Leslie Buck, designer of icons, dies in New York

via Wallyq on Flickr

Before Starbucks invaded New York City, you could still get a cup of coffee on every corner. The chances were that you'd walk away with that coffee in a paper cup that celebrated the Greek heritage of the person who sold you your coffee. I never knew this until I read his obituary, but that cup was called the Anthora Cup and it was made by Solo. The cup made its debut in the 1960s and Solo stopped making them for good in 2006.

From CNN:

Angie Gorman, Director of Communications at Solo Cup Co., told CNN that Solo now owns Sherri Cup Co., where Buck first designed the cup in the early 1960s. The cup can still be custom ordered, but demand for the cup tapered off in the new century and Solo decided to officially discontinue the product from its catalog in 2006.

Born Laszlo Büch in present-day Ukraine in 1922, Buck arrived in America a refugee of Nazi Germany after World War II. He lost his parents to the Nazis, but he survived Auschwitz and Buchenwald. His daughter describes him as a self-made man, "He came here with nothing, no parents, no job, no savings. He had nothing."

But that didn't stop him. "Because of what he suffered in the concentration camps he was somebody who really believed in respecting humanity, really was about loving your neighbor and respecting your neighbor," his daughter said.

It was this respect that led him to spend hours in the library, researching Greek history and design. He wanted to honor the heritage of the Greek diner owners who bought his products and gave him his livelihood.

His design features three steaming golden cups of coffee, and the essential phrase 'We are happy to serve you" bordered by two Greek Amphora vases. Buck's children say his Eastern European accent transformed "Amphora" to "Anthora," and that's how it's known today.

The Museum of Modern Art sells a ceramic version of the Anthora Cup and I have three of them. Despite the fact that I'm not a New Yorker, New Yorkers' appetite for nostalgia is contagious. Thanks for the  accidental icon Leslie Buck.

The American Gothic house is now on Google Earth

How cool is this? My American Gothic House is now on Google Earth and Google's 3-D Warehouse. Google Earth models are unattributed and this is about the coolest unattributed use of my work ever.






Thanks to you Mike at Igloo Studios, Mark at Kraftmaid and Chris from Google. That the American Gothic house is on Google Earth now proves the whole point of my KBIS presentation. Namely, that Google's SketchUp isn't locked behind a proprietary wall, it's integrated with the rest of the world. The world is changing Kitchen and Bath Industry, and embracing those changes is the surest way to guarantee a place for all of us.

Coverings highlights in a little more detail

Coverings 2010 was a real visual feast and I have a box of press kits on my living room floor. It's sitting next to a box full of press kits from KBIS, so I'll be writing new product posts for months. Oy!


Coverings was the second trade show and conference for me in two weeks and I'm reeling from information overlaod and aching feet. Again, Oy!


Whenever I go to these shows, I go in looking for something new. I guess everybody does that. But I'm looking for a new way of looking at things more than I'm looking for a new product. It takes a bit more digging to find new ideas instead of just new stuff and there were finds aplenty at Coverings I'm happy to report.


Most of these finds are going to get posts of their own as I sort through my piles of information and photos, but here are some real highlights that to me represented some new ways of thinking.


Probably the most interesting one to me was this installation by Levantina y Asociados Minerales in Spain.

That was an installation at a stone exporter's booth, not a product. That's a water-jetted chandelier inset in a field of grey marble wall tile. The LEDs are grouted in as is the chandelier inset. And the whole thing is a flat installation, nothing's raised.


In all honesty, it's the one of the best uses of LED I've ever seen. So many times LEDs are garish or they're thrown into something in an unusual way just because they can be. This chandelier represents a new idea. That new idea being that lighting and walls can be combined. Though the execution here could use some refinement, what a great idea. Why can't walls be lights and lights be walls?


Also from Spain was Mosaic del Sur in Cadiz. Mosaic del Sure manufactures cement tile. Cement tile is not a new product and it's as gorgeous today as it's ever been. Cement tile is usually done in series of traditional, Moorish- and Byzantine-inspired geometric designs.


Mosaic del Sur has a line of modern patterns though and it's a real kick to see someone actually designing original patterns for this inherently cool material.

Mosaic del Sur is going to get a post of its very own as soon as I sort though their press kit, but they deserve a shout out for being so adventurous and for being so willing to indulge me as I mumbled and stammered in Spanish.


All the way from Abu Dhabi came the Terra Viva Group.

Terra Viva does a couple of things but what they do exceptionally well is combine water-jetted natural stone and terra cotta to make flooring, medallions and border tiles that look positively ancient. So often, water-jetted anything can look sterile and machine-made, but Terra Viva's products show off the fact that despite the technology involved, the loving and gifted hand of a genuine craftsman is behind everything.


Finally, from the Spanish manufacturer Peronda came something really unique.

Despite the fit I had about the graffiti china a couple of months ago, I think this is a really interesting way to deal with a field of large-format wall tile.


I can't imagine specifying something like that in a project any time soon, but I like the idea of placing a blast of primitive color in a random way in an otherwise monolithic wall. Granted, there are times when you want to be monolithic, but for the times you don't Peronda has just the solution.


So as I said, there will be plenty more Coverings-inspired posts where this one came from. This is just the first of my Coverings highlights posts. If you notice, there are no Italian manufacturers listed here. The Italian tile manufacturers deserve a week of dedicated posts. Man oh man what the Italians brought to the table knocked my socks off. Stay tuned.

Touched by an angel. Named Decorno.

I feel like I've been touched by an angel. While I was out of town, Decorno herself left a comment after my post She's Gone. Considering that she's retired from her role as the good witch of Bloglandia, this is either a visit from beyond the grave or a heavenly visitation. I'll chose the latter for now.

Aw, thank you, Paul. You were always a big supporter, and I really do appreciate it.

Again, thanks for the yucks and the inspiration Elaine.

Decorno

Coverings highlights day two

I got home late and I have a photo shoot in an hour. Here are some more photos I tweeted during the day yesterday. I'll explain plenty about all of this in the coming days. Coverings had some real gems, I'll say that.

Drop dead gorgeous new stuff from New Ravenna.

Grafitti tile. It was neat and it sure beats grafitti china.

A smooth Italian crosses the street at the end of Coverings.