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Maison&Objet 2013: London designer Benjamin Hubert has created a range of terracotta pots with rubber lids for Danish homeware brand Menu.

The collection, called Pots, was created by Benjamin Hubert and Menu using the contrast between traditional terracotta and industrially produced rubber lids.

Each pot has a natural exterior and a glazed interior, while the lids are injection-moulded silicone.

The collection comprises a tall and top-heavy pot for spaghetti, a container with a wide spout for dispensing pasta or grain, a small pot with a long neck for controlled pouring, and a wide cookie jar that rotates on its angled base for easy sharing.

Last year we published a rustic restaurant interior in Copenhagen by Menu in collaboration with Norm Architects.

We’ve featured lots of products by Hubert, including a ceramic lamp, also launching at Maison & Objet, and a lighting collection made of underwear fabric – see all designs by Benjamin Hubert.

Other designs from Maison & Object we’ve reported on this year include a speaker shaped like a volume icon on a computer and whimsical wallpapers by Fornasetti – see all products from Maison & Objet 2013.

See all stories about containers »
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Here’s some more information from the designers:

Pots by Benjamin Hubert X Menu

Pots is a series of storage jars launching at Maison & Objet in January 2013. The project is a result of a close collaboration between Benjamin Hubert and Danish brand Menu. The storage jars stem from the studio’s “materials driven, process led” industrial design approach, researching the typologies and language associated with ancient and contemporary methods of keeping products cool and dry utilising terracotta.

Pots feature an exterior of natural, raw terracotta contrasting with the gloss glazed interior and soft rubber lids, providing a multitude of experiences for your senses. The collection represents an uncompromising contrast between the ancient traditions found in terracotta and the industrial modernity embedded in the mass-produced rubber lids.

Pots provide an earthen landscape of sculptural but functional objects for your kitchen table, desk or windowsill. The series consists of four vessels, each holding a specific function – or ingredient – of your choice:

1. A tall djembe-like sculpture with a distinct waistline, whichgris holds your spaghetti or grissini so you can easily grasp it without lifting the pot.
2. A container with a wide pouring area making it easy for you to control the dispensing of pastas and grains.
3. A small pouring device with a long neck allowing for controlled dispensing of seeds, grains and sugar.
4. A stout cookie jar that can be twisted and turned to encourage sharing. This contains biscuits, tea bags, bonbons etc.

Materials:
Terracotta ceramic
Injection moulded silicone

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for Menu appeared first on Dezeen.

Maison&Objet 2013: Japanese architect Toyo Ito will present a set of cutlery with slim handles like chopsticks at Maison&Objet design fair in Paris, which opens tomorrow.

Mu, which means “hexagon” in Japanese, was designed by Toyo Ito to complement the Ku crockery collection he created for Alessi in 2006.

Each piece of stainless steel cutlery has a slim handle that finishes in a hexagonal profile at the tip.

The range includes a fork, knife and spoon for the table, a fork, a knife and spoon for dessert, a pastry fork, a tea spoon, a coffee spoon and a mocha coffee spoon. Also available are salad servers, a ladle, a cake server and a serving spoon and fork.

Ito’s Japanese Pavilion at last year’s Venice Architecture Biennale was named the best pavilion at the event, while his previous projects include a spotty black theatre in Tokyo – see all architecture by Toyo Ito.

The cutlery is being shown at Maison&Objet design and interiors fair in Paris, which opens tomorrow and runs until 22 January. See all our stories about Maison&Objet 2013.

We previously featured another set of cutlery designed for Alessi by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec – see all designs from Alessi.

See all our stories about cutlery »
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Here’s some more information from Alessi:

MU Cutlery set, designed by Toyo Ito for Alessi

“Sharp, yet with a touch of sensitivity and elegance… Linear, yet with an organic quality of plants… We intend to shift our familiar sensations with chopsticks onto cutlery.” Toyo Ito

The Japanese architect Toyo Ito continues to build his family of objects for the mise-en-place of the table. The fluid shapes of the delicate KU porcelain service, designed in 2006, are now complemented by the MU Cutlery set, which means “hexagon” in Japanese.

The hexagonal section of the handle is created using a mould and the intricate manufacturing process involves various stages.

The precision of the slim, full handle is reminiscent of the shape of Oriental chopsticks and contrasts with the rounded profiles of the spoons and the knife blades.

The MU table service includes Table spoon, Table fork and Table knife, Dessert spoon, Dessert fork, Dessert knife, Pastry fork, Tea spoon, Coffee spoon and Mocha coffee spoon. The range also features four types of serving cutlery: Salad set, Ladle, Cake server, Serving spoon and fork.

Cutlery set in 18/10 stainless steel. Sets for 1 person (5 pieces), 6 persons (24 pieces) and 12 persons (75 pieces).

Table spoon – cm 20
Table fork – cm 20
Table knife – cm 22
Dessert spoon – cm 18
Dessert fork – cm 18
Dessert knife – cm 20
Tea spoon – cm 14
Coffee spoon – cm 13
Mocha coffee spoon – cm 11
Pastry fork – cm 16,5
Ladle – cm 26,5
Serving spoon – cm 26
Serving fork – cm 26
Salad set – cm 28
Cake server – cm 25

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for Alessi appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: German furniture brand e15 has launched re-editions of a chair, sofa, daybed and stackable side table designed by German modernist Ferdinand Kramer in the first half of the twentieth century (+ slideshow).

