FLOwer Power

FLOwer Evolution is a unique vessel concept from GlassDesign, an Italian Plumbing Company in the heart of Tuscany. Designed by Marco Pisati, the organic inspired tub and sinks draw inspiration from the Calla lily.

With the calla lily’s distinct shape, the faucet is reminiscent of the pistol, promoting an exotic and extremely artistic design. The series is manufactured with state-of-the-art materials such as VetroFreddo, Pert, and Inox, which enhance its artistry.

VetroFreddo (CoolGlass) is an innovative material composed of glass pigments and resin. Its major characteristics are its versatility in adapting itself to any form or shape imaginable. The material’s unique characteristics are expressed through colour, which is available in transparent, semi-transparent or opaque form.

VetroFreddo is temperature resistant up to approximately 100°C and can be worked with and carved just as marble or glass.

All fixtures manufactured with the VetroFreddo can be cleaned with any type of non-granular soap, using soft sponges or towels. To remedy scratches, the damaged area should gently be rubbed with a cloth soaked in olive oil. In case of deeper scratches or damage, a special replacement glass paper is available from the manufacturer for every color.

Pert is a technological polymer of great quality, combining a low specific weight with high mechanical resistance. It is particularly suited to fields where light weight is essential (e.g. in nautical, aeronautical).

It is a material which enables the creation of products of high design, allowing perfectly crafted angles and a smoothly plane surface, with the possibility of choosing among a wide range of colors to suit individual demand.

Vessel Sinks are available in matt and polished white, matt and polished black, Ferrari red, platinum, gold leaf 3D and silver leaf 3D. Pedestals are available in white, black, Ferrari red, gold leaf 3D and Silver leaf 3D. The bathtub is available fully white , or in bi-color finishes : black mat/white , Ferrari red/white, or with gold or silver leaf and white.

White and chrome pedestal cabinets are also available for added storage while keeping the minimal design aesthetic.

FLOwer is a highly stylish design collection – it’s basically haute couture for the bathroom.

March 9, 2014

Mosaic Art

Stark industrial scenes, high contrast abstract patterns and bold graffiti make up the URBN mosaic collection – a collaboration between Artaic, a Boston mosaic design and fabrication company and Boston non-profit Artists For Humanity (AFH).

Artaic worked with AFH youth to transform their original artwork into unique tile mosaics. All the designs can be customized to fit any space, application and color needs.

Artaic trained AFH youth on Artaic’s Tessera software with the aid of a Mass Ventures START grant and commissioned a collection of one-of-a-kind mosaic designs. AFH youth toured Artaic’s studio where they manufactured all of their mosaics to experience first-hand the blend of art and technology. Utilizing their new mosaic software skills, the AFH participants transformed original artwork, including paintings, sketches, mixed media, and graphic designs, into mosaic murals.

“Sharing the software and touring our facility, I was able to see teens’ eyes light up with realization that there is actually potential to make a business and earn money through creating unique art.” – Paul Reiss, Artaic Cofounder

Currently, 83 percent of AFH’s youth participants are from low or very low-income homes and 44 percent use their wages to support their families. Proceeds from any of the designs sold from the collection will support Artists for Humanity to continue its work transforming the lives of Boston’s urban youth.

About Artaic:
Artaic was founded in 2007 to make mosaic more accessible to artists as a medium to work with. Artaic’s design software and robotic manufacturing systems enable the creation of high-end, custom mosaic projects fast, efficiently, and with exceptional value.

March 3, 2014

Lumen Depreciation

As LED technology continues to evolve, so too grows the efficiency and lifespans of LED lamps. Because LEDs have such long lives (estimated at 35,000 to 100,000 hours), it’s rather challenging to measure precisely how long they really do last — few groups have the patience or resources to measure an LED in various environments for 5 or more years. However, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently working on such a project.

Without a predictable failure point, manufacturers decided to define LED life as the amount of time it takes for the light to fade to a certain percentage of its original strength. “Lumen depreciation is widely understood in the lighting community and is not unique to LEDs. But it doesn’t come into play when you have a light source that only lasts hundreds or thousands of hours, as with incandescents. On average, incandescents fail before the eye notices a difference in their output,” says Philips Marketing Communications Director Steve Landau.

People in an average office setting can’t tell there is a change in illumination until a lamp has dropped 30% in output. So it is not objectionable to wait until the LED is at 70% of its original spec before you replace the lamp.

This designation is represented by the letter ‘L’ followed by a set of numbers such as:

L70 = time to 70% of original light output. There are other ratings, but this is the most common rating and is universally accepted as the standard to measuring LED life.

For colored accent and exterior lighting, the lumen acceptable lumen drop-off threshold is often considered to be 50%.

Still, even these numbers are highly variable depending on how and where the LED was operated. Things that may influence the LED’s life are line current, ambient temperature, the type of luminaire and the quality of the material used. These differences make defining a LED’s service life even more challenging, since the lamp’s environment can drastically influence its lifespan.

Simply, we can’t determine the service life of an LED without considering its housing and application. This is the major reason why the NIST is conducting their LED study. They are monitoring LEDs in various scenarios with the goal of uncovering a reliable method of projecting how long LEDs will last.

HOW LONG is 100,000 HOURS?

Whether you believe 100,000 hours is realistic or not, I’ve included a chart to make understanding the life of a 100,000 hour rated bulb easier.

Hours of Operation: 100,000 hours is:
24 hours a day               11.4 years
18 hours per day           14.8 years
12 hours per day             22.8 years
8 hours per day              34.2 years

Although the lighting industry is still learning about the efficiency of LEDs, what we currently know holds real promise for major energy savings in the future. And while the LED bulb you pick off the store shelf may not entirely live up to its 100,000 hour rating, it will certainly outperform most traditional bulbs.

February 27, 2014

Kitchen Inspiration

Here’s a fabulous traditional kitchen with a modern feel that successfully mixes different materials from full slab stone backsplash and dual tone tile walls to pro-style range and rustic farm sink.

I think the styling went a little overboard and I’m not a huge fan of the knob placement. But, overall, I think this is a gorgeous kitchen. What do you think?