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Umbra and Facetime
I just completed a crit with the California State University, Long Beach design school using Apple's FaceTime on my IPAD and the schools Mac computer with WiFi connections as part of an Umbra sponsored design competition at the school.
It was very effective and we ploughed through 22 students work in 2 hours very efficiently while I was sitting in my office in Toronto, Canada. All the students present could hear the crit and benefited by it. Professor David Teubner said, "we've helped take design education into the 21st century".
Umbra is reaching out to design schools around the world through lectures and design competitions. Winners have the chance of having their products manufactured and distributed worldwide with the designer's name credited to each product. In the last three years, Umbra has produced over $30 million at retail in Grad work, paying royalties to schools and the design students. Umbra believes that by encouraging young designers in this manner, we can help create a new generation of entrepreneurs who will rekindle our economy through design. Design Institutions are also financially aided through the commercialization of student projects. Let me know your thoughts.
Paul Rowan,
Co-Founder, VP Inspiration
ShareThisPaul Rowan at Umbra Store, February 11th, 2012
I'm at the Umbra Concept Store this Saturday, Feb 11 from 11am to 5pm. Hopefully, you'll have time to drop by and say Hi.
A couple of things that have happened in the last month that we can talk about:
-Paris and other EU shows completed, all UP! Umbra getting bigger in Europe.
-Art Center in Pasadena has signed up to collaborate with Umbra. One of the best Industrial Design schools in the world. I love Abbot-Kinney Street in Venice.
-Just came back from Pratt lecture in Brooklyn this week. Have you been to the DUMBO area? So hot.
-there is a film crew on site at the store on Saturday, you could be a star.
Regards,
Paul Rowan,
Co-Founder, VP Inspiration
Umbra
Designer Stories - TUCAN toilet paper stand
Designer Stories - TUCAN toilet paper stand by Helen T. Miller
"TUCAN toilet paper stand is the 'big brother' of TUCAN
paper towel holder. 
Running out of toilet paper can
be very inconvenient, so I designed it to store 5 rolls
in its reserve. The beak like integrated holder has a
soft touch finish that adds friction for consistent and
controlled dispensing.
TUCAN is now available online
Designer Stories - SWINGER can
Designer Stories - SWINGER can by David Quan
"The shape of SWINGER is very organic, smooth, and animated in appearance making it welcoming. 
Even the large curved opening was designed to feel like a big smile. Swinger also has a unique brushed texture, that appears to give a soft touch to its exterior; a nice alternative to harsh hard surfaces."
SWINGER is now available online
Designer Stories - GLOBO wall decor
Designer Stories - GLOBO wall decor by Jordan Murphy
"I have always liked the look of maps and globes as
décor but their shape rarely deviates from the typical
rectangle and sphere. 
With GLOBO, I thought I would
change it up by using satellite images of Earth from
three different angles so that now, a globe can be
mounted to a wall."
GLOBO is now available online
Designer Stories - LITTLE BLACK DRESS jewelry storage
LITTLE BLACK DRESS jewelry storage by Matt Carr
"We live in a world where storage space is constantly shrinking. 
LITTLE BLACK DRESS is a super-thin storage solution for jewelry, beauty items and all of life's curosities. Contents are visible at a glance; there?s also storage on the flipside; and it can be hung in the closet, on a wall, or on the back of a door"
LITTLE BLACK DRESS is now available online
Designer Stories - ARROW wall hook
ARROW swivel wall hook by Tracy Wong
"The arrow symbol is engrained in our human nature: from
ancient drawings to modern wayfinding. 
I wanted to create a versatile hook that mimics a 'fork in the road' using four arrows that swivel in different directions and nest together as one. The hinge also allows you to fold the arrow against the wall when not in use."
ARROW is now available online
Paul Rowan at CANSTRUCTION
CANSTRUCTION
I was honoured to be a judge of the Canstruction event at the DX last night. The concept of the competition is to raise awareness of the need for food banks and hunger in the world by building structural displays of canned food. Designs are created by leading architectural and engineering firms in the GTA. They raise money to actually buy the thousands of cans of food, create the displays and then donate the food to the Food Bank in Toronto. The picture of Einstein below was a winner of best label use of which I was a judge. The ACTUAL can labels create the pixelated effect using hundreds of cans of good food. Food quality and selection is also judged. Displays are viewable at the TD Centre.
100 Days of Design: Paul Rowan
100 Days of Design: Authored by design-driven individuals from around the world
Hello, I'm Paul Rowan, Co-Founder of Umbra.
Contributed by: Paul Rowan
As a first time apartment dweller in the late 70's, I soon came to realize that decorating windows was a tough problem to solve. Trained as a graphic designer, I came up with a simple idea of printing a common roller blind with interesting graphics. My business partner and boyhood friend, Les Mandelbaum, saw commercial viability in the idea, and Umbra was born. Umbra (Latin for Shade or Shadow) was founded on the principal that good design was born of necessity and should be innovative, modern, causal and affordable.
We soon came to realize that this design philosophy could be applied to other objects in the home. We began to reinvent the objects of daily life in order to make them relevant for contemporary living. We created innovative products for photo framing and organization, containers for trash and storage; in short, products that turned the houseware industry on its head.
George Brown Student Contest
Amazing submissions from George Brown students last night.