The four pieces are being presented by e15 at trade fair imm cologne this week.

Among them is the FK09 Westhausen sofa, designed by Ferdinand Kramer in 1926 as part of the major New Frankfurt housing programme. The grey sofa is divided into three seats and comes with either solid oak or walnut feet.

Also dating from 1926 is the FK10 Weissenhof armchair, created for a Mies van der Rohe apartment in the influential Die Wohnung exhibition of modernist interiors. The grey armchair has a wide, deep seat and also comes with either solid oak or walnut feet.

The FK11 Senckenburg daybed was designed in 1952 for Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University of Frankfurt am Main, and has a wedge-shaped headrest that folds up into an armrest.

The FK12 FortyForty, designed in 1945, is a stackable side table in powder-coated steel. Removable and invertible trays in coloured steel or marble fit into the top and bottom of the frame, allowing it to be stacked up to five tables high.

The first eight pieces of the Ferdinand Kramer collection, including chairs, stools and a coffee table, were presented by e15 in Milan in April last year.

Born in 1898 in Frankfurt, Kramer was a key modernist architect and functionalist designer. He worked with architect and civic planner Ernst May on the New Frankfurt housing project and later became the director of building at the city’s Goethe University.

Other products from e15 we’ve featured on Dezeen include a collection of steel and marble side tables and a carved walnut jewellery case – see all our stories about e15.

Other designs launched at imm cologne this year include a DIY curtain kit by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and a ceramic lamp by Benjamin Hubert – see all our stories from imm cologne.

Photographs are by Ingmar Kurth.

Here’s some more information from E15:

At imm cologne 2013, e15 debuts four further re-editions by the renowned modernist German architect and designer Ferdinand Kramer.

Coinciding with his 115th anniversary, e15 is proud to further expand the exceptional Ferdinand Kramer® collection with four re-editions, all of which emphasise the clear and confident design aesthetic of the German modernist architect.

Working closely with Kramer’s family and the archives, e15 introduces the upholstered Sofa 
FK09 Westhausen and armchair FK10 Weissenhof from 1926 as well as the daybed FK11 Senckenberg from 1952, representing Ferdinand Kramer’s original and enduring design sensibility. The flexible and stackable side table FK12 Fortyforty from 1945 sets individual accents with its playful possibilities.

Ferdinand Kramer collection by e15

Sofa FK09 Westhausen, 1926

Designed in 1926 for private residences as part of the significant ‘New Frankfurt’ housing programme, the sofa FK09 Westhausen represents Ferdinand Kramer’s visionary and enduring design aesthetic. Its straight lines and generous proportions convey a composed and inviting character for the upholstered sofa, thus allowing for application in diverse environments. Divided into three seats and with continuous back upholstery, superior wave springs ensure ample seating comfort. The sofa FK09 WESTHAUSEN is available with solid oak or walnut feet.

Armchair FK10 Weissenhof, 1926

Designed in 1926 for the Hausrat GmbH, the armchair FK10 Weissenhof is an unmistakable example of Ferdinand Kramer’s visionary and concise design ability. With its clear and confident lines the upholstered armchair is generously proportioned with a wide, deep seat. In 1927, Ferdinand Kramer was commissioned to plan two interiors of the legendary ‘Weissenhofsiedlung’ and specified the armchair FK10 Weissenhof for one of the apartments designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the internationally significant Werkbund exhibition, ‘Die Wohnung’. Newly equipped with superior wave springs, FK10 Weissenhof is ideally suited for residential and contract use. Available with solid oak or walnut legs.

Daybed FK11 Senckenberg, 1952

Designed in 1952 as part of the furnishing for the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt am Main, the FK11 Senckenburg daybed is an extension of Ferdinand Kramer’s elegant and enduring upholstered furnitu- re series from 1926 with the sofa FK09 Westhausen and armchair FK10 Weissenhof. The wedge-shaped, upholstered headrest can be folded up into a rectangular armrest and accounts for the versatile charm of this daybed. Superior wave springs ensure seating or lying comfort. Available with solid oak or walnut legs.

Side table FK12 FortyForty, 1945
The flexible and stackable side table FK12 FortyForty in powder-coated steel is a significant example of Ferdinand Kramer’s fascination with variability and adaptability of multi-purpose furniture. Designed in 1945 during his time in America, the playful FK12 Fortyforty expresses lightness and elegance despite its strict geometrical shape. Removable and invertible trays for top and bottom of the frame in coloured steel or marble offer a multitude of possibilities and set individual accents. Stackable to up to five, the versatile character of the FK12 Fortyforty side table allows for an application in diverse environments, either as a stand-alone piece or also in combination with other furniture from the e15 collection.

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by e15 appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have come up with a DIY kit for making curtains using a hanging cord that winds up like a guitar string.

