Design : Buzz

Ever wondered whether Christian Siriano's home is as fierce as his fashion designs?

The New York Times showcased Siriano's Chelsea apartment, which he shares with his partner and two dogs. The Maryland native won Season 4 of "Project Runway" and is now a fashion designer to A-list stars.

"Here, treasures from flea markets and yard sales, like a barn-door sign advertising fresh tomatoes, a gift from their client and close friend Kristen Johnston," the New York Times writes of Siriano's apartment.

"Atop chests, credenzas and a painter’s scaffold that has been cleverly repurposed as a back-of-sofa console table are framed photos, candelabra, books, busts, decanters — and bird cages."

Here's a link to the slideshow. 

Those trendy lower Manhattanites are about to get a dose of Baltimore-style athletic wear.

Under Armour, which has been expanding its retail presence, has signed a lease in Soho, the New York Post reports. The 7,000-square-foot store, to open next year, is its first in New York. The company opened its first non-outlet retail store in Baltimore's Harbor East. It also recently opened a store in Shanghai and is opening a retail outlet in Tysons Corner, Va.

The company also recently opened a visitor center in Tide Point. 

Business Insider has featured a list of the 15 Best Startups to Work For in America and two Baltimore companies made the list: Parking Panda and Groove Commerce. 

Creative digital agency Groove offers 100 percent benefits and free Friday lunches, Business Insider writes. The company also recently moved into a 10,000-square-foot office in the Fallsway Spring building near Little Italy. 

Parking Panda hosts retreats at the beach and outings in restaurants. 

Office design company Turnstone partnered with University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Professor Peter Cappelli to come up with the list. Turnstone asked for nominations and then judges selected the 15 best based on four criteria: Business goals and impact, leadership, the culture and office space, and success potential, a measure of the business's ability to grow and how that growth could contribute positively to the community.

See the whole list here. 

Good news for thrillseekers. Baltimore company Premier Rides has been recognized for its Revenge of the Mummy roller coaster at Universal Studios in Orlando. 

It received the 2013 Golden Ticket Award for Best Indoor Roller Coaster from Amusement Today, an industry publication. It beat out Disneyland's Space Mountain and a coaster called Winjas in Germany's Phantasialand.

Located in downtown Baltimore, Premier Rides has designed roller coasters for Six Flags America, Paramount's Kings Island and the now-shuttered Sahara Hotel and Casino. It also designed the Blacklot Stunt Coaster, based on the movie "The Italian Job." 

Baltimore sportswear maker Under Armour has unveiled a new approach to making running shoes – shoes that fit like bras.

According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the shoes will be called Speedform and will hit the market at $120. The look is inspired by spacesuit design and their production will take place in a bra factory. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the Speedform shoes are a part of Under Armour’s campaign to triple its revenue in its footwear division in the next two years. Last year, footwear sales accounted for 13 percent of the company’s revenue.

Under Armour Senior Creative Director Dave Dombrow told investors that no shoe has ever fit so well, Bloomberg Businessweek writes.

Read the full story here.

Baltimore sportswear maker Under Armour has inked a licensing deal with Warner Bros. Consumer Products to produce a line of their famed athletic gear that features DC Superheroes such as Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, Variety writes.

The sportswear is available now on UA.com and sporting goods retailers and will be sold through the fall, says Variety.

This isn’t the first time the two companies have collaborated, as Under Armour provided the uniforms for the Gotham Rogues in the final film of the “Dark Knight” trilogy. After a well-received spring debut for an early version of a “Man of Steel” shirt, the companies decided to unveil a more expansive line, Variety writes. 

Read the entire story here. 

On the heels of its reopening of an expanded contemporary wing, the Baltimore Museum of Art is plotting a series of new renovations to finish in the fall of 2014, when the museum celebrates its 100th birthday.

The BMA's upcoming renovations include a re-opening of the museum's original entrance, the Dorothy McIlvain Scott American Wing and the East Wing entrance and lobby, Art Daily writes. Additional renovations that will wrap up spring 2015 include a new Asian and African art collections and  a creative learning center that will help children better relate to the art around them.

