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Product news: Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek has produced a wallpaper collection that mimics weathered wood textures.

Piet Hein Eek‘s second collaboration with Dutch wallpaper company NLXL comprises eight designs.

His original Scrapwood collection was launched with the brand in 2010. This new range expands on the previous designs based on “waste furniture” to include patterns of realistic wood cross sections, beams and planks.

The wall coverings have a matte finish to make them look more convincing. “We chose a new, super luxurious matte finish so the wallpaper looks even more realistic than before,” said the designer.

First shown at trade show ICFF in New York earlier this year, the collection will be on display during Dutch Design Week 2013 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, later this month.

We’ve also featured wallpaper that reveals images of leafy forests and palatial interiors under different coloured lights, plus a jagged wall decorated with patterned graphics.

See more design by Piet Hein Eek »
See more wallpaper design »

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by Piet Hein Eek for NLXL appeared first on Dezeen.

Mexican designer Liliana Ovalle has created a carafe and set of tumblers printed with fine black lines that overlap to create a moiré effect when the pieces are clustered together.

Each item in the Cumulo collection by Liliana Ovalle is decorated with fanned-out linear patterns that become finer as they radiate outwards, creating a cross-hatching effect where they reach round to the other side and can be seen through the layers of glass.

“The glasses and carafe acquire a more complex three-dimensionality when combined together,” said Ovalle. “As the patterns overlap in various arrangements, the accumulation of lines reveals hidden depths and densities.”

The prototypes were blown in borosilicate glass. They were exhibited at the Okay Studio & Friends exhibition in Ben Sherman‘s Mod_ular Blanc event space during London Design Festival last month, along with opaline glassware by Mathias Hahn and a circular mirror with a large brass weight by Hunting & Narud.

Having graduated from London’s Royal College of Art in 2006, Ovalle joined the Okay Studio design collective in 2011 and continues to operate from their space close to the Dezeen offices in Stoke Newington – see more projects by Okay Studio designers.

Ovalle also presented a series of clay vessels based on the geological phenomenon of sinkholes as part of a group show at Gallery Libby Sellers in London for the festival.

See more work by Liliana Ovalle »
See all our coverage of London Design Festival 2013 »

Photography is courtesy of the designer.

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Liliana Ovalle appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: Californian company Soma has launched an hourglass-shaped carafe and a biodegradable filter to fit in the top.

Soma claims to have designed the “world’s first completely biodegradable filter”, which is made of coconut shell carbon and a layer of natural silk encased in a plant-based composite.

The cone-shaped filter aims to removes impurities and improve taste. It slots into the top of a glass carafe, which is formed to fit comfortably in the hand and incorporates a bevelled edge around the base to prevent it from falling over.

Founder of Soma Mike del Ponte worked with water filtration expert, David Beeman, Joe Tan and Markus Diebel on the design of the products. Soma in 2012 as a crowd-funded project to create an alternative to domestic plastic water purifiers.

The company has partnered with Water, a non-profit organisation working to provide safe drinking water globally, so every filter purchased contributes to the charity.

At the Global Design Forum this year, a water-filtration system that uses plants to extract arsenic from water supplies was voted the “idea that will change the world”. Formafantasma also designed charcoal inserts for blown-glass containers that purify tap water.

Other recent glassware designs include a set of bubble-shaped lanterns by Kristine Five Melvaer and a glass with a stem that holds exactly one measure of alcohol. See more glassware design »

See more information from the designer:

Soma, the smart, beautiful and sustainable water filter, officially launches into the marketplace today with a modern design that will redefine the way you drink and serve water in your home. Unlike anything else in the market, Soma is the pinnacle of clean, industrial design that looks gorgeous on any table and for any occasion. An elegant glass carafe holds Soma’s unique filter composed of coconut shell carbon, four layers of fine silk and a plant based casing, is the world’s first completely biodegradable filter.

With the goal of going above and beyond the unremarkable products in the current market, Soma enlisted a dream team of designers, including the world’s leading filtration expert, David Beeman (Starbucks, Peet’s, Keurig) and the renowned industrial design duo Joe Tan and Markus Diebel (IDEO, Incase). Their collaborative expertise helped to build an award-winning water filter that is innovative, eco-conscious and convenient. With its unique hourglass-shaped glass carafe, Soma is the first water filter designed with the consumer in mind, constructed to fit perfectly into the pourer’s hand.

Soma’s modern, sustainable design is only the beginning of its positive impact. From day one, Founder Mike Del Ponte envisioned Soma as not only aesthetically pleasing, but also ethically sound. Knowing that a staggering number of filters end up in landfills annually, the Soma team was determined to create a product that also had a low-impact on the environment. Soma’s biodegradable filter is designed to remove water impurities and improve taste for less than 25 cents a day. Expired filters can be tossed in green bins and will biodegrade completely in commercial composting facilities without negative environmental impacts.

To simplify your life, Soma makes filter replacement easy with its subscription service, ensuring timely delivery of a fresh filter every two months. Partnering with charity: water, Soma is also focused on giving back. With every Soma filter purchased, you are helping bring clean, safe drinking water to those in need.

