Hasta La Ideas

These fungus-like purses are made of layers of laser-cut silk.

Created by Israeli textile designer Sivan Royz, the pieces are slotted together with string.

The tighter the curves, the darker the edges of the silk.

Holes in the fabric line up to create cavities inside, suitable for holding items like a lipstick and mobile phone.

Here are some more details from Sivan Royz:

Blooming Structures

This project takes inspirations from the world of blooming nature, what interests me most are the naturally constructed shapes that grow and develop in nature, and the smart simple ways that the are structured. I decided to bring these dimensional constructions into my textiles.

This bringing a creation of a new technique to work with fabrics.

Technique: Laser cut silk pieces, when brought together by string, create a textile structure.

The pieces are coloured evenly or not coloured at all. The shading and dark parts are created by the laser cut line, as a straight line will create less dark areas then a crooked line.

The dimensional pieces react to movement when handled and change accordingly like a living organism.

The white objects shown are small purses. One is custom made for holding only an i phone and a channel lipstick.

As a textile designer my main focus is in printed textiles, I have been taking interest mostly in how to make dimensional prints alongside the traditional graphic prints.

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Glueline by Oscar Diaz	Lanana by Ryszard Rychlicki	Tinkebell. at Torch Gallery

Industrial design graduate Florian Schmid made these stools by folding fabric that’s impregnated with cement then drenching it in water. 

Called Stitching Concrete, the stools are made from a material called Concrete Canvas, which Dezeen featured in 2009.

It consists of cement layered between fabric and a PVC backing. Once soaked it can be manipulated for a few hours before hardening.

Schmid folds the Concrete Canvas and stitches the edges together with brightly coloured thread, then supports it on a wooden mould while it’s drenched in water and allowed to harden.

The finished stools retain the soft appearance of folded fabric but are fireproof, waterproof and strong enough to sit on.

Schmid developed the project while studying at the Hochschule München in Germany.

Read more about Concrete Canvas, including applications for disaster relief, in our earlier story.

The following information is from Florian Schmid:

Stitching Concrete

“Stitching Concrete” is inspired by the contrasts of the Material Concrete Canvas.

Once brought in the final shape, you just have to water the material and within 24 hours it will harden out. It combines the warm softness of the cloth and the stability of the cold concrete.

The project plays with a visual delusion that actually an 8mm thickness of cloth can not give the strength to sit on.

After some first test how to handle the material I tried to approach through different channels like patterns, stitchings, and all kinds of origami. For the final mock-ups thin foam rubber simulated the abilities of the real material as best.

A special build wooden rack used as mould gives hold to the material during the watering and drying process. After the stool is harden out it can be removed.

The mould is always the same and adjustable to the different heights, lengths and width of the objects.

The Stools are for indoor and outdoor use, caused by the material’s durability against UV, fire proofed, water resistant and more.

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Concrete Chair by Tejo Remy & René Veenhuizen	Concrete Things by Komplot for Nola	FALT.series by Tim Mackerodt

New Designers 2011: textile designer Orawee Choedamphai has created modular knitted screens that incorporate cable ties and Lego.

Called The Fourth-Dimension, the elements can be combined to make room dividers and wall hangings.

Choedamphai presented the work as part of One Year on at New Designers in London this weekend.

She first showed at New Designers last year and is now studying for an MA in Textiles and Fashion Product at Bucks New University in the UK.

New Designers took place 6-9 July.

The information below is from Orawee Choedamphai:

The Fourth-Dimension

The Fourth-Dimension is a series of 3D knitted ornaments, inspired by Lego, which can be linked together to form bigger structures.

Unconventional materials such as wire and cable ties are used alongside traditional craft skills that create a striking contrast, and add a sense of femininity into a masculine environment. The sculptures could be used as interior solutions to enhance, confine or divide spaces.

Orawee is a knitted textile designer who specialized in three-dimensional knitted structure for interior architecture and fashion accessories. Industrial Design was her 1st degree, which she studied in Bangkok, Thailand, before she came to the UK to studied Textiles and Surface Design BA (Hons) at Bucks New University. The Industrial Design background together with her textile skills enabled her to explore knitting in a different direction and thus opened up new boundaries.

Since a child, Lego has been her favourite toy and due to this ‘modularity’ has become one of the most important elements of her design. Orawee have a passion for making things. However, prior to her 2nd degree she was not accustomed to knitting, as it is not a part of her culture. Therefore, this made her unique to her fellow students. She became fascinated with industrial knitting, and enjoyed experimenting with a knitting machine.

