Introducing the 2019 Whatnot Collection: was/is

Through the investigation of what was, students in the Designed Objects program have focused on the question: what is obsolescence? Native to human existence, our environments are in constant flux. The human/object relationship changes as new methods of making and modes of efficiency force new perspectives, and, subsequently, new objects. was/is presents a collection that explores objects of our past and reimagines them in our present.

WantedDesign Brooklyn at Industry City
274 36th St.
Brooklyn, NY
Subway: D, N, R at 36th Street Station
May 17
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

Please visit whatnotstudio.design and follow @whatnotstudio.saic for more information.

Press inquiries and image requests contact:

Doug Kubek | dkubek@saic.edu | Phone: 00-1-312-499-4254 

Introducing the 2018 whatnot Collection: Potluck

Aptly titled Potluck, the 2018 whatnot collection presents an assortment of ideas. Through material, form, scale, and function, designers in this year’s whatnot studio have thoroughly considered the relationship between food and borders and employed design as a medium to explore how the food we consume is deeply entwined with global systems of production and profit, personal and cultural identities, politics, ethics, and the environment.

For the second year, the whatnot studio partnered with West Supply, an artisanal production house based in Chicago. From cast and mouth blown glass to cast bronze and aluminum, leather, and silicone, the work in the exhibition presents a harmonious cacophony of colors, textures, abstracted imagery, and forms. The diversity and boldness of perspectives presented in Potluck is refreshing and a sage reminder that the defining issues of our time are fodder for this emerging generation of designers.

The 2018 whatnot collection will be on exhibition and for sale during Salone del Mobile (April 17-22, 2018) at Spazio Rossana Orlandi (via Matteo Bandello 14, Milan).

Press inquiries and image requests contact:
Doug Kubek | dkubek@saic.edu | Phone: 00-1-312-499-4254

Soundable Cutlery
by Dingyue Cao
Sea Chicken
by Sun Kawazoe
Liquid Diet
by Martha Poggioli
Chicken Toys
by Kendall Wrightson
Checkout Line Ecology
by Eunice Choi
Les Fleurs de Fromage
by Alan Hensel
Smoke Vessel
by Teagan Chatterley
Mother’s Milk
by Zoe Liao
Air Chalice
by Min Jee
Mending Wall
by Ramón Jiménez Cárdenas
Taste of Danger
by Chelsea Lombardo
Canine Cutlery
by Kyuho Kim
Pepper Crusher
by Yejin Kim
Supernatural
by Darrell McKinney
Non Sequitur
by Liam Wilson
In Vitro
by Sepide Ladani
 

Introducing the 2017 whatnot Collection: whatnot x West Supply.

For a decade, students from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) have exhibited work in Milan during Design Week. For the tenth anniversary SAIC partnered with West Supply—a Chicago-based artisanal foundry and fabricator of designer furnishings, lighting, and fine art—to develop a collection of heirloom-quality objects in glass and bronze. By working with form, texture, and finish in relation to phenomena such as transparency, reflection, refraction, and diffusion, the student designers have developed works that respond to light in unique and innovative ways, harnessing the inherent qualities of these precious materials. The whatnot x West Supply collection, consists of fifteen serially produced multiples, the first edition will be on exhibition and for sale during Salone del Mobile (April 4-9, 2017) at Spazio Rossana Orlandi (via Matteo Bandello 14, Milan). Subsequent editions produced by West Supply are available to order through SAIC.

Press inquiries and image requests contact:
bwitt@saic.edu | Phone: 00-1-312-499-4211 | Mobile: 00-1-847-445-1371

Aziz
by Amanda Worrell
In Vitro
by Celine Setiadi
Pause
by Irem Mimaroglu
Apparition
by Jenny Chen
Lurch
by Bailey Fontaine
Aqua Fluctus
by Kaan Tombaz
Framework
by Amanda Yamasaki
Rest Awhile
by Miiko He
All work No play
by Haeyoon Choi
Rhizome
by Angela Huang
This Moment
by Yuling Yu
Split a Second
by Stella Shen
Edgee
by Ting-Yu Tseng
Counterbalance
by Adam T Mansour
Kylix
by Majenta Strongheart
 

The 2016 Whatnot Collection, titled Eighteen Sixty Six.

In celebration of the 150​th ​anniversary of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), the 2016 ​whatnot ​collection draws from the world as it existed in ​1866—the people, behaviors, beliefs, things, technologies, ideologies, cultural norms, natural events, fads, crazes and missed opportunities. The student designers researched Victorian mourning rituals, hypnosis, prostitution, imperialism, the invention of plywood and the stapler, garment patterns, solar powered engines, Mendel’s theory of inheritance, Haeckel’s Generelle Morphology, Alice in Wonderland, Hans Christian Anderson’s The Porter’s Son, Hong Kong’s dualistic currency, the confluence of Italian and Mexican culture under Emperor Maximiliano and Empress Carlotta, the physical raising of Chicago’s buildings to prevent epidemics, and the mandate of an eight-hour work day.

