Hasta La Ideas

New York-based designer Eny Lee Parker has joined Dezeen Awards 2023 as a judge. Here, she selects five projects that best reflect her work.

Parker specialises in objects, furniture, and lighting. The São Paulo native of Korean descent describes her work as “contemporary objects that bring awareness to our presence”.

“I draw inspiration from traditional craft techniques. I emphasise the slowness, intention, and respect for natural resources in my work,” Parker told Dezeen.

“I also find it important to share my process with my clients and the audience, as I believe this helps us connect with the work and our studio,” she continued.

“Ultimately, my core ethos is to create meaningful and lasting pieces that bring joy, comfort, and a deeper connection to our environment into people’s lives.”

Parker among Dezeen Awards 2023 judges

Dezeen Awards 2023, in partnership with Bentley Motors, is open for entries. On Tuesday we announced more Dezeen Awards judges, including Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay of Raw Edges, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg of Yabu Pushelberg, designer Lani Adeoye, Jane Abernethy of Humanscale and architectural designer Sumele Adelana.

Submit your project before the entry deadline on Thursday 1 June. Click here for more information.

Read on to find Parker’s views on the five projects that best represent her work:

Oo Lamp, 2020

“The Oo Lamp, which I unveiled at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in 2018, has become the signature piece of our studio. This table lamp features extending arms that hold two sources of light, which at the time seemed unusual.

“Since its debut, the Oo Lamp has received widespread recognition and has also been selected for use in a number of exciting projects, helping to fuel the growth of our studio!”

Twist Column Light, 2021

“The Twist Column Light, which we created for Objective Gallery and debuted at Design Miami in 2021, is one of my personal favourites.

“I envisioned an architectural light that would make a bold statement in any space, and my team did an incredible job bringing that vision to life.

“The light is made up of three parts that interlock, with a simple yet impactful shape that commands attention.”

Sexy for Objective Gallery, 2022

“In 2022, I curated a show called ‘Sexy’ for Objective Gallery’s New York location.

“While I didn’t have any pieces featured in the exhibition, it was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the work of some incredibly talented artists and bring people together in a playful and enjoyable way.

“I’m proud of the sense of community we’ve built around our studio and this show was a perfect example of that.”

Cloud9 Chair, 2019

“The cloud-inspired furniture series that I’ve been working on since 2021 has been a really exciting and rewarding project.

“It all started with the Cloud 9 chair, which I made for a show by [creative practice] Playlab, INC in Los Angeles. This chair was a combination of wood, installation foam, fibreglass, and plaster.

“From there, I’ve created an upholstered armchair version that debuted in Milan for design week in 2022, curated by Daniel Arsham and StockX.

“We recently made cloud stools for a group show with Hypebeast, curated by Hypeart’s managing editor Keith Estiler.

“Currently, I’m working on a daybed version for NeoCon, as part of a show with Haworth, led by Patricia Urquiola.”

Collection with Lulu and Georgia, 2023

“I recently launched a 22-piece collection with Lulu and Georgia. It was a two-year labour of love, and I’m incredibly proud of the result.

“One of my main goals for this collection was to make it accessible and affordable, with a democratic price point that would allow more people to enjoy my designs.

“The collection was created with the idea of hosting gatherings and includes everything from a comfy sectional to dinner plates and glasses, a bar cart and dining chairs.

“Each piece is designed to enhance the experience of community and entertainment. I’m excited to see how people use them in their own homes!”

Dezeen Awards 2023

Dezeen Awards celebrates the world’s best architecture, interiors and design. Now in its sixth year, it has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent.

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Italian homeware brand Alessi has made a jump into the world of furniture, launching the frying-pan-inspired Poêle Collection designed by Philippe Starck.

Unveiled in Alessi’s Milan design week exhibition, Ars Metallica, the Poêle Collection includes a chair, a high stool, a low stool and a coat stand.

Alessi president Alberto Alessi said the launch could mark a new direction for the brand, which is best known for kitchen products such as espresso makers and cutlery.

“It has always been a dream of mine to enter the world of furniture significantly,” said Alberto Alessi, who has run the company since 1970.

“Now, with the Poêle Collection and Philippe Starck, we are doing a serious trial,” he said.

French designer Starck is famously behind one of Alessi’s most iconic products, the controversial Juicy Salif lemon squeezer, released in the 1990s.

Alessi said that the pair had been planning a furniture collaboration since the early 2000s.

“I have been trying to make a chair with Philippe Starck for around 20 years now and, finally, we did it,” he said.

Across its 103-year history, Alessi has only occasionally experimented with furniture. Past launches include the David Chipperfield-designed Piana folding chair in 2011 and the Blow Up side tables designed by the Campana brothers in 2006.

The Poêle Collection treads new ground by incorporating the same manufacturing processes that Alessi uses to make its stainless-steel cookware.

This cold-press metal technology has been used in the manufacturing of Alessi products since the 1950s.

