Ricardo DSign

Cassandra | The Irony This piece is called Cassandra, a bedside...

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:53:00 -0400

This piece is called Cassandra, a bedside table, and has some Greek mythological inspirations.

Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba and the twin sister of Helenus. She was said to have had brown hair kept in curls, brown eyes,and fair skin and she was very beautiful, intelligent, charming, desirable, elegant, friendly, and gentle, but she was considered to be insane. Cassandra was described as the “second most beautiful woman in the world.” Her beauty was even compared to that of Aphrodite and Helen of Troy, and Apollo fell madly in love with her.

She spent a night at Apollo’s temple at which time the temple snakes licked her ears clean so that she was able to hear the future. However, when she did not return his love, Apollo placed a curse on her so that no one would ever believe her predictions. She is a figure both of the epic tradition and of tragedy, where her combination of deep understanding and powerlessness exemplify the ironic condition of humankind.

ELO | Light for TEDxO’Porto Many of you may be familiar...

Sat, 12 May 2012 19:13:00 -0400

ELO | Light for TEDxO’Porto

Many of you may be familiar with the “TED” concept and spirit. But for those of you who aren’t, do not be alarmed. TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world’s leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani,Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Oxford, UK.

Due to the immense success of this organization and in the spirit of “ideas worth spreading”, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where “x” means independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.
Since 2011, in Portugal, a country extremely opened to technology advances, great designers and many free and amazing thinkers, were held more then 20 TEDx events all over the country, where people can actually feel that their ideas and dreams are taken into account. The energy felt in these kind of events is indescribable, the life stories are breathtaking, and what i felt the entire time was the passion of those men and women that really love what they do.

Because all UNDA members are enthusiasts of these events (TED and TEDx), we had to participate, and for TEDxO’Porto (also held on April 28, 2012) we created a portable lamp called ELO (which means something like “bond” or “link”) to be distributed in the gift-bags. All of the Designs had to be original pieces with a ‘Portuguese soul’, which demonstrate the best from our country. With this in mind, we created a cork lamp, inspired in a woman’s bag, with a cutting tile shape on it.

Cork is Portugal; tile is Portugal!!!

TORSO | A turning twist This table Lamp was inspired in the...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:44:00 -0400

TORSO | A turning twist

This table Lamp was inspired in the architectural building “Turning Torso” which is the tallest skyscraper situated in Malmö, Sweden. Comes in 5 different colours: turquoise, gold, silver, red and hot pink, but they are totally custom made.

From a top view, has a flower resemblance; wooden boards and plexiglass allow this beautiful lamp to come alive.

SISU | The finnish nature SISU has been described as being...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:43:13 -0400

SISU | The finnish nature

SISU has been described as being integral to understanding Finnish culture. The literal meaning is equivalent in English to “having guts”, and the word derives from sisus, which means something inner or interior. However, sisu is defined by a long-term element in it; it is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain an action against the odds and has been described by The New York Times as “the word that explains Finland”.

UNDA was moved by this Story of bravery, and developed a floor lamp that captures exactly that: the natural inner strength present in all of Human Race. We want to create a balance between the naturally hard exterior made from wood, and the inner light that guides our path, with mother pearl foil detail applied inside

DRACO | The gate keeper DRACO is inspired in Alduin – also...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:51:32 -0400

DRACO | The gate keeper

DRACO is inspired in Alduin – also called the World Eater, the Nordic God of Destruction. Alduin was dragon whose return was a result of an Elder Scroll.

We want to capture the strong essence of this powerful and gigantic dragon with some details: the outer part is coated with genuine leather, covered with structures that resemble scales, and the interior is coated with bronze foil.

We call it “The Gate Keeper” because this piece was developed for the entrance of your houses. Let me, again, remind you, that all of our pieces are customizable.

WATER LILY | Upon the river “She wooes it nearer still to...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:40:00 -0400

WATER LILY | Upon the river

“She wooes it nearer still to glide;

And iust her rosy finger-tips

Can touch its gently curving side;

But, on the touch, adown it dips,

And o’er the limpid wave doth slide;

As, riding at their anchor, ships

Swing slowly round, in circlings wide,

Upon the drifting of the tide.”

- Frank Waters

“The Water Lily: An Oriental Fairy Tale”

This next piece is inspired in Victoria Amazonica, the world’s largest Water Lily, whose leaves can span seven-feet across.When the heat is on, these plants of myth and legend bring their magic and beauty to the world.

