SoFiliumm

Deception Series by Leigh Wells

sofiliumm — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:07:42 +0000

San Francisco based Leigh Wells is the artist behind these strangely but beautifully surreal collages.

In fall 2011 Leigh showed the Deception series in a solo show at Ampersand International Arts space in San Francisco.

Trotters by TAF for Pieces

sofiliumm — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:05:11 +0000

Designers Gabriella Gustafson & Mattias Ståhlbom of TAF have created a collection of storage cabinets and tables for new brand Pieces with large interchangeable feet made from wood, marble or porcelain.

Called Trotters, the series comprises low birch benches and table tops in glass with optional birch cabinets that can be stacked in different configurations.

Silicon rings in white or orange sit between the feet and the surfaces they support.

The project was presented at NK Department Store during Stockholm Design Week 2012.

Step by Iicoli & Mcallister

sofiliumm — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:49:37 +0000

I recently fell in love with this simple and elegant stepladder by Iicoli & Mcallister called Step.

Inspired by the 1920′s stepladder from their grandfather’s workshop, the duo has used delicate materials such as brass hinges, pink washed oak treads and a matte black powder coated frame.

Iacoli & McAllister is a Seattle based design studio formed by Jamie Iacoli & Brian McAllister.

Stills Flagship Store by Doepel Strijkers Architects

sofiliumm — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:02:20 +0000

Dutch studio Doepel Strijkers Architects have designed the unique interior for fashion label Stills.

Located in the Cornelis Schuijtstraat in Amsterdam the flagship store is a mix between the maintained layers of time in the unsmoothed floor and walls and a gridlike structure that grows thoughout the interior space.

Doepel Strijkers explains about the project, “Stills seeks for sophistication through novel combinations and delicate contrasts, in fits, in styles, in looks, in feels. Their ultimate research in the intrinsic qualities of materials, results in new potentials for working with them, treat and combine them.

This distinctive Stills quality has been translated in a spatial identity based on a new typology. Natural materials, craftsmanship, refined textures and specific patterns are reflected in a spatial fabric which fills the space as a volume. A careful analysis of the movement of humans in space and the perception of clothing forms the base for the deformation of the spatial grid. The dense grid opens itself. An implementation with a durable spatial identity, maximum experience and minimum resources is the result.

Dressing rooms, lighting and all possible options for presentation are integrated into the volume, so clothing, shoes, bags, books and mannequins form the visual
specification of the continuous structure.”

Rock Chair by Färg & Blanche

sofiliumm — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:32:14 +0000

Swedish design collaboration Färg & Blanche has designedthe Rock Chair.

“A rocking chair for our own time” is what the duo calls the chair and continues, “being rocked as a means of relaxation or comfort is a timeless, basic human experience. Though at some time in the early 20th century the design development of the rocking chair stopped.”

“Rocking chairs frequently remain in an ornate, salon mode. Fredrik Färg’s Rock Chair is a rocking chair for our own time. It continues the traditional rocking chair’s comforting function but in a modern design.

Rock Chair is a knock-down design sold in a flat pack. The five pieces are easy to fit together. When the chair has been assembled, the construction is its expressive feature. Nothing is hidden and one can see how the chair holds together.”

Ribbon Installation by Ryuji Nakamura for Costume National

sofiliumm — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:22:10 +0000

Japanese architect Ryuji Nakamura has created a beautiful and very clever temporary exhibition celebrating the 25th anniversary of fashion brand Costume National in Tokyo.

Made from more than 4000 m of white ribbon, Nakamura made a display that gradually reveals the selected 25 outfits as one walks past.

“Because the ribbon width is slightly greater than the interval width, when you look at the installation from an angle, ribbons block the overall view. Clothes are visisble through the ribbon veil only when you stand directly in front of them.

As you walk past the ribbon veil, one outfit disappears as the next appears, allowing you to experience a series of sets, one by one.”

SCP 2012 Collection

sofiliumm — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:05:13 +0000

British design label SCP has recently launched their 2012 Collection that includes products by the likes of Ineke Hans, Kay+Stemmer and Donna Wilson. Here’s a little sneak peak to some of the favorites.

Cricket Bench & Table by Kay+Stemmer

The Cricket bench by Kay+Stemmer is a lengthened and lowered seating version of the classic “cricket table” typology. The bench has four legs with a slight outward splay, giving the piece stability and strength. Modest yet elegant, the bench uses a simple wedged tenon joint to hold the legs in place. The corners and edges of the solid oak top are softly sanded to create a smooth finish, whilst the walnut legs have a reverse taper that brings an aesthetic balance to the overall design.
bench W 130 x D 30 x 43 H cm
The Cricket table by Kay+Stemmer is a new design interpretation of the classic “cricket table” typology, believed to date back to the Jacobean period in Britain. This version has four legs rather than three, but retains the outward splay of the legs that lends the table its stability and strength. This modest yet elegant design uses a simple wedged tenon joint to hold the legs in place. The corners and edges of the solid oak top are softly sanded to create a smooth finish, whilst the centrally positioned walnut legs have a reverse taper that brings an aesthetic balance to the overall design.
table W 48 x D 48 x 62 H cm.

Bertha Armchair by Donna Wilson

The Bertha armchair by Donna Wilson is an exciting joint project between SCP and the Shorefast Foundation on Fogo Island. The design takes inspiration from the traditional boat building found on the Island. The frame is made from FSC approved Douglas Fir and is designed to provide both rigidity and strength. The sides of the frame are flat whilst the four back panels gently kick outwards like a boats hull. The feet are part of the frame design, this gives the piece the sense of a beautifully crafted continuous line. The loose drop seat has elasticated webbing with neatly fitting feather and down seat and back cushions upholstered in Bora Da Willow fabric.
armchair W 82 x D 83 x H 83/40 cm.

