Immobile, stagnant, unchanging furniture is definitely no fun. We want furniture that adapts, grows and changes with time! Which is exactly what Dutch designer Jolien Hanemaai aims to provide. She founded her Copenhagen-based studio, Hanemaai, in 2011 and set about creating furniture that makes daily life just a bit more thrilling. Her Infinite Home Tool is a portable...
Polit may be a new kid on the block, but the manufacturer already has a well-defined design identity. With a slew of tongue-in-cheek slogans and a collection of simple, functional furniture, Polit exudes certainty. Launched in 2013, Polit is focused on two things: form and function. Perhaps the same could be said of every design manufacturer, but Polit differentiates th...
Herb is a multifunctional sofa by Milan-based, Istanbul-born designer Burak Kocak that combines storage, lighting, decoration and seating in one convenient piece of furniture. The sofa is bordered by modular accessories, including a shelving unit and a planter, that can be swapped out and exchanged as needed. The shelving unit also contains a light fixture and a power s...
Australian designer Elliat Rich has reinterpreted the rustic billy to create an elegant object that retains the fundamental qualities of the timeless icon. For those who are unaware, a billy is a lightweight cooking pot that is used over a campfire or portable stove. Rich’s version of the billy celebrates the act of drinking tea. Made from borosilicate glass and mountai...
These days, it’s rare to open a magazine without stumbling across one of Bethan Gray‘s creations. Winner the prestigious Best British Designer Award in 2013 and one of the rock stars of British design, she is everywhere. We love her designs for their use of unexpected materials and patterns that take boring objects to the next level. Her tables are perhaps the perfect...
Glass is cool. It’s been around for forever, but let’s face it, glass doesn’t age and we still love it. Lately, glass has become trendy again for a reason that matches Israeli designer Dan Yeffet’s philosopy: it’s the perfect link between our modern/computerized era and traditional craftsmanship. For a while now, Yeffet has been reluctant plow ahead, and as many other de...
Leather and wood go together like milk and cookies or perhaps a mojito and a sandy beach. Porto-based designers Alexandre Kumagai and Paulo Neves of Studio Gud are particularly gifted with wood, so the addition of leather to their Bolsa Desk was a natural next step. Designed for Portuguese brand WEWOOD, the Bolsa Desk is inspired by Portuguese saddlebags, called alforge...
We have to be completely honest: Los Angeles design and manufacturing company Bend Goods got our attention thanks to a photo of a tiny puppy sitting on a brightly colored chair. But we’re so glad! We don’t just like Bend Goods because of their totally adorable Rhodesian Ridgeback named Harley, the company also creates some really gorgeous products. Founded by Gaurav Nan...
Pursuing the essence of its old French definition of draper (to cover with a drape), this chair of steel wires reproduces the image of a drape in fluid motion. This illusion still allows one to identify the lines of the chair’s frame while also wrapping one’s mind with a light, soft, imaginary blanket. The practicality of such a product has one wondering “why not take a ...
This tricky, diamond-shaped shelving system gives the illusion of being of little use. When you go ahead and stick your hand in one of the cubes -don’t worry, they don’t bite-, you realize just how much space there is! Although born in 2009 for the first time under Work’s By’s watch, Imeuble CI received serious spotlight at Stockholm Design Week earlier this month. The u...
Design with a sunny disposition. That sums up the perfectly simple and highly adorable designs of the Italian design brand Discipline. Working with industry veterans (including Claesson Koivisito Rune and nendo!) as well as quickly rising newcomers, the brand’s collection proudly displays form and function walking hand in hand. Discipline seeks to create sustainable pro...
As you may or may not know, the non-profit association VIA (Valorization of Innovation in Furnishing) gives French designers and design students the unique opportunity to see their designs turned into protoypes and promoted for an entire year. Several well-known creators, such as Philippe Nigro, got their start thanks to VIA. At Maison&Objet, they presented an array of i...
