The Ainu village of about 120 people consists of many artists and artisans, who still practice ancient techniques like hand-carving traditional motifs into wooden plates. To translate the project to ceramic, the artisans carved wood blocks that press the patterns into the plates before they’re fired. The result is a beautiful twist on “Arita ware,” the name for porcelain produced in Arita, which has a history of ceramics dating back to the early 1600s, when porcelain stone was discovered in the area. This porcelain became a well-known luxury product within Japan and around the world, where it was often called “Imari.”

The project was initiated by Akan Ainu Consuln, an organization founded in a small Ainu settlement. The Ainu are the indigenous people of Japan, who now mostly live on the northernmost island of Hokkaido. “We have an accent culture, born from a lifestyle of harmony with nature,” they explain. “Among traditional Ainu culture lives a rich tradition of crafts, including wood carving, textiles, embroidery, and more featuring unique patterns and designs. Akan Ainu Consuln works to disseminate Ainu culture and protect Ainu intellectual property related to Ainu performance arts, the Ainu language, Ainu cooking, and traditional Ainu designs.”

The group works directly with artists and creators in Ainu to facilitate collaborations with other creative traditions of Japan. In this case, it’s two potteries in Arita called Kyuemon and Yamaheigama. They hope to draw attention to the Akanko Ainu Kotan village and its unique culture, bringing in tourism revenue that can help keep its traditions alive.

“Since the pandemic hit, tourism to Akanko Ainu Kotan has dropped dramatically, especially among foreign tourists who aren’t allowed in the country right now,” says Akan Ainu Consuln. “This project serves as a chance to bring in some much-needed revenue to our artists, as well as deliver a piece of Ankanko Ainu Kotan to people who can’t visit in person right now.”

The plates include designs by five Ainu artisans: Fukiko Goukon, Erika Katsuya, Masaki Saito, Kiyosho Hikawa, and Hideharu Taira. “I came up with my designs while hoping that Ainu culture will become better known throughout the world,” says Goukon. “I made designs that incorporate traditional lucky Japanese patterns in order to reflect the collaboration with Arita ware, while still staying true to classic Ainu patterns.”

A Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign raised over $25,000 to bring the project to life, offering backers the choice between each artist’s collections as rewards. Once the campaign is fulfilled, the creators hope to offer the plates to the wider public. If you missed it, keep an eye on the page for future updates.

The post Ainu Meets Arita: Beautiful Plates Made in Japan with Designs by Indigenous Artists first appeared on Dornob.

Create a custom cat condominium with enough beds and play areas for your feline friends with this adorable modular housingset. Each of the three cubs, the bedroom, gym and recreation area, are available in a range of colors and fit perfectly together either side-by-side or vertically stacked.

‘Kitty Kasa’ offers full-service modular pet housing for as many cats as you’d like. Use just one of each for a single cat, or build your very own cat city if you’re aspiring for crazy cat person status. The ‘gym’ module features a scratching post while the ‘recreation’ module has a hanging mouse to bat around.

Of course, no condo would be complete without a kitchen, dining room and restroom; those three modules will be released later in the year to expand Kitty Kasa into a sculptural portable cat home that can be configured any way you like.

Design firm Studio Mango developed the housing set in collaboration with the ARNI Foundation, a non-profit organization that rescues animals that have been abused, and transfers pets from local kill shelters to no-kill shelters. All proceeds from these products go directly to the foundation.

“Kitty Kasas were born out of a necessity to find functional, durable, modern, stylish, and easily cleanable cat furniture for shelters. (Yes, even shelter cats need a cool place to live!) With the struggle to keep so many cat beds and scratch posts clean and free from fleas and other yuck, shelters really needed something that they could rely on for their hundreds of visitors day in and day out. “

“Fast forward to 20 years of tried and tested product development – Kitty Kasas aren’t just for shelters anymore! Our line of products range from bedrooms, gyms, and recreation, with enhancements and more products being developed. And they’re for our awesome cat-loving customers and their furbabies! Virtually indestructible, cute, easy to assemble, and available in a variety of colors, Kitty Kasas is where it’s at for your cat!”

The post Kitty Kasa: Stackable Modular Housing for Cats first appeared on Dornob.

As Kevin Kelly, (co-founder of Wired Magazine) once wrote: “the internet is a copy machine.” It has proven its ability to spread information and media of all kinds, from music to movies, animation, graphic designand more … but how do you send furniture out over the wire? One German design group is working that out.

