Product news: architect David Adjaye has unveiled his first furniture collection, designed for American retailer Knoll, which includes two cantilevered side chairs and a limited edition coffee table.
“This project has been an exhilarating and collaborative experience – an unexpected balancing act between the design and engineering processes,” said Adjaye. “My original idea of what this furniture should be was continuously refined and transformed throughout.”
The Washington Collection, which also includes a club chair, ottoman and side table, will be launched by Knoll in October.
The Washington Corona coffee table is made from four cast bronze panels referencing the bronze lattice that wraps around the museum in Washington and will be available in a limited edition of 75 pieces, marking Knoll’s 75th anniversary.
The Washington Skeleton and Washington Skin chairs balance on a cantilevered stand and are suitable for outdoor use.
The lattice design of the Skeleton chair is constructed from die-cast aluminium, while the Skin version is made from injection-moulded nylon.
The Washington Collection for Knoll, David Adjaye’s first collection of furniture, transforms his architectural and sculptural vision into accessible objects for the home and office. The collection consists of two cantilevered side chairs, a club chair, an ottoman, a side table and a monumental coffee table.
David Adjaye said, “Knoll approaches furniture as making connections between people and how they work and live their daily lives. This project has been an exhilarating and collaborative experience – an unexpected balancing act between the design and engineering processes. My original idea of what this furniture should be was continuously refined and transformed throughout.”
Commenting on Adjaye’s work, Knoll design director Benjamin Pardo said, “David is doing really innovative and important architectural projects, and what really interested us was to see that work on an entirely new scale.”
Adjaye’s limited edition cast bronze coffee table reflects this cross-over. The sculptural table with a clear glass top is constructed from four cast bronze panels, and four connecting plates. The roughhewn exterior contrasts the highly reflective, hand polished interior surface. To mark our 75th anniversary the bronze coffee table is limited to an edition of 75.
Product news: French design company Moustache will present new products including lights shaped like swirls of cream and visor-inspired wall lamps at Maison & Object in Paris this weekend (+ slideshow).
The Moto walls lamps by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez reference motorcycle helmets, with rounded iridescent shades based on visors.
Parade vase by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez
Also by Fastrez, the Parade vase comprises blown-glass balls with holes in the tops that hang from a wooden stick.
Chantilly lamp by Constance Guisset
Constance Guisset’s Chantilly lights look similar to a swirl of cream and can either be stood on spindly legs or suspended from the ceiling.
Ooga Booga, Frik Frak and Pierre coat hooks by Bertjan Pot
Wooden coat hooks that have pegs positioned like facial features on tribal masks are designed by Bertjan Pot.
Gavotte chair by François Azambourg
François Azambourg employed techniques used to build sailing dinghies when creating his wooden Quadrille and Gavotte chairs.
Mousse shelf by François Azambourg
He has also extended his collection of squidgy looking Mousse shelves, which are actually made from enamelled ceramic and designed Très Jolie, a translucent red seat with a truss-like structure.
Bold chair by Big-Game
Big-Game has added six new colours to its range of Bold chairs, each formed from two curved tubes, and made the new two-seater Bold bench in the same style.
Bold bench by Big-Game
Moustache is exhibiting in Hall 8, Stand B33 at Maison & Objet, from 6 to 10 September.
At the occasion of Maison & Objet in Paris next week French company Moustache will launch a new collection of furnitures and objects designed by regular designers François Azambourg, Inga Sempé, Big-Game, Ionna Vautrin, Benjamin Graindorge, Sébastien Cordoléani and will reveal the firsts products issued from their new collaborations with Bertjan Pot, Constance Guisset and Jean-Baptiste Fastrez.
Since its launch in April 2009, Moustache, a French publishing house in the field of contemporary articles and home furnishings, under the impetus of Stéphane Arriubergé and Massimiliano Iorio, is forging close links in a network of complicity and expert knowledge in design fields.
An active participant in the present-day writing of the history of manufactured articles, Moustache proposes a collection which explores new approaches to production and consumption. Its articles and pieces of furniture involve their users in their own contemporary history. To the market constraints linked to the ever-increasingly insistent demand for novelties and experiences on the market, Moustache prefers to build a long-term domestic world with a high cultural value.
Rooted in the history of arts and techniques,the Moustache philosophy combines design and pattern in the present: attentive and responsible production responds to his searches for new, aesthetic, function and relevant shapes. Committed, Moustache is surrounded with designers for whom it is essential that convictions and points of view be shared. François Azambourg, Big-Game, Sébastien Cordoléani, Jean-Baptiste Fastez, Benjamin Graindorge, Constance Guisset, Bertjan Pot, Ionna Vautrin and Inga Sempé make up the uniqueness of this joyful community.
The result of a well thought-out dialogue between technique, strong identity and contemporary use, each article with its disparities forms the contours of the same family.
Moustache is attached to the heritage value of the articles, evidence of a society, its developments and its uses. It offers to share its soul, its ideas and its values. The environment it reveals according to an enlightened editorial line, a catalogue of objects linking some with others according to the principles of simplicity and accessibility.
