Moleskine is following through on its big plans for little notebooks. The Milan-based company, which affects a storied history but in fact was created by design-savvy publisher Francesco Francheschi in 1997 to revive the sleek jotters favored by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso, is following up last summer’s foray into pop-up shops (at train stations in Milan and Rome) with permanent stores around the world. The first American Moleskine shop–stocked with notebooks, journals, bags, pens, digital device accessories, and cases–opened Friday at the Time Warner Center in New York City.

Among the Moleskine-y touches at the new ground-floor kiosk (pictured above) is a map floorcovering that “symbolizes the mobile identity of contemporary nomads,” according to the company. The NYC location follows recent openings in London (at Heathrow’s Terminal 4) and Shanghai. A Beijing outpost will bow in May. The timing of Moleskine’s retail push is no coincidence: it’s all systems go for a €500 million ($654 million) initial public offering that should see Moleskine shares begin trading on the Milan stock exchange next week.

Previously on UnBeige:
• Mickey Mouse Makes Mark on Moleskine
• Beyond Notebooks: Moleskine Taps Designer Giulio Iacchetti to Expand Product Line
• Moleskine Enters the Digital Age with Kindle Cover/Notebook Hybrid

The design-minded datacrunchers over at Coroflot recently released their redesigned and better-than-ever Design Salary Guide, now a rolling (and free!) tool that reports results in real-time. They’ve followed it up with an executive summary of sorts that is tailor-made for designers–in a word, infographics. Check out the just-published “Creative Employment Snapshot” for a visual presentation of the current state of employment in design, creative, and interaction fields–including current and potential earnings. There’s even a PDF version to print out and slip onto your boss’s desk.

A judge has nixed the NYC “soda ban”–due to take effect Tuesday, it would have banned 16-ounce containers of sugary drinks that have more than 25 calories per ounce–but an appeal is in the works, and Mayor Bloomberg isn’t the only one looking to change the way we look at fizzy beverages. SodaStream is shaking up the market with its DIY take (slogan: “If you love the bubbles, set them free”). Founded in 1903 with the introduction of “an apparatus for aerating liquids,” the Israel-based company recently teamed up with Yves Behar and his team at Fuseproject to design the Source, a sleek home soda maker. “The design of Source was a process of elimination,” says Behar, who also worked on the packaging, naming, and graphic design of the compostable soda pods. Yaron Kopel, SodaStream’s chief innovation and design officer, made time during his recent trip to NYC to answer our questions about soda, the Fuseproject collaboration, and what’s next for the company.

First things first, what is your favorite beverage?
SodaStream Ginger Ale.

How do you describe SodaStream to someone who is unfamiliar with it?
SodaStream allows you to make carbonated water–which can become cola, fizzy juice, you name it–from home, in an instant. We have become so accustomed to the everyday consumption of bottled soda that its impact has been rendered mostly invisible. From an environmental perspective, when we consume and toss out plastic soda bottles, we’re doing damage. That plastic ends up forgotten, in landfills, in oceans. With SodaStream, consumers can enjoy their bubbles without any environmental impact. In essence, SodaStream takes what was once a passive, environmentally damaging practice–purchasing and enjoying soda–and has made it simple, active and environmentally sound.

What led you to seek out Yves Behar/Fuseproject, and what did you ask them to do?
Yves is among the finest industrial designers in the world. He is an innovator in sustainable design. Yves was tasked with reducing complexity and waste and creating a simple and beautiful object for the kitchen that keeps with 21st Century values. The result is SodaStream Source. Realizing that world-class design is a prerequisite to securing space on the countertop, SodaStream Source combines outstanding design with best-in-class engineering to improve functionality and ease-of-use. Its refined mechanics make the entire top surface responsive to touch. A new Snap-Lock mechanism makes the process quick, easy and intuitive, while an LED display provides instant visual feedback on the level of carbonation.