Berlin-based linea1 designs barely-there steel shelving whose dimensions are adapted to the object it holds. Established in 2004 by Irina Jurasic and Francesco Apuzzo, the German label has consistently focused on function and high-quality craftsmanship. Each piece is fabricated in Berlin, and the steel is not forged but rather bent into shape. Simplicity defines the st...
It’s no secret that we love a good valet. Having a place to throw those kind-of-dirty clothes is absolutely imperative! Okay, you’re technically supposed to fold your clothing and place it gently on the valet, but who has time for that? Andrew Prioli’s Modern-Day Valet indulges our inner mess but is sleek enough to pose as an awesome chair. So, if you’re a real, live tid...
Kleinergleich5 (less than or equal to 5) by German designer Ruben Beckers is a wooden table that weighs just 4.5 kilograms. One of the [D3] Contest winners at IMM Cologne last week, his table is most likely the lightest wooden table in the world, weighing 50% less than Benjamin Hubert’s Ripple table. A grid of thin wood strips form a solid support structure for the wood...
Founded by designer/craftsman Benjamin Klebba in 2009, Phloem Studio focuses on the use of natural materials and traditional joinery with the goal of creating handcrafted goodness that lasts a lifetime. The Peninsula Chair, in particular, is a testament to excellent craftsmanship and makes us sigh with longing. Made in Portland, Oregon, the Peninsula Chair was realized i...
Mmmmm, is anyone else feeling a bit peckish? Unfortunately, you can’t gnaw on Andrea Brugnera‘s tasty design for Formabilio. Well, you could, but we wouldn’t recommend it. Looking more like holiday cookies than home decor, Frolle is a set of wall hangers made from wood and dipped in cream or chocolate lacquer. So delightfully fun and adorable, one might even say that the...
With bright, simple products that live up to the brand’s namesake, Universo Positivo makes happiness in the form of furniture. The brainchild of Ethnicraft and design duo Jan & Lara, the series stems from collaborations with the likes of Hertel & Klarhoefer, David Caspar Schäfer, Thomas Merlin and Jonas Wahlström. The first collection was launched at Maison&Objets this p...
If you ever got in trouble for scribbling on the walls (or cupboards or floor…) as a kid, then Cyrcus Lavagna is made for you. in-es.artdesign turned a lavagna (blackboard in Italian) into a lampshade! Winner of a German Design Council’s Interior Innovation Award 2014, in-es.artdesign’s Cyrcus Lavagna is made for drawing, scribbling, jotting…You won’t even get in trouble...
Ian Walton and Marcel Twohig are the founders of Dublin-based industrial design studio notion. In January 2013, they expanded their expertise to product design and established NTN. Their first collection consists of five pieces, each of which contains one complex element that is highlighted by the design’s overall simplicity. Case in point: the hammock table. A low coffe...
PearsonLloyd has revealed a collection of workplace furniture for Teknion, a Canadian company focusing on how the improved design of architectural office spaces contributes employees’ efficacy and well-being. Challenging the conventional notions of office spaces as well as how furniture has begun to play a more active role in their optimization are large aspects of the L...
Get ready to do a happy dance! Thanks to the genius of Tomas Erel and Bénédicte Colpin, you can receive an exclusive surprise from a different designer every single month. Yes, you read that correctly. Founded by IPC (Iconic Product Collection), designerbox is an online concept that promises to deliver fabulous design straight to your door. Each piece from designerbox...
Just when the headless Chicken Lamp was beginning to fade from our collective memory, Sebastian Errazuriz pops up again. However, his Explosion Cabinet is turning heads not for its shock factor but rather for its impressive design craftsmanship. Acquired by the Carnegie Museum of Art (CMOA) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the cabinet will be part of Sebastian’s very first s...
Danish designer Lærke Rune created her modular sofa with the whole family in mind. After conducting empirical research, she determined that the floor is an important part of the couch, particularly for children. Having different levels would theoretically reduce the gap between the couch and the floor thus providing a sense of togetherness. Flexibility and adaptability ...
