For 12 years, award winning Western Living magazine celebrates the design community with their DOTY (Designers of the Year) awards.  We are happy to say that for the 3rd time in four years, Kirk has been a DOTY finalist, including being selected as One to Watch in 2016.  We are delighted to be included in this rarified group of curated talent by the magazine which Kirk grew up reading.  Kirk is sincerely grateful to be included amongst it, the blood sweat and tears somehow are tempered when notice by peers and observers in our industry.  Congrats to all the winners and to WL Magazine for continued support in our work.

(view from Brooklyn Greenway)

2019 presented Autonomous Furniture with the opportunity to exhibit at Wanted Design's curated Lookbook exhibit, showcasing 10 designers across North America.  We currently ship a fair amount of furniture to the east coast therefore a wonderful chance to speak with folks and get their take on our goods.

(Wanted Design at Terminal Stores warehouse in Chelsea)

The exhibit, during NYCxDesign week, was held at the landmark Terminal stores warehouse between 10th and 11th Ave in Chelsea.  The building was constructed in 1890 with a design known as American Round Arch by architect George Mallory.  The one time hub of rail and ship use, also featured the famed 1980's Tunnel nightclub. 

Looking very serious upon request, we featured our Freeman Bench in Walnut,  Clair end table, and Constantinople table set. 

Across the street from the exhibit was this amazing 1969 911e at Manhattan Motor cars, a must see showroom for beautiful autos. 

Part of my daily commute from Brooklyn was walking the Highline, a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. Saved from demolition by neighborhood residents and the City of New York, the High Line opened in 2009 as a hybrid public space where visitors experience nature, art, and design.

(Brooklyn Heights)

A typical Brownstone in Brooklyn, a treasure really.  I'm hoping the glass towers and drywall boxes don't overtake these beautiful streets.

I commuted daily on the city bikes and NYC amazing network of bike lanes and courteous drivers.  A great way to see the city and look up!

Just as Manhattan and Brooklyn are different, however function together, our Constantinople table set contrasting form caught the attention from galleries, interior designers, and media.

Our latest design, the Clair table was on display.  This light, airy table is the result of my continued morning frustrations looking for a parking spot for my coffee and iPad.  Originally not part of our display, we just completed it in time for the launch.

 

(Opening night party)

Autonomous Furniture continues to show at Mebl Furniture Gallery in Manhattan, already looking forward to our next exhibit....stay tuned!

Kirk

 

The Autonomous Constantinople nesting tables by Kirk Van Ludwig demonstrates how two objects very different in geometry, colour, weight, and materials, can cohesively work together.

Made to size and fit to its environment, the whitened Ash round sits on three asymmetrical acrylic one-inch thick legs while the torched Vancouver Island Douglas Fir square sits on two one-and-a-half-inch acrylic legs slightly offset.  The result is a harmony of carefully considered materials and shapes.  

Much like its namesake city, the Constantinople nesting tables form a centre point for its living space with both pieces working harmoniously together.  See details for the Constantinople here.

Kirk Van Ludwig's Autonomous Furniture was selected to be 1 of 10 designers for NYC Design week's Wanted Design Manhattan Look Book this May.   Featured will be the Constantinople table set (shown above) and the Freeman Bench Walnut.  

Artist and photographer Jo-Ann Richards is exhibiting a solo show of her Emergence series of nearly all black paintings in our Victoria showroom. Always looking for quiet space, Jo-Ann's textured pieces use a Japanese process called nihonga that cooks the minerals and graphite.

Jo-Ann’s work is driven from a desire to move from the representational images she works with as a commercial photographer, to more ambiguous and less decipherable forms. Representation is replaced by abstract forms with a shift in focus to mood, emotion and atmosphere. 

“I have been exploring themes; movement and stillness, energy and calm. This manifests in the work as the quiet of the foreground containing or harnessing the activity in the background. The colour black represents a quiet and enveloping space, a meditation, the night. Immersion in this dark environment leads to heightened sensory responses. Forms emerge from underlying surface, distinction between figure and ground is blurred.”

Initially Jo-Ann combines bursts of vivid colours and textures using plaster and acrylic paints. The works are then finished with a veil of black minerals and polished graphite that brings attention to the expressivity of texture and nuance.

Join us in our Victoria showroom to see these stunning works of art for yourself. The Emergence Exhibition is on until the end of January 2019. And perhaps you're interested in hearing more from Jo-Ann? Check out Western Living's interview with her at our opening night here.

As design aficionados, we're thrilled when good design makes its way into every aspect of daily life ... and honoured to have Autonomous featured as 'one to watch' in Western Living's summer issue. We've been busy these last few months building some very stunning tables for Victoria's newest pasta bar, Lot 1, and striking tables and countertops for the newest and hottest (hint!!) location of our favourite coffee shop.

(Photo: Lillie Louise Major.)

All this 'head in the details' work can make us lose sight of our goal - to design and build beautiful contemporary furniture - for both your home and favourite commercial spaces. So hearing that we've been shortlisted as a finalist for Western Living's Furniture Designer of the Year award made us step back and take a look at what we've been delivering this year and are excited to launch our latest at this year's IDS Vancouver show.

That's right, we're coming to Vancouver this Fall when we attend the IDS Vancouver show, and we can't wait! This show is expected to be an amazing who's who of design, including guest appearance by Tom Dixon. We have some exciting new pieces to debut, so stay tuned.