WEETU TO PARTICIPATE IN "GRAY'S DEPARTMENT STORE": A SHOP-ABLE INSTALLATION OF WORKS BY THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN DESIGNERS.

OPENING PARTY: DECEMBER 4TH FROM 6-9 PM! 
[Chicago] – The Department of Curiosities, located at 3013 W. Armitage Avenue, will host a shop-able installation by members of the League of Women Designers (LWD).  Eve Fineman will curate the show drawing on the golden age of department stores for visual inspiration. The boutique space will be transformed with sections for housewares, lighting, furniture, clothing, jewelry, handbags and lingerie. Weetu will showcase BLADE SHELVES and debut a set of rubberized neon X2 DESKSCAPES.

The shop-able installation will be open from December 4th-20th, Tuesdays-Saturdays from 12-7 pm, Sundays 12-5pm.  Check out the catalog of participating designers! 

Full press release below:

[Chicago] – From December 4th-20th, the Department of Curiosities located at 3013 W. Armitage Avenuewill host a shop-able installation by members of the League of Women Designers (LWD).  Eve Fineman will curate the show drawing on the golden age of department stores for visual inspiration. The boutique space will be transformed with sections for housewares, lighting, furniture, clothing, jewelry, handbags and lingerie. Participating designers include Carly Cannell, Chelli Look, Elizabeth Fiersten, Felicia Ferrone,  Gerry Quinton, Jamie Hayes, Kari Merkl, Kelly Marie Thompson, Kristen Molenhouse, Maria Boustead, and Sharon Burdett. 

 Participating designers include Carly Cannell, Chelli Look, Elizabeth Fiersten, Felicia Ferrone,  Gerry Quinton, Jamie Hayes, Kari Merkl, Kelly Marie Thompson, Kristen Molenhouse, Maria Boustead, and Sharon Burdett. 

The show's name references Eileen Gray, a touchstone for LWD group. Gray was a pioneer of modernist design; an architect and designer of furniture, textiles and interiors. Her influential works in the 1920s and 30s were largely overlooked in her time and the importance of her legacy remains unrecognized to this day. One of her most innovative works, the Villa E-1027 house, for instance, was first attributed to her lover, Jean Badovice, and was later defaced by the most famous architect of her day, Le Corbusier. 

“Gray’s Department Store” will provide a public platform for the LWD group as a whole, and for each individual exhibitor. The exhibit will include a printed art catalogue designed by Daniela Markova Soukup, an opening reception sponsored by KOVAL distillery from 6-9 pm on December 4th, open hours during the Holiday season for the public to view and shop Tuesday-Saturday from 12-7 pm, and Sunday from 12-5 pm. The exhibiting designers will staff the shop in order to give the public an opportunity to learn about the design and manufacturing process; most of the designers manufacture locally. In addition, special events such as demonstrations, screenings, and discussions by members of the LWD group will be held throughout the run of the show, including a pop-up dining event on the evening of December 12th featuring the work of Midnight Kitchen Projects.

The Department of Curiosities (DOC) will host the event at their storefront/workshop, which showcases fashion and design. It is home to fashion lines Morua and Production Mode, which are manufactured on-site, following a slow fashion model of transparent and ethical production. In spring 2016, DOC will introduce their first collection, a line of silk lingerie inspired by the luminous women of the 1930s. The line will be available for preview and purchase at the Gray’s Department Store event.

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A link to the Gray’s Department Store exhibit catalogue can be found here.

WEETU CELEBRATING 7 YEARS

weetu7anniversary from weeTV 

Let's celebrate 7 years of creating! If we had to compare ourselves to one of the seven deadly sins, we'd be pride. We're proud of our work, and proud that we've helped our clients tell their story in ways they like to brag about. This admission will probably doom us to the least desirable of the seven levels of purgatory, but it's worth the risk. We’re looking forward to many more years of taking chances. 

7 years at a glance: Interiors, architecture, landscapes, deskscapes, truck shows, competitions, world exploration, logos, websites, photos, videos, branded environments, terror and culture (not at the same time), fashion, plant lamps, teachers, learners, explorers, Fulton Market Chicago to Garment District NYC. Blue hair, green hair, pink hair, purple hair……….no hair. Brazil, West Coast, East Coast, Middle Coast. Bangkok, Berlin, Toronto. What’s ahead for weetu? Still getting our hands dirty, more neon (hey- we started it), translucent synthetic materials and very soon the launch of a brand new website! 