Press inquiries and image requests contact:
bwitt@saic.edu | Phone: 00-1-312-499-4211 | Mobile: 00-1-847-445-1371

Passage
by Jackie Jeong
Bobble
by Kyungeun Kim
Jacks-up
by Sungjun Kim
Butt's Bean Bag
by Chinhua Lin
Ernst
by Maya Jay
Allele
by Shau Heng Li
A Dash
by Charmaine Da Costa
Yi-Rack
by Ying Cui
Solar Sonnet
by Alice Gong
Cora Pearl
by Gokce Guvenc
Crylus
by Chang Liu
Oro Dulce (Sweet Gold) Molinillo
by Martha Valencia
Wear + Tear
by Valerie Lopez
Mesmer
by Ali Keshmiri
Particularly Persnickety Porcelain Party Pyramids with Pom Poms
by Mallika Chandra
 

Whatnot 2015

For the 8th consecutive year, emerging designers from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) will debut new work in Milan during Design Week, April 14 – 19, 2015. The 2015 whatnot collection is a series of everyday objects with a twist: pillows that hug you back, messy vases, torn mirrors, soul-searching lamps, and dented platters. A total of 12 new products will be exhibited at Spazio Rossana Orlandi and sold in their adjoining design shop. Visit us.

Press inquiries and image requests contact: wwong2@saic.edu (on-site) or bwitt@saic.edu

Hot Mess
by Tanner Bowman
Slip
by Yasmine Afshar
Halftone
by Jacob Lenard
Tribute
by Eli Bensusan
Softwear
by Madeline Geftic
Moon-Jelly
by Eva Walkuski
Force
by Sarah M. Doonan
Exposed
by Kelly Grace Sullivan
Anima
by Roxana J. Martinez
Sinmi
by Norman Teague
Lunar
by Arianna Petrich
White Noise
by Nayeon Kim
 

Whatnot 2014

During Milan Design Week 2014, student designers from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) will debut their whatnot 2014 collection: a series of playful objects that encourages a child’s interaction with the people, places, and environments around them. Eight products and three furniture systems will be exhibited at Spazio Rossana Orlandi and sold in their adjoining design shop from the eighth to the thirteenth of April. Visit us.

Press inquiries and image requests contact: bwitt@saic.edu
Whatnot Press Release
Whatnot Fact Sheet

Copy Watch
by Ilwhan Ahn
Whatnot
by Katie Chung
Grand Prix
by Kevin Suzuki
Argeebee
by Miguel Perez
Spring
by Gahee Kang
Hello World
by Jing Ouyang
The Flat Pack
by Tyler Willis
Hometown
by Zewen Li
Pier Pressure
by Satya Basu
Dizzy
by Ceyda Akosman
Soft Cell
by Andrea Rose Chiu
 

whatnot 2013

Building on the successful 2012 launch of the whatnot brand in both Milan and New York last year, the 2013 collection continues to bring new design concepts to life with a range of contemporary products designed and made in the USA.

Each of the 16 designers has approached color as a critical question. The subsequent collection of “whatnots” explore the visceral, perceptual, associative, emotional, and conceptual potential of color in all its permutations-muted, primary, fluorescent, functional, natural, and erotic.

SOFT FOCUS
by Eli Sidman
HIDE
by Kempe Scanlan
TRUFFLE
by Yiqian Peng
ROLLO
by Carlos Ortega
INCLINATION
by Daniel Moynihan
DARK MATTER
by Ada Mayer
THEFT PROOF
by Samuel Matson
PLACE SETTING
by Taylor Littrel
A MOMENT
by Jay Hyun Kim
NEW RULE
by Allon Kapeller-Libermann
THREE BAGS FULL
by Venessa R Jimenez
SHADES OF DAY
by Justin Hu
FISSION
by Ruyuan Ge
DELIRIOUS
by Faranak Farhang
WEDGE
by Hsi Chen
SNAP
by Morgan Brill
 

2012 Collection

Slight Rocker
by Charlie McArthur
$
Kiss
by Errin Kancal
$
Dent
by Tyler Yager
$
Dear You
by Iggy Choi
$
Table for 8
by Stephen Gulau
$
Palpable
by David Hull
$
Handle Me
by Adam Chau
$
FANDOM
by Brian Bailey
$
Demarcation
by Chi Sun
$
Comet
by Haruka Morimoto
$
Ambiguous Armament
by Shelley Getzendanner
$99
Adverb
by Mig Rod
$99
Barometer
by Judith Lambotte
$99
About When
by Felicia Liu
$99
Lull
by Karl Williamson
$
Chute
by Michael Pappas
$99
 
 
@whatnotpotluck