“Over the past year we have worked tirelessly to create a beautiful product paired with an unprecedented experience,” said Mike Del Ponte, Co-founder and CEO of Soma. “First, we focused on product development-creating a decanter-quality glass carafe and innovative filter that provided the best tasting water, while also having the lowest impact on the environment.” Del Ponte adds, “Once we felt we had created an incredible product that was unlike any other, we focused on finding the right group of investors and advisors to help guide the process, from an idea to launching the product, in just over one year. I am proud of what we have created and am thrilled to finally share Soma with the world.”

The Soma carafe and two filters retails for $49, with each replacement filter priced at $12.99 (including shipping). For a limited time, new customers will receive two free filters with each purchase.

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by Soma appeared first on Dezeen.

Product news: Japanese studio Nendo has made this range of drinking vessels and wine bottle holders in the same way as pails and barrels (+ slideshow).

Nendo worked with traditional Japanese barrel maker Nakagawa Mokkougei, using wooden bucket-making techniques to create smaller versions for the Oke collection.

The range includes a tumbler, drinking cup, shot glass, sake cup and sake pitcher.

Nendo altered the silhouette of the buckets, which normally have straight edges. “We added a slight curve at the base to create a soft feel both visually and in the hand,” the studio said.

The lighter-coloured pieces are crafted from Japanese cypress and darker items are made out of Jindai cedar, a rare wood removed from the ground after being buried for 2000 years.

Both woods are treated with urethane to prevent warping caused by sunlight, dirt and moisture.

One metal hoop rather than the usual two is used to bind the wooden slats. The hoop is sandblasted for a matte finish.

The slats forming the larger Uneven-Oke Bucket are different heights so a bottle neck can rest against them. It has two hoops instead of one so it looks distinctly barrel-like.

All designs will be available from Seibu department stores in Japan from 22 October.

Nendo has also designed a collection of office furniture that is screwed together with a coin rather than tools and a chair inspired by the spike heels on a pair of stilettos. See more design by Nendo »

Photos are by Akihiro Yoshida.

Here are some more details from Nendo:

Oke Cup, Oke Carafe, Uneven-Oke Bucket

Nakagawa Mokkougei is a traditional Japanese cooper whose pails, buckets and other wooden items have long been beloved of exclusive Kyoto inns and restaurants. We designed a collection of drinking items – a tumbler, guinomi drinking cup, shot glass, sake cup and sake pitcher – that utilise the same barrel-making skills and techniques. Somewhat unconventionally, we decided to bind the wooden slats with one hoop, rather than the usual two. We made the walls thicker than usual and created nearly imperceptible spaces between the slats, a new construction that disperses the stress around the structure.

Using only one hoop makes for a clean look, and the thicker wood has a strong, comforting feel against the lips when lifted to the mouth. We also played with the cups’ silhouette. The walls of Japanese wooden buckets ordinarily lie straight. We added a slight curve at the base to create a soft feel both visually and in the hand.

To soften the hoop’s metallic gleam, we sandblasted it to a matte texture then coloured it with a powdered paint, developing another new technique. The pieces are made from a combination of Japanese cypress (hinoki), the traditional material for buckets, and Jindai Cedar, a rare, darker wood uncovered from having been buried in the earth for more than 2000 years.

We treated both woods with urethane to keep warping from ultraviolet rays, dirt and moisture to a minimum. A collection that combines old and new techniques to bring out the best in its materials. All the items will be sold at Seibu department stores in Japan exclusively from 22 October.

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by Nendo appeared first on Dezeen.

London Design Festival 2013: Royal College of Art graduate Bilge Nur Saltik has designed a collection of minimal white plates, bowls and cups that tip backwards and forwards, revealing a flash of fluorescent pink on their undersides (+ slideshow).

Share.Food tableware by Saltik features a small bowl, a large plate and a cup, each with a v-shaped base.

Saltik intends to playfully encourage people to share food and drink by tilting the vessels in different directions, rewarding them with a warm glow of colour from underneath as they do so.

“It is a bit of a balancing game around the dinning table,” Saltik told Dezeen. “Users can either balance everything towards themselves or they can tip them over and open their plate to other users.”

“It is quite a nice gesture to tip the plate and offer your food to someone – it is kind, surprising and playful,” she added.

Each object has a painted base that creates a soft glow when placed on light-coloured surfaces. “The glow is to underline the angles,” the designer said. “It is to indicate the direction of sharing and to create curiosity.”

Saltik’s tableware was on display at design showcase Tent London and the Going Into Business exhibition of work by this year’s Design Products graduates from the Royal College of Art during London Design Festival.

We’ve also featured Saltik’s OP-jects dimpled glassware that creates kaleidoscopic effects, which she presented at Show RCA 2013 earlier this summer.

See all our stories about London Design Festival 2013 »
See Dezeen’s map and guide to London Design Festival 2013 »

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by Bilge Nur Saltik appeared first on Dezeen.