At first glance, the Moiré Mirror by Dutch designer Hayo Gebauer appears opaque and reflective – in other words, perfectly ordinary. However, the mirror contains a hidden light source. Once illuminated, the light reveals a lightproof pattern on a second movable disk behind the first. The second disk can be rotated to create a mesmerizing moiré effect.
Even those not convinced by the merits of glass furniture might find something to love in Patricia Urquiola’s Shimmer collection for Glas Italia. Laminated glass is glued together to form tables, shelves and consoles that are coated in an iridescent multichromatic finish that turns each piece into a visual feast. Much like a soap bubble in sunlight, the elements are cons...
We like the idea of being able to pack up our apartment at a moment’s notice and heading off into the sunset. So, we would like to thank Dutch designer Benjamin Vermeulen for making our dream a reality. His MAGfurniture is so simple to assemble that it has us feeling almost dubious. Is it too good to be true? It would seem not. The table, chairs and cabinet are made f...
The Made in Sea collection by Israeli designer Ariel Zuckerman exudes simplicity. Exploring the relationship between artificial and organic, the objects mimic a naturally occurring state. Composed of a chair, containers and bowls, each piece looks as if it spent years macerating in saltwater before being marooned by waves on a sandy shore. The concept is somehow irresist...
More often than not, Jaime Hayon’s work is a woven tapestry of cultural influences, drawing influence from other creative domains such as poetry and architecture. Take, for example, his recent homage to Le Corbusier. Or his new Palette tables for Danish design brand &tradition. Presented at Maison & Objet, which opened its doors today, Palette is a collection of layered ...
The perfect multifunctional piece to show off your fixed-gear and your copies of The Stranger and On The Road. The BH #2 is an all wood piece that requires no wall fixing. Its simple, minimal lines are crafty and is what we consider to be contemporary simplicity done Williamsburg right. Renting? No worries, the wall facing part of the structure is cork-protected to prese...
Building blocks are for kids! Or for architects. Indeed, Blockitecture is architectural inspiration in the form of a toy. Minimal and clean, it uses simple geometric forms to help individuals “enhance their understanding of physical laws by using their creative and imaginative processes.” Designed by James Paulius for Areaware, Blockitecture is alledgedly also great for ...
German designer Frederik Kurzweg has banished fiddly levers and complicated hydraulic systems from his refreshingly minimal but ergonomic Bender Chair. Ergonomics are important for our overall health, especially when many of us spend the majority of our day in a chair, but Kurzweg wanted to rethink we apply such ideas. Rather than using mechanisms that add weight and bul...
Without resorting to idioms, the nondescript exterior of the Climate Table hides its extraordinary potential: this table regulates temperature using only simple physics and a special wax. The Climate Table is the first design in the Zero Energy Furniture series which was co-created by French architect and engineer Raphaël Ménard and French designer Jean-Sébastien Lagr...
Foresta is a far cry from the squeaky contraptions that unfurl from beneath cushions, their metal frames threatening to pinch skin with every tug. Indeed, the design more of a bed that is incidentally a sofa than a sofa bed. Japanese-born, Milan-based designer Sakura Adachi created the tent-shaped piece of furniture for the Italian design manufacturer Campeggi who presen...
Admittedly, what first caught our eye in Paris-based designer Arik Levy’s Split collection was the super trendy color gradient. Perfectly at home in textiles, it’s less common to see a color gradient on wood and Levy’s choice of nature-inspired shades is visually engaging. Designed for Czech manufacturer TON, Levy created the gradient for the standard chair using a spray...
Our hectic lives are being contained to smaller and smaller spaces. A table can no longer be content as a simple table. We need a table that doubles as storage! We need multifunctional furniture that plays multiple roles while taking up half the space. Swedish designer Johanna Paulsson’s Små Ting offers a small, convenient solution. The simple design is made of bent w...