Open Design works with industrial and furniture designers who develop an array of abstract modern and cool contemporary home objects, all with flat-pack, folding and bending properties suitable for CNC machines, laser cutting and/or three-dimensional printing. From model to prototype is a quick and easy step, and from there: global distribution is a cinch.

The resulting plans are then licensed under Creative Commons so people can download the design and print it out locally via a 3D printer or laser cutter (more and more places have these – and you can bet there is one near you or coming soon).

DIY designers can potentially modify these works and ‘share alike’ – and it saves the hassle (not to mention questionable legality/morality) of reverse-engineering high-end pieces of furniture.

Metal is one of the more obvious candidates for its combination of strength and flexibility, though there is no reason why CNC-cut wood and other materials would not work for some pieces as well.

Perhaps it is still ahead of its time, but this project will hopefully push furniture forward on the digital frontier, and have things ready and waiting for the day when we all have our own personal 3D printers at home (or at least a publicly-accessible laser-cutter at the local copy shop).

“A revolution in product development, production and distribution is imminent due to the Internet’s disruptive nature and the easy access to CNC machines. Open Design is a proposal to make this happen. It’s aim is to shift Industrial Design to become relevant in a globally networked information society.”

“In Open Design a design is CAD information published online under a Creative Commons license to be downloaded, copied and modified and is produced directly from file by CNC machines and without special tooling.”

The post Free Flat-Pack Plans for Laser-Cut Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

The nine-piece “Little Creatives” collection is designed to promote creativity in a child’s home environment, incorporating sweet pastels and prints in a line that stays true to the brand’s overall aesthetic. You won’t find any plastic chairs, primary colors, or clunky silhouettes here — it’s all just as sleek and elegant as the rest of the Swoon offerings.

Produced in collaboration with Studio Tilt, “Little Creatives” includes the Hunter Craft Trolley, Emmeline Chair, Freddie Desk, Harri Toy Box, Fynne Drawing Tray Table, Ailya Coat Rack, and more, with four of the pieces named after the kids who inspired the ideas. They’re all fun and creative, and unlike most kids furniture, they fit right in with modern interior decor.

“It has been a really fun collaborative process, bringing these ideas and designs to life with the help of the children,” says Sam Baldry, Swoon’s Head of Design. “We believe that the importance of creativity will only grow, so it is essential to nature creative thinking at a young age. We hope these pieces will encourage parents and children to do just that at home.”

“The idea to curate and co-design with children was to focus on the theme of creativity, to both excite and include children but also to engage in the debate about creativity in the education of young people,” says Oliver Marlow, co-founder of Studio Tilt. “We wanted the ideas and experiences of the young people to come alive in the products they created, and to excite and delight other children, too, as part of the range.”

“It’s the first of its kind in children’s furniture, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it. The quality of the pieces is testament to the insight and creativity of children.”

Pieces in the Little Creatives collection range from £49 to £249, and will be available on Swoon’s website from September 16th on.

Swoon began when Debbie Williamson found herself wishing all the high-end furniture she lusted over wasn’t so expensive — and that it was easier to order on the internet. She quickly realized the furniture market was open for a lot of reinvention, starting a company that provided great value, free delivery, and free returns.

Swoon’s business model deviates from the traditional furniture industry in other ways, too. Instead of releasing new collections twice a year, the brand has a design cycle every month so they can refresh their selections almost constantly. They use an experimental testing model, too, producing small batches to see what’s popular and then scaling up production on the most successful items.

Five new products debut on the Swoon website each and every day, and they often go fast, so if you see something you like, better snag it while it’s hot!

The post Swoon Launches First-Ever Line of Kids Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

Why Minimalism?

Most people who describe themselves as minimalists live with only the basic essentials; however, you don’t have to chuck out your futons and footstools in order to feel like you are living in a space of reasonable justification. It’s more about ensuring that whatever you place in your home has a significant meaning and role to play, thus avoiding clutter. Sure, we’re all fully aware that your fridge is quite an important appliance, and you definitely need that sink with all it’s taps and trimmings. But the point to focus on here is the idea that if an inanimate object brings you pleasure or happiness (such as a photograph or an ornament) then they serve just as much purpose as the hob you’re cooking your meals on.
Minimalism is about happiness. It is about de-stressing your home by only having objects that serve functionally or appeal emotionally to you. It’s the notion that every thing you use should have a personal meaning, or story, to create atonement in your humble abode. It may sound far fetched, but this movement is sweeping the world and has helped to motivate hoarders to cast their collections aside and begin again with a healthy, blank canvas.

