We are humbled to announce that last Friday we took home our first IIDA Calibre Award for the Supplyframe Design Lab in the new, Boutique Firm category! We owe a huge thanks to our nominated team members: A Single Tree, CalAsia Construction, SG Engineers, and of course our fantastic client, Supplyframe, for making such an amazing project possible. It was such a pleasure to spend an evening celebrating the Southern California design community. Congrats to all the talented winners and nominees! To see more images of our winning project click here.

Photo credit: IIDA SoCal. For more IIDA info and to check out their Flickr account for more photos, click here

DSEGNARE interviewed Cory on design, technology, and how to stay inspired. Check out an excerpt below and read the full interview here!

Elle Collection, Cumberland

"Los Angeles-based designer Cory Grosser is fully committed to design. In 2002 he opened his own studio and has attracted the attention of internationally renowned companies such as MDF Italia, Walt Disney Signature, Bentley Motors, Ford, Samsonite and SpHaus. Grosser uses what he calls a “Creative Intelligence” approach, which aims to produce pieces that are both practical and appealing. According to the designer any object should be beautiful, poetic, useful and should tell a story. This is a philosophy that Grosser teaches to his students at the Art Center in Pasadena. Over the span of his 15-year career Grosser has been recognized for several outstanding achievements. These accolades include the ID Magazine Design Review Award, Best of Neocon, a Gold Award at IIDEX and an I.Dot selection for the best of Italian design.

In between his travels to Milan, where he attended the Salone del Mobile, and Los Angeles he found some time to sit down with us to answer a few questions."

Bucket Collection, SpHaus

When you run out of inspiration, what do you do?

Like all people, some days I feel less motivated; but I don’t have too much trouble with inspiration. I don’t believe that inspiration is the real fuel for creativity. Inspiration seems precious, like a non-renewable resource; but creativity is fueled less by inspiration and more by observation. Opening our eyes to the world around us is less daunting. When in doubt, I create something - a drawing, writing, a scale model. Then I observe it and decide what to do next. 

How has technology changed your job?

The worst part is that I spend too much time with email and not enough time thinking and drawing. The best part is that we have access to all of these advanced tools and techniques. We can 3D print a chair and then evaluate an actual object. For spaces, we can create very life-like environments in photo-realistic renderings and in virtual reality. These tools help us work more quickly and are a tremendous asset when communicating our vision to our clients. 

What does design mean to you? 

Design is the creation of things that are beautiful, a narrative, and is good for business. Everything man-made is designed on some level - why not try to make them as best we can?

Read more...

Student Zones, Los Angeles Public Library Foundation

It's hard to believe that it's been 12 years since Sir + Lady made their royal debut at Salone Satellite.  It was an honor to be included in the 20 Years of Creativity exhibit this year. Not only were the showcased designs a magnificent reminder of all of the icons that were premiered at Salone Satellite, but the exhibition design and location were incredible. Oh and let's not forget the Campari Spritzers! Can't wait to see what Milan Design Week brings next year...

We love getting to see our design concepts brought to life as a complete prototype for the first time. This year at Salone Satellite we introduced our latest prototype, a collaboration with Bernhardt Design. The Astra Chair is a lounge chair designed to make a big impact at a smaller scale that most.  We wanted to play with the balance of pure geometric form and fluid organic lines.  The result was a friendly chair that feels just as clean and modern as it does comfortable and inviting. The swooping cut-out in the back adds an element of lightness and interest from every angle.  We thought that Astra made a bold entrance in Milan in flashy red with contrasting orange piping.  

Thanks for your patience as we get our new site up and running. Check back for design insights, new project previews, and stories from the studio.