Thanks to our clients, collaborators, friends and family for seven great years. Here’s to 7+ more!

Special thanks to Tyllie Barbosa for an afternoon of talent and patience- a photographer who makes her living taking gorgeous pictures of actual food. See for yourself at tylliebarbosa.com Also many thanks to weetuzooer, Amy Turilli for playing with fire and putting our little video together.

[Director of Architecture, Kevin Estrada + weetu Founder, Carly Cannell] Celebrating in style in NYC. Cheers to another 7+ more years!

WEETU THOUSAND THIRTEEN

Entering into weetu’s sssixth year, it is no surprise that it happens to coincide with the year of the snake. The Snake is the most complex force in the 12-year zodiac cycle and as history tells us the Snake Year is anything but tranquil. 

So after a year that saw the opening of weetu’s NY office extending it’s architectural reach; selection to help lead Chicago into its cultural future; the creation and launch of national message, brand and ad campaigns for some the largest non-profit organizations, the birth of a global design collaboration with Berlin’s own DesignProvocation and the release of weetu’s flatpack “plantlamp” product, 2013 is primed to be a year full of energized projects and inspired accomplishments.

So in other words it’s always best to keep your eye on the snake and, of course, weetu.

LET'S GET CULTURAL, CULTURAL

Chicago, IL Weetu will helm the social media and marketing outreach for the Chicago Cultural Plan 2012. As the communications component of the City of Chicago’s selected planning team led by Lord Cultural Resources, weetu’s role will be to develop an overall branding campaign to be implemented across social media and traditional marketing channels.

In partnership with Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, this plan will deliver a set of recommended initiatives that support the Chicago arts and promote its economic growth while enhancing the city’s reputation as a global cultural destination.

“Weetu is proud to be part of this historical initiative. It’s not often that one gets the opportunity to help shape a great city’s cultural future,” said Carly Cannell, President of weetu. “Our approach throughout this campaign will be in the spirit of Burnham’s ‘make no small plans.’ We want our communications effort to challenge Chicagoans to dream big and take ownership of this cultural plan.”

“We are honored to be working with weetu on this project. Weetu's innovative approach, principles of inclusive public engagement, and leading-edge design emulate the elements we wish to reflect in Chicago's cultural plan,” said Orit Sarfaty, Project Lead for Lord Team.

Gail Lord, co-president of Lord Cultural Resources added, “Chicago is one of the world's leading cultural cities and so we are truly honored to be working with City leadership to plan its even greater cultural future.”

As its first two orders of business, weetu has developed and launched both an overall campaign brand and the social media hub at www.chicagoculturalplan2012.com.

Cultural Plan Social Media Links:

Linkedin Blog Twitter @ChiCulturalPlan Facebook Tumblr Google+

USING HER GIANT NOGGIN FOR GOOD

On August 20th, Weetu Carly was invited to participate in the International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) DESIGN FUTURES: THE INTERIORS ENTITY REGIONAL THINK TANKS, hosted at Harrington College of Design.

IFI’s Design Futures: The Interiors Entity initiative seeks to clearly understand the core need for the Interiors discipline and to better understand its value, relevance, identity and responsibility. This global IFI initiative intends to explore Interior Design as currently positioned and understood, within the fullest parameters of the discipline (including research, education and practice). This is a collaborative and consensus focused effort which will involve members, experts and generalists from around the world. The Harrington College of Design’s Think Tank is one of nearly two dozen being held in North, South, Central and Latin America representing the Americas. Additional Think Tanks occur in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The all day forum included professionals from both large and small firms, educators, researchers, and associated trades people from the midwest region. This diversity in both profession and experience provided multiple perspectives around Interior Design and what it may hold in the future. Needless to say, Carly's brain was sore for a few days following, but it was worth the effort to be a part of such a thoughtful and enjoyable group.

CS INTERIORS - WEE ON WHEELS

Super thanks to CS Interiors magazine for tracking us down and including us in their summer-2008 issue. As we continue to plug away at developing new concepts, it's excellent to get a little attention in our own backyard. We look forward to sharing more of what happens in our wee-studio perching over the city on the west side.

(For those of you who know us and had quite a giggle over the "duo of cool" header - knowing quite well the truth behind the spoofy poses and dark sunglasses - give us a break ...okay? My grandma loved it and has it stuck to her cork board next to her recliner.)