Last night we viewed over 80 very impressive design submissions from George Brown students in our latest mentorship program with the college. Umbra will select 3 from the Top 10 next week and the winners will be announced at the Umbra Concept Store event November 24th.
This is the first time we've worked with any school on such a specific category like wall décor, really challenging students to design for the real world. We've opened up our own studio to give them hands-on mentoring with our designers and a feel for Umbra's design culture. If designs make it to the marketplace, it could also mean royalty income for students and college. Best of luck to all entrants!
Designer Stories - WAVE
WAVE doorstop by Jordan Murphy
"When designing a new doorstop, it was obvious that a wedge was the best shape for keeping a door in place, but I wondered where I could find that shape in nature. 
I immediately remembered that Umbra was established in the late seventies on the success of a novel window shade that featured a famous Hokusai print of a great and beautiful wave. I also thought of all the wet entry ways that I had been in, that looked like a monsoon had recently passed due to wet and snowy shoes and boots.
Designer Stories - PIXICAL wall decor
PIXICAL wall decor by Alan Wisniewski
"PIXICAL wall décor mirrors take direct reference from fashion, the idea of movement and reflection much like a sequence dress applied to home décor. 
The almost weightless mirrored discs hang loosely so that the slightest movement in the room will make them twinkle and reflect in every direction.
The concept allows the user to easily create personalized installations that become the focal part of the room."
PIXICAL now available online.
Designer Stories - COVE sink shelf
COVE sink shelf by Dennis Cheng
"Frustrated with pooling water on counter tops, the Cove was designed as an organizational surface for soap pumps and cleaning tools to drain directly into the sink. 
Spanning the corner keeps the natural location for tools uninterrupted and ensures minimal sink space is lost. My favorite feature is the small lip on the underside that makes it easy to locate flush to the sink's edge, guaranteeing water will always drain directly into the sink.
The elevated surface, small splash guard at back, and pouch in front conveniently holds all your cleaning supplies, while keeping your counters clean."
COVE now available online.
Designer Stories - OTTO soap pump
OTTO soap pump by Dennis Cheng
"The OTTO pump was designed to offer a soft inviting form to make the technological side of an automatic pump more approachable. 
Inspired by carafes and beautifully shaped pitchers; this pump was created to capture a fluid gesture.
With a gentle taper at the neck, hands can comfortably cup outgoing soap; without having to touch anything to avoid the spread of germs."
OTTO now available online.
Designer Stories - BUNNY HOP
BUNNY HOP by Joel Yatscoff
"BUNNY HOP is a whimsical variation of the classic peg solitaire game. 
Growing up I remember also playing a version with marbles and being frustrated by never being able to "win" the game. BUNNY HOP replaces the traditional peg and marble with cute, squishable bunny figurines, and the flat board with a domed bunny burrow.
The burrow also doubles as storage once your bunnies have been played off the board. While the game still frustrates me, at least the bunnies are cute to look at when there are no more moves left."
BUNNY HOP now available online
Designer Stories - PLUMP Soap Pump
PLUMP Soap Pump by Joel Yatscoff
"I've always found it annoying when you end up transferring the dirt from your hands to the soap bar or bottle. 
I designed PLUMP to minimize this problem. If both of your hands are dirty, PLUMP's large, domed top can be easily depressed with your wrist, back of your hand, or forearm.
The frosted reservoir allows you to easily determine how much soap remains inside. The large top twists off to uncover a large reservoir opening to easily refill with liquid soap."
PLUMP now available online.
Designer Stories - MEMOIRE Frame
MEMOIRE frame by Joel Yatscoff
"I designed MEMOIRE to be a lighthearted, giftable suite of desk frames to celebrate life's special occasions. 
The classic frames are complemented by the cast, polished figures of a Dog, Cat, Cake, and Pram which sit in the lower right-hand corner.
My personal favorite is the Baby frame. The classic pram ornament looks great and I'm particularly proud of the picture supplied with the frame. My daughter is the model for this picture. I love displaying this frame and not having to remove the picture it comes with!"
MEMOIRE now available online.
Designer Stories - SWINGER
SWINGER can by David Quan
"The most useful feature of the SWINGER Can is its slim profile for narrow spaces, while holding a huge 49L capacity. 
My favourite features include a collar built into the dome to securely trap and hide the bag, and 6 non-slip rubber feet.
The flipper is constructed with durable double-wall construction giving it a smooth weighted swing, while soft touch accented clips hold the dome firmly in place. It is finished with a sophisticated brushed texture."
SWINGER now available online
Back to School Tips: Drapery
Back to School tips by Kate Frostad
"Ideal for students heading back to college, tension rods offer the perfect drapery hardware solution! 
No mounting hardware is required and with their easy installation, dorm rooms (and first apartments) can go from bare to covered windows in a few short minutes.
posted by kate
in Umbra Design Group , New Products , Design Tips , Designer Stories
on 2011-09-20 10:54:47.0 Read More ›
Designer Stories - BIRD CAFÉ BIRD FEEDER
BIRD CAFE bird feeder by Dennis Cheng & Teddy Luong
The design is based on our award-winning FISHHOTEL, with multi-sized windows to allow a peek into the seed inside.
Its hopper-style construction ensures a constant flow of seed for birds to enjoy while they take in the architecture.
