MetaFilter posts tagged with ikea

Robot sold separately

twoleftfeet — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:06:24 -0800

Robots can now assemble IKEA furniture better than you can.

FLAMMA

ShooBoo — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 18:42:25 -0800

For the next apocalypse, you can buy all of your fire starting supplies at IKEA.

Looking for Meatballs?

davebush — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 19:40:38 -0800

Mysterious monkey in posh miniature winter coat found alone at Toronto Ikea And, of course, now he's tweeting.

The best you can do is learn to survive.

nosila — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 05:49:06 -0800

IKEA is already widening their domain, but for some of us, it's still a challenge to deal with the staid institution of the IKEA store. Never fear! IKEA WALKTHROUGH v2.3.1 ============================================================= IKEA is a fully immersive, 3D environmental adventure that allows you to role-play the character of someone who gives a shit about home furnishings. In traversing IKEA, you will experience a meticulously detailed alternate reality filled with garish colors, clear-lacquered birch veneer, and a host of NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS (NPCs) with the glazed looks of the recently anesthetized. ============================================================= OBJECTIVE ============================================================= Your goal is to successfully traverse the five awesome worlds of IKEA before your patience runs out. On your first few tries this may seem like an impossible task, but with practice (and this IKEA Walkthrough!) you will soon be able to muster the sense of numb resignation necessary for victory.

Some Assembly Required

ZeusHumms — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:17:08 -0800

IKEA US' first official assembly video (SLYT)

"Something here isn't right."

Fizz — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:46:50 -0800

Page 23. [SYLT] Apparently, life isn't as perfect as you would assume for the immaculate models living inside the IKEA catalog. With this amusing short, Jeroen Houben, Tim Arts and Stefan van den Boogaard show us the real-life drama that goes on beyond what we can see from the outside. The four minute short won the juryprize and audience award at the 48 Hour Film Project in Utrecht (Netherlands). [Via: Adverblog]

Affordable Furniture For Your Five-Dimensional Home

oneswellfoop — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:09:07 -0800

M.C. Escher Meets IKEA for some impossible items you WISH you could buy. Of course, this isn't a totally new idea, in fact, even an IKEA fansite has played with the concept. (Dedicated to anyone who ever suspected the assembly instructions were written in an alternate reality) But sometimes, even without intending, a do-it-yourselfer can achieve something pretty close. And now, IKEA itself has embraced the Escher influence in one ad. IDEA by Escher is a stylistic departure, but a good example of the humor of the usually-single-panel "Rock Paper Cynic" webcomic. Here are a few other recent examples. YES!

Looking for love, with pictographic assembly instructions.

liketitanic — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:18:09 -0800

Shanghai singles are using IKEA to find love. Yes, IKEA has become a semi-public social space in Beijing and elsewhere in China (previously), but now one Shanghai IKEA is twice-weekly "taken over by a swarm of locals between the ages of 45 and 65 who come to seek out new love over free cups of coffee — a perk offered to holders of the Ikea Family membership card — and boxed lunches brought from home."

You will need one bolt of lightening...

londonmark — Tue, 10 May 2011 06:27:00 -0800

Sci-fi IKEA manuals (via Design Milk).

"It's ironic that Ikea looks on the U.S. and Danville the way that most people in the U.S. look at Mexico."

hippybear — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 08:27:56 -0800

Ikea's U.S. factory churns out unhappy workers. A union-organizing battle hangs over the Ikea plant in Virginia. Workers complain of eliminated raises, a frenzied pace, mandatory overtime and racial discrimination.

Decluttering with IKEA

harriet vane — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 03:09:24 -0800

"It is no mean achievement that IKEA has continued to embody in the public mind the modernist ideals of simplicity and minimalism yet all the while its total product range has been growing – to the point where, by 2010, it comprised some 12,000 items." Decluttering with IKEA asks: What are we looking for as we wander through IKEA? With reference to former IKEA director Johan Stenebo’s tell-all book about the international store, Alan Penn’s lecture on urban architecture Who Enjoys Shopping with IKEA? [no transcript, skip to 24:20 for the Ikea-specific section], and the ad with the cats [previously], Richard Johnston ponders why so many people tolerate the pilgrimage through the labyrinth [previously] of an IKEA store.

