At this past Bklyn Designs, there was always a large crowd or a news crew investigating Scott Behr’s SideWired table. The concept behind the piece is important to anyone who lives in the Wired Age: organize and hide the wires of electrical devices by plugging them into the table. Finally, no more mess, no more tripping over wires, and no more knocking laptops onto floors.

BrooklynModern: How’d you come up with the idea for the wired table?

Scott Behr: It was an idea that I had been kicking around for a while and instead of focusing on the economy it was time to focus the company’s energies on creating something positive, useful and new. I use a laptop in conjunction with a monitor so I can have two screens. It was really frustrating having a really nice looking monitor and gear but the boxes, cords and cables attached to it totally cluttered the desk. Not to mention the cables drooping over the back of the desk, plus I need to take my laptop with me at times and I need a fast and easy method for undocking from the monitor. The desk solutions that were out there were plugly and nothing existed that had real cord management. The other thing was the lack of a convenient electrical outlet to plug something in temporarily like a cell phone, camera or even a vacuum cleaner.

BrooklynModern: Why do you think the the response has been so terrific?

Scott Behr: It’s one of those situations where a problem is isolated that you want to see solutions for. That problem is also shared by other people and they don’t quite realize they have it until they see the solution. Once people realized what the utilitarian design was behind the aesthetic design of the desk, a little light bulb would come on, “Oh why didn’t someone think of this before?” It was amazing to watch everyone’s reactions at the show.

Behr describes the manufacturing process. Courtesy of 3rings.

BrooklynModern: What is the table made of and what kind of welding do you use to construct it? What colors is it available in? What is the turnaround?

Scott Behr: The tables are made from 2″ x 2″ steel tubing. We generally TIG weld everything nice and neat but sometimes we get the MIG welder out. We make them in Blue, Yellow, Orange, Hand Rubbed Steel or Blackened Steel with a Clear Coat. Right now our turn around time is 30-60 days. We are looking at options to speed things up and bring the prices down. It is definitely in our business plan to make them much more affordable. You can download a spec sheet from our website.

BrooklynModern: Why do you like working in Bklyn?

Scott Behr: Better and bigger space for making things in Brooklyn is a big plus. We have a great courtyard outside that we use to work on projects. My commute is a 15 minute walk. There is a variety of the best industrial manufacturing shops representing so many different trades that are close by. A lot of really good work can be done here in a short period of time. It is also convenient to get in and out of the city. I loved living in the city but I feel I appreciate it more when I can step into it with a fresh face.

BrooklynModern: You are a business minded artist. How did you develop skill? Can you explain How Getting Things Done helped you?

Scott Behr: Ever since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be an artist, a rockstar and a business man. Those seemed like good aspirations to reach for. When you go to art school they don’t quite prepare you for the real world. The first commission I ever got was with a designer in Atlanta named Jill Van Tosh. She asked me to send her an invoice for the deposit, and I was like what the hell is an invoice? Just give me the money. Pretty quickly you realize the need to educate yourself on the business end of the stick. You don’t have a choice if you want to keep your studio open.

I love reading business books and organizational self-help books.  One of the first books I read was Norman Vincent Peale’s “I Can” when I first started out and then came across the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. These books were written before the invention of the internet and email which created the need for a better way to manage your life and time. “Getting Things Done” is an amazing book.  The idea is to keep your head clear so you can be more focused and creative. The only way to do that is to relieve your mind of all the different projects, tasks and B.S. you have to deal with. The process is very simple and I have been practicing it for about 2 years now. It’s really made a tremendous difference in how I cope with stress, move projects forward and maintain a good attitude. I have a giant to do list but each thing is in its place, for the most part, and there is no feeling of being burdened.

BrooklynModern: What’s next?

Scott Behr: We want to add CAT5 outlets to the desks and explore the possibility of built in USB and FireWire hubs. We have some other projects in the works that are going to have the same effect as our SideWired furniture, but we are keeping those in the bag until we are ready to unleash them.

Here’s the media blitz on his table: interiordesign.net, psfk.com, nerve.com, core77.com, brooklynbased.net, readymade.com, mediabistro.com

Check out the rest of Scott’s work at totalmetalresource.com. He can be contacted at: Total Metal Resource, Inc. 51-55 Nassau Ave. Suite 1C – Brooklyn, NY 11222, Tel. 718.384.7818, Fax. 718.228.404, info@tmrnyc.com

]]> http://www.brooklynmodern.com/get-plugged-into-scott-behrs-sidewired-furniture/feed/ 0 http://www.brooklynmodern.com/via-inhabitat-tennis-ball-chair-by-hugh-hayden/ http://www.brooklynmodern.com/via-inhabitat-tennis-ball-chair-by-hugh-hayden/#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 21:15:25 +0000 Brooklyn Modern http://brooklynmodern.com/2009/05/15/via-inhabitat-tennis-ball-chair-by-hugh-hayden/

3 Rings blog has been doing a great job of covering the designers showing at Bklyn Designs next week. In the above video, furniture maker, skateboard designer, and fabricator Daniel Moyer of Brooklyn explains the thinking behind his work (I’m fascinated by seeing work explained at this granular level of detail and learned quite a bit). Like many of the Brooklyn’s artisans, Daniel is a purist: only wood, only wax, only oil for his pieces. He’s also got a beautiful shop and one of his custom skateboards seems to be suspended in mid-air. I can’t wait to meet him at the show.

In the video Daniel discusses some of the construction techniques behind his ideas.

Moyer has created a variety of custom boards. Check out this articles in Inhabitat.

Visit Daniel Moyer Design to see more work. He can be reached at 917.301.2551.

I just came across The Woodworking Channel. Looks like it’s new, but has an interesting section of videos. Wood genius Sam Maloof is the subject of a series and goes over the construction of his famous rocker.

Just found this great little video on ex Brooklyn furniture maker Chris Lehreke. Like many other artists, he’s now based in the Hudson valley. Click above to watch the flick then check out the rest of his site.

3rings is a really informative blog that reports on architecture and design. In preparation for Bklny Designs, they’ve been featuring the borough’s talent that will be showing in the exhibit. The above video is about Bruce Marsh, a Dumbo-based furniture maker. The video describes how he comes up with ideas and brings them to fruition. The article is good too: Bklyn Designs ‘09 Exclusive Video Preview: Bruce Marsh Designs. Then check out this post Uhuru: At AD Home Design Show: Uhuru’s Upcycing.

Uhuru’s Stoolen Table featured on 3rings

Inhabitat.com, a cool site that features trends in sustainable design, posted an interesting story on David Stark’s cardboard installations used for the opening of a West Elm store.  While the pieces are decorative, they relate to a d.i.y. cardboard furniture video I posted a while back.

Stark, who has designed events for clients like Rachel Ray, Conde Nast, Target, and Nicole Miller, has lots of experience in forward thinking design. This newest exhibition takes a look at the materials that go into showcasing and shipping West Elm’s products and reuses them. Each item is unique and entirely made from recycled shipping materials.

]]> http://www.brooklynmodern.com/carboard-installation-via-inhabitat/feed/ 0 http://www.brooklynmodern.com/360%c2%b0-video-of-hans-olsen-dining-set/ http://www.brooklynmodern.com/360%c2%b0-video-of-hans-olsen-dining-set/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:31:37 +0000 Brooklyn Modern http://brooklynmodern.wordpress.com/?p=847

The above video is a good example of the interesting stuff featured Mid-Century Modernist. A lot of effort was obviously put into the presentation of the furniture by The Danish Mafia, an Ebay seller. I can only assume that the quality of this video would lure in shoppers Perhaps this may even be a niche market for a videographer.