Fab made a splash in Milan with more than cushy Warhol Brillo boxes. The online retailer invited designers from around the world to pitch new products for the chance to have them produced and sold on Fab. More than 150 creative types from 30 countries turned out, and now it’s onto New York. In addition to showcasing its new private label alongside collaborations with the likes of the Albers Foundation and Blu Dot at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which opens to the trade tomorrow, Fab is hosting another “Disrupting Design” competition.

The fearless leader of the judging panel will be Fab co-founder and chief design officer Bradford Shellhammer. “At Fab, we are constantly reinventing ourselves and rethinking what Fab can be,” he says. “By directly engaging with designers to find the best new work out there, we’re hoping to help even more of our members find things they love.” Today’s ever-changing offering ranges from a Louis Ghost Chair signed by Philippe Starck and vintage Kodak Brownies to a subscription to BirdWatching magazine and a pepperoni pizza t-shirt. Shellhammer paused in his booth preparations (find Fab at #1220 at ICFF) to answer our questions.

How did the Disrupting Design competition go in Milan last month?
We were overwhelmed by the response in Milan, which is why we’ve decided to do it again in New York during ICFF. We had so many great entries from all over the world when we did the call out in Milan. Initially we were planning on selecting three winning designs, but we couldn’t narrow it down so we ended up shortlisting twelve designs which we are working to put into production and sell on Fab–the revenue of which we of course share with the winning designers.

What advice would you give to those interested in presenting their designs to the Fab jury on Tuesday at ICFF?
Take a look at our site and keep the Fab viewpoint in mind when presenting. The winning designs from Milan all embody the Fab ethos–they tell great stories, utilize interesting materials, or have a sense of whimsy. We are looking for designs that will be appreciated by our global community of more than 12 million design lovers.

What are some qualities of a successful product on Fab?
Great products tell a story, elicit emotions, or solve problems. It’s that simple. It needs to check at least one of those boxes (hopefully all three). They can be in any category and at any price, as long as there’e something compelling.

What is a product that you’ve sold on Fab that has surprised you, in terms of expected versus actual interest from customers?
Yves Behar‘s medicine accessories for Sabi I thought may be targeted for a customer older than ours, but we sell a lot of them!
continued…

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• On Monday a 192-member jury of leading creatives and designers began the business of judging the 51st D&AD Awards. As you await today’s installment of nominations and “in-books” in categories such as branding, graphic design, and art direction, page through the first five decades of excellence in visual thinking with D&AD 50, new from Taschen.

• The Tribeca Film Festival organizers recently announced its first six-second film competition, challenging amateur and pro filmmakers alike to make cinemagic with the bold, new, yet Super 8ish medium of Vine. The festival’s director of programming has narrowed down the approximately 400 entries to this shortlist. A jury consisting of director Penny Marshall, Vine-loving actor Adam Goldberg, and the team from 5 Second Films will have the final say on the winners, which will be announced next Friday.

• Transform the leather jacket languishing in the back of your closet into something that doesn’t scream “Wilsons Leather circa 1998″ with Remade USA, designer Shannon South‘s freshly relaunched custom service that repurposes individual vintage leather jackets into new one-of-a-kind handbags, through redesign and reconstruction.

• And speaking of textile innovation, on May 1, New York’s Eyebeam presents “Smart Textiles: Fashion That Responds,” a panel that will bring together a diverse group of designers and scientists working in cutting-edge textile research and production–think nanoparticles, circuit boards, and clothing that’s more responsive to changing needs and conditions.

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• The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has made a formal proposal to acquire the financially strapped Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, reports the Los Angeles Times.

• Next to tackle the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s summer rooftop commission is Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi. His site-specific work, to be unveiled in May, will be the first to be painted directly onto the surfaces of the roof garden, the museum announced yesterday.

• Adobe has put out the call for entries for the 13th annual Adobe Design Achievement Awards, a global student design competition for individual and group projects produced with Adobe tools. Submissions will be accepted through June 21 in a dozen categories in three segments: traditional media, interactive experience, and motion and video.