A piece designed to shine in the center of a room. With lacquered wooden structures that resemble water lilies and with frosted glass mimicking the flowing current of a river, this piece represents the restless nature, full of movement and shapes.

DASTAN | The prince of Persia This new floor lamp is inspired on...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:10:11 -0400

DASTAN | The prince of Persia

This new floor lamp is inspired on the beautiful Tale of a Prince, a Princess and the fate of the world. “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” is based on “1001 Nights”, that tells the story of the prince Dastan that, unintentionally, unleashes the Sands of Time while in the palace at Azad.

The Sands of Time ravage all that they touch, transforming humans into sand beasts and animals into sand creatures, leaving the stunning palace of the Sultan in ruins. With the Dagger of Time, the Prince gains some temporal control to aid him in his quest; among his time-manipulating capacities, he can “rewind” his mistakes as well as slow time.

The Prince teams up with Farah, an Indian Princess, to reverse the release of the Sands of Time from their hourglass, and to stop the treacherous Vizier from implementing his plan to unlock the ultimate power of the Dagger of Time.

The lamp was design to capture the shape of a Sand Tornado, made with wooden boards, finished with gold foil underneath each board.

GAUDI | Let there be light GAUDI is a folding screen made of...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:45:35 -0400

GAUDI | Let there be light

GAUDI is a folding screen made of Stained Glass. UNDA and Antoni Gaudi share the same two passions: architecture and the beauty of nature with all of it’s elements. This piece clearly brings light and color to your interior spaces.

LOTUS | Welcome spring! A sense of warmth is tapping at the...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:02:00 -0400

LOTUS | Welcome spring!

A sense of warmth is tapping at the door;

And hope, a feeling out from distant lore
– Or so it seems – clears the deep refrain!

Emerging youth: a dormant lea awakes.
The raging colour, singing loud, partakes
In annual birth – spring is born again!

A zest anew for nascent life
Begins in floral train:
Carriage one: a snowdrop thrill;
Carriage two: the crocus;
Number three, a daffodil – dancing,
Drawing focus – as she would,
Attention seeker!

How I love our spring:
The bold and sleeker feel I get,
An inner glow, a ring!
I’ve paid the winter’s chilly debt, so
Now upon the wing!

- Mark R Slaughter 2010

From new life to death, from purity to passion, Lotus have had many meanings in myths and legends. Swelling from tender bud to full bloom, flowers are associated with youth, beauty, pleasure and the season of Spring: the season of growth and transition.

This Desk intents to capture exactly that: the transition from the hard and cold Winter to the blooming and joyful Spring which we love so much.

BOREAS | Devouring One BOREAS, and it’s inspired in the Greek...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:24:00 -0400

BOREAS | Devouring One

BOREAS, and it’s inspired in the Greek God of the cold North Winter and the bringer of Winter. His name means “North Wind” or “Devouring One”. Boreas is depicted as being very strong, with a violent temper to match.Therefore, we designed a piece loaded with a strong personality, detail and metallic colors, symbolizing ice structures.The interior has a repeated pattern structure painted in copper, simbolizing the devouring personality of Boreas, and two glass shelfs.

LUSITANO | The new Kingdom LUSITANO is a chiffonier for the...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 13:52:00 -0400

LUSITANO | The new Kingdom

LUSITANO is a chiffonier for the Unique Edition. It was inspired in “Os Lusíadas”, usually translated as “The Lusiads”; a Portuguese epic poem by Luís Vaz de Camões. Written in Homeric fashion, the poem focuses mainly on a fantastical interpretation of the Portuguese voyages of discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries. The heroes of the epic are theLusiads, the sons of Lusus or in other words, the Portuguese. In these strophes, Camões speaks of Viriathus and Sertorius, the people of Lusus, a people predestined by the Fates to accomplish great deeds. Jupiter says that their history proves it because this tiny nation has gone on to discover new worlds. At the end of the poem, on Love Island, a fictional finale of the glorious Portuguese walk throughout history, Camões writes that the fear once expressed by Bacchus has been confirmed: that the Portuguese would become Gods.

The extraordinary Portuguese discoveries and the “new kingdom that they exalted so much” in the East, the extraordinary deeds of “Strong Castro” (the viceroy D. João de Castro), who had died some years before the poet’s arrival to Indian Lands, and a tour taken by our team to the Guimarães Palace, were the main inspirations for conceiving this amazing and luxurious piece. Blackwood timber, gold leaf and Indian hand-painted pattern, create the perfect harmony to combine all the inspirations.