FUGA

In an era where sustainable living and edgy aesthetics are over taking the need to showcase wealth, brands like FUGA are providing those with a conscience for the environment as well as style with products that are made raw and uniquely beautiful. Founded in 2015 by designer Yana Osmanova, FUGA’s objective is to allow you the freedom of filling your living space with household items that represent not only your morals, but the rich Russian culture that is so very often disregarded in the media.

The Products

Producing custom projects, FUGA design and create home decor and tableware from oak wood. Carved bowls, place mats, chopping boards, serving plateaus, and plates adorn their website and boast an array of shades available for each design. Every individual piece from their collections has its own distinctive features due to wood’s natural forms, cracks, textures, and tones, which are carefully left intact by using traditional technology during the manufacturing.

FUGA’s stunning handcrafted wooden tableware can only be handwashed, however, but the inconvenience is only minor. After washing it is recommended that you wipe it down using a non-abrasive towel in order to reduce prolong exposure to liquids which could eventually damage the pieces. You can also refresh the surface by rubbing over it with a cloth dampened in linseed oil. This also protects it against mold and makes it water-repellent.

Collaborations

FUGA have successfully collaborated with big name hotels and restaurants all across Russia, including Beer & Brut, the Moscow Four Seasons Hotel, NB Studio and restaurant, LavkaLavka, Dreamers, and more. Notably, FUGA created a series of dishes for each of Vladimir Perelman’s restaurants, which included a specifically designed two-sided square serving board and round boards for serving pizza, all emblazoned with the customer logo.

If you’re on the hunt for household objects that encompass naturalism, beauty, AND function—especially for your minimalist living space—then look no further than FUGA, inspired by the history of Russia and with the passionate intent to bring art into our every day lives. Their products bring elements of nature into your home whilst providing necessary hygiene and function for one of the most important parts of your day—your meal time!

The post Handcrafted Wooden Tableware from FUGA first appeared on Dornob.

IKEA is beloved by people around the world for its affordability, unfussy modern designs, and the ease of loading and unloading its flat-pack furniture boxes. But the process of assembling your new IKEA bed frame, bookshelf, or wardrobe is notoriously confusing and time-consuming, and depending on how durable it is, you might have to repeat the process all over again every time you move.

A new collection of furniture and accessories aims to solve that problem by appealing directly to people who move often and tend to live in small spaces. RÅVAROR consists of more than 20 items that can quickly infuse small spaces with the comforts and convenience of home, including couches, a daybed, a mini kitchen, open storage solutions, lighting, textiles, and storage boxes.

Revealed at the company’s annual Democratic Design Days press event, RÅVAROR’s primary selling point is its adaptability. The set is minimalist and compact, and every element can be broken down into pieces that are easy for a single person to carry, even if you have to navigate flights of stairs. It’s scaled down significantly from your average living room furniture set, but for people living in spaces that measure under 250 square feet, that’s a good thing.

“More and more people are living and moving into cities. Approximately an extra 1.5 million people join the urban population every week. Living spaces are shrinking, and for many people the concept of home is no longer a geographical constant; it’s a space that’s here today, and maybe somewhere else tomorrow,” reads the company’s press release on the collection.

“Our starting point and creative idea was the reality of urban life. We asked ourselves; what is needed to turn a small space, such as 12 square meters [129 square feet], into a home? And what is needed to create that homely feeling even though you might be moving on to a new place soon?,” says Viveca Olsson, Creative leader, IKEA of Sweden.

“There is a rapidly growing urban population and people are living in smaller spaces as well as moving more often than before,” Olsson continues. “With RÅVAROR we wanted to create a few key items that have a new level of versatility, functionality, and simplicity. And when it is time to move, it should be easy to pack everything up, stack them together, and relocate to your next home.”

Obviously, RÅVAROR isn’t for everyone. People who like to spend a lot of time at home might find it worthwhile to place more of an emphasis on comfort than portability, even if it means hiring movers. But for many urbanites, home is just a place to crash and store belongings, with the city outside serving as their living rooms and kitchens.

The collection is also neutral enough that you could treat it like a blank canvas, using it as a backdrop for items that express your personality and tastes. And if it’s popular enough, maybe IKEA will eventually offer additional colors and styles that are just as easy to transport.

