Hasta La Ideas

Amsterdam-based designer Siba Sahabi made these carafes and cups by coiling strips of felt on a potter’s wheel (+ movie).

Between Two Rivers refers to the translation of the ancient Greek word Mesopotamia, an area of the Middle East where the earliest civilisations are thought to have developed and where the potter’s wheel was first used.

Inspired by the development of ceramics after this invention, Siba Sahabi used a potter’s wheel to wind strips of felt into ten sculptural vessels.

The carafes and cups are made from strips coated with a layer of paint on both sides, so that the original colour contrasts with the paint on the inside and outside.

Sahabi also collaborated with Lisa Klappe and Niels van den Top on a movie (top) that shows the process of making the vessels.

The collection is on show at Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder in Amsterdam as part of Winter Salon 2013 until 17 February.

Sahabi has previously produced vessels from coils of black wallpaper and candle holders from rings of felt.

Other felt objects we’ve featured include felt lights with switches shaped like nipples and jewellery made from computer parts mounted in felt – see all designs made from felt.

See all vessels »
See all homeware »

Photographs are by Lisa Klappe.

Here’s some more information from Sahabi:

Siba Sahabi’s new collection of felt vessels entitled Between Two Rivers launched during WinterSALON/ 2013 in Amsterdam.

Between Two Rivers is the ancient Greek translation of the term Mesopotamia, the cradle of Western civilisation, birthplace of the pottery turntable and primary inspiration of designer Siba Sahabi for her new collection. Through ten new sculptural felt vessels Siba makes the connection between this ancient land – located between the rivers – with its pottery innovations and Western ceramics culture which developed through these new technologies.

The turntable, that aided potters to design circular objects more accurately and faster, was invented in 3500 BC in Ur, an ancient Mesopotamian city-state located in modern Iraq. Around 2200 BC this invention was introduced in Greece and thus sparked a new style of Greek ceramics called Minyan pottery which Siba has reinterpreted in her felt sculptures.

A circular, ribbed finish is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Minyan ware which reflects its production process on a potter’s turntable. Although the turntable no longer plays a significant role in the production of modern large-scale pottery today, the appearance of hand-turned ceramics is often imitated by producing circular shapes with fine ridges.

The objects from the collection, that comprise a series of carafes and cups, are made from coiled coloured felt strips (3mm thick) coated with a layer of paint on both sides. In this way, each object shows three colours: the original colour of the felt (surface of the ridges), the inside, and outside of the objects. The dense felt material beautifully translates the heavy appearance of the Minyan ware and exaggerates the appearance of the oversized objects, some of which are up to 50cm high.

A specially-commissioned film is screened alongside the exhibition. Made by Siba Sahabi in collaboration with Lisa Klappe and Niels van den Top, the short film entitled ‘Pallas Athena’ juxtaposes the setting of a Greek pre-antique pottery workshop with the modern techniques of the felt coiling used in Siba’s objects. The short film is dedicated to the wise but short-tempered Greek goddess of inspiration, crafts, art and war. According to myth Pallas Athena taught textile classes to, among others, a talented but troubled student called Arachne who denied that she was taking lessons if ever asked. To punish Arachne for not acknowledging her teacher, Pallas Athena turned her into a spider.

The collection was realised with the support of the Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst.

Between Two Rivers is exhibited during WinterSALON/ 2013 at Museum Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder, Amsterdam from 19 January – 17 February 2013.

The post Between Two Rivers
by Siba Sahabi appeared first on Dezeen.

Light ash, dark felt and polished steel come together in the young designer’s modular furniture collection shown at Feria Habitat Valencia 2012

At this year’s Feria Habitat Valenica, Christian Reyes Creative Studio presented a comprehensive range of household furnitures unified by light wood, dark felt, soft finishes and, of course, modularity. The uniquely calming combination of materials—along with clever design tweaks—encourages a sense of exploration in the user. The seemingly simple…

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Milan 2012: Konstfack University College student Nick Ross will present this bar with a hood for sharing secrets in crowded places at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Milan this week.

The Confession table has an oak surface covered in a pressed felt shell to absorb sound and hide conspirators away.

Ross will present his project as part of an exhibition of Konstfack students’ work called Design for a Liquid Society.

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile takes place from 17 to 22 April. See all our stories about Milan 2012 here.

Here are some more details from Nick Ross:

Confession is the latest project from Scottish/Swedish designer Nick Ross, who is currently studying on the Masters programme at Konstfack in Stockholm.

The project looks at how large communal spaces are arranged and the possibility to mix the private and the communal more effectively, creating micro-environments.

Ever since architects started taking down interior walls to create airy open spaces, a new set of problems have arisen. Whilst these areas are more communal, there is an issue with finding discrete, private areas which take you away from the noise of open spaces. Confession is a new furniture archetype which seeks to resolve these problems of privacy and seclusion.

It enables the creation of a space for a quick meeting, to hear a personal story, a quiet place to read the paper with a coffee or even somewhere to indulge in office gossip. It also reminds us of what we lose in the era of shared and open communication. Instead of erecting walls to create personal and confidential spaces, which can prove expensive, these communal areas can be furnished in a new way at a fraction of the cost and hassle.

The piece is made from steel tubing with an oak table surface which sits at industry standard bar-height. The hood is made from pressed polyester felt which has great sound absorbing qualities, thus further adding to the private nature of the object.

The project started through a collaboration with Blå Station which was organised by Matti Klenell as part of an industry relations project within Konstfack’s master programme, InSpace. Nick and Blå Station worked together on the project and thanks to the company’s knowledge of the market and production possibilities Confession was able to become a fully realised product.