Ruth Wall Unit by Kai+Stemmer

The Parnham School trained duo Kay+Stemmer have designed a new version of the popular freestanding shelves Edith and Agnes. Ruth is a three-shelf wall mounted version of the design, ideal for books or home office filing. It is made from solid oak or walnut with veneered shelves. Ruth comes “out of the box” as a solid one piece item, with no assembly required. The design has the hallmarks of classical furniture-making training; details include radius edges, a gentle upwards taper and
perfect proportion.
wall unit W 80 x D 25 x 50 H cm.

The Welland Collection by Ineke Hans

The Welland stool, bench and table collection by Ineke Hans is her first range of designs for SCP. Beautifully crafted and constructed, each piece is made from individually cut sections of solid ash using advanced wood manufacturing techniques. This effortlessly elegant design is a simple blend of curves and straight lines. For comfort, the stool and bench feature a slightly concave seat made in two sections. Each piece retains its visual balance through minor refinements to individual component dimensions. The Welland collection is a proportionally accurate set of designs, flexible and rigid in construction and ultimately very pleasing on the eye. The collection is available in red stain, or natural ash.
stool W 40 x D 35 x 44 H cm
bench W 160 x D 35 x 44 H cm
table W 180 x D 80 x 74 H cm

Arthur Pouffe by Donna Wilson

The Arthur pouffe by Donna Wilson is the latest of her occasional seating designs for SCP. The low lying pouffe features a piping detail at its top edge. It is made with specially designed hard-wearing fabric.
and filled with 100% recycled PET fibre.
pouffe 70 DIA x H 30 cm

Albert Floor Cushions by Donna Wilson

The Albert floor cushion by Donna Wilson is a very low lying cylindrical floor cushion with the added practicality of a side mounted handle and leather base. Designed for occasional seating or resting it brings a little softness to the home. It is made with specially designed hard-wearing fabric and is feather filled.
floor cushion 70 DIA x H 7.5 cm

Fossil Lamp by Neil Conley

sofiliumm — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:34:41 +0000

British designer Neil Conley has designed a dimmable table/pendant light.

Fossil is a capsule shaped lamp made of amber glass, that “contains three metal connectors, a filament bulb and a touch sensitive dimmer switch that ‘breathes with you’ whilst you grasp it.”

“Intended as living museum piece, the lamp is a preservation of Thomas Edison’s ﬁrst truly reliable ﬁlament bulb, invented circa 1880. Resembling a fossil preserved in amber, the lamp demonstrates the transition of the ﬁlament from an object of fundamental functionality, to its place today as an icon of design heritage. A representation of the beauty of innovation, the bulb is now retired to a life behind glass, as a true industrial fossil.”

Penelope Installation by Tatiana Blass

sofiliumm — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:10:16 +0000

“Penelope”, a recent exhibition by Tatiana Blass, is a storied installation. Borrowing its name from Greek myth, “Penelope” is a tribute to the power of love and the praxis of weaving.

Built to fill the Chapel of Morumbi in São Paulo, Blass has displayed a large pedal-loom at the altar. Attached is a intricately woven, red carpet that extends to the courtyard; red, to signify both power and nobility, as recounted in Greek legend.

Blass’ installation aims to connect the internal and external worlds of belief through a web of tangled wool, yet it is unclear whether the carpet is in the process of being woven or unraveled (as goes the tale of Penelope).

On the opposite side of the loom, the threads run wildly; a matrix of red yarn envelops the exterior gardens, further confounding our perception of space and place. Merging the religious with the architectural and the enigmatic, Blass is deeply interested in “the abstract.” She conceals as much as she reveals, blending complex stories with elaborate textile creations.

FORMS by Eric Jourdan at Galerie Gosserez

sofiliumm — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:49:30 +0000

After almost ten years, Eric Jourdan is back to present his design in a gallery on invitation by Marie Bérangère Gosserez.

With three pieces and a series of vases, he positions his plastic and functional morphology in a striking way as he is one of the rare French designers able to do it. Once you like Jourdan, you will always like him as his design is so constant it is symbolic of designers with design as the driving force ‘At the beginning I never imagine an object or a piece of furniture as a whole, I draw a detail (an assemblage, a groove, a link…) which will lead me to another and then another … This method is linked to the practice of drawing which creates a continuous link between all these sketches. The organisation of these forms follows later. I arrange, remove, build and assemble elements which become different pieces.”

“Drawing can be liberating or imprisoning; it depends on where we stop the infernal machine which consists of covering whole notebooks. That is where your associate steps in: organising; clarifying; making you take a step back. For this exhibition the role was fulfilled by Marie-Bérangère Gosserez.“

There is no story telling with Eric Jourdan and therefore no scenarios, leaving room for pure form, like his fellow students Charpin, Bauchet, Bouroullec and no artistic sanctification of his plastic manipulation either : “Showing work in a gallery could be seen as an outlet allowing a designer to be liberated from industrial or commercial constraints, but this is not so, design does not just happen on its own without a drawing, without a gallery owner or a manufacturer…Through this exhibition, I want to show that everything will always be just exchanges, mistakes, disappointment, tension, feedback, progress and pleasure. I do not believe in the posture of artists; it is all about co-production in our profession.”