RÅVAROR will be available beginning in September 2020, so be sure to check back with us for updates on this exciting new collection.

The post New Packable Furniture from IKEA Makes Moving Easier Than Ever first appeared on Dornob.

It’s been 25 years since the cast of beloved NBC sitcom Friends first gathered in the living room of Rachel and Monica’s unrealistically spacious New York City apartment, and 15 years since the last episode aired. But Friends mania doesn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon — especially in the wake of news that the show is about to disappear from Netflix.

Fans who are still in love with Friends and its characters after all these years can now outfit their homes in Friends-inspired style with a forthcoming collection of home goods from Pottery Barn. That includes the famous apothecary table featured in episode 11 of season 6, aptly named “The One With the Apothecary Table.”

You might say this episode was an unplanned experiment in product placement with an extra long shelf life, as the words “Pottery Barn” are uttered no fewer than 18 times in its 22 minutes. Rachel has a dark wooden coffee table delivered, and when it arrives, Monica warns her of her roommate Phoebe’s burning hatred for the retail chain. So Rachel passes off the table as a flea market find “from the days of yore,” leading to a typical succession of misadventures.

The jig is up when Ross buys his own identical Pottery Barn apothecary table, and in the end, Phoebe decides she loves the brand after all. Though it was said to cost $500 on the show, the new version of the table is already on sale in the current Pottery Barn catalog with a price tag of $1,099.

The brand maintains that it didn’t pay to have its name or products mentioned on the show, and was happy to donate the apothecary table for use in the episode. But they did admit that every time that episode airs in syndication, their phones light up with catalog requests, calling it “the gift that keeps on giving.”

A landing page for the new Pottery Barn Friends Collection is mum on details, so if you want to know more, you’ll have to check back or sign up for email updates. It’s set to be officially unveiled on July 30, and will reportedly include 13 other items like Central Perk mugs ($14.50), a tasseled pillow embroidered with “Welcome Friends” in the series’ familiar font ($49.50), an ornamental birdcage, a console table, a desk and other furniture, accessories, and tabletop items.

Pottery Barn is also offering two Friends fans the chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles for a private tour of the Warner Bros Studios to see the iconic Friends set, along with a $1,000 Pottery Barn shopping spree.

If you still haven’t binge-watched Friends (again) and have been meaning to, you might want to get a jump on that in the next year or so, as Netflix’s contract to air the show expires in 2021. TV studio WarnerMedia owns the rights to it and may be reclaiming them — along with those of its other big property, The Office — for its own yet-to-be-announced streaming service.

The post Pottery Barn Announces “Friends” Furniture Collection to Celebrate Show’s 25th Anniversary first appeared on Dornob.

If a peekaboo desk with compartments made just for your cat to lounge while you’re working isn’t quite expansive enough for your furry companion, perhaps the CATable 2.0 will do the trick. Cats always seem to want to plant themselves right on top of keyboards, paperwork and anything else that’s competing for our attention, not to mention climbing into luggage, cardboard boxes and any other cozy compartments they can manage to infiltrate, and this cat furniture set satisfies both instincts.

The newest set of modern cat-friendly furniture from LYCS architecture, CATable 2.0 is a modular set of cubic wooden blocks that can be stacked in all sorts of different ways to create a shelving system, room divider, tables and stools. Use one in place of a chair at your desk, or place it on top of your work surface as a tempting cat cubby.

The cubes have curving cut-outs in a variety of sizes and shapes. You could connect them so that the openings line up, creating passageways from one side of the room to the next. While they may be ideally shaped for the lounging comfort of felines, these irregularly-shaped niches could also be used to display all sorts of objects. Even if you’re not a cat owner, arranging the sculptural blocks to create custom furniture is fun, and this set provides all sorts of visual possibilities.

“What’s hidden in your drawers? What kind of books would you put up on your shelf? For the same piece of furniture, we might have a thousand answers out of a thousand people. Compare to the dazzling forms of the furniture, we have a lot more curiosity over these stories behind each one of them, because they are real, subtle and sometimes, dramatic.”

“Last year, we designed CATable 1.0 which provides us with a unique space to share with our kitties. This year, CATable 2.0 is no longer a proper-sized table. It consists of 4 pieces of cubic wooden module in exactly the same size. Each one has a particular path for cat to stroll, and the “remainder” space would be used up to the cat lover’s own need: you can use them directly as stools, or stacking them into tea table, short ark, or even book shelf. You are participating designing your own furniture and creating a unique wonderland for your cat.”