How was the process of working with Yves?
Yves and I worked together 24/7 for nine months to bring Source to fruition. It was a collaborative process. We shared a similar vision and joint desire to reduce and refine the user experience. Nothing about Yves’ work is redundant–every design attribute has a purpose. The finished product is a beautifully pared back design delivering the luxury of sparkling water, sodas, and bubbly beverages in one iconic minimal piece for the modern kitchen.
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• Another Armory Week Arts Week is upon NYC, which will play host to a whopping ten art fairs. Unable to resist a good centennial, a Friday afternoon panel at the Armory Show on Pier 94 considers the 1913 original (commemorated in a fetching set of postage stamps), “bringing new facts and controversies to light and dispelling popular myths and misconceptions around the show’s reception by the public and critics alike.” Robert Storr will moderate the discussion among Marilyn Kushner, Francis Naumann, and Gail Stavitsky.

• Once you’ve loaded up on art, you’ll need more walls. May we suggest the Palm Springs home that John Lautner designed for Bob Hope and his wife, Dolores? It’s on the market for for $50 million. Your Kapoor would look divine in the shadow of the curved copper roof.

• Condé Nast has led a $20 million funding round for indie fashion marketplace farfetch. “This investment underlines our commitment to extend the scope of our activities and back great entrepreneurs,” said James Bilefield, president of Condé Nast International Digital, in a statement issued Monday. “It follows the recent news of our involvement with the e-commerce businesses Monoqi and Renesim in Germany.” Also participating in the fundraising were existing investors Advent Venture Partners, Index Ventures, and e.ventures.

• Ever wonder about that tiny text at the bottom of a movie poster? Ben Schott recently took to The New York Times op-ed page to breaks down the billing block.

Tracey Emin‘s “I Promise To Love You” neonworks now playing on screens throughout Times Square a project for which s[edition] served as curatorial partner. (Photo: Ka-Man Tse)

Would art lovers pay up to download a Damien Hirst? So pondered the art and tech worlds in November 2011, when London-based s[edition] opened its digital doors on the eve of Art Basel Miami Beach–having convinced artists such as Hirst, Tracey Emin, Bill Viola, and Shepard Fairey to create original works for a new breed of online gallery. The answer is, apparently, yes.

Founders Harry Blain and Robert Norton have seen the iDevice-wielding masses embrace the concept of collecting art in a digital format and are making inroads into museum collections, placing pieces with the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Norway’s Stavanger Art Museum, and creating digital editions in partnership with the Serpentine Gallery and the ICA London. The company is also to thank for the love-themed works by Emin that are now lighting up Times Square on a nightly basis. While in NYC to feel the love, Norton made time to answer our seven questions about how s[edition] works, a new initiative to seek out fresh talents, advice for fellow entrepreneurs, and the artwork he would most like to have on his wall–or screen.

1. How do you describe s[edition] to someone who is unfamiliar with it?
s[edition] works with world leading artists who wish to see their work collected in a digital medium. The online platform offers contemporary art enthusiasts the opportunity to buy original art, at affordable prices. The art is sold as digital limited editions to be viewed on TVs, iPads, iPhones, and digital screens. s[edition] members can browse and acquire works to start their own collection, follow artists, and send limited editions as gifts to friends.

2. s[edition] has been in business for just over a year. How would you characterize the reaction from collectors?
The feedback from our collectors has been fantastic. The prices are very affordable which means we have opened up an entirely new market for collecting digital art. We have an active audience of 400,000 digital art enthusiasts, collectors, and fans.

3. Can collectors resell works they have purchased on s[edition]?
Collectors can resell their editions through an open marketplace after edition runs have sold out. We have found that some collectors will never want to sell their edition while others trade continually.

4. Do you plan to expand the star-studded s[edition] roster to include emerging artists?
This year, we have plans to launch the s[edition] Open Platform, a separate section on the website, where emerging and established artists will be able to submit their art for consideration and be selected by world renowned artists and curators to sell their works online. By opening our platform, we provide these artists with a gateway to a global audience of art enthusiasts. It also enables us to search out new talent. Artists who are interested should email us at info@seditionart.com
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Rare is the design angle on a presidential address, but last night’s State of the Union included a shout-out to 3D prototyping. Early in the speech President Obama highlighted recent gains in domestic manufacturing jobs–more than 500,000 have been added in the past three years–offering examples of in-sourcing in progress at Caterpillar, Ford, and a little company in Cupertino. “This year, Apple will start making Macs in America again,” he said [cut to shot of a grinning Tim Cook] before turning to his administration’s manufacturing preservation initiative:

Last year, we created our first manufacturing innovation institute in Youngstown, Ohio. A once-shuttered warehouse is now a state-of-the art lab where new workers are mastering the 3-D printing that has the potential to revolutionize the way we make almost everything. There’s no reason this can’t happen in other towns. So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help create a network of 15 of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in manufacturing is made right here in America. We can get that done.

