Hasta La Ideas

Art and design collide in a thought-provoking show that encapsulates the beauty of brotherly collaboration

A project four years in the making, Kin Coda comprises a range of 25 uniquely crafted keepsake boxes, each an assemblage of art by the diverse design collective We-Are-Familia. Since graphic designer Jennifer Garcia began the project in 2007, several of the first 11 boxes have been featured in galleries or snapped up by discerning collectors, debuting at Colette and then coming stateside to Open Space in Beacon, NY and Fountain Art Fair.

For boxes 12-25, We-Are-Familia used damaged furniture from the sustainably-minded Danish brand Fritz Hansen. In order to protect the integrity of their classic designs, Fritz Hansen is forced to destroy a small amount of unusable furniture each season, and when sales director for North America David Obel Rosenkvist heard about the collective’s forward-thinking project, he and his team decided to donate the damaged chairs and tables to Garcia and her team.

Garcia originally started the project to exemplify the synonymous nature of art and design, and has brought her point to life with this second wave of furniture-based conceptual boxes, currently on view at NYC’s Fritz Hansen store. Several notable designers, including David Weeks, Iacoli & McAllister, Kiel Mead, Joe Doucet, UM Project and more, have put their own distinctive twist on the Fritz Hansen furniture, which rounds out the project. Serving as a stimulating foundation for the ingenious designers, the Fritz Hansen furniture takes new shape in works like Chen Chen and Kai Williams’ deconstructed Star Base Swivel Chair in fire engine red, or Nightwood’s rustic Swan chair-turned-“Hunter-Gatherer Chair,” and UM Project’s modern armoire made from Arne Jacobsen Series 7 chairs.

Living up to the We are Familia name, Garcia tells us that when one of the pieces sells—prices top off at $10,000—they all split the profit. It’s with this communal enthusiasm that the designers created the singular keepsakes, each brimming with the works of 40 different artists. The full collection of collaborative creations, combined with the support of Fritz Hansen, perfectly illustrates the familial spirit of the artists’ collective.

Kin Coda will be on display for just a short time at Fritz Hansen, from 17-23 November 2011. To see more of the series, including the original 11 keepsakes, check out the gallery below.

Colorful leather goods handcrafted in Paris

Cutting, crafting and dyeing all leather goods by hand in her Paris studio, Emilie Borriglione creates brightly-hued wallets, belts and more under the name Melle Emilie b. Because the design process happens completely by hand, no two pieces are exactly alike in style or shade. I was fortunate to have discovered her booth at a weekend pop-up event in Paris and was charmed by her enthusiasm for her work; her bright personality translates literally with her use of vibrant colors.

Emilie sets her pieces apart with their minimal design, making each pouch, wallet and seamless belt in more than 26 colors—from subdued earth tones to vibrant reds and yellows—all inspired by Borriglione’s love of traveling.

The Melle Emilie b. line sells through Paris’ Créateurs de Mode. For special orders, contact the artist directly through her Facebook page. If you’re really keen on Borriglione’s design, check out fellow Paris-based brand Ursul where Borriglione has recently taken up a design position.

Wooden bicycle handlebars with the grace of Italian style

Inspired by the elegance of vintage bicycles that cruise the streets of Florence, Officine Firenze Milani creates beautifully-crafted wooden handlebars as the ultimate accent to any bike. The bars are made in Italy, using individually selected materials to produce the highest caliber wooden handlebars available.

With a semi-gloss finish, the natural grain of each teak, mahogany, walnut and ash layer lends different personalities to each design. A bisection of aluminum provides structural reinforcement (and a nice industrial accent) without sacrificing comfort—although longer rides may require gloves.

The Officine also hand-restores neglected bicycles using vintage components along with wooden handlebars and rims to create desirable one-of-a-kind transformations.

Also on Cool Hunting: Sanomagic Wooden Bicycles, Duo

Rare and limited edition books from the premier member’s-only site for contemporary art

Building on its model of selling affordable limited-edition artworks produced by marquee names in the art world, yesterday Exhibition A launched its newest extension, BookShop. Comprising one-of-a-kind or limited-edition monographs, the books contain signatures, inscriptions and sometimes even artist-sketched drawings inside their pages.

The membership-based site, founded last December by Half Gallery owner Bill Powers, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley and Laura Martin, introduces one or two new pieces on a weekly basis, allowing them to sell for either a limited-run of four weeks, or, in the case of limited editions, until they sell out. With every piece retailing from $100 to $500 dollars, Exhibition A’s concept not only delivers an antidote to generic landscapes, but also a greater accessibility to prominent artists’ works through such inexpensive pricing. Offerings have included limited-editions by Terence Koh, Olaf Breuning, Hanna Liden, Jules de Balincourt, and David LaChapelle, who created surprising collages—a departure from his typical photography—for it.

The first batch of titles available include a copy of George Condo’s 2004 “Happy Birthday,” signed by the artist, with a whimsical sketch of a figure about to strangle the artist as he appears on a page spread. Chloe Sevigny’s lookbook for her first capsule collection with Opening Ceremony, signed by photographer Mark Borthwick, also features drawings by Dan Colen and Spencer Sweeney.

While most of the editions land in the $150 to $750 price range, Damien Hirst’s “The Bilotti Paintings” is a major exception. Retailing for $9,000, Hirst inscribed the copy with a drawing of a shark tank, a reference to his iconic sculpture, “The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.”

Like the popular fashion-based site Of of a Kind, which employs a similar model by selling limited-edition designs by up-and-coming indie designers, Exhibition A fluidly combines art and commerce with editorial. Commentary and profiles on its artists, as well as interviews with collectors and influential tastemakers such as Simon de Pury, Paper magazine’s Kim Hastreiter and Vice Media’s Ben Dietz help round out the concept. Call it the Gilt phenomenon 2.0, expect to see more sites like this reflecting the growing consumer demand for products that are unique and accessible at once.

Brooklyn folk collective Fort Makers create wearable art in their latest venture

Combining art and fashion in the literal sense, The Dress Project is a creative endeavor in dressmaking using silk and cotton fabric hand-painted by artist Naomi Clark of Brooklyn’s playful cohort, Fort Makers. Clark, along with co-founder Nana Spears, tapped fashion designer Lauren Nevada to create the dress form—a simple button-down shirt-dress intended to convey a sense of all-American style. “As we brought our ideas together, we realized this design would, on one hand, be the most symbolic piece we could find,” explains Nevada, while also noting that the relaxed silhouette (requiring few seams), would complement the garment’s identity as a wearable canvas.

The one-off frocks showcase Clark’s vibrant artistry, a form of object metamorphosis executed through the use of organically painted geometric shapes and patterns, bold brushstrokes and lively, often eye-popping colors. “The results are a wonderful surprise,” adds Nevada. “We found compositions hidden under the collars and button tabs sometimes—details that make them very special.”

The dresses will be available at Bird boutique in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhod, which will also be a temporary gallery space for pieces from Fort Makers’ inaugural venture, The Blanket Project. Employing a similar perspective and aesthetic towards textile art, the two-year-old collective self-dubbed “urban folk artists” source secondhand wool camping blankets from flea markets, garage sales and eBay, which are then cut, dyed, and sewn into new quilts.

The dresses will retail for $745 at Bird, as well as at Louis in Boston.