Orawee is currently studying MA in Textiles and Fashion Product at Bucks New University, and have strong ties with the MA Furniture Design students, which have influenced her experiments with knitted sculptures in yet another direction; towards furniture.

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Losanges by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec	Tape Measure Project by Debbie Smyth	Origin part II: Balance by BCXSY

Milan 2011: Eindhoven designers BCXSY present a collection of rugs woven by Bedouin women in Israel at Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Milan this week.

The rugs are woven by hand in four sizes on ground looms using wool from local desert sheep.

The four pieces are then joined in different configurations to create rugs of the required size and shape.

Colours are taken from the desert surroundings where the pieces are made and details from traditional rug making crop up like fringing on selected edges and a single green tassel on each piece.

Called Balance, the project forms the second phase of their Origin series where the duo work closely with skilled craftspeople. See the first in the series in our earlier story.

The project remains on show at Spazio Rossana Orlandi, Via Matteo Bandello 14/16, 20123 Milan until 17 April.

See all our stories about Milan 2011 »

See all our stories about BCXSY »

The text below is from BCXSY:

Origin part II: Balance

Origin – our explorations into traditional crafts from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. Lakiya Negev Weaving – an organization of Bedouin artisans, initiated by SIDREH, a non-profit organization focused on improving the socioeconomic situation of Bedouin women living in Israel’s Negev Desert.

Balance – the results of our collaboration with SIDREH and the women weavers in Lakiya. Balance consists of a series of seven area rugs woven in the Bedouin tradition by the women in Lakiya, Israel. Each rug is hand woven on traditional ground looms using the wool of local desert sheep.

From the dying of the yarn to the weaving and final construction, each rug is the result of the collaborative efforts of many of the women in Lakiya. Through a craft that is central to Bedouin social and cultural heritage, the weavers are able to produce an extremely high-quality, durable and beautiful material.

By creating a culturally acceptable employment opportunity for women, Lakiya Weaving produces short-term and long-term benefits to the Arab Bedouin community. The project remains the only possible employment for many isolated women who have suffered from the impacts of social upheaval.

SIDREH’s focus is to empower, represent, and improve the socioeconomic situation of these Bedouin women, women who exist in a constant state of inequality, of imbalance.

During our second visit to Lakiya, we had the opportunity to visit some villages in the area that remain unrecognized by the authorities. Throughout our time in these villages, we were continually overwhelmed by the positive attitudes of the women we encountered.

We became increasingly inspired by the choice they have made to focus on their optimistic progress, rather than their more obvious hardships.

Balance is our response to this optimism, that in the midst of adversity and misfortune there is a lasting element of proportion and beauty.

Drawing from the surrounding landscape of the Negev Desert in both color and texture, each piece in Balance pushes the perceived confines of traditional woven dimensions and expected application of decorative elements.

The rugs are the result of working within the boundaries of the Bedouin weaving practice, where it is only possible to weave long, narrow strips of material. The strips are then cut and repositioned to create non-traditional and innovative silhouettes that generate new and exciting placement possibilities within the interior. Balance embodies the possibility of finding a modern context for an ancient craft.

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Change! by BCXSY	Distilled Nature by BCXSY	Join by BCXSY

Massproductions pack a colorfully modern punch with the bold lines of two new chairs

The new Jig chair by Massproductions in Stockholm is, in a word, beautiful. Absolutely poised in its form and slightly odd colorways, it’s the work of English designer Chris Martin (who founded Massproductions with his design partner Magnus Elebäck). Where most designers would opt for accents and poppy colors on the upholstery itself (reserving subtle neutrals for the frame), Massproduction takes the opposite route here, giving the frame, seat and backrest splashes of contrasting colors to emphasize the shapes.

Jig, which takes its name from contraptions used to hold tubes together prior to welding, is part of the company’s third collection and the first to use upholstery, following the gleaming acclaim the first two earned with their advanced attention to detail.

Part of this third gathering of products, the eye-catching Crown armchair and its easy-chair variant are in fact completely covered in fabric. Its devious form, both heavy-looking but at the same time light, gets its balance from the clever use of negative space blocked with wide expanses of flat color. Cunningly specced in a heavy-duty woolen, stretch textile minimizes ugly, heavy seaming.

When the duo first emerged, its Tio chair was given the “Modern Classic” tag almost straightaway, and earn it again here with Jig and Crown.