Back in Early 2007, Council Design came out with a fabulous new collection they called “Optimism“. At that time, they were just prototyping the periodic table which they showed on their website for a while. But Derek Chen, owner of Council Design, had not yet perfected the table which he had commissioned from design superstars One & Co.

But at this year’s Zona Tortona and ICFF Council Design has introduced the Periodic Table which I had previously described as one of the most extraordinary pieces of furniture made in recent years. There are, of course, many pieces that Council makes well. But for some reason, the Periodic Table strikes a chord. It’s basically a coffee table made of four large pieces of douglas fir which are coated in silver and given a patina within the grain of the wood. The concept sounds simple enough, but the process to make the table is difficult and the result is astounding.

What might be more astounding is the price. I recently noticed that the piece is on sale at the design shop Matter for $42,000. The first reaction when I saw the price was my jaw dropped. The second reaction was that the price makes sense. This piece falls in line with a level of craft and years of contemplation that is only seen in the design work of such designers as Marc Newson or Konstantine Grcic. The Periodic Table, for me, really lifts the spirit of American furniture design and is in complete contradiction to Alice Rawsthorn’s March New York Times article “Dearth of a Nation“. The design freshness and talent is here, right now, in America. When it comes to new American furniture design, maybe the Americans are just a bit more modest than Europeans. I certainly concur with Ms. Rawsthorn’s re-evaluation of design education. She suggests a new emphasis on subjects such as engineering, but let’s not forget about marketing. One thing she left out of the discussion is that Europeans are simply more skilled at tooting their own horns. I like this, of course. It makes my job easier to find this special design talent.

Maybe I watch too much crappy television? I don’t know. But, I was watching the Preview Channel – you know, the channel that scrolls the TV guide at the bottom while washed up child actors talk celebrity gossip- the other day when the woman on the show started barking on and on about Louis Vuitton’s $42,000 handbag. She, of course, mentioned how something so ugly could cost so much. Then I did some more digging and found that every blog on earth, including mine now, had blogged about it. Incidentally, I found it on Fashionator first. These blogs are fun, but I was more interested in this piece because it’s the first large fashion house to be swept up in a this recent patchwork micro-trend. The trend probably re-emerged at Burning Man, as many god awful (and wonderful) trends seem to do, but the first I had noticed it with someone who I would consider a top fashion designer was with Maison Martin Margiela. Martin Margiela’s work is so much more completely aesthetically thought-out compared to the Louis Vuitton piece, though. Shoot. I really wish I could continue, but I’ve got to go to work now. Expect this re-written by Monday.

Please don’t hate me because I love muscle cars. I know the Ford Shelby gets an estimated 13mpg, but it is hot. Mind you, I do not even own a car, and I haven’t for the past ten years. I’m what you might call a granola cruncher when it comes to fuel consumption. But when the logo for the car you’ve designed is a deadly serpent, the cobra, you have to give props to Ford for making such a manly car in times of falling consumption and higher gas prices.

But why I really like it is it takes me back to when I test drove a Ford Shelby at sixteen years of age. I was with my dad. We were buying my first car which was a necessity in Texas (don’t get me started). One of the cars we found was an old ford Shelby. I get in this car to test drive it, and I could immediately feel the power. This particular model required that I allow it to idle up to a certain speed or the tires spun and “burned rubber”. How cool is that? That you can’t even go without burning rubber. Feel the power!

Object: Saturn Sky

Manufacturer: Saturn

URL: http://www.saturn.com

Category: Automotive

Price: $29,000

Lust Factor: Warm

Description: OK, there is no doubt whet it comes to cars, I don’t know shit… but I know how I feel. And when I came up with this site concept feeling was paramount. I had to be instantly attracted to the product, like an addiction, for the product to go on the site. This is how I feel about the Sky, except even better still, the Sky is reasonably priced as crack is. The leather enteriors, and the way the body responds to the seat back, in particular, respond to the nostalgia of driving fast. So, quite honestly, I don’t care what the performance is. It just makes me look like a million dollars for only $29,000.

In the future, I’ll introduce a few cars that are essentially in the same visual class that are an average price of 10 times the amount of this car. How is this possible?

Object: The 2008 Challenger
Manufacturer: Dodge
URL(unofficial): http://www.dodgechallenger.com/

Category: Automotive
Price: $25,000-35,000

Lust Factor: Hot

Description: I have not owned a car in years, and I never intend to own a car again. However, I cannot deny the beauty of a well designed automobile. The Dodge Challenger is one of my new favorites. If you remember a few years back, this same company went the retro way with their PT Cruiser. It failed misserably. The problem with the PT cruiser is that the designers kind of got the form but missed the essence. For instance, the PT Cruiser’s interior looked similar to any cheap interior. The pricepoint was low on this vehicle, but I say if designers go for high style, then bump up the pricepoint a bit for authenticity.

This is what Dodge has done with the Challenger. The price is up there, but they’ve nailed the formula of ballancing old with new. Thumbs up for me. I can’t wait to test drive it late next year.

Object: The Eclectic

Manufacturer: Venturi

URL: www.venturi.fr

Category: Automotive

Price: $30,000

Lust Factor: Tepid

Description: The Venturi Eclectic is a fully sustainable automobile running of both wind and solar power, and weighing in at a light 700 pounds.

The Venturi Eclectic is pretty amazing breakthrough in the field of go-kart technology… or maybe golf cart technology because it is fully self sustainable. However, unless everyone switches to this type of car(rendering accidents much less harmless than with an SUV) then you won’t ctach me behind the wheel of this thing. I give it props for making strides, though.