We began our Wednesday with a sweet tweet about architect and product designer Michael Graves‘ favorite food: Peeps. The response was remarkable, ranging from “What? No way.” to a flurry of e-mails wondering if we were a) attempting to start a new candy-themed design nerd hashtag (à la #ArchitectBandNames) or b) standing too close to the UnBeige Sharpie bin without the benefit of cross-ventilation. Before we could take to Twitter to report that we were neither kidding nor tweeting under the influence of volatile ketones, Graves’ office came to the rescue with a tweet (below) confirming our assertion concerning the polarizing marshmallow candies. Whether you like to eat the spongy treats or just admire their strange beauty, a little birdie told us that they make a smashing conversation piece when stuffed–gently! lovingly!–into the new round-bottom-flask-cum-decanter that Graves designed for JCPenney.

This just in: Caroline Baumann, who has served as acting director of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, since the death of Bill Moggridge last September, can dispense with the “acting.” She has been named director, effective June 16. Baumann joined the Cooper-Hewitt from the Museum of Modern Art in 2001, and served as associate director, acting director, and deputy director before stepping in for Moggridge.

“Caroline is passionate about design and reaching people—physically and digitally—with its lessons and insights,” said Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough in a statement issued today. “She has been key in the museum’s growing success over the years and has been especially adept at forming substantive partnerships in New York, in Washington, across the nation and, indeed, around the world.”

The appointment comes amidst the countdown to the Cooper-Hewitt’s 2014 reopening following a $54 million renovation and expansion. Said Baumann, “We’re rolling out an extraordinary plan for a vibrant future and establishing Cooper-Hewitt as the Smithsonian’s design lens on the world.”

Vera Wang during a conversation with Fern Mallis at New York’s 92nd Street Y.

“It was like being in designer heaven.” That’s how Vera Wang describes her stint at Ralph Lauren. “We had everything, anything we needed as designers, particularly as a design director, as a team. It just magically appeared,” she told Fern Mallis during an on-stage conversation earlier this year at New York’s 92nd Street Y. “If Ralph believed in you, he really believed you. And he really supported and believed in me. It was very hard to leave.” That difficult decision paid off and more than twenty years later, Lauren remains a Wang fan. He’ll be on hand this evening at Lincoln Center to present her with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the special honors at tonight’s Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Awards ceremony.

What began as a bridal business backed by Wang’s father (who saw an opportunity in a low-inventory venture that would require a limited range of fabrics) has grown–smartly and steadily–from ready-to-wear and accessories to flatware, stationery, and lines for the likes of Kohl’s, David’s Bridal, and Zales. (Did you know that she designed the uniforms for the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders?) According to Wang, she is very involved in the array of licensing deals. “With all of these lines, you have to come up to speed, not only from a business sense but technically,” she told Mallis. “That learning curve is something I embrace because I love to learn. I’ve worked hard at it for over a decade, but it’s challenging.”

With her name synonymous with a brand that sells everything from perfume to pillowcases in 35 countries, are there any product categories still on Wang’s wishlist? Looking back to her years as an elite figure skater, Wang is eyeing activewear. “I think that for women and men today, there’s such a natural desire to be comfortable,” she told Mallis. “I’d like to do athleticwear. That kind of clothing, it’s just kind of joyous to be able to walk around in. Especially if you can bring a sense of fashion to it. I’d wear it.” She could also be sweet-talked into another deal. “I do love donuts,” she said. “I think I could do a mean donut.”

Hole reinforcers and pencils from Costa Rica, and Hen Chung in Istanbul.

Around the world in 80 writing utensils? That’s one way to describe Rad and Hungry, which aims to take lovers of interesting office supplies on a “world tour of limited-edition goods with lo-fi style, pushing design through travel and travel through design.” Founded by former graphic designer Hen Chung in collaboration with fellow globetrotters Sam Alston and Laura Dedon Oxford, the online shop assembles an ever-changing selection of country-themed kits stocked with imported pens, pencils, stationery, and other exotic desk goodies, all beautifully packaged. A Rad and Hungry subscription is the perfect gift for the design lover who has everything—except thumbtacks from Lisbon.

“We really try to make each kit speak to our travels in that country–the people we met, food we ate, design we saw,” Chung tells us. “As each layer is unwrapped, people share in our low-down travel. The whole experience transforms the lo-fi, often overlooked daily-diet goods into something sacred. Our ultimate goal is to connect far-flung groups of people who love style, design, and travel as much as we do.” She made time between scouting trips to answer our questions about creating the company, her favorite finds, and what’s currently on her desk.

What led you to create Rad and Hungry?
I was a graphic designer for ten years and it became time for me to move on. I knew I wanted to combine the things I love most—travel and design. One day I was sitting in my library room thinking about what my next move would be. I was staring at a section of shelves that store journals that I collected from my travels. They were all untouched–they were inexpensive journals I picked up in places such as corner shops and pharmacies. Didn’t matter that none of the pages contained any words or images, they were all so sacred to me because they reminded me of each country. And then it hit me—create a company that allows me to travel and share daily-diet design through office supplies.

You travel the globe hunting for new stuff to include in Rad and Hungry kits. What are some of your favorite finds of all time?
Probably my favorite item to date is the Soviet-era notebooks in the Latvia Kit. I love the yellowing pages, the faded mint covers, and the simple rubber-stamped logo. Close seconds are the copper-colored paper clips from our first Germany Kit and the flower-scented pencils from the Portugal Kit. I love the paper clips because they’re so opposite of what people expect of German goods—they’re delicate and not uniform in shape. And the pencils from Portugal are amazing. Their smell is unreal. Super fragrant but not in the cheap perfume sort of way. They’re made by an old pencil factory that’s still in business after all these years. I’m always stoked to discover a company with a lot of history ‘cause I’m a firm believer that old school is best!