To which approximately half of the audience responded, “Yes we can!”

Back in the day, the not-yet-slickly-professionalized New York fashion scene “could support somebody who didn’t get into the business with a business plan and a backer,” said New York Times style scribe Guy Trebay in a recent interview. “You can no longer do that–that’s out. You better arrive with a business plan and maybe an MBA…” Enter the NYC Economic Development Corporation and the Fashion Institute of Technology, the partners behind Design Entrepreneurs NYC, an intensive, classroom-style, and FREE “mini-MBA” program. Fashion designers whose businesses are based in one of NYC’s five boroughs and have been open for at least one year are eligible to apply for the program, which includes weekend courses on fashion business marketing, operations, and financial management, and culminates in a business plan honed by feedback from industry pros. Applications, available here, are due by March 31.

Is crowdfunding the answer to giving stalled architecture projects a much-needed…kickstart? A report issued this week by the American Institute of Architects takes a closer look, highlighting crowdfunded projects such as Colombia’s 66-story BD Bacatá building and the “I Make Rotterdam” bridge-building project.

According to massolution, which compiled the white paper for the AIA, crowdfunding generated around $1.5 billion in 2011, of which almost half was raised via donation-based crowdfunding (distinct from Kickstarter-style reward-based crowdfunding, in which donors receive something tangible in return). In addition to its potential as a financing tool for beleaguered developers and architects, crowdfunding can provide architects with a way to work with local communities to discuss, develop, and implement design ideas–or simply to generate support for “passion projects” that may be tough to fund through conventional avenues, notes the report. The Italian government is all over this idea–to raise cash to fund the Italian pavilion at the this year’s Venice Biennale.

Ready to unleash the next Angry Birds on the mobile-gizmo-obsessed world but need some help with logistics (i.e., cash)? Check out the Kongregate Mobile Developers program, a $10 million fund for independent developers of free-to-play mobile games. Launched yesterday by the online gaming platform Kongregate and backed by its parent company GameStop, the initiative will offer developers not only capital but also help with distribution and marketing to help their games gain traction in the highly competitive mobile arena. Taking charge of the new fund will be Urbansquall and Zynga veteran Pany Haritatos, the freshly hired vice president of Konregate’s new mobile division. “Developers are increasingly finding it harder to get their games discovered through the different app stores,” said Haritatos in a statement issued yesterday. “I personally faced these challenges in 2009 while managing my own game studio. Utilizing the Kongregate platform made my games successful, which ultimately led to my studio being acquired by Zynga.” Learn more here.

From left, Emeco’s famous Navy Chair and a Restoration Hardware “Naval Chair” ripoff.

Restoration Hardware has raised the white–make that Silver Sage!–flag in the dispute concerning its “Naval Chair,” a shameless rip-off of Emeco’s Navy Chair, the aluminum classic designed by the Hanover, Pennsylvania-based company in 1944 for the U.S. Navy and in production ever since. In October 2012, Emeco announced that it was suing Restoration Hardware and its former CEO, Gary Friedman, for infringement of Emeco’s trade dress and trademark rights for its Navy Chair. Now comes word that the Naval/Navy battle has been settled for an undisclosed sum. “As part of that settlement, Restoration Hardware has agreed to permanently cease selling the chairs that Emeco accused of infringement, and its existing inventory of such chairs will be recycled,” noted Emeco in a statement issued yesterday. And if it’s the recycled Real Thing you’re after, look no further than Emeco’s 111 Navy Chair, made with 111 up-cycled Coca-Cola PET bottles.

Previously on UnBeige:
• Emeco Sues Restoration Hardware for Copying Its Navy Chair