Product news: this wooden coffee table by Canadian designer Loïc Bard has a gaping mouth for swallowing narrow books and magazines.
Tokyo Table features a distorted circular tabletop that houses the magazine compartment within one end. It is built from bleached maple and it stands on three rounded legs.
Designer Loïc Bard said he created the table during a winter in Montreal and was inspired by childhood memories of a trip to Japan: “I designed this coffee table while remembering the sober atmosphere, the simplicity of the utensils and the rustic environment of the tea ceremony.”
“It focuses on a simple aesthetic and the discreet compartment is ideal for hiding books, laptops, magazines and newspapers entirely out of sight,” he added.
Product news: this leather lampshade by British designer Daniel Schofield features a laser-cut pattern and stitching inspired by traditional British shoe-making techniques.
Light punctures the cylindrical shade through a pattern of holes based on the stamps used by shoemakers to create ‘broguing’ decoration, which was originally added to allow water to drain from the shoes.
“I was really interested by the history of ‘broguing’ and the roots it has in British culture,” Daniel Schofield told Dezeen. “The detailing was beautiful and the craft involved caught my imagination.”
Using vector software, Schofield adapted a typical pattern to fit the lamp’s dimensions and make it suitable for laser cutting.
Serrated leather detailing with machined stitching augments the reference to the shoes and a brass-plated frame was chosen “to compliment the natural leather”.
Product news: Northumbria University graduate Josie Morris has created a range of copper-spun pendant lamps with chunky handles.
Product and furniture designer Josie Morris created the Handle Pendants in two different sizes; one is tall and narrow, and the other has a wide tapered body.
Small handles in either grey Corian or walnut are fixed to the top of the metal shades. “Scale and the common detail of the handle were used to create a family of minimalistic pendants,” Morris told Dezeen.
The hanging pendants can be displayed alone or in a cluster and are designed as part of a larger product range by the designer, which includes a coffee table and vase with copper accents.
Product news: Danish furniture brand Howe has relaunched Arne Jacobsen’s classic Tongue chair, which was designed in 1955.
Howe has replicated the exact appearance of the original design and reproduced it using contemporary manufacturing techniques to address stability and durability concerns.
Jacobsen designed the chair for the Munkegård School in his native Denmark, but it was not produced commercially until the late 1980s and was withdrawn after just a few years.
Tongue was the second chair designed by Jacobsen, shortly after his famous Ant chair, but it never achieved the same widespread distribution as many of his other furniture designs.
It was used in the rooms of Jacobsen’s famous SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, for which a modified bar stool version was also produced.
The relaunched Tongue chair is available in several veneers or with fabric or leather upholstery. Legs are chrome or powder-coated steel.
We fell truly, madly in love with the Tongue chair
The company struck by love is HOWE a/s, who relaunched the cutely named chair at this year’s fair in Milan. The Tongue was designed in 1955 by the renowned Arne Jacobsen, but it has not been in production for several years. Now HOWE a/s can proudly say that a Danish design classic has returned.
Arne Jacobsen is one of the most famous and most loveable Danish architects and designers. Known for marvellous architectural works, legendary furniture designs, and versatile industrial designs, Arne Jacobsen has truly left his mark on the international world of design and architecture.
The Tongue chair is a classic Arne Jacobsen design. It has the immediately recognisable characteristics of the organic wave-form in the seat; complemented with highly sculptural, splayed legs. And with the addition of modern construction techniques for additional strength, HOWE has ensured that the chair keeps its lovely curved, sculptural form perfectly in place.
The Tongue chair is available in beech, oak and walnut veneers as well as in stained veneer in black, white and teak. The Tongue is also available in full upholstery in both fabrics and leather – the colour palette ranges from light pink to cognac. The legs come in chrome or in black or white powder coating. The price begins at €486.
Product news: French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have added three new colours to their Corniches shelves for Vitra.
The Bouroullec brothers chose dark grey, khaki and orange to supplement the black, white and Japanese red colour options that Swiss furniture brand Vitra launched last year.
Corniches is a storage system comprising shelves with rounded undersides that can be grouped on a wall to create a landscape of useful surfaces. Made from ASA plastic with a high gloss finish, the shelves are available in several different shapes and sizes.
Here’s a short description of Corniches from Vitra:
Corniches arose from the need for small stor- age spaces to spontaneously keep items. “The same way that we hang our beach towel on a rock jutting from a cliff before diving into the sea, we need small storage spaces in everyday life, too”, explains Ronan Bouroullec.
And this is the reason that Corniches are neither regular shelves nor simple horizontal surfaces, but rather individual, isolated protrusions in the environments that we create.
