He turned it into a huge success and then sold his share to focus on his Compostela Project in the Philippines. This village project helps former residents of a dumpsite build sustainable lives. All information can be found in his memoirs Not for Sale! A young boy from a poor part of Worms, Germany wound up founding and running one of today’s most celebrated outdoor f...
The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. The Brazilian designer was raised by a designer mother who crafted objects such as jewelry or miniatures, and an engineer father who transformed apparatuses such as a wax machine into a pewter casting machine for the miniatures. This parental combo results in his 3-D-printed jewelry project made with ABS plastic by using a CG...
Take a stroll in an enchanted wood a stone's throw away from Milan's Duomo. The Forest is the name of a new installation designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma inside the Valextra flagship store. It takes up one of his favourite themes: bringing nature into the heart of the city. Here, 136 rough-hewn planks of Lebanon cedar (sliced tree trunks with bark but withou...
It's time for us to do an analysis of our path and become aware of our growth: ten years are an important goal for any company and Lithos Design celebrates its first 10 years of business today. Happiness, gratitude, and deep satisfaction: these feelings are accompanying us in this important recurrence and they are what we will take with us for the future plans that are ...
Walking into Piet Hein Eek‘s studio is rather like walking into a living ecosystem of art and design. Located in a disused Philips factory, the space is veritably buzzing with restaurants, shops and galleries, a hub of refreshing liveliness in Eindhoven. And the space also makes it abundantly clear that Piet Hein Eek is more than a designer. He’s a (very successful) busi...
Philippe Nigro makes fabulous designs that also feel somehow accessible. After completing studies in the Decorative Arts at La Martinière and Ecole Boulle, he became a freelance designer, working closely with renowned Italian architect and designer Michele De Lucchi until 2012. Indeed, Mr. Nigro has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Ligne R...
With the latest generation of designers, the working model of the entire industry is evolving. From conception to fabrication, more and more designers are taking the design process into their own hands. London-based designer Benjamin Hubert is one of the forerunners of this trend. Case in point: his new Tenda lights. The studio will be manufacturing and distributing them...
Ricardo Bofill is the President of his family’s Barcelona-based architecture practice, which is three generations in the making. What is so special about the practice is its unique identity as a taller, or workshop. Founded in 1963 by Bofill’s father, the Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura (RBTA) united a multidisciplinary team of architects, engineers, urban planners...
Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas did not initially want to become an architect but rather an artist or a poet. Architecture was his last choice, however a simple glance at his prodigious body of work reveals that it has been an excellent decision. Fuksas opened his first studio in 1967, while he was completing his degree at La Sapienza University in Rome. For tho...
Keeping one foot firmly planted in the future while respecting the past, MAD Architects seeks to create works of individual expression while being mindful of community needs. Indeed, “tension” perhaps best describes the firm’s futuristic designs. Headed by Ma Yansong, the firm’s founder, and principal architects, Qun Dong and Yosuke Hayano, MAD Architects flawlessly inte...
We loved 2013! We got to travel the world and meet amazing talents that are producing contemporary design icons. What could be better? Out of the many faces and plethora of fantastic designs, three particular characters left their mark in our memories. RON GILAD Perhaps unsurprisingly, Israeli designer Ron Gilad left his impression on us. Wallpaper Magazine and Elle...
Ionna Vautrin has everything of the pure French designer. She’s part of this upcoming generation of designers that are no longer focused on the future and able to acknowledge their origins. She proudly claims her French heritage, a culture tangling between engineering and art. These two notions perfectly sum up her distinguished Bicnic lamp. A small lamp designed for Fos...
Our latest e-magazine is out! Don’t miss our interview with Jakob Lange of Bjark Ingels Group! Not yet forty years-old, Bjarke Ingels is a certified starchitect. Known for his innovative projects frequently flout architectural conventions, Bjarke has gathered cross-continental acclaim. In 2004, he received the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale, the ULI Award for Exce...
If you haven’t heard of nendo, you probably don’t get on the internet much these days. Oki Sato’s brand is absolutely everywhere. In 2013 alone, nendo has presented almost fifty products and projects, ranging from lighting to cutlery to dog toys. Of course, fifty already seems like a lot, but the Japanese designer has admitted to working on over two hundred projects at o...
Luca Nichetto loves to say that he is more Venetian than Italian, an understandable distinction considering the rich cultural, linguistic and even culinary history of his beloved city. Not to mention the fact that he received his Industrial Design degree from the IUAV in Venice and even began his career as a Murano glass designer for Salviati before launching his own stu...
Love Kenneth Cobonpue? We examine even more craftsmanship from the Philippines in the latest edition of our e-magazine. Check it out! Kenneth Cobonpue seems to be contemplating his next move after years of accumulating international design awards. When we say Kenneth is looking ahead, we do mean that this world-renowned, Filipino designer, creative director of Desig...
Despite the numerous awards hanging from his proverbial belt, Karim Rashid is curiously approachable. He states that he has “let go” of his ego, removing his attachment from prizes and accolades. It’s true that he manifests a certain removal from his success, a distance that, at times, flirts with a careful self-deprecation. The Egyptian-born designer walks a delicat...
Noé Duchaufour Lawrance functions outside of the realm of limitations. That much is clear. Rather than restricting himself to one specific aspect of design, he works across fields and takes on projects ranging from industrial design to scenography and everything in between. His philosophy does not limit objects as such but rather views them as organic forms that grow an...