The post CATable: Modern Modular Wooden Furniture for Cats first appeared on Dornob.

Dart, who worked for almost a decade and a half as an industrial designer, then as a furniture designer, now uses his varied experiences to manufacture distinctive pieces for clients who desire something different. His works range in size from skinny to corpulent, but there’s a still common theme which he has thread through them all. A theme inspired by his upbringing in Vernal, Utah.

“I grew up near a dinosaur bone quarry. There they would put together new species of dinosaurs from the bones that were excavated,” he reminisces. “After the skeleton (was) put together they would try to figure out what the dinosaur actually looked like and how it moved and survived.”

The word “bones” relates to that which is within, the internal framework separate from the soul and spirit. Typically, in both living creatures and furniture, the bones are concealed by an external skin. For Dart, however, there’s a special appeal to leaving the bones of his pieces exposed.

If you imagine a simple wooden chair or bench, its rigid structure is apparent, and yet that doesn’t stop people from sitting on it. Dart uses that excepted experience to create furniture that has curvaceous forms without cushions or upholstery. If people don’t have a problem sitting on the exposed structure of a chair or a bench, then they shouldn’t have one sitting on the exposed structure of a sofa, either.

“My pieces are like a skeleton. When they are looked upon people try to figure out how they are made, what is the implied form, why does it look like it is alive?” he says. “The beauty of the pieces are internalized by the viewer’s imagination.” In May 2019, that curiosity is exactly what led many attendees to stop, look, feel, and experience his work firsthand at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York.

Of the four collections of furniture that Bones Studio manufactures, none is as comfortable or as popular as “Quarry.” Ironically, each piece in this collection has a smoothness to its surface, even though half of those surfaces are made up of nothing but voids. Better than the bones of a dinosaur, or even the human body, the closeness the Quarry collection’s bones and their geometric intimacy suggests a skin while enhancing their core strength.

“When looking at various pieces in the flesh, they calm my soul,” admits Dart. “I don’t know if it is because of my internal fight to design the piece is over or that I am lost in the rhythm of the piece.” We are familiar with exposed structure in architecture, infrastructure, and even interior design, but Bones Studio takes it even further, turning the structure into the skin.

Dart muses: “The idea of creating a volume or form from flat substrate is not a new idea. But [in terms of] the complexity and design that has emerged from the form, this is something nobody has seen before.”

Watch this short video of Dart discussing the thinking and process behind his work:

The post Inside Out: The Beauty of Bones Studio’s Skeletal Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

Lots of celebrities are fans of the Soho House, too, with one of its most famous guests being the Duchess of Sussex herself, Meghan Markle. Markle not only likes to stay in the club’s many houses, but she also’s been known to shop in the online Soho Home store, which brings the furniture inside the clubs to the public. This shop, which has been operational in the UK for a number of years now, just launched in the US, allowing even more non-members to add a little Soho House to their lives.

The interiors, decor, and lifestyle store Soho Home offers Soho House’s carefully curated stock to anyone wishing to add a little flair to their interiors. Most of the furniture listed on the site carries a hefty price tag, but then again, it’s not exactly cheap to be a member of Soho House’s trendy clubs, either. There are some more affordable options, however, like table and glassware. Shoppers can also purchase some of the beauty essentials from the Cowshed, Soho House’s spa and wellness center. Hotel lovers will rejoice at being able to buy the club’s bed linens, towels, and bathrobes, allowing them to pretend like they’re in the luxury of an actual Soho House from the comfort of their own homes.

On top of selling furniture, homeware, kitchenware, beauty products, and bedding, Soho Home also has a curated collection of artworks and prints for sale, including pieces by Jack Burton, Paul Davies, Scarlett Bowman, and Archie Proudfoot. Decorative sculptural chandeliers and light fittings, graphic rugs and carpets, and cushions and blankets are all feature elements capable of enlivening any room.

Soho Home even breaks its offerings down into Collections, which represent the various different properties that the brand has around the world. In the newest Berlin Collection, for example, shoppers can get the very dining table and chairs that diners in that particular House’s restaurant sit around. The Soho Home site even has guest appearances by the editors of famous magazines such as Elle, who provide style and shopping tips based on their own homes for shoppers to further peruse and take into account.

