Hasta La Ideas

Milan 2013: Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc will present folding lamps powered by little wind-up keys at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Milan next week.

Zupanc designed the Runaway lamp as limited-edition torch to give modern travellers off-grid illumination in an emergency.

“This diminutive object breaks the rules of contemporary traveling, bringing back the romance of isolation,” says Zupanc. “In its basic function, a portable lamp now becomes an enchanting companion but also a real saviour in the event of an electricity shortage.”

Winding the brass key powers a dynamo hidden inside the simple, vacuum-formed plastic shade to light recessed LEDs.

A shallow indent in the shade and a telescopic stand allow the table lamp to fold into a flashlight or pendant. In its torch-state, the circular base becomes a metallic trim to the plastic shade. The glossy shade will be available in a choice of black or white.

The project will be on show at Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Via Matteo Bandello 14/16 from 9 to 14 April.

Last year Zupanc presented a set of bubble-like outdoor furniture and lamps called Summertime at the same venue. See all our stories about work by Nika Zupanc.

Other lamps launching in Milan next week include pendant lamps by Resident and some angular lamps that form part of Tom Dixon’s Rough and Smooth collection. See all our previews of design at Milan 2013.

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Nika Zupanc appeared first on Dezeen.

Stockholm 2013: Swedish designers Claesson Koivisto Rune, Monica Förster and Folkform have collaborated with 400-year-old fine metals company Skultuna to produce this collection of brass objects.

For Stockholm Design Week, Skultuna’s brassworks teamed up with Stockholm studio Claesson Koivisto Rune to produce Face, three coat hooks made of solid brass (above and below).

Stockholm-based designer Monica Förster came up with a series of spun brass flower pots in three sizes (top), while design duo Folkform created a bookend based on geometric shapes (bottom).

Skultuna was founded in the Swedish town of the same name in 1607, and remains under royal warrant to produce fine metal objects such as chandeliers, candlesticks and cufflinks. In 2011, Venetian designer Luca Nichetto presented a series of brass bowls for the brand.

Other products launching in Stockholm this week include a collection of porcelain and wood pendant lamps and a chair that can be dressed up in an assortment of garments – see more products from Stockholm Design Week 2013.

See all coat hooks »
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Here’s some more information from Skultuna:

Face wall hangers by Claesson Koivisto Rune

Face is a series of three wall hangers designed by Claesson Koivisto Rune for Skultuna. The wall hangers are cast in solid brass and highly polished to create an almost mirror like surface. The wall hangers are in the last stages of development and will be released during the spring of 2013. Skultuna is one of the oldest companies in the world, founded in the year 1607 as a brass foundry by King Karl IX.

Flower Pots by Monica Förster

Some time ago the Swedish design icon Monica Förster met up with Viktor Blomqvist, managing director of Skultuna and discusses a possible design cooperation. Skultuna is one of the oldest companies in the world, founded in the year 1607 as a brass foundry by King Karl IX. Staying true to the historic production methods of Skultuna, Monica Förster and her design studio came up with a series of three Flower Pots made in the very old method of metal spinning. Metal spinning is a production method that has been in constant use during the last centuries in Skultuna and makes it possible to make large round three dimensional objects out of sheet metal. The Flower Pots resemble classical pots made of terracotta with a small inclination in the lower part. The Flower Pots comes in three sizes and are made of highly polished brass plate.

Bookend by Folkform

The Bookend is the latest product from the red hot Swedish designer duo called Folkform. With its geometrical sharp shapes and the highly polished surface, the Bookend is a striking composition. The Bookend is in the last stage of development and will be released during the spring of 2013. Folkform consists of designers Anna Holmquist and Chandra Ahlsell that began their partnership in 2005. The Stockholm-based studio is already represented in the Swedish National Art collection and the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo. Folkform has previously designed the popular candlestick Collage for Skultuna.

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Skultuna appeared first on Dezeen.

Tell off the jerks around you with a cheeky little tool from Good Worth & Co.

Putting the proper patina into the age-old ritual of flipping the bird, the Best Wishes Key is a solid brass key for doing just that. The clever, ironically named little trinket comes from the creative minds at Good Worth & Co. More than just a keepsake to clutter your…

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Beautifully tough jewelry by a Brooklyn-based design duo

Between the walls of an old nunnery in downtown Brooklyn work two designers who bonded over a shared interest in exploring the insides of things. Katie deGuzman and Michael Miller bring their line K/LLER Collection to live by tearing apart found materials and objects and deconstructing them to reveal the skeletal structure as a standalone aesthetic before reinterpreting it in their studio.

Their latest collection builds on that broken-down aesthetic to combine sturdy brass casting with delicate shapes like porcupine quills and petals, for a look that is at once androgynous yet surprisingly feminine.

The duo’s necklaces, earrings, bracelets and rings are infused with a tangible spirit of renewal that deGuzman and Miller want people to feel when they wear their pieces. After meeting at Parsons in 2000, they started K/LLER in 2010 to mark their own artistic reinvention, saying, “We both had just left unhappy jobs and wanted to start fresh. We knew that we had similar aesthetics and work ethics, and got excited with the idea of working together.” Hard work and trial-and-error culminated in the collection that now appears in countless editorials, as well as the models at Helmut Lang and the characters on the HBO series True Blood.

K/LLER’s latest line seamlessly combines sharp edges with fanciful, hand-engraved patterns. The strong character of the collection is clearly designed for those with a penchant for layering statement pieces over more subtle amulets for a look that is entirely unique.

When asked about their most recent collection, the pair says that they “experimented with burnouts of deerskin lace cast into metal, and got some stunning results. The new designs play with the contrast between soft and hard, round and angular, telling the story of the original objects we deconstructed without literally defining them.”

DeGuzman and Miller’s hammered-brass bangles and spiky rings emit an androgynous industrial vibe that reflects their desire to see K/LLER’s spirit of reinvention permeate as many scenes, styles and aesthetics as possible.

Check out K/LLER Collection’s new website to shop the line and learn more.

Collection images by Graham Hiemstra

Venetian designer Luca Nichetto will present this series of brass bowls for Swedish brand Skultuna at Stockholm Furniture Fair next week.

Called Timeline, the dishes are scored with grooves that will darken over time as the brass oxidises but isn’t cleaned away from the depressions.

Stockholm Furniture Fair takes place 8-12 February.

More about Luca Nichetto on Dezeen »

The information below is from Nichetto:

Timeline embodies the articulation of time. In the Timeline collection of brass bowls, the very passage of time itself becomes a decorative element: a pattern of circles incised in the surface of the objects undergoes an increasing process of oxidation with each passing day, thereby generating a contrast of light and dark.

The idea behind these small multi-use bowls came from Luca Nichetto’s childhood in Venice. When he has little, he would watch his grandmother polish the traditional brass door knockers on her front door. After being cleaned, these objects, which took a variety of forms and were typical of Venetian homes, always remained darker in the grooves and incised areas where the cleaner’s hand or brush could not remove the oxidation.

Design: Luca Nichetto
Client: Skultuna
Exhibition: Stockholm Furniture Fair (Stand AG:34B);
Designgalleriet (Odengatan 21), Stockholm

See also:

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Paper dishes by Philippe Malouin	Plastic dishes by Studio Sjoerd Jonkers	Bread dishes by Studio Formafantasma