Sigmarail by LOWKON

Although Lowkon sounds more like a Chinese or Asian company, they are in fact object designers hailing from southern Germany. Their design concept is one of simplicity and minimalism, as embodied in the often-heard slogan “form follows function” (and pushed to the forefront of design with the advent of the “Bauhaus” school of design in the early 20th century). Before entering the market with Sigmarail, Lowkon was primarily known for its successful commercial, industrial and fashion photography. Sigmarail is their first and, as far as I know, only product. Continue Reading →

IKEA Ivar

As soon as this site went online, I was flooded with e-mails (please do use the comment function on the site if you have questions on a featured item or related issues). Enquiring minds wanted to know what I myself use to store my collection and what I could recommend. Well, despite my posts to the contrary, I use the ultimate budget system, a simple IKEA shelf system called “Ivar”, slightly “tweaked” to fit my needs. Before you read on: Ivar is not one of those Ikea products that you need an IQ of 200 and infinite patience for to put together. You don’t even need any tools besides a screwdriver, and the skills required to put it together tend towards zilch. Fact is, it doesn’t get much easier than Ivar (and I have lots of IKEA experience with other, err, less successful products in that regard). Continue Reading →

Groove

If you have rather large collections like I do, it’s always nice to have a smaller selection close to your stereo if the collection, which is often the case, is stored in a rather elaborate shelf or container system wherever it fits – and that’s usually not right next to your stereo equipment.

So, what I was looking for was a small shelf, frame or other container that looks nice (or halfway decent) and is versatile. I narrowed my selection down to several Scandinavian products, one of which was a wall-mounted CD rack called “Groove”. Continue Reading →

Vismara: Frame 214

When surfing the Internet for CD storage systems two or three years ago, I came across a website by a company in Italy, Vismara in Milano. I didn’t dare ask about prices for the many cabinets they make, but if you want to, you can easily do so by hitting the “Contact Us” button in the top left of their website [no direct link because the site uses frames]. On the site you can also find a list of shops/dealers that carry Vismara products. The site has grown substantially since I first visited and new products are added regularly. Apparently, Vismara has established itself solidly and is growing at a steady pace. Continue Reading →

Can-Am Cabinets (CD/DVD)

Going for Can-Am media cabinets will probably mean that you have to walk around nude for a year or two, they are that expensive. But they are also worth it. Of course, I don’t have any of these myself, especially since it would cost two arms and half a head to have them sent to Europe, but I’ve seen and handled them in a shop in Copenhagen, Denmark, and boy, can they take a lot of weight and abuse.

They are not really beauties, but chosing the right color (White, Black Satin, Black Gloss Textured, Navy Blue, Steel Blue, Teal Blue, Beige, Hunter Green, Plum, Fog Gray, Storm Gray, Charcoal Gray, Director Red, Chocolate Brown, Metallic Steel Gloss, Metallic Silver Satin) and adding a suitable counter top (Wood Grain, Black, White, Navy Blue, Beige, Hunter Green, Fog Gray, Storm Gray, Charcoal Gray and Metallic) can make them fit in and look quite cool. Continue Reading →