Manufractured By Steven Skov Holt and Mara Holt Skov. Chronicle Books, 144 pp, 80 colour images, hardcover, RRP $90

Manufractured, subtitled, The Conspicuous Transformation of Everyday Objects, is in some ways similar to I Miss My Pencil. Most obviously, it’s published by Chronicle Books, but another thing shared is more esoteric – it's a way of looking at things and deciding that they could be better, different, or just plain quirkier. It's about, to an extent, the way that artists and designers  can look at commonplace items and reassess forms and functions.
The basis for Manufractured was the identification of a new trend, a trend that has also hit New Zealand's shores, “the radical appropriation of consumer goods as raw material for art– and object-making”. Yes people, there’s a craft revival going on. Recycling, upcycling, customisation, call it what you will; it’s traditional notions reapplied and relearned for the modern age.
Manufractured looks at the crossover of craft, art, and design. It’s an interesting journey which develops from the premise that industrialisation was craft's death knell. Yet, rather than dying off, a rather ironic thing happened, that is the customisation of the mass-produced (once we hit mass customisation of the mass-produced I'm not sure where we'll be at…).
There's a lot going on in Manufractured, which was published to coincide with an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, but one particular object that seems to sum up the ethos to me is War Bowls by Dominic Wilcox. Each of these bowls is made from legions of plastic soldiers which are melted together. An "ironic take on the senselessness of war", these bowls "highlight how scandalously mutable the body (and the vessel) can be when subjected to pressure".

– Michael Barrett

Image from Manufractured.

Image from Manufractured.

I Miss My Pencil, Martin Bone and Kara Johnson; Chronicle Books. 272 pp, full-colour photos throughout, hardcover, RRP $130.

Richard Buckminster-Fuller once said, “There is no such thing as a failed experiment, only experiments with unexpected outcomes”, and that seems to pretty much sum up I Miss My Pencil. This canary-yellow cloth-bound tome is based on a series of experiments conducted, you might suspect, for no reason other than the sheer pleasure of conducting experiments.

The authors of this book are Martin Bone and Kara Johnson from the well-respected multi-disciplinary firm IDEO. Bone is a design director at the firm, and Johnson, who describes herself as “a material scientist, almost”, leads initiatives exploring the intersection of materials, design, and brand.
So, what's Pencil all about then? It’s hard to go past the authors’ description: “12 design experiments conceived by designers at IDEO. Each experiment is made real through collaboration, sketching, prototyping, fabrication, and photographing to go beyond the conceptual to the curiously concrete".

Bringing new meaning to the expression "custom printing", these rectangular felt pieces of material were part of experiment to adjust the appearance of a humble printer.

And, what sort of experiments do Johnson and Bone conduct? It all seems to be about seeing commonplace things differently. Smellbell, for instance, is “a doorbell that automatically assigns a unique fragrance to anyone who rings it. Over time the home becomes filled with the combined perfume of the people who’ve visited.”
Trademark aims to counter the stereotype that “Made in China” equals cheap. The authors sought to apply the techniques of traditional craftsmanship to modern industrial design, in this instance merging the intricate handiwork of filigree boxes with an audio speaker.
As expected from a design firm of IDEO's stature, I Miss My Pencil is immaculately presented. Its text more often than not takes the form of a conversation between the authors – and each voice is assigned a font that remains consistent throughout. When you pick up on that, the banter becomes immediately more engaging. For those who might not get around to buying this book, the website is also worth a look – it seems that new experiments will be conducted, and old ones, perhaps, updated.

- Michael Barrett