Read more about the BMA renovations here.

Forbes recently interviewed the owner of a company that redesigned WellDoc's mobile app. Based in Baltimore, WellDoc has created the first FDA-approved app to manage diabetes.

In an article titled "6 Things You Should Do When Designing for Mobile," Forbes chats with Moment Design Inc. Principal John Payne about redesigning the WellDoc app so it can be commercialized.

Holding a design charette, or a collaborative approach to design, and gathering insights about the user experience, were among Payne's recommendations. Read the entire story here. 

Spring is when glorious private homes and gardens open up to the public, with the proceeds often going to a good cause. 

The New York Times listed a number of these house-and-garden tours from New York to San Francisco, including several in Maryland.

Sherwood Gardens in Guilford, "where an astonishing 80,000 tulips grow every spring," and a 1932 stucco home in Timonium that once belonged to quarterback Johnny Unitas are among the local sights.

Read the entire story here. 

Before Under Armour debuted its Brand House Feb. 16, CEO Kevin Plank and other executives gave New York media a preview of the 8,000-square-foot shop and what's in store for the Baltimore sportswear company. 

"The first item Plank introduced wasn’t a product after all, but a place where Under Armour will display its goods," Forbes writes about the Harbor East store.

Execs also talked about "Infrared, part of Under Armour’s innovative ColdGear line," new running shoes the company will unveil this summer, and a digital training monitor, Forbes says.

"There must be, among rival companies like Columbia and even Nike, to a degree, a bit of jealousy regarding Under Armour and its founder," writes Forbes of the company that pulled in $1.2 billion in sales last year. 

National trade magazine Advertising Age spent a day with students who have enrolled in a joint degree offered by the Maryland Institute College of Art and the Carey School of Business at Johns Hopkins University.

"Over five weeks, a course at the Maryland Institute College of Art asks students to figure out ways to improve business and user experiences at two storied institutions: the post office and the gas station," Ad Age writes about the students participating in the Design Leadership MBA. 

"As a June article in The Wall Street Journal noted, schools are increasingly combining design thinking (which focuses on user experience through anthropological research) with more traditional business programs," Ad Age says. 

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Johns Hopkins University says it received $6 million from the National Science Foundation to improve wind farm design, writes the Associated Press in a story carried in BloombergBusinessweek. 

"The researchers will study how to match the varying output of wind farms with power grids that provide a constant flow of electricity to customers," BloombergBusinessweek writes. "Johns Hopkins says researchers from Texas Tech, Smith College and the University of Puerto Rico along with European researchers from Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain will also participate in the studies."

You can read the rest of the story here. 

You might recall that Travel + Leisure recently named Baltimore the 3rd worst dressed city. 

Another travel magazine says not so, and features a rather dapper Baltimore dandy dressed in duds from area retailers. GO: AirTran Inflight Magazine enlisted "fashion-savvy stylist" Ella Pritsker, director of the Maryland Center of Fashion Design; "talented designer" Christopher Schafer and "hip photographer" Sean Scheidt to create the fashionable look for its September issue. 

"We'll be one of America's best dressed cities in no time," Pritsker tells the magazine. 

The Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore has one of the top 12 “head-turning” infinity pools, according to Conde Nast Traveler. From the complimentary sunscreen, private cabanas and sounds from the nearby Pier 6 Pavilion summer concerts, swimming is only one of the reasons guests should check out the pool, says the magazine.
 
Some of the other hotel pools on the list are located in Tanzania, Africa, Toronto, Turks & Caicos and Bali, Indonesia. 

Since opening late last year, the Four Seasons Baltimore has generated plenty of buzz for its chic design and celebrity-chef-owned restaurant. 

We already told you that the hotel's fancy macarons were featured in the Wall Street Journal. 

Now, Conde Nast Traveler has put it on its Hotel List 2012, which lists 121 new standout hotel properties. 

"You’ll see Baltimore’s gritty side as you drive into town, signs of moneyed Old Maryland as you near the water," the magazine says. 

You can read the rest of the description here.