• Can’t make it to Armory Week? Explore the main fair online, thanks to Artsy, and then consider how technology is transforming the practices of presenting and collecting art in this video of a recent discussion with Artsy co-founder Wendi Murdoch, artist Kenzo Digital, and Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The bubbly furniture fans at Design Within Reach have selected the winners in their champagne chair contest, which last month challenged all comers to create an original miniature chair using only the foil, label, cage, and cork from no more than two champagne bottles (glue was the only permitted adhesive). Taking top honors is the “Rockin’ Chaise” (pictured at far left) designed by one Miwa F., who went meta by including a wee champagne holder. Runner-up Jeffery Molter took a systematic approach with a chair that folds up into its own carrying case. And third place goes to Aaron Padilla’s foil basketweave “F8 Chaise,” with a sculpted cork underseat. Pour yourself a glass of bubbly and then click here to see all 319 champagne chair contest entries.

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Beginning on the morning of Saturday, February 9, participating developers and designers (register here) will get to spend 24 hours coding away in the company’s breathtaking Norman Foster-designed midtown HQ to create “innovative fashion-focused apps and programs on API platforms from sponsors,” which include Hearst brands (your ELLE, your Harper’s Bazaar…), Amazon, Facebook, and Google. The grand prize winner, as determined by a judging panel of Hearst execs, tech industry gurus, and VCs will receive $10,000 and an internship opportunity. Surprise guest appearances–fingers crossed for that table skirt or better yet, a fresh-from-the-shows Glenda Bailey brandishing a tablet–are promised.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Flummoxed by the concept of social cooking, and fearful that it may involve having to share dessert, we consulted Electrolux and learned that for this category, the judges are looking for ideas that address city dwellers’ “shortage of entertaining space and preparation time, whilst allowing us to live a healthier lifestyle.” This sounds like a job for Jetsons-style food pellets–after all, last year’s first-prize winner was Jan Ankiersztajn‘s Aeroball, a constellation of luminescent, helium-infused balls that floatingly filter and fragrance the air in a room. Noble gases win again. Begin the brainstorming process (where can we get some delicious yet effortless neon?) by watching highlights from last year’s finals, held at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan.

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Ever dreamed of recreating a Richard Serra sculpture with tomatoes from the pantry? Erecting a monumental tribute to Alexander McQueen’s armadillo heel using only canned peas and elbow grease? What about constructing a truly giant giant panda that can feed hundreds? Teams from top architecture and engineering firms will prove that they can do it, and for a good cause. After being rescheduled due to Hurricane Sandy, the international charity competition that is Canstruction returns to New York City next month and with it the opportunity for teams of architects, engineers, and students they mentor to design and build giant structures made entirely from unopened cans of food—all of which are ultimately donated to City Harvest.

For its twentieth anniversary in Gotham, Canstruction has lined up 25 teams representing the likes of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, Arup, Robert Silman Associates, and HOK. Their carefully stacked creations will be judged by a panel of pros that includes Frances Halsband (Kliment Halsband Architects) and Top Chef alum Carla Hall. “Canstruction reminds us that something as prosaic as a can of tuna, soup, or beans can be transformed into a dazzling work of art, but it also reminds us of what a difference a simple can of food can make to a person in need,” says Amy Nanni, co-chair of Canstruction New York and national vice president of the Society for Design Administration. The works will be on view at the World Financial Center complex in Lower Manhattan from February 1 through February 11.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Love directional furniture but can’t make it down to Design Miami, which opens today in a vast tent adjacent to the Miami Beach Convention Center? Vent your frustrations through a game of Musical Chairs–with a virtual twist. Beginning this week, Blu Dot is bringing Musical Chairs to Twitter, giving players the chance to tweet their way to a free Hot Mesh Chair (pictured). As for the music, the Minneapolis-based maker of modern home furnishings partnered with creative agency mono and Tim Cretella and Brittany Yates of the band Doppio (those are their songs you’ll hear just before scrambling for a seat). Ready to play? Head here and then prepare to tweet that round’s secret phrases. Survive all four rounds of each game to win a chair.

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This week a team of sharp-eyed astrophysicists announced their discovery of a new planet: a young, cold, and roguish type that refuses to orbit any star. They’ve named the sunless planet…CFBDSIR2149. While this is an improvement over “Uranus,” it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. An astronomy- and space-focused startup is seeking to end this squandering of planet-naming opportunities with its first commercial project. Uwingu–”sky” in Swahili–is challenging the people of Earth to create a “baby book of planet names” for the 160 billion or more planets astronomers now estimate inhabit our galaxy, the Milky Way (cut to image of delicious candy bars).

“You can nominate planet names for your favorite town, state, or country, your favorite sports team, music artist, or hero, your favorite author or book, your school, your company, for your loved ones and friends, or even for yourself,” suggests Uwingu founder and CEO Alan Stern, an aerospace consultant and researcher who formerly directed all science program and missions at NASA. Each nomination costs 99 cents, with proceeds going to create a private sector fund for space projects. Names can be up to 50 characters (latin letters only), from any language or culture, and “can be anything the average grandmother would be proud to hear her grandchild say.” A contest will determine the 1,000 most popular planet names in the database, which will be communicated to planet-hunting astronomers for consideration. Voting is now open (votes also cost 99 cents each). Among the early leaders are “Pale Blue Dot,” “Heinlein,” and “Ron Paul.”

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Cotton Balls. Man on the Moon. Picket Fence. Mayonnaise. You probably recognize these as some of Benjamin Moore’s palest paint colors. Brooklyn-based architecture firm SO-IL saw their potential as Halloween costumes. Principals Florian Idenburg (dressed as Gray Owl) and Jing Liu (as Marilyn’s Dress) led a group that included Indian White, French Manicure, Antique Lace, and American White to victory at Storefront for Art and Architecture’s “Critical Halloween: On Banality, On Metaphor” costume competition, held Saturday in Brooklyn.

An estemeed jury that included Princeton School of Architecture dean Alejandro Zaera Polo (dressed as a cosmonaut) and Charles Renfro (as a voting booth) awarded SO-IL the award for best metaphor of the night. Snarkitecture nabbed best urban metaphor for their sartorial ode to the Manhattan Grid, while Shan Raoufi and Greta Hansen received art props for their delightful On Kawara-style costumes (each sported a black sign in the artist’s signature typeface with Halloween’s date followed by their birth year). You can check out some of the most memorable costumes thanks to Domus, which is running an online competition through November 11. The winner(s) will receive a one-year subscription to Domus.

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With a megastorm on the horizon for the country’s East Coast, we present this calming fall foliage break. “A Perfect Fall Day” by Philip MacCarthy has been declared the winner of Rhode Island Monthly’s “I Luv RI” photography contest and appears in the November issue of the magazine. “I took the photo a few years back when I moved here from San Diego, after being in what some would say the best weather in the United States, and realized there is something heart warming, rejuvenating, and serene about fall in Rhode Island,” said MacCarthy, who lives in Warwick and snapped the photo at Indian Lake in South Kingstown. “Everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.”

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Earlier this year, AIGA put out the call for “stories that reveal the value design creates for clients, the public and, most especially, customers” for Justified, a new kind of competition. Hundreds of entries poured in—from design firms, in-house design departments, design entrepreneurs, and freelance designers—and a jury of top designers chaired by Terry Irwin, head of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Design, has selected 18 exemplary case studies that serve as an effective tool to explain design’s value to clients, students, peers, and the general public. Five entries made the shortlists of all of the jurors: the Feed the Future Website, Make Congress Work!, Earth Lab: Degrees of Change, HTML & CSS: Design and Build Websites, and CODA Experience Center. “In a challenging economic climate, articulating what we do has become more important than ever,” said juror Petrula Vrontikis, creative director of Vrontikis Design Office, in a statement issued by AIGA. “It is possibly the most useful skill we can master, allowing us to keep good clients and make purposeful (and beautiful) work.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.