Steel, Wood & Acrylic Coffee Tables from Square Root Industries

In 2009, Todd Leowy founded Square Root Industries in Portland, Oregon. He combined his design sensibilities and creativity with an engineering degree, and as a result designs and fabricates high-end modern furniture for both commercial and residential clients.

His coffee table collection for Square Root Industries combines laser cut steel in white, black, or powder coated colors (and sometimes photography) with various woods and is then covered with a clear acrylic top, creating uniquely modern mixed medium pieces of functional furniture. With all their pieces, you can customize top design, size, and color.

Square Root Industries Coffee Table Collection:



















Computer sketches of some of the options combining white or black steel and woods:





Other designs utilize color or photography:







You can also have custom designs created for you.

About Square Root Industries:


With a foundation built on creativity and engineering, Square Root Industries blurs the line which too often separates art and function. By combining multiple mediums including metal, wood, acrylic, photography, powder coating, and glass, each table mixes colors and imagery to create a unique and functional piece of furniture. Each table is designed and fabricated in Portland, Oregon and can be customized to fit your design needs.

You can purchase the above and/or custom tables at their etsy store.

The Best Of The 2009 Milan Furniture Fair

You may be confused at to just what exactly is the name of the week long event in Milan, which is the world's largest trade show for furniture manufacturers and designers, where many new collections are debuted for the first time. Just to make it clear for those of you who do not follow furniture design as if it is your life's blood, the week long event in Milan took place from April 22-27th and it's often referred to by various names such as the following:

Salone Internazionale del Mobile
The Milan Furniture Fair
The Milan Show
Salone del Mobile
Guida Fuori Salone
the Milan report
iSaloni

So many bloggers, journalists and photographers have done an excellent job covering the 2009 Salone del Mobile in Milan this year, that rather than duplicate many of their efforts by covering the week long event, I just wanted to share with you some photos (from designws) from them as to what I feel are the stand out pieces and displays.

After the photos, there are links to the best sites, databases and online magazines with coverage of the show.

Gaetano Pesce for Casamia:

Dosh Levien for Moroso:

Tord Boontje for Moroso:

Front Design for Moroso:

Matali Crassalt for Established and Sons:

Peter Marigold, Design Miami /Craft punk:

Javier Mariscal for Magis:

Jaime Hayon for Baccarat:

Fernando and Humberto Campana for Edra:

Marcus Tremento:

BCXSY:

Frank Gehry for Emeco:

Stephen Burk's M'Afrique collection for Moroso:

Martin Baas:

Zaha Hadid for Artemide:

Ross Lovegrove for Artemide:

Chris Kabel for Droog:

Nacho Carbonell for Droog:

Karim Rashid for Meritalia:

Studio Mendini for Meritalia:

Byblos Cas, Mendini Atelier:

Scholten & Baijings:

Pieke Bergman's Lights:

Tom Dixon:

Arik Levy for Swarovski:

Studio Job's tableware and stained glass:


Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk for Skitsch:

Michael Kruijne for Zuiver:


And below are links to what I feel are the best and most comprehensive round ups of the week long furniture fair by various bloggers, magazines and companies.

Links to the best online reports and photo collections from Milan (in no particular order):

twentytwentone has a superb flickr set here

designws has daily reports from each day and hundreds (really!) of great photos here

Wallpaper magazine's highlights, videos and coverage here

At Casa's special Salon coverage is wonderful here

designboom's daily coverage featured some of the best picks here

design magazine Dezeen's coverage can be found here.

Inhabit's daily coverage here

Interni has a wonderful guide that includes daily video interviews, photos maps and more here

The New York Times coverage in The Moment here

The Los Angeles Times photo gallery (32 images) of the event here

Fast Company's coverage can be found here

So, you can stop googling stuff and just go to the above links, it will save you much time and grief while simultaneously enlightening and delighting you. Enjoy!