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Warm pine and cold granite conjure man’s relationship with nature

The new pine and granite Geo Table from Portuguese product designer Gonçalo Campos makes a bold design statement with the raw materials. By leaving the underside of the slab tabletop unfinished, Campos aims to remind the user where the individual components come from, while juxtaposing the cold top finish…

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Naval Battle. From left, Emeco’s famous Navy Chair and a Restoration Hardware ripoff.

Fresh from a scandal that saw its rugged spokesmodel and unofficial mascot Gary Friedman ousted from his post as CEO, Restoration Hardware is back in hot water for ripping off Emeco’s Navy Chair, the aluminum classic designed by the Hanover, Pennsylvania-based company in 1944 for the U.S. Navy and in production ever since. The cut-rate clone (pictured at right), which appears throughout the company’s phonebook-sized fall catalog, is called—wait for it—the “Naval Chair.” The lack of nomenclative creativity may make things easier for Emeco, which is suing Restoration Hardware and Friedman for infringement of Emeco’s trade dress and trademark rights for its Navy Chair. “The irreparable harm caused by Restoration Hardware, an established company, to Emeco’s reputation and significant goodwill is massive, incomparable to that caused by a typical, small-time counterfeiter,” noted Emeco in a statement issued late yesterday. CEO Gregg Buchbinder compared the knockoff to “stealing the Nike Swoosh or the Mercedes Benz logo, and then exploiting our brand and reputation to produce an inferior product.”

The lawsuit comes just days after Restoration Hardware filed for a $150 million IPO. Emeco seized upon a pre-IPO SEC filing as fodder for its cause, highlighting a section in which the company states that, “at our core we are not designers, rather we are curators and composers of inspired design and experiences.” By “[e]xternally discover[ing] and curat[ing]” others’ designs, as opposed to “[i]nternally design[ing] and develop[ing]” its own products, Restoration Hardware can cut the product development process from “12-18 months lead time” to “3-9 months lead time” and “reduce product costs.” In contrast, Emeco pegs its own product cycle of designing, prototyping, research and development, engineering, and tooling at approximately 2 to 4 years. While Restoration Hardware has yet to issue an official response on the matter, it has hastily renamed its Naval Chair “Aluminum Standard Side Chair” and sliced the price from $169 to $129. The authentic version, which comes with a lifetime guarantee from Emeco, sells for $455.

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Branca-Lisboa is a new product and accessory label for the home that was inspired by the magic light of Lisbon city. Each piece is the result of an experimental approach to the materials and production methods, uniting Portuguese craftsmanship traditions with contemporary aesthetics in an interesting blend of woods, metals and textiles. The line aims to reignite the era when products were developed with patience, expertise and integrity.

Designer: Marco Sousa Santos

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(Contemporary Crafstmanship was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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Every table, chair, lamp and light switch in this furniture collection by Italian designer Loredana Bonora is covered in crocheted yarns of cotton, PVC, plastic tape and even washing lines.

Bonora made the red and white chair and hat stand (below) by crocheting barrier tape that reads ‘work in progress’, while the decorative circular pendant is made from the plastic wire used for washing lines.

The pale grey chair has rings of crocheted cotton irregularly spaced on its legs and a plume of large black feathers on the seat back.

The white table and white chair are both crocheted with PVC.

Feathers have also been used to cover the bulbs of the two standing lamps, while the table lamps have crocheted shades.

The gold chair was made with the small wires used to tie up chocolates boxes,while the fluffy white chair was crocheted with wool thread.

Different crochet patterns appear in each piece of furniture, from simple circular designs on the white table to intricate flowers on the base of the recliner.

Nodi Contemporanei, which means contemporary knots, is Bonora’s first solo exhibition and can be seen at the Plusdesign gallery in Milan.

The exhibition continues until 10th November at Plusdesign, Via Ventura 6, Lambrate, Milan.

We’ve published lots of crocheted furniture on Dezeen, including a chair of resin-coated crochet flowers by Marcel Wanders and a set of handmade pendant lamps which decorated the Dezeen Super Store this summer.

See all our stories about wool »
See all our stories about knitting »
See all stories about furniture »

Photographs are by Carlo Beccalli.

Here’s some more information from Plusdesign:

On the occasion of the Start Milano’s incoming opening events, Plusdesign presents Nodi Contemporanei (Contemporary Knots), the first solo exhibition of the Italian designer Loredana Bonora. The show introduces a new collection of furnishings, tables, chairs, beds and lamps, entirely covered in crochet and artfully woven with unusual materials combined with traditional techniques.

Loredana Bonora covers the design icons, revealing new and unique personalities. Through the transparency, unexpected details and provocative combinations, she gives the furniture a new character, changing their the story and releasing them from their own objectivity.

With her crochet, Loredana Bonora does not redraw only the objects, but a whole world made of colours, feelings and soft lines woven with ability and extraordinary femininity. She draws on a scenario that belongs to her imagination and invites the observers to access a dreamlike dimension made of subjective feelings and emotions, free from all formal constraints.

Loredana Bonora combines the traditional technique of crochet with ongoing creative research and the experimentation of new materials aimed to design unique objects. Yarns of PVC, the red and white stripes work in progress tape, clothes hangers or packaging, but also more classic yarns such as cotton and wool, are skillfully woven maintaining the same ancient craftsmanship but overturning the traditional beliefs, taking a fresh and contemporary brand new personality.

Loredana is an Italian designer from Varese. She has been engaged for long time in a creative research that retrieves the traditional practice of the crochet to interpret the home furnishings in new ways. The use of non traditional yarns – such as plastic and raffia – and the experimenting of plot techniques with variable patterns, keep her updating this traditional handbuilt style with a contemporary taste.

The post Nodi Contemporanei by
Loredana Bonora appeared first on Dezeen.

London Design Festival: London-based industrial designer Samuel Wilkinson has designed stackable wooden seating evoking traditional school furniture for Decode London.

Above: Samuel Wilkinson talks to Dezeen about his Hatcham chair

The Hatcham chair was shown at this years London Design Festival as part of Decode London’s celebration of its fifth year collaborating with emerging London designers.

Composed of only six smooth pieces, the design features details meant to expose its construction. Wilkinson has used sand-cast aluminium leg brackets, solid oak legs and an oak-veneered seat and back to create a modern design which he told Dezeen was “based on school chairs and inspired by steam engines.”

The name Hatcham originates from an old east London casting foundry, originally called Hatcham Ironworks.

Cast lettering has been added on the inside of the leg brackets to illustrate the chairs’ industrial influence.

Samuel Wilkinson won the Design Museum’s Design of the Year Award in 2011 for his Plumen 001 lightbulb designed for Hulger.

See all our stories from this year’s London Design Festival here and see the ten most popular ones here.

See all our stories about Samuel Wilkinson here.
See all our stories about chairs here.

The post Hatcham chair by Samuel Wilkinson
for Decode appeared first on Dezeen.