Each Friday, we like to kick back and highlight a product or industrial designer doing really interesting, really cool work. It’s not just that we like eye candy and want something nice to look at as we ease into the weekend; we think it’s important to know that there is a better way to do things. Better materials, better manufacturing processes and better designs built to last all add up to a lighter footprint, and that’s why we like to train the spotlight on companies like InModern [www.inmodern.net]: because they do it better than conventional alternatives.

Using FSC-certified birch plywood (FSC-wha?? Read this [www.sundancechannel.com] to get up to speed), finished with non-toxic lacquers, that doesn’t employ hardware (bolts, screws, nuts, or even glue) or tools to assemble, it’s all manufactured here in the US. They have the beginnings of four different collections so far; the Linear [www.inmodern.net] collection (coffee table w/magazine storage is pictured) is the most complete, and they have some good looking stuff in the “coming soon” section of the others, like the “rekindle [www.inmodern.net]“, “surfin [www.inmodern.net]” (the magazine rack is below, on the left) and “intown [www.inmodern.net]” (occasional table below, right) collections. It’s all very clean, simple-looking design, made with earth-friendly materials, waste-reducing, pollution-conscious manufacturing and built to last beyond the next trend. We don’ recommend going out and buying all of this furniture (or all the designs from previous spotlights, for that matter), but it’s still good to know that there are better ways of doing things out there, and InModern gets it right, from start to finish.