Ikea and capitalism

Namlit — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 16:07:22 -0800

If you buy a Billy, a wee bunch of crowns goes directly into the pocket of their boss which (that is, the metaphorical pocket) resides in Liechtenstein and pays no taxes. Single link to the news of the day in Swedish. [The TV programme "uppdrag granskning," love-hated revelation-platform of the Swedish TV, cooperated this time with a bunch of newspapers to get the capitalist truth about this family company to the people. Background in Swedish here]

Hembakat är Bäst

phunniemee — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:28:10 -0800

Going to Ikea anytime soon? Stop by the kitchen section pick up their new baking cookbook, Homemade is Best, for free! (Limited time offer, only available in Sweden.) Try a game of guess-the-recipe and look at all the pretty pictures. [via]

Cats sold seperately.

Fizz — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 15:02:37 -0800

Ikea ads switch from guerrillas to cats. Ikeafilter “Herding Cats” is an experiment by IKEA UK where they released 100 cats inside their Wembley store at night. The finished commercial.

Do good, buy cheap.

eenagy — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:09:44 -0800

If only IKEA furniture could be assembled this quickly. The Swedish furniture chain's catalog has surpassed the Bible as the most published print in the world (previously), but did you know that all of your furniture purchases are actually charitable? You see, a young entrepreneur named Ingvar Kamprad registered a firm, Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, and began selling low cost furniture, back in 1943. According to Forbes, he is now the world's fourth richest person. Kamprad sold his ownership in 1982 to a Dutch charity, which is now worth an estimated (tax exempt!) $36 billion. This complicated corporate structure, which has successfully protected the owners of IKEA's various private companies, has allowed IKEA to pay relatively nothing in taxes. Even more troubling, it seems that this 'Foundation' is not exactly charitable. No word on whether or not your purchases are tax deductible. P.S. - you can request your 2011 catalog now!

So, now it goes IKEA > Beatles > Jesus?

Miko — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 06:22:01 -0800

"These are sample layouts from a fullsize reproduction of the entire 2007 IKEA catalogue, leaving only color and structure. With an estimated 175 million copies distributed in 2006, the IKEA catalogue is thought to have surpassed the Bible as the most published print-work in the world." Lots more interesting work by artist Jason Salavon.

Bangers and Beans and Toast, Oh My!

Secret Life of Gravy — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 06:41:41 -0800

The Full English: "[...]a mad, bad, salt-soaked road trip from culinary heaven to hell and back"

Kafka's castle is collapsing

31d1 — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:22:26 -0800

The saying "We have been put on Earth to make Kafka come true" has been well known since Soviet times.

Haikea, Poetry for the Furniture of Melancholy

punkbitch — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:31:16 -0800

Haiku + IKEA

Ikea Heights

cashman — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:50:28 -0800

Ikea Heights is an online video series (secretly shot inside the Burbank Ikea Store). Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4. Via.

Design Within Reach?

geoff. — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:36:23 -0800

Beijing loves IKEA - but not for shopping. "Every weekend, thousands of looky-loos pour into the massive showroom to use the displays. Some hop into bed, slide under the covers and sneak a nap; others bring cameras and pose with the decor. Families while away the afternoon in the store for no other reason than to enjoy the air conditioning."

Ikea de-Futurafies

joeclark — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:26:20 -0800

Ikea de-Futurafies. You may have noticed something at once familiar and unfamiliar about the 2009 Ikea catalogue: The company switched from a custom variant of Futura to the font you stare at all day in your browser, Verdana. And type nerds are losing their shit! Verdana is now being used company-wide – even for double-page newspaper ads and illegal urban graffiti campaigns. “They want to be able to give the same visual impression both in print and the Web,” says a report.

Milkcrates are also okay

The Whelk — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 21:41:14 -0800

20 Brilliant Bookcases via ( mightygodking )

BÅB, The Ikea Baby

Pants! — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:01:23 -0800

BÅB, The Ikea Baby (pdf) [via mefi projects]

Life at Ikea, via Flickr

mrbula — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:49:38 -0800

Life at Ikea: Pretty much like life every where else.