Voices from the web: Superfast edition
 The Internet is filled with diverse voices and opposing viewpoints. For example, here is a statement from a site that sells Matchbox cars:
"Collecting Matchbox cars requires a passion for adventure and excitement." I did not know that. I thought collecting Matchbox cars required passion for doughnuts and 72-oz bottles of Pepsi, or required being seven years old.
Also:
"...collecting miniature matchbox cars is as exciting as real cars." Next up: Collecting G.I. Joes is better than having real children.
Source: Matchbox cars for saleLabels: commerce, voices
 Green, green, and green: whether it's money, environmentally-conscious construction, or upstart designers looking for a break, each was represented at this weekend's Dwell on Design show at the L.A. Convention Center.
More than 200 exhibitors set up shop for the third annual expo, which is the San Francisco-based Dwell magazine's first event in Los Angeles, featuring everything from pre-fab green houses to green mulch to green automobiles.
Buying into a green lifestyle, at least as evidenced by some of the products in the show, underlined the lament of many consumers that saving the planet doesn't come cheap, and that consumer culture has even co-opted eco-activism: the green vehicle was a sporty and expensive coupe, not a roomy, sensible family vehicle.
But Darcy Clarke, standing in a small booth toward the back of the hall, points out that his work has no agenda, and maybe that is the hook that will net him customers.
"My lamps look greener than they actually are," said the Australia native, who packed several of his striking wicker and rattan lamps and shipped them from Brisbane for this, his first stateside trade show.
"I've exhibited in the Milan Furniture Fair in 2004 and 2007, as well as in Sydney in 2005, and Byron Bay, Australia, in 2001," Clarke said. He also plans to show his work at America's largest design and furnishings show, next year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York.
 "I'm a fan of Dwell magazine and it seemed to me that the show would be a good way to get my designs into the US market, which is big and scary," Clarke said.
Clarke imports his rattan - a grass - from southeast Asia, where it grows freely, via an importer in Australia. He spends most of his day in a studio bending the rattan, extruding the more flexible wicker within, and twisting both into vases, lamps, and other arty but functional products.
Then he spends the rest of his day dealing with the myriad administrative tasks involved in turning art into cash, one time-consuming example was his pre-Dwell fight with the U.S. government.
"Customs decided not to clear my goods for the show," he said. "So I required the help of the (Dwell on Design) organizers to get the goods into the country the day before the show opened. It was extremely stressful and annoying."
Then he needed to build his 8' x 8' x 8' booth, and was surprised to learn that he was not allowed to do it himself, but had to hire and direct union carpenters to nail the boards together.
"You have to spend m0ney to make money," he sighed.
 But the three-day exhibition and the various formal and informal get-togethers surrounding it allowed Clarke to make industry contacts and set the stage for future projects.
"I enjoyed myself," he said. "Overall it was a successful trip. I met a lot of industry people, made some new friends, and further explored how my designs could work in the USA."
Clarke, like other young designers, is seeking to rise to the next level of entrepreneurship by securing a manufacturer and distributor of his woven work, because currently he is a sweatshop of one.
"If I get a big order," he said, "I'm working overtime to fill it, and working overtime to fill other orders." He also has to press his wife, Alicia, and other friends into service as temporary weavers.
Getting a manufacturer and distributor would mean he would no longer make his products himself, but instead retire to a strict design and administrative role in his own business.
"I don't have the head for business yet," he said, "so I don't know how a Hands Off approach would affect my work." But if it means he can ship thousands of lamps a year rather than dozens, that falls under the category of Good Problems to Have.
See a gallery of Clarke's work and other photos from the 2008 Dwell on Design show here.
See also: Darcy Clarke, DwellLabels: commerce, darcy clarke, design, interviews, people
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Editor: Marty Barrett
Contributors: Frank Martin, Gram Ponante, Jose Aguilar, Esme Alarcon, Steve Rubinek |
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