There’s something satisfying about seeing the inner workings of a company, even better when the company has a rich history like Herman Miller. Lish Dorset from Craft magazine toured Herman Miller’s campus and was taken through the factory, design center and our favorite, the archive. Dorset’s photos revealed one-off designs, posters, catalogs, old textiles by Alexander Girard, advertisements, and much more. Read about her visit on Craft and see the rest of the photos from her tour on flickr.

Herman Miller Select is now in its third year, annually releasing a new and limited edition piece of furniture / design object under the program. The first year saw the reissue of Charles and Ray Eames’s cowhide LCW. Inspired by the classic Eames films, Herman Miller collaborated with Klein Reid to produce a set of three walnut tops for their second edition. They recently announced their third release. Going back to their Eames archive, the Hang-It-All has been updated to a more grown-up version. Herman Miller replaced the colorful hooks with solid walnut but retained the black, welded-steel frame giving it a level of sophistication while keeping the fun design intact. The Eames Hang-It-All retails for $249 and is available now.

You are cordially invited to the first party for the new American lighting company Roll & Hill Featuring the work of: Lindsey Adelman, Jason Miller, Paul Loebach, Sarah Cihat & Michael Miller, Rich Brilliant Willing, Partners & Spade

Saturday, May 15, 7-11pm
Great Jones Lumber
45 Great Jones, btwn Bowery and Lafayette

We’re admiring this one from afar. Salone del Mobile opened yesterday with a flurry of on and off site events throughout Milan and we’re trusting Monocle, Wallpaper*, and Core77 to guide us through them all. Monocle gives us a recap of the first day by highlighting Naoto Fukasawa and Established & Sons latest projects which includes a more affordable line called Estd. Wallpaper* gives us several video previews including an interview with Tom Dixon and a photo gallery of press materials and day-of-events. The gallery is already stocked with over 50 photos. Core77 feels a bit more scruffy and less formal, but we appreciate that. They’re firing on all cylinders with their blog, twitter, and photo gallery. An interesting bit they mentioned was Maarten Baas’s Analog Digital Clock. It made its debut last year in Milan as a video installation. The video shows a man behind four digits, representing the hours and minutes. In real time, the gentleman either wipes away or covers part of the number 8 to reveal the current minute. Baas has converted this video into an iPhone app, and for 99 cents it can be yours.

Enzo Mari has been a design hero of ours since we first discovered his Animali and Pesci puzzle sets for Danese. Designed in 1957, the sets are still being produced to this day. The longevity of his designs are reflective on his tenacious work ethic. At 78 years old, Mari is still working with established companies such Alessi, Muji, and Artek. This week Artek will reintroduce his 1974 Sedia 1 Chair, part of the Autoprogettazione collection, which translates to “self design.” The chair will come unassembled containing planks of unfinished pine, nails and instructions. This collection was Mari’s response to the mass production of furniture, by attempting to empower consumers with the ability to construct a number of designs for themselves. Sedia 1 is the only piece that will be reintroduced at this time. It was part of a larger collection that also included a table, bed, and shelving.

Droog has always been known to mix the high with the low. Depending on how you interpret the result it’s either elevating a common object or minimizing the appearance of luxury. The Dutch design group is doing it once more as they unveil Saved by Droog, next week at the Salone del Mobil in Milan. They’ve acquired 5123 objects from companies in the Netherlands that have gone out of business. Droog hopes to breathe new life into these forgotten pieces by inviting 14 designers to creatively re-interpret them as they wish. Some of the Revivers as Droog calls them, include Maison Martin Margiela, Marian Bantjes, Marije Vogelzang, Stefan Sagmeister, and Studio Makkink & Bey.