Launching at trade fair imm cologne this week, Ready Made Curtain is a collaboration between Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and Danish textile manufacturer Kvadrat.

The curtain is designed as a flexible hanging system that users can adapt to fit any window.

The kit comprises a hanging cord, wall fixings, pegs and your choice of Kvadrat textiles.

The hanging cord can be adjusted to fit any width of window using its winding mechanism, which the designers say was inspired by the tension in a guitar string.

The cord can be wound tighter when needed in order to maintain the right length and tension, and is easily transferable to another window.

“Little skill and few tools are needed, margin for error has been considered and perfection isn’t an absolute requirement,” Ronan and Erwan Bourourllec explain. “In fact, the charm of the imperfect in opposition to the overly sanitised interior is something we believe in.”

The curtain is available in a lightweight, semi-transparent fabric and a woollen fabric, both of which come in three colours. There’s also a variety of colours for the winding mechanism, cord and pegs.

We’ve featured several projects by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, including a collection of cutlery for Alessi and a range of wooden furniture for a Danish university – see all our stories about the Bouroullecs.

We also featured a huge purple curtain installed as a room divider at the Venice Architecture Biennale last year.

See all our stories about curtains »
See all our stories about textiles »

Here’s some more information from the designers:

Kvadrat and designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have come together to solve the challenges posed by a little explored area of domestic interior architecture: the curtain. The result is Ready Made Curtain, an original and simple hanging system to suit every window. Kvadrat’s first direct to consumer product will launch at the IMM in Cologne, January 2013.

The Ready Made Curtain is the culmination of Kvadrat’s lengthy research into the world of the domestic curtain. Working with ReD Associates, an innovation and strategy consultancy firm, Kvadrat started by investigating existing curtain solutions and comparing them to the requirements of the homeowner. Based on their findings, Kvadrat approached Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec to create Ready Made Curtain a simple yet novel approach for consumers to introduce high quality curtains to their home.

The Ready Made Curtain requires the participation of the owner in its making. Everything one needs to fix the curtain is provided: a hanging cord, wall fixings, pegs, and a selection of Kvadrat textiles.

“The ambition was to create a new system that allows anyone to install a quality curtain in record time. Little skill and few tools are needed, margin for error has been considered and perfection isn’t an absolute requirement. In fact, the charm of the imperfect in opposition to the overly sanitised interior, is something we believe in,” note Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

The mechanics of the new hanging system have been refined over and over again by the designers until the absolute minimum required material and skill were achieved. This is a purposefully elementary product. The process of installation is straightforward as well. “We wanted to escape a hi-tech situation but we didn’t want to make something rustic or heavy either. We reflected on the popular method of fixing a poster to a wall, just simply with a staple.” Similarly, Ready Made Curtain is an enjoyably effortless method of fixing fabric to a window.

The ingenuity of the hanging cord – a replacement for the traditional curtain pole – is found in the winding mechanism that enables it to fit any window: “The starting point was a picture in a Japanese book from the fifties. The book was a catalogue of objects and in it was a guitar. From there, we began to explore the system of string tension in guitars.” The cord is an efficient and elegant solution to hanging a curtain. It can be rewound when need be, in order to maintain the right tension, and is easily transferable from window to window.

Anders Byriel, CEO Kvadrat, adds: “A curtain is, we believe, much more than something to keep light out and privacy in – a curtain offers the opportunity to control light and create or completely change the atmosphere in a room.” To that end, Ready Made Curtain is available in two different Kvadrat fabrics: a light, semi-transparent fabric or a woolen textile. Both are available in three different colourways and, in turn, a different colour palette of the mechanism, cord and pegs.

Ready Made Curtain is an evolution of previous collaborations between the Bouroullecs and Kvadrat in that it offers the customer the opportunity to adapt, change and enhance their interior through the use of textile. “One of the ambitions of our work with Kvadrat is to bring more fabric into interiors. The difference between this and previous products, such as Clouds and North Tiles, is that here we chose not to do any intervention on the fabric. The system is very simple, we have used the lightest touch.”

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Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: Dutch brand Usuals has crafted a set of handmade wooden toys out of branches from a hazel tree that grows on the family farm of one of the designers (+ slideshow).

Usuals chopped and shaved a variety of branch sizes to the right length then slotted them together to create recognisable shapes for children. “We can make these toys ’till we have no more prunings,” they told us.

The collection includes a tractor, boat, dog, car and two different horses, most of which can be rolled around on wheels created by circular sections of wood.

The car, boat and tractor toys have each been whittled into shape from a main log with thinner sticks added to create details.

Unravelled rope provides ears for the dog (above), which can be pushed around by the long stick that protrudes out of its back to act as a lead.

The rope is also used for the tail and reigns of the hobby horse that has a simple carved head and a long thin branch for its body (above).

A second, smaller horse has been formed from five branches, four wheels and a thin rope tail (above).

Usuals was formed by design duo Van Eijk and Van der Lubbe, who make all the toys in their studio.

Other wooden toys we’ve featured include vehicles made from tools associated with household chores and an oil rig and tanker with red highlights.

See all our stories about toys »
See all our stories about wood »

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by Usuals appeared first on Dezeen.