GamFratesi, of course! Elle DECO’s Young Designer 2013, GamFratesi is the poster child for 21st century cross cultural, international design studios with an award list so well-endowed that it continues below the fold of their site’s about page. The craft tradition of Denmark muddled with the intellectual and conceptual approach of Italy has been serving up minimal, brill...
We’re not yet two months into 2014, and the Stockholm-based architecture and design firm Claesson Koivisto Rune has already presented a plethora of new projects! We caught up with them at the Stockholm Furniture Fair to have a little chat about friendship, inspiration and their design philosophy. Mårten Claesson, Eero Koivisto and Ola Rune met at university and were ...
The Brazilian architect founded Studio MK27 in 2001 and has since swept more than 50 architectural awards around the globe. The firm’s well-rounded and multidisciplinary approach certainly contributes to their success. In fact, the firm’s vast pool of knowledge extends to design, urban planning, cinema, economics, politics and art, all of which provide a clear source of ...
When her daughter, Angela, stepped up to take over the Missoni empire, the founder happily stepped away. But she quickly realized that retirement was not for her and returned to manage the Missoni Home collection. This was in 1997. Seventeen years later, she is over eighty years old and still running Missoni Home. She emphasizes that Missoni is not just a brand, it’s ...
Atelier Areti is comprised of Gwendolyn and Guillane Kerschbaumer, sisters with impressive credentials and loads of talent. Greek for virtue, goodness, righteousness, Areti represents the team’s design philosophy – a philosophy which eschews the importance of objects to focus on the importance of beautiful and well-designed objects. Their goal is not just to create but r...
You will never be as cool as Bec Brittain, so you can just stop trying. The 33-year-old designer founded her studio in 2011 and set to work creating one-of-a-kind lighting. Based in Brooklyn, New York, Brittain’s diverse background is easily discernible in her designs. She studied industrial design at Parsons, has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from New York University...
We could go on for hours about how much we love the work of Studio Drift. In fact, we already have. Their phenomenal lighting creations are often soft, always inspired and sometimes ethereal. While we can’t say that we could picture their work adorning houses in the neighborhood, each piece provokes an emotional nostalgia that definitely fits the season. We decided to as...
Born in Kurdistan and based in Sweden, Jangir Maddadi creates objects that flawlessly marry function and form. He formed the Jangir Maddadi Design Bureau in 2008 and has since been producing consistently sleek and modern designs that manage a wink of fun. All of his designs are 100% made in Sweden, and Maddadi ensures that his products are manufactured by the best of the...
Established in 2011, Egg Collective is a Brooklyn-based design company founded by three friends: Stephanie Beamer, Crystal Ellis and Hillary Petrie. With emphasis on local craftsmanship and sophisticated design, Egg Collective is one of the shooting stars of the American design world. They received the distinction of “Best New Designer” at ICFF in 2012 and were part of a...
Studio Drift revisits ordinary beauty, putting it out of context and reworking it. A dandelion suddenly becomes a radiant object of wonder, while a stagnant lamp becomes a changeable flower. Indeed, Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta’s creations awaken their audience, provoking strong reactions with common inspiration. After their graduation from the Design Academy Eindhove...
American designer Jason Rens takes familiar objects and makes them new again. How? By using unexpected forms and shapes to construct objects with a vague resemblance to things that we recognize as a useful. His Rason Jens collection is populated with geometric, structured objects that could perhaps be practical but perhaps not. The use isn’t always quite clear, which som...
Even in the collaboration’s infancy, their creative output is prolific and diverse. They have worked with the likes of Philippe Starck on the Istanbul location of the design-conscious Mama Shelter. They are a craft-focused and environmentally conscious pair; their submission to the 2012 Green Design Competition manages to take the least sexy of products, the dehumidifier...
A veteran of the design scene, Jean-Marie Massaud has been racking up awards and honors for twenty years. His Studio Massaud has become a permanent fixture of the design world, the world of architecture, the world of urban planning…the list could go on. Yes, M. Massaud does it all, and he does it exceptionally well. Clean and simple, his visionary yet universal creations...
The replications will be identical to the original design but manufactured using contemporary techniques with stability and durability in mind.
Well. So well that TIME magazine accolades him as one of the 100 most relevant creators of our time, and Wallpaper magazine named him one of the most influential creators of the last decade. His artistic output (from furniture, product, interiors and sculptures to art installations) exudes quirky Alice-in-Wonderland vibrations but reposes on fine craft skill. This speci...
German architect Frei Otto was posthumously named the 2015 Pritzker Prize laureate. On Monday, the 89-year-old architect passed away, causing the Pritzker jury to push the prize announcement forward by two weeks. The jury visited the architect prior to his death to inform him of their decision. “Our jury was clear that, in their view, Frei Otto’s career is a model for...
Formed in 2011, Pelle is the design studio of Korean-American designer Jean Pelle and German designer Oliver Pelle. Their very first collection debuted at ICFF 2013 to warm reception. Currently based in Brooklyn, New York, the couple originally met at the Yale School of Architecture and both have extensive experience working in architecture. Oliver spent seven years a...
With their ability to make traditional objects new again, Stockholm-based Front is a design trio that has our (and everyone else’s) attention. Consisting of Sofia Lagerkvist, Charlotte von der Lancken and Anna Lindgren, the group met at Stockholm’s School of Arts, Crafts & Design where they were studying industrial design. Ten years after they first presented at the Stoc...