You’re packing for a desert island and can only bring one writing utensil. What is it?
Hands down a goldenrod pencil. I figure I’ll be able to create a tool to sharpen it and find something to write on. But I don’t know what I’d do if I need a fire, hurting for wood and have to make the ultimate decision between fighting off the cold or having a trusty number 2 pencil.
Read more

“When I started with Halston, it was go-go-go fantastic. He loved my pieces, and they loved his clothes. It was great when he used my big belts in his fashion shows. I worked my ass off with him. He was working day or night, coke or no coke. We were going to Studio 54, but he was impeccable in everything. Halston gave me the discipline. He also gave me advice: when I started doing jewels that I thought were great but too expensive, he said, ‘Make small, medium, and large.’ It may sound simple, but it was very useful, and I have never forgotten it.”

–Designer Elsa Peretti, in the spring 2013 issue of TIME Style & Design

David Rockwell has parlayed a knack for creating “immersive environments” into a discipline-shattering firm that can move seamlessly from designing luxury hotels and the set for the Academy Awards to reinventing playgrounds and dreaming up some damn fine rugs. We asked writer Nancy Lazarus to immerse herself in all things Rockwell when the man himself took the stage last week as a keynoter at Internet Week New York.

Treading the boards, on treadmills. The “abstracted collage of a factory” created by Rockwell Group for the musical adaptation of the 2005 British film Kinky Boots.

David Rockwell gave a whirlwind tour of selected design projects during a session at Internet Week in New York. The Rockwell Group founder offered insight into how his firm’s interactive design LAB operates as they solve design dilemmas for clients in the worlds of hospitality, travel, and theatre. He also previewed pending assignments.

Rockwell observed that as his career progressed, technology has taken center stage. “The technology lab is embedded in my firm, and my work now with the lab is the most exciting. It engages technology to connect people more in real-time.” From the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas to the JetBlue terminal at New York’s JFK airport to the set design for the Broadway musical Kinky Boots, Rockwell has incorporated technology and choreography-focused designs. Below are his comments on selected projects.

On the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas:
“The promise of Las Vegas is of a place that reinvents itself, but in reality that’s not true, since visitors can’t move freely,” said Rockwell. “The hotel lobby was fourteen feet high and had massive Egyptian-style columns. Our designers worked to dematerialize the walls in an open-source way so people would have a different experience each time they entered. The casino, unlike others in Vegas, was vertical, so we blew a forty-square-foot hole through the podium.”

Rockwell Group used an “environmental choreography system and created a hall of images in the hotel lobby, to allow more personal interaction.” The effect has been “somewhat hypnotic”, though the hotel would prefer visitors to linger in the casino, he noted.
Read more

Presto. An image from The Big Book of Magic, new this month from Taschen.

• Our new favorite way to make $70 disappear is The Big Book of Magic. Newly conjured by Taschen, the century-spanning tome features hundreds of rarely seen vintage posters, photographs, handbills, and engravings as well as paintings by the likes of Hieronymus “Abracadabra” Bosch and Caravaggio.

• Take an object, leave an object. Such is the invitation of “Museum as Plinth,” an interactive exhibit that opens today in the lobby of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Consider the role of museums, curators, and the general public in validating what is and what is not design as you ponder your new souvenir–stamped “From the Collection of the MAD Museum.”

• It’s official: Paul Schimmel, formerly the chief curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, is hooking up with Hauser & Wirth. He’s joined the gallery as a partner and will run a new L.A. arts space called Hauser Wirth & Schimmel. Expected to open in 2015, the new venue is “envisioned as a museum-like destination for experiencing art in context,” according to a statement issued yesterday by the gallery.
Read more

Say “Tim Gunn” to ten people and nine of them well immediately reply, “I love Tim Gunn!” (The tenth doesn’t watch television or read style manuals). The debonair and decanal Project Runway mentor, who has a vivid childhood memory of touring FBI headquarters and seeing J. Edgar Hoover dressed as Vivian Vance, is bringing his sharp eye and make-it-work mantra to Quirky. Gunn will visit the NYC offices of the social media-meets-product development company this evening to help evaluate products. Tune in here at 7 p.m. EST to watch the live webcast, during which Gunn will weigh on in on more than a dozen potential app-enabled products for the home that Quirky will develop in partnership with GE.

A gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “PUNK: Chaos to Couture” exhibition is inspired by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood and their Seditionaries boutique at 430 King’s Road in London. (Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art)

“I was about 36 when punk happened and I was upset about what was going on in the world. It was the hippies who taught my generation about politics, and that’s what I cared about–the world being so corrupt and mismanaged, people suffering, wars, all these terrible things–while Malcolm [McLaren] hated the older generation as a result of his background; he hated any authority. Malcolm was a great talent, but he was not true to himself or to his talent because he was not really interested in trying to understand the world. Therefore he didn’t learn, and I lost interest in his ideas. And I blamed the older generation for what was going on too, so we wouldn’t even accept their taboos. That’s how the swastika symbols came to be used in punk.”

-Fashion designer Vivenne Westwood in Harper’s Bazaar

“I’m just so fascinated with what the approach to theme will be–is it about a punk attitude? Is it about the specific time period referred to as punk? I think there are a lot of mysteries to be unveiled. And we can use it as an excuse to spit inside the museum…just inside a cistern of some sort, any old Greek cisterns we might find.”

-The delightful Lena Dunham on her expectations for last night’s punk-themed Met Gala. She attended with Erdem Moralioglu, who designed her dress, complete with upper back-bearing “tattoo window.” The two had a transatlantic fitting via iPad. Added Dunham, “My dog ate a safety pin during the fitting, which is punk.”