The centrepiece of the collection is the Poêle Chair, which features a gently curved stainless-steel seat with a mirror-polished finish. This sits over a brown-dyed beech wood frame.

“I asked [Starck] if it was possible to design a chair that is manufactured like a frying pan is made, using the Alessi cold-press metal high-technology,” said Alessi.

“As is always the case with Starck, it started with a subversion.”

According to Starck, the design was initially treated as a joke.

“The Poêle Chair started as a serious joke, with a sketch of a pan with legs and the great idea of adapting an existing high-technology to different purposes,” Starck said.

“The seat and back inspired by a frying pan, legs as handles, the Poêle Chair elegantly incarnates the most beautiful symptoms of human intelligence: humour and technology. Very much like my relationship to Alberto and Alessi.”

Alessi Ars Metallica was on show at Palazzo Borromeo d’Adda in Milan from 18 to 23 April 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.

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In the latest Design Dreams video produced by Dezeen for Moooi, Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc describes how her Knitty Chair takes inspiration from huge mooring ropes for ships.

The Knitty Chair is an armchair with a chunky basket-weave design resembling a knotted rope.

The chair is upholstered in a knitted fabric available in 15 colours that features a quilted diamond pattern.

“It is really comfy, generous and of course hopefully also very iconic,” said Zupanc in an exclusive video interview with Dezeen.

“It was inspired by these very big ropes with which very big ships are tied to the ports,” she continued.

“It is trying to change the perspective on things, playing with the scale that we are used to see in our everyday lives.”

According to Zupanc, the industrial settings where such ropes are found stoke her imagination.

“I really like forgotten parts of any city, suburban industrial zones that are usually a little bit melancholic,” she explained. “I love this kind of sadness that you can find in them, and they are full of details.”

Zupanc’s first design for Moooi was the pink Lolita table lamp.

“When we introduced it, it was in a pink colour, which in 2008 was sort of a daring gesture,” she said.

The Lolita lamp was followed by the Golden Chair, a school chair with a retro design upholstered in gold synthetic leather.

“It was really significant for me as an emerging designer,” stated Zupanc.

The Slovenian designer told Dezeen how Moooi champions emerging designers and allows them to realise products without compromising their vision.

“Moooi was one of the few companies that had the courage to invite young, unknown designers to show their work,” she said.

“Big thanks goes to the product development of Moooi. They’re always willing to go a little bit further to find the solutions and really try to do something great”

This video was filmed as part of an ongoing collaboration between Dezeen and Moooi called Design Dreams, which explores how successful designers turned their dreams into reality.

Other videos in the series include designer Andrés Reisinger explaining how his viral Hortensia chair design was brought to life and Rick Tegelaar explaining how the Meshmatics Chandelier he developed at university became one of Moooi’s products.

Partnership content

This video was produced by Dezeen for Moooi as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen’s partnership content here.

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London practice Of Architecture has used a fuss-free colour and material palette to create this understated home for a young couple in the town of Newquay in Cornwall.

House by the Sea belongs to an artist and a surfer, who told Of Architecture that they wanted a home without extravagant finishes, instead preferring a living space that appears “simple, robust and utilitarian”.

Though the brief was relatively straightforward, erecting the home proved tricky for the practice.

“The house is located by the cliff side of Pentire peninsula and has a very steep driveway, so transporting material was a big challenge for everyone on site,” the Of Architecture co-founder James Mak told Dezeen.

“We had to work with materials that could be carried by a small vehicle or by hand.”

Once the framework was in place, the house was finished with a “monolithic and modest” lime plaster facade.

Key rooms were dispersed across the home’s open-plan first floor, where walls are almost exclusively painted an off-white shade.

In one corner is the kitchen, which features black melamine plywood cabinetry and a large breakfast island topped with stainless steel.

Overhead hangs a couple of industrial-style pendant lamps.

Adjacently lies a sitting area that directly overlooks Newquay’s picturesque Pentire Steps beach.

Fronted by expansive sliding windows, the space is dressed with a classic Eames lounge chair and an L-shaped sofa upholstered in beige marl fabric.

Another sitting area lies towards the rear of the first floor, facing a concrete blockwork wall.

Backed against the wall is a wood burner with a tall slender flue that stretches up to meet the four-metre-high ceiling.

Prefabricated plywood steps lead up to a mezzanine level tucked beneath the home’s sloping roof, which is held up by steel beams.

Intended to serve as a cosy retreat, the space is illuminated by a single skylight while artworks are casually leaned up against its walls and books are showcased on a wrap-around gridded shelf.

The minimalist aesthetic of the first floor then carries over onto the home’s ground floor, which accommodates two guest bedrooms – complete with their own en suites – a cloakroom and a utility room.

A number of other architecturally striking homes can be found along the British coast.

Examples include RX Architects’ Seabreeze in East Sussex, which is coated in smooth pink concrete, and Mole Architects’ Marsh Hill House in Suffolk, which is shaped like a seagull’s wing.

The photography is by Lorenzo Zandri.

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Industrial Designer Jinsop Lee theorizes that the best way to make a product more iconic and memorable is to design it for all 5 senses. The more multisensorial you make a product’s experience, the more your mind remembers it. It feels like the MetMo Pocket Driver was built on those principles. Aside from being visually attractive and having a tactile experience, the EDC includes the satisfying effect of a rhythmic ratcheting sound too, making it just the most satisfying screwdriver you’ll ever use.

Designers: Sean Sykes and James Whitfield

Click Here to Buy Now: $110 $125 (10% off). Hurry, only 282/800 left! Raised over $270,000.

Satisfying Drive – Instead of hiding the fun stuff away, they left it exposed so you can see that satisfying motion.

The MetMo Pocket Driver blurs the lines between form and function, giving you a screwdriver that both looks and performs better than any tool you’ve got in your toolbox. With the kind of rotating barrels and clicking pins that you’d find in a finely engineered workshop instrument or even a bolt-action pen, the MetMo Pocket Driver was designed to turn the age-old screwdriver into an intriguingly powerful high-torque tool that’s easy to carry and even easier to use.

Powered by a ratchet mechanism, the screwdriver lets you tighten screws/bolts with a single, continuous, rotating movement. Working similarly to the mechanism found in a bicycle wheel, the screwdriver tightens the screw when twisted in one direction, and creates that familiar clicking sound as you rotate your hand in the opposite direction to twist again. The result is effortless as it’s satisfying. The MetMo Pocket Driver delivers exceptionally high torque, letting you tighten or loosen annoyingly tough screws, and even easily drill holes into wood with a simple twist of your wrist.

Quick Release Handle – The handle pops into place in seconds giving you all the advantages of a bigger tool whilst taking up less space.

A Whole New Way to Hold a Driver – Use in-line as a micro driver, off-line to get into a tight space, use in T-mode to get some real power behind it.

Annoyingly small allen keys will be a thing of the past!

The driver lets you attach any 1/4″ hex bit to its magnetized chuck, while a fold-out handle lets you work the tool with an impressive amount of dexterity. The pivoted handle design encourages you to use a gripping style that suits your requirements. Open the handle out into a T-shaped grip for maximum torque, or use the handle while it’s closed in ‘inline mode’ for screws that are tucked away in tough-to-reach areas. The ratchet mechanism can easily be reversed to let you use the Pocket Driver clockwise and even counter-clockwise, allowing you to tighten or loosen screws and bolts with equal ease, and with that satisfying clicking sound that in itself becomes an indication of progress.

MetMo Driver on the left and MetMo Pocket Driver on the right.

The format of the MetMo Pocket Driver isn’t entirely new. It bases itself on the design of the ‘Ratchet Screwdriver’ an invention patented by Conrad Baumann back in 1949, but more recently, is a smaller, more pocket-friendly version of its elder sibling – the MetMo Driver. “A lot of backers loved the Driver but wanted something smaller,” mentioned the folks at MetMo Cube, who’ve carved a niche for reinventing what workshop tools and EDC devices look like.

Two in the Chamber – Pocket Driver has inline storage for two emergency bits to get you out of a bind.

Grab Hold of Your Bits – A powerful neodymium magnetic bit holder grabs bits firmly, so you don’t end up leaving them stuck in what you’re working on.

Use with Any Drive Bit – compatible with all standard removable Hex drive bits, so you can use it with 1000’s of modern fixtures, including your favourite brands from all over the world.

In its smaller avatar, the MetMo Pocket Driver scales down the popular tool, but retains its all-metal build. The smaller Pocket Driver comes made from a combination of heat-treated tool-grade steel and anodized aluminum, with a magnetized chuck that lets you securely mount Hex bits onto the driver, and a brass bolt that pendulates up and down as you rotate the driver. Flip it 180° and there’s even space to store two Hex bits inside the Pocket Driver’s hollow grip, so you’re never caught unprepared.

With its compact size, measuring just 4 inches in length, the MetMo Pocket Driver is perfect for indoor and outdoor tinkerers. Whether you’re a designer looking to build things, an engineer looking to repair things, or just someone who wants a versatile, portable tool to repair everything from cycles to circuit-boards, the Pocket Driver makes for a compelling pick. It works flawlessly thanks to its solid construction, and offers more torque than most motorized screwdrivers (17Nm), while simply delighting with its bolt-action-style mechanism that literally and metaphorically clicks! The ratchet mechanism and fold-out handle double as a fidget-toy of sorts too, allowing the MetMo Pocket Driver to be perfect for work, play, and everything in between. The MetMo Pocket Driver comes in steel and anodized black finishes, and a rugged, all-metal design that’s robust enough to last a lifetime.

Click Here to Buy Now: $110 $125 (10% off). Hurry, only 282/800 left!

The post This compact hand-cranked screwdriver is the perfectly versatile EDC with a touch of ASMR action first appeared on Yanko Design.