Whether as a key rack beside the front door, a spot to put the soap dispenser in the bathroom, as a pedestal for a small collection of objects or as a large installation, Corniches are a new way to use the wall in your living space.
(Related movie) In this movie filmed at Vitra’s London showroom during Clerkenwell Design Week, Erwan Bouroullec explains that office environments are changing now there is less storage for papers and books.
Product news: Swiss furniture brand Vitra has put its latest range of updates and reissues from the archive of French designer Jean Prouvé into production (+ slideshow).
Newly available pieces include reissues of the Fauteuil Direction and Fauteuil de Salon armchairs, plus Tabouret Solvay stool. There are also updated materials and finishes to the Standard chair, EM Table and Compas Direction developed with Dutch designer Hella Jongerius and Jean Prouvé‘s family.
Standard SP chair
The Standard chair was originally designed in wood with thicker back legs, as these take more weight. Vitra is now producing the design with a plastic seat and back as a model named Standard SP, which has matte powder-coated metal legs.
EM Table and Standard SP chairs
The plastic elements can be mixed and matched in various colours, and can easily be replaced.
EM Table
Now available with a solid wood top instead of veneered surfaces, a version of Prouvé’s EM Table has been created with a powder-coated base to match the Standard SP chairs.
Table Solvay
Among Prouvé’s designs for chemical company Solvay, Table Solvay looks similar to the EM Table but was created with wooden legs due to the metal shortage in the Second World War. This design now can now be obtained in three different types of solid wood.
Compas Direction
The metal legs of the Compas Direction desk are designed to look like the arms of a drawing compass and this design now also comes with a solid wood top.
Fauteuil de Salon
Archive designs that have been put into production include the Fauteuil Direction and Fauteuil de Salon cushioned armchairs, plus the Tabouret Solvay solid wood stool.
Tabouret Solvay stool
All these additions were shown as prototypes in Milan this spring and are now available to order from Vitra.
Prouvé Collection Update, developed by Vitra in Switzerland
In the fields of design, architecture and the art of engineering, the Frenchman Jean Prouvé ranks among the most versatile and innovative minds of the 20th century. From letter openers to door and window hinges, lights, furniture, façade elements, prefabricated houses, modular construction systems to large trade fair and exhibition constructions, his work includes almost everything that can be designed and requires an industrial manufacturing method. In his work as a designer, Prouvé was never searching for his own signature, but was instead striving to create logical and useful answers to required functions.
Vitra has been producing Jean Prouvé’s furniture since 2001. In cooperation with the Prouvé family and the Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, the colour palette of the entire product family has been given a makeover. Reserved but contemporary shades give the Prouvé classics a fresh new image. “My father never used primary colours, but preferred a sophisticated palette of shades. Of course – he was the son of a painter!” – Catherine Prouvé.
Prouvé tables are now available with solid wood table tops and the Table Solvay is the realisation of one of Prouvé’s table designs with a wooden base.
Standard chair
Standard SP, 1934/1950
A chair is subjected to the most strain on its back legs as it must carry the weight of the upper body. Jean Prouvé’s concise interpretation of this simple recognition can be seen in the Standard chair: whereas tubular steel is sufficient for the front legs that are subjected to less strain, the chair’s back legs form a voluminous hollow body that transfers the strain to the floor.
Standard SP (Siège en Plastique) brings the iconic chair up-to-date without changing anything about its form: A seat and backrest of robust plastic in a carefully chosen colour palette gives Standard SP a contemporary look. The plastic parts can be combined in various colours and easily switched out or replaced. To match the plastic surface, the bases feature a resistant, matt powder coating and, last but not least, Standard SP is an economic alternative.
To match the Standard SP, a new version of Jean Prouvé’s EM Table is being launched with an HPL table top and a base that is in the same structure and colour of powder coating as the chair.
Table Solvay
Table Solvay, 1941
During the years of 1941 and 1942, Jean Prouvé’s studios planned and realised various interior design projects for the chemical company Solvay. Among his many designs of this time, there was also a wooden table that is a prime example of Prouvé’s creations: The necessities of statics and the force path are clearly reflected in his design details – similar to the later EM Table that differs from the Table Solvay due to its metal table legs. When the Table Solvay was created during World War II, there was a metal shortage and so the table legs were made of wood.
Table Solvay’s table top is available in three different kinds of wood and the base is made of the same wood. The solid oiled woods give Table Solvay a high-quality homely feel and compensate for its cool design.
The round table Guéridon has also been given a makeover: the legs, materials and surfaces are the same are those of Table Solvay, but it has an extended diameter and height.
EM Table
EM Table, 1950
At the beginning of the 1950s, Jean Prouvé developed the EM Table for the “Maison-Tropique” project. The table , defined by his design right down to the very last detail, follows Prouvé’s typical aesthetics of necessity. It illustrates the force path and the static connections in a way that is otherwise only featured in engineering construction.
