Last weekend was the first ever "Design Milk Presents" event, Reinvention; Writing History Through Aluminum, featuring new works by Brad Ascalon and Frederick McSwain (AM) for Neal Feay Studio, an exhibition at Bobby Berk Home (it runs through May 27th so you can still catch it!)
The objects, made of solid aluminum (quite weighty!) came from an accidental meeting between Brad Ascalon and Santa Barbara-based Neal Feay Studio. Alex Rasmussen, third generation owner of Neal Feay, has been exploring new ways to push aluminum manufacturing to a whole new level. He's recently partnered with artists and now, he's pioneering Neal Feay's first venture into modern product design.
Turntable slatted tables with optical illusion
Closeup of the underside of Turntable
One of my favorite pieces is Achilles, a shoehorn. The AM team decided to design a shoehorn for the single reason they wanted to design a sexy shoehorn – named Achilles because their "Achilles heel" is that sometimes they like to design for the sake of making something beautiful.
Uluwatu hanging pendant/sconce
Henge the deconstructed fruit bowl ? the pieces are magnetic
Timber tables with wooden legs pushing through surface, inspired by the idea that we develop land, and yet if we don tend to the concrete jungle, the grass begins to creep up through the cracks, trying to reclaim the space.
Lumen multicolored vase/candle holder/ash tray
Bonnie bracelets ? named as an homage to the history of Neal Feay after they discovered an old bracelet stamped with the name onnie? manufactured by the first generation of Neal Feay.
Thank you so much to Brad Ascalon, Frederick McSwain, Alex Rasmussen and the Neal Feay Team, and Bobby Berk for making this event possible and a special thanks to all of my friends and colleagues who came out to support it! If youe in Soho this weekend ? stop in and check it out!