Confession will be presented during this year’s Milan fair as part of Konstfack’s exhibition ‘Design for a Liquid Society’ at Spazio Rossana Orlandi.

Spazio Rossana Orlandi
Via Matteo Bandello 14
20123 Milan

A survey of trends from the French furniture designer at this years Maison et Objet

We got to preview the rich new collection from Ligne Roset at Maison et Objet, which reflected a range of larger trends seen throughout the show. Here, we highlight Ligne Roset’s take on some of the most intriguing concepts coming up in design.

Felt

Designers seem poised to explore the potential of felt and wool this year, using the material to cover chairs, make pots and more. In its most effective iteration, felt warms up furniture that may otherwise not be so comfortable.

Stripes, Strands and Bands

Offering a sense of fragility and flexibility, the idea of stripes was prevalent, whether from stretched cords on a chair or bands shaped to form a pot. The Fifty armchair was modeled on the metal-and-cord recliner chair designed by Hans Wenger in Denmark in the 1950s. The modern Fifty features a straight back with woven “ears” protruding from either side of the head rest. Made from polypropylene plastic threads, the piece can survive inside or out. A gracious series of decorative pots called Bidum is made with stiff metallic strands covered in a satiny black finish.

Outdoor-Indoor Furniture

Thanks to a special fabric called Tempête (tempest) interwoven with strong, metallic thread, and quality, downy filling, the refreshing Serpentine armchair by the young French designer, Eleonor Nalet is both comfortable and durable enough for the outdoors.

The Grillage series by the famed French designer, François Azambourg comprises ultra-light, lace-like chairs, armchairs and a table made from sheets of metal. The origami-style fold of the armchair makes it a particularly elegant piece.

Transformation

The Dino serves as a sophisticated storage system with interior shelves and cabinets when closed, and a folding writing table when opened. The functional secretary is modeled after James Bond’s cabinet, reconfiguring to form side drawers, a document tray and a set-up at the back to plug in a laptop or lamp.

The innovative, double-function table, Black Bird, can be positioned low to meet a sofa end or raised to a standard height for chairs. The tri-color shelves can stand vertically or laid horizontal, overlaid or articulated to one another.

Specialties

The Ukomi Kimono Chair very successfully blends Scandinavian purity and geometric structure with a traditional Japanese covering. Styled to look like a kimono has been thrown over the seat, the chair features Japanese patterns between the creases, which are actually stitched in the traditional way of the kimono.

The highly original Peye table lamp and floor lamp reminded us of a hair dresser’s drying helmet, but are actually inspired by Popeye the Sailor Man—the table lamp is named Olive. Instead of a traditional bulb, the light relies on invisible LED stripes beneath its oversized shade.

This series of furniture by Norwegian designer Amy Hunting incorporates loops of felt for storage.

Called Felt & Gravity, the flat-pack pieces are assembled with oversized brass wingnuts and a piece of douglas fir gives shape to the wool shelves.

The pieces are on show at RAM gallery in Oslo as part of a solo exhibition called Faithful Copy.

Hunting has mounted a series of illustrations around the walls, all drawn from her memory of the same photograph but with subtle variations in each iteration.

Five curved pieces of wood appear to be straight when reflected in a mirrored cylinder.

Hunting works in London and we featured her Patchwork Furniture made of offcuts back in 2009.

The work remains on show until 25 September.

See more stories about felt here.

Here’s some more information from Gudrun Eidsvik of RAM galleri:

Faithful Copy (2011)
Solo show, RAM galleri, Oslo

Amy Hunting (born1984) challenges the audience as well as the concept of art in her new project Faithful Copy (Tro Kopi) at the RAM Gallery in Oslo. This is also her first solo exhibition. Over the last three years, Hunting has established her own studio in London where she explores the disciplines of design, illustration and drawing. She was invited to exhibit at RAM precisely to draw the lines between these different disciplines in a way that can reveal the way from idea to surface and form.

Amy Hunting has her education from the department of furniture and room design at The Danish Design School (Danmarks Designskole). In addition to being a designer and an artist, she is the founder and owner of Norwegian Prototypes, a part of the yearly held London Design Festival which features modern Norwegian design. This year Norwegian Prototypes was held for the second time. Hunting also works as a curator for this exhibition and she also participated in the exhibition ”The Gap between Art & Design” at the Norwegian Momentum Festival of 2010.

At the RAM Gallery she presents a series of fifty numerated drawings whose motive is drawn from an old photography of a family sitting on or standing around a bicycle. The motive is commemorated and repeated over and over again. For the spectator the motive is always recognisable, but appears with small variations with each repetition. Reflections on what might be the one true original and the ultimate rendering of the motive plays in the mind of the spectator. The details that are different in each of the drawings give a sense of dynamics as if the figures in the drawings at any moment of time could be given life as animation pictures. In this way the characters are given a role that exedes the expected and thus set the agenda for the three dimensional works of the exhibition.

Felt & Gravity Sideboard – gravity becomes one of the components in this sideboard. The shelves in 100% wool get their strength from the weight placed inside them. The unit is created with a flat pack construction and solid brass wingnuts and bolts keep it together.

An anamorfoscope, which transforms a flat, transfigured motive into a three dimensional experience of the same motive gives the audience the possibility of taking an interactive look onto the world of materials that Hunting is known for. In the mirror that surrounds the anamorfoscope, there appears the three dimensional picture of a floor.

The objects on show gives the viewer the same experience of variation and the repetition and contains the possibilities of surprises and a new type of evolution. Neither the drawings nor the furniture remain the same after this transformation.

See also:

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Patchwork by Amy Hunting	Dressed Up Furniture by KAMKAM	Ewe stools by Yu-Hun Kim