A distinctive and remarkable symbol, Moustache publishes a collection with a character which, today, is imposing its presence in the design environment.
Objects produced by Moustache have joined museum collections such as the MoMa design and architecture collection, Museum of Modern Art in New-York, the F.N.A.C, Fond National d’Art contemporain, centre national des arts plastiques, Paris, Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, the MAKK, musée des arts décoratifs of Cologne…
New products September 2013
Moto lamp by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez
Moto, design Jean-Baptiste Fastrez
The Moto wall light designed by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez revisits the aesthetic codes of motorcycle equipment vendors. Hieratic, ultra-reflective, producing numerous optical effects, when lit it diffuses slightly coloured light through its translucent visor.
The Moto wall light is available in 4 colours. It can be connected to a wall power outlet or plugged directly into a socket.
Parade vase by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez
Parade vase, design Jean-Baptiste Fastrez
The Parade vase by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez organises and articulates blown glass parts and a wooden spindle. They are fastened together by nylon industrial wing nuts.
To be suspended or placed on a piece of furniture, the Parade vase forms a bunch of spherical or oblong containers and expresses in its own right the bases of a work statement: combine industrial and craft techniques and update the outdated industrial ideal, “an object for all”, for a more adapted contemporary ideal, “an object for everyone”.
The research studies for this project were conducted at the CIRVA during the seventh edition of the Design Parade festival at Villa Noailles, Hyères (France), in 2012.
The Parade vase is available in three colours.
Ooga Booga coat hook by Bertjan Pot
Ooga Booga, Frik Frak and Pierre, design Bertjan Pot
Ooga Booga, Frik Frak and Pierre could have been the artistic creations of an archaic nonliterate society if they had not come across Bertjan Pot, who gave them a function!
Tribal arts, witchcraft and drolleries underlie this series of three masks to which Bertjan Pot simply seems to have added the traditional function of coat hanger.
Generously sized, Ooga Booga, Frik Frak and Pierre are available in solid ash, ash dyed white, yellow or black and are made in France using highly sophisticated industrial tools!
Chantilly lamp by Constance Guisset
Chantilly, design Constance Guisset
The Chantilly lamps by Constance Guisset create complex volumes based on a highly simple yet ingenious system of folds.
Delivered flat, the lampshade takes shape in the single closure movement required to assemble it.
Small, large or to be suspended, the Chantilly lamps follow the delicious movement of the icemaker’s siphon and enhance it through the use of subtle colours, fold by fold.
Each Chantilly lamp is available in three sizes and four colours, at a very attractive price.
Quadrille chair by François Azambourg
Quadrille and Gavotte, design François Azambourg
The Quadrille chair and the Gavotte armchair by François Azambourg are updated versions of his now classical tripod chair, the Petite Gigue. Like their predecessor, the Quadrille chair and the Gavotte armchair are based on the construction principle known as hard chine used for small sailing dinghies such as the Fireball. The manufacture of these amazing chairs requires both cabinet-making and shipbuilding skills.
This range composed of the Petite Gigue and Quadrille chairs and the Gavotte armchair, takes the names of three popular dances in Europe.
Each chair is available in natural or lacquered ash.
Très Jolie chair by François Azambourg
Très Jolie, design François Azambourg
The Très Jolie chair, known as Very Nice in its initial experimental version, has now been structurally transformed to become completely functional. The Très Jolie chair immediately evokes the childhood balsawood and paper scale models, even using its construction and assembly principles. Fascinating, like a complex construction whose logic escapes you, the Très Jolie chair almost resembles a folly in the architectural sense of the term. Red, pretty, light and comfortable, the Très Jolie chair by François Azambourg is also a concentration of qualities difficult to combine in a single chair.
Mousse, design François Azambourg
The Mousse family of shelves, launched in July 2011 during the Moustache exhibition and a performance/production given by François Azambourg for the Hyères Design Parade at Villa Noailles, is growing. The collection now includes a corner model and a very deep shelf.
The Mousse collection is currently available in turquoise, pale yellow and pale pink enamelled ceramic.
Bold bench by Big-Game
Bold bench, design Big-Game
The Bold bench by Big-Game could be seen as an extension or a deformation of the chair. The first sketches drawn by Big-Game for the chair represented a tube full of paste which formed in a single stroke the tube of this chair with expanded lines. Four years later, the Bold bench integrates all the structural and graphical qualities of the chair to produce a very comfortable two-seater. The removable coating is available in four colours.
Bold chair/New colours, design Big-Game
The Bold chair, added to the collections of the New York MoMA Design and Architecture department last spring, is now available in six new colours that complement the six existing colours.
Product news: Hannover designer Patrick Frey curved and folded a sheet of thin aluminium to create the seat of these chairs for outdoor accessories brand Vial.
To create the Kirk chair, Patrick Frey precisely cut a special aluminium alloy so it bent into the desired shape.
He used clamps to sculpt the seat shell over a frame formed by the tubular aluminium legs and back, then folded the edges to increase stability.
The seat curves up at both sides to meet the lower bar of each armrest and swoops right to the top of the back, leaving large gaps in the corners.