“We started Soho Home because members always ask us where they can buy the things they see in the Houses,” says Soho House founder and CEO Nick Jones. Now customers in the US can get the same great style that those in the UK have had access to for years.

The post Iconic Soho House Launches New US Home Collection first appeared on Dornob.

Steam bending is an ancient woodworking technique that uses heat and moisture from steam to change the cellular structure of wood and make it more pliable, enabling beautiful curves that add visual interest to all sorts of projects. The process involves soaking, steaming, bending, and clamping pieces of wood so that its lignin hardens into a new shape when cooled. The results are striking, sometimes looking so natural that you imagine the wood must have come from an unusually curly tree.

While steam bending is most commonly used for decorative effect in handcrafted homes and sculptural pavilions, artist Bae Se Hwa takes advantage of its malleability for comfort, too. In his newest “Steam Bent” series of furniture, the Seoul, South Korea-born artist demonstrates how this way of achieving curvature can transform even hard, solid walnut into invitingly ergonomic objects with unexpected silhouettes.

Elegant and streamlined, the Steam Bent Series features benches, lounges, tables, chairs, and desks that almost seem like they’ve warped in response to human touch. The pieces transition seamlessly from conventional angularity to body-hugging curvature, making what might have been uncomfortable surfaces into ones that are decidedly more supportive.

Se Hwa starts with a geometric diagram, warming slices of walnut in a steam box before bending them over a structured frame to produce the final shape. In the behind-the-scenes video above, we get to see just what this painstaking, time-consuming process looks like, giving us a hint at why the artist only produces three to five pieces each year.

Seven of Se Hwa’s most “iconic” designs from this collection were chosen by R & Company for a solo exhibit this year, a first for the artist. Many of the works included in the exhibition had never before been shown publicly, despite being sold out in all editions. The New York gallery says Se Hwa’s disciplined approach and continual exploration of wood allows him to “push the limits of this material forward.”

Contemporary art and design gallery Seomi International’s artist statement for Se Hwa reads: “Bae Se Hwa made his international debut in 2010 at the Design Miami Fair in Basel. Since then, he has become a fresh sensation as a young Korean designer. Bae is best known for his dynamic collection of works called the ‘Steam Series.’ This collection embodies emotional function [and displays] a sense of calmness and serenity. In Bae’s ‘Steam Series,’ he utilizes a steam-bending technique in which he distorts and deconstructs very linear wood elements and then recombines them into new pieces that are bent and curvilinear in form. This process has allowed Bae to create beautifully organic flowing pieces that are very much alive with rhythm and demonstrate the flexibility of wood despite its solidity.”

“Bae’s philosophy is to reach balance and harmony through the use of form and function. His pieces follow this philosophy, each of them depicting curvaceous yet minimalistic designs: a perfect balance of natural elements and geometric construction that captivates and entrances the senses.”

The post Get Wrapped Up in Bae Se Hwa’s Steam-Bent Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

Fashion house Versace has just brought its signature daring style to a new collection of homeware, and it’s everything you’d expect and more. The Versace Home Collection made its debut at this year’s FurioSalone in Milan, with curation from interior designer Sasha Bikoff and artist Andy Dixon. Drawing inspiration from pop culture, mythology, and all the palm trees and neon colors of Gianni Versace’s adopted home of Miami, the collection consists of five different furniture groups: Pop Medusa, Medusa, Jungle, Rhapsody, and Logomania.

Unveiled in a special exhibition on the second floor of the Versace home on Via Gesú, the Milanese street known for its high concentration of luxury menswear boutiques, these designs also reinterpret pieces seen in previous Versace Home collections. Full of bold shapes, bright colors, clashing patterns, and iridescent materials, the exhibition works in plenty of 2019 interior design trends. The overall effect (as is often the case with Versace) is garish without veering into gauche, and always Fashion with a capital F. Clearly, the 90s are back, whether we’re ready or not.

Bikoff says she was inspired by the Fall/Winter 1994 Versace advertising campaign shot by Richard Avedon, which featured pastel colors and iconic 90s supermodels like Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, and Stephanie Seymour.

“I wanted to showcase the connection between fashion and the home: atmosphere and rooms have the power to inspire emotions — to make us feel a certain way, just like a dress,” she tells Elle Decor. “The space I wanted to create makes you feel happy and powerful.”

Included in the exhibition are several pