Hasta La Ideas

London designer Héctor Serrano presents a series of lamps and vases combining glass and cork at Maison&Objet in Paris this week.

Called Natura, the series for Spanish brand La Mediterranea allows various combinations of different shapes and finishes.

See all our stories about Héctor Serrano »
See all our stories about lighting »

Here are some more details from the designer:

Natura by Héctor Serrano for La Mediterranea

Natura comes from the natural relation between cork and glass. The combination of these two materials give the collection an innovative character in adition of being sustainable. An extensive collection of lights and vases with warm and friendly shapes in contrast with the mix of materials and textures.

The large number of finishings allows the pieces integrate in any context.

A new collection of lights and vases for La Mediterranea, presented in Masion&Objet. Hall 3 Stand F31. 21-25 January.

See also:

.

Plug by Tomas Kral	Wine & Bar by Aurélien Barbry for Normann Copenhagen	Cru by Sebastian Bergne

Tokyo firm Naruse Inokuma Architects created these pads of page markers from demolished wooden houses.

Called IE-tag, the notes come in blocks shaped like gabled houses and can be arranged to represent a little village on a desk or along a book’s edge.

See Dezeen’t top ten: paper products »

The information below is from Naruse Inokuma Architects:

IE-tag

Yuri Naruse + Jun Inokuma
Naruse Inokuma Architects

This is a tag made of paper from wooden building waste.

In regenerating wooden building waste into paper, rather than discarding or burning it for energy, we propose the entire process flow up to the final product.

This tag is shaped as a house, retaining the memory of the material when it was part of a house.

When several are arranged together, they form a town. What had originally been part of townscape now creates a small version of townscape on your desk.

See also:

.

Monster by Tomáš Král and Camille Blin for OKOLO	Bookmark lamp by Léonard Kadid	More paper things

French designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec will present a collection of rugs for Spanish brand Nanimarquina at Maison & Objet in Paris this month.

Called Losanges, the rugs are hand-made in Northern Pakistan, combining thirteen colours in a pattern of tessellated diamond shapes.

Maison & Objet takes place 21-25 January 2011.

More about Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec on Dezeen »
Dezeen’s top ten: rugs and blankets »

Here’s some text from Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec:

We are pleased to present a new rug collection, called Losanges, designed for the Spanish brand nanimarquina.

We have always been captivated by the traditional Persian rug, especially by the very old kilim savoir-faire which we see as a delicate mix of rusticity and fineness.

We have been lucky to see this project carried through by the craftsmen of Northern Pakistan who managed to skillfully combine thirteen colors through the geometrical rhombus shape.

As well as being crafted by hand, the Afghan wool is also spun by hand, which allows for some unique color tones to be highlighted.

This subtly random technique makes each lozenge slightly different and each rug, a unique piece.

The Losanges collection will be presented at the nanimarquina booth Hall 8 F36 during the Maison et Objet trade show (January 21-25, 2011).

See also:

.

Occidorient by François Mangeol	Playing with Tradition by Richard Hutten	Global Warming Rug by NEL for Nanimarquina

American designer Louie Rigano has created a range of teapots that combines mass-produced wooden handles and lids with individual hand-thrown bodies.

The body of the pot is made of unglazed clay and each one will be unique.

The lid of the vessel also forms a cup.

Rigano designed the teapot while living in Japan for a year.

More tableware »

Here are some more details from the designer:

“A series of teapots questioning perfection as an end-goal and exploring the relationships between textures and between mass-production and handmade.

The parts of the teapot that one comes into contact with are streamlined, smooth, and easily mass-produced. The body, however, is handmade and wheel-thrown, unglazed and rough. The unglazed ceramic body is easily capable of becoming well-seasoned after repeated use; which is a prized quality found in old teapots.

The wooden fixtures, which get handled, are able to develop a richly aged surface and patina after repeated use.

The lids, which also serve as teacups, and the handles, both made of oak, are a standard size and shape and can be produced in multiples in industry with ease. The ceramic body is thrown by a potter who simply must make the rim and handle plug the same standard size.

Besides these two requirements, the potter has complete artistic freedom to create the teapot in any shape or dimension.”

I’m originally from New Jersey, though I have been awarded a Fulbright grant and I am currently studying and travelling in Japan for a year.

My focus is on traditional Japanese design philosophy and aesthetics, and their role in modern design and culture. During the course of the year I am designing and fabricating objects that will not only pay homage to Japan’s history, but integrate and rework the precepts of these traditional aesthetics into products designed for mass production in the current age.

This I hope will provide an alternative point of view to the heavily globalized design world. My work deals with pared down ideals. I seek a thoughtful and occasionally humorous meditation on contemporary notions of luxury, utility, and cultural values, conveyed by the most direct and simple means.

See also:

.

Tea pot by Lee West for Eno	Tea pot by Designerette	Tea pot by Patrick Frey

This three-legged wooden chair with adjustable back-rest shaped like an oar is part of a special edition collection designed by Florian Hauswirth of Switzerland.

Above: MWC – Minimal Wood Chair

Called FHNY Collection, the range includes a nutcracker, a set of ceramic vessels with coloured strips at the bases and an oar-shaped wooden scoop.

Hauswirth is part of Swiss design collective Postfossil.

Above: My Wood

All our stories on Postfossil »

More furniture on Dezeen »
More homeware on Dezeen »

The following information is from Hauswirth:

FHNY Collection: materials, tools and origin

In his work, Swiss Industrial Designer Florian Hauswirth combines traditional forms and crafts with new technologies. The origin and lifecycles of materials as well as the production methods of objects are important to the Wallpaper* Award Winner 2010. The FHNY Collection, a result from Hauswirth’s artist residency from the Bernese Foundation for Applied Arts in New York, contemplates the origin of objects in terms of material, production and place.

Above: Vessel

Through his designs, Hauswirth raises awareness of the materiality and production processes of everyday objects in a time when industrial globalization and modern production/transportation methods have left us with little or no relation to the work and efforts behind a product As an industrial designer and technical model maker Hauswirth knows these processes well and seeks to embody them in his work by creating durable and sustainable objects.

All objects of this limited edition were designed and produced in New York City.

MWC Minimal Wood Chair

A minimalist chair from solid wood, inspired by the experimental “Minimal Chair“ developed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1948. The mechanical-functional finesse of a moveable backrest, implemented in wood only, improves the comfort of this novel small wooden chair. The furniture allows two different seating positions. Another inspiration for the mechanical wooden chair was Shaker furniture. Shakers were ingenious craftspeople who, centuries ago already developed ball joints from solid wood.

Above: Nutool

Nutool

Nutool is an aluminum nutcracker, an accessory with a tool character. Products exist to serve as a tool to ease our everyday life. The cracking of a nut is something essential – the natural transport- and wrapping-shell of a fruit is being opened. Nutool is best used at the end of a day, with a fresh piece of bread and a glass of wine.

My Wood

The wood used for this scoop derives from a plum tree that grew next to the house where the designer was raised. Nutrition and cooking were very important in the bringing up of Florian Hauswirth and still are today. Not only should we strive for local and organic foods, our everyday objects should live up to the same sustainable expectations.

Vessel (three ceramic vessels)

The ceramics collection plays with the physical relation between fluidity and form. As vessels swim in the glaze, they are being marked – an inversion of the inside and the outside. Through this marking, the production process becomes apparent on the product. Through different prototypes, industrially appearing ceramics were created.

See also:

.

Doublefacette by Florian Hauswirth	Assemblage 1 by Toogood	Furniture by Postfossil