Designed for Vial to be used both outdoors and in, the chairs are stackable for easy storage and transportation.
Matte surfaces are powder coated in black, white, red, blue and green.
Product news: these lamps by Joost van Bleiswijk with stands that looks to be built from a child’s construction toy will be launched by Dutch design brand Moooi this week.
Construction Lamp was created by Dutch designer Joost van Bleiswijk for Moooi, based on vintage building toys.
The four-sided stand tapers upward towards the light source like a telegraph pylon.
Each round joint is exaggerated, fixed with large prominent screws.
All elements are the same tone on the black version, except the screws and the inside of the cylindrical shade that are both coloured gold.
On the white model, the corner legs match the shade while wood is used for the horizontal and diagonal bracing.
Two sizes are available, the first is a floor lamp while the second is small enough to also be raised on a table.
Product News: Note Design Studio of Stockholm has created a set of wire candle holders that look different depending on where you stand.
The candleholders by Note Design Studio for Danish brand Menu are called POV in reference to the filming technique of framing a shot as though through the eyes of one of the characters.
“Depending on that point of view, things will change – settings, stories and the way we interpret things,” said the designers, likening the effect to the way their product appears to change when seen from different sides.
“From some angles it seems like a flat graphical drawing – move around it and suddenly the graphic lines floats in mid air,” they said. “Shadows and shapes change, making it a fun object to interact with.”
The pieces are made of powder-coated steel wire and come in a wall-mounted version for tea lights or a table-top version for tall candles. They’re available in white, black, grey, turquoise or terracotta and can be displayed singly or mounted in groups.
Product news: Australian designers Nicholas Karlovasitis and Sarah Gibson have added dining and coffee tables to their range of timber stools with metal collars at the tops of their legs.
The duo own Sydney design company DesignByThem and created the different sized Partridge tables and stools from solid white ash timber coated with a natural wax finish.
They can be self assembled with aluminium brackets that sit neatly against the legs and underside of the seat or table top.
“Our aim with the Partridge tables is to create simple balanced forms that will endure physically and aesthetically,” said Karlovasitis. “We feel that using a warm and tactile material is comforting and allows us to achieve this.”
Product news: German designers Till Grosch and Björn Meier have created a modular office furniture system that can be arranged in a variety of groups and islands (+ slideshow).
Interior designers Ophelis asked Till Grosch and Björn Meier to develop pieces of furniture to occupy areas between workstations in an office.
The Docks collection includes chairs, tables, shelves and cabinets that can fit together to form open-plan meeting spaces, small pods for individual work and areas for rest and relaxation.
The pieces are made from aluminium with an oak veneer and high-pressure laminate, while seating is upholstered in a range of pastel-coloured fabrics.
The Berlin-based designers said with an unlimited amount of possible combinations, they focused on designing the individual parts so that each configuration is perceived as self contained furniture.
“We see Docks as a flexible ingredient in the constantly changing world of work and due to its modular nature it is designed to continuously keep evolving in line with the needs of a transforming work culture,” they said.
“Lamps and side tables can also be docked by slotted panels and by simple indentation they become an integral part of the furniture islands,” they added.
Danish designer Trine Kjaer has created a chair with a backrest and seat wrapped in thick lengths of cord intertwined with thin strands of copper.
Trine Kjaer upholstered the Haptic chair with foam under the threads on the seat and backrest. The oak arms and legs resembe slender tree branches.
Kjaer is based in Værløse north of Copenhagen and said the project is the result of an extensive process of analysing, experimenting and interpreting tactile surfaces in nature. “The project focuses on the haptic processes of the sense of touch as well as how we are drawn towards the object wanting to explore it by hand, activating the sense of touch and feeling the tactile differences of the chair,” said the designer.
“The chair is designed to stimulate the hands with fine and detailed craftsmanship, while the areas touching the back and the seat have a rougher and more tactile character,” she said.
Product news: London designer Paul Crofts has put the series of lamps he designed for a crêperie in west London into production, in response to readers’ encouraging comments about them on our story.
The conical pendant lamps were designed specifically for La Petite Bretagne in west London, but Paul Crofts decided to start producing them separately after a reader called them “amazing”.
“It was actually from the comments made on Dezeen when the La Petite Bretagne was published that convinced me to invest personally and put the three lights into production,” Crofts told Dezeen.
The three Nonla lights are named after the Vietnamese word for traditional Asian hats of the same shape.
Each has a different angled profile and can be displayed individually or as a set.
They are made from powder-coated spun aluminium with a CNC turned and routed American white oak top.
Czech designer Martin Zampach has produced a range of hexagonal bowls that are each made from three interlocking wooden leaves.
Martin Zampach constructed the Poly Bowl using pieces of cork, coated with ash, maple and alder wood veneers to create different colours and textures.
Curved edges allow the pieces to slot together, forming the hexagonal shape.
“The flexible building materials allow for extreme shaping of the segments and when all parts are locked to form the bowl the structure gets its strength,” Zampach explained.
The designer also says that the pieces fit together in different arrangements, “to form illusional 2D and 3D ornaments”.
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