EM Table is now of even higher quality thanks to its new table tops in oiled solid wood. The solid wood table tops in oak or walnut give the table an exclusive note and offer a very pleasant feel. The height of the base is adjusted to contemporary requirements and the colour concept has been revised.
The EM Table can be ideally combined with Prouvé’s Standard chairs, but also with various other chairs. Another new design is the EM Table with HPL table top and a base that is powdercoated in the same colours and structure as the base of the Standard SP chair.
Compas Direction
Compas Direction, 1953
Jean Prouvé developed the Compas Table in various models around 1950, applying the construction principles that he is known for. All share elegantly splayed, narrow legs in metal, a formal reminder of a compass – in French, “le compas”.
The oiled solid wood table tops give Compas Direction an individual touch. With its compact dimensions, the table is ideal for the contemporary, largely paperless, home office, where it cuts a fine figure, particularly in combination with the Fauteuil Direction.
Fauteuil Direction chair and Compas Direction table
Fauteuil Direction, 1951
Fauteuil Direction is a well designed chair in which you can sit comfortably at the table. It pays homage to Prouvé’s typical philosophy of focusing on design factors.
The little chair is perfect for the home office where, particularly in combination with the small desk Compas Direction, it creates an individual touch and can also be used as a comfortable dining chair. In addition, Fauteuil Direction also looks great in elegant lobbies, restaurants or waiting areas.
Fauteuil de Salon chair
Fauteuil de Salon, 1939
Fauteuil de Salon combines plain surfaces into a complete architectural form with a comfortable seat and backrest. Rediscovered in the archives of the French design engineer, the chair’s colour was adapted for modern tastes. Thanks to the armrests in oiled solid wood and Prouvé’s typical philosophy of focusing on design factors, Fauteuil de Salon goes perfectly with other products in the reworked Prouvé Collection.
Tabouret Solvay stools
Tabouret Solvay, 1941
Tabouret Solvay is a simple, robust stool made of solid wood with a signature design that is visible at first glance: Jean Prouvé developed it, applying the design principles that he is known for. Thanks to its level seat, Tabouret Solvay can also be used as an occasional table.
Product news: these angular lounge chairs and ottomans by Brisbane designer Alexander Lotersztain can be tessellated in an endless array of shapes and patterns.
Created for Lotersztain‘s contemporary furniture and lighting brand Derlot Editions, each Prisma seat has an angular asymmetric form so they can be clustered together.
Stacked together they can form long sofas, small armchairs or banks of seating. Their shapes allow them to be positioned in the centre of the room, against the walls or in corners.
The chairs are MDF-based, covered in enviro foam and upholstered in fabric or leather. Colours are acidic hues of turquoise, green and yellow.
Small wooden triangular tables fit onto the ends of each chair formation. Custom modules of each chair are also available.
Born in Argentina, Alexander Lotersztain studied design at university in Queensland before setting up Derlot in Brisbane.
Product news: Berlin studio Halb/Halb has created a creased circular mirror that allows two people to see their reflection at the same time.
The Mirror #180 by Halb/Halb has a fold down the centre that splits it into two halves and it can be hung in three different rotations.
One option allows two people to use the mirror at the same time, a second can show people at different heights and a third position reflects the ceiling and another area of the surrounding room.
The mirror is made from glass and a wooden fixing is attached to the back to hang it to a wall. It measures 50 centimetres in diameter and is available to buy from Berlin Design Store.
This stackable tea set by architect VW+BS is made of unglazed clay that’s meant to soften the taste of whatever you drink from it.
The Silt range is made of twice-fired unglazed purple clay, which is commonly used in China to make intricate tea pots for serving green tea.
“The unglazed material has the effect of softening the taste of the water in the same way as activated charcoal,” said VW+BS. “This occurs whether you are serving tea, coffee water or wine.”
The collection comprises seven items, including a large jug, small jug, bowl and four cups. There’s also a lid that fits any of the pieces.
Fifty sets will be made at Taiwanese company Lin’s Ceramics Studio, each with a slightly different finish.
VW+BS will show the Silt collection in September at both designjunction in London, where they will also design the seminar space, and 100% Design Singapore, where VW+BS is creative director for the second year.
Product news: this pencil cup and stationery holder that appears to be sinking into the desk has been designed by Luka Or for Israel design brand Monkey Business.
The Titanic pen caddy sits slanted on a flat surface. Tel Aviv-based designer Luka Or designed it to store pencils, paper clips and other stationery items.
The pencil holder measures 12 x 8 x 8.5 centimetres and is sold with paper clips. It is available in a range of three colours: red, charcoal and white.
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