, he's hit Central Square, too. Updated: If you're looking for the Bansky piece, it's located here, on the back wall of Kaze Shabu Shabu.

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certamente salad tools.

Living among and interacting with beautifully designed objects on a daily basis truly shapes your environment. If money is no object, you can go about incorporating beautiful things into your life at your convenience. For those of us who need to be more selective, starting small -- with tools you use regularly -- is a great way to start transforming your world. These Certamente salad tools by Serafino Zani (designed by Konstantin Grcic) embody my sentiments on how ordinary objects can make even the mundane beautiful and exciting. Serving a salad with these gorgeous implements might cause mixed-green medleys to materialize at your table morning, noon, and night. Available at Wannekes.

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Comme des Garçons x Beatles Working Lady Bag.

The only thing I own bearing the Comme des Garçons logo is a plastic Visionaire doll that I won on eBay four years ago. I was trying to win it as a surprise for a friend of mine, but it was only after I'd paid $65 for the little plastic guy that we realized we had been bidding against each other the whole time, thus driving up the price. Much laughter ensued. Annnyyyway, my point is that I've now laid my eyes on another piece of Comme des Garçons merchandise that needs to find its way onto my arm . . . CDG x Beatles Working Lady Bag Available locally at Uncle Pete's.

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the best bicycles for the stylish set.

The inspiration from Amsterdam When springtime hits, it's inevitable that my mind starts dreaming of bicycles. Suddenly, I begin to notice all of the Dutch bicycles and cruisers on the street and envision myself on my morning commute looking like those gorgeous Amsterdamers who have mastered workday fashion atop a bicycle. If you've never been to Amsterdam, it's worth visiting just to see these gorgeous specimens speeding around the city -- in suits and dresses no less! Here are some of my favorite cycles from Adeline Adeline (a cute female-centric bike shop that recently opened in Tribeca) and from Public (DWR founder Rob Forbes' new company, aimed at bringing stylish city bike a la Dutch to us Americans).  Linus Dutchie 1 Speed Upright Bicycle from Adeline Adeline PUBLIC D3, $850.00 from PUBLIC  Abici Granturismo Donna 1 Speed Italian Bicycle, $950 from Adeline Adeline PUBLIC M8, $1,200.00  Abici Granturismo Uomo 1 Speed Italian Bicycle From Adeline Adeline

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And a miserable day to you too . . .

I can't remember exactly how we came across Darcel, but we've been following him from his early blogging days, eagerly awaiting his next adventure. We've watched as he's moved into a fifth-floor walk-up and recovered from nagging Fashion Week hangovers, and now Darcel (or more appropriately artist Craig Redman) has landed himself smack dab in the thick of aboslute hipness with a show at Colette. 

For the month of May, visit the Rue Saint-Honore boutique to catch "And A Miserable Day To You Too," showcasing Redman's Darcel sculptures, prints, and various other merchandisable bobs and bits. Can't make it to Paris? Le sigh. You can also purchase Darcel merchandise on the Colette Web site.

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schubladen furniture.

schubLaden (German for drawers) is a furniture company based out of Berlin. The designers take cast-aside drawers and create new furniture with them. The result is a perfect mixed of contemporary and vintage, creating a unique and one-off piece of furniture. schubLaden will also create custom-made pieces at your request. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

piece 40|02

  piece 44|02

  piece 41|05

  piece 41|01

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brent comber.

I love the the idea of offsetting modern interiors with natural elements, and Brent Comber's stunning wooden objects would look right at home in a sitting room outfitted with acrylic Louis Ghost chairs. In my mind's eye, the result is an unusual, yet balanced juxtaposition of organic vs. manmade. The Vancouver-based designer started working with natural elements when he ran his landscaping business and through a search to restore his prewar-era home using older wood he found a passion for the organic material and ran with it. In addition to his gorgeous objects, Comber also designs interior spaces and sculptures. Here are a few of his pieces that I'm smitten with . . .   Shattered (made of Douglas Fir with a natural finish) Alder Cubes (made of Alder with a clear finish)

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Rest in peace Leslie Buck.

You may not recognize the name, but you'll certainly recognize Leslie Buck's iconic contribution to the urban coffee culture -- the Anthora cup, which was released in the 1960s. Mr. Buck was a refugee from Nazi Europe and fled to the US following the war. He and his brother, Eugene, opened a business in the States called Premiere Cup, out of which grew the famous Anthora cup design. You can read more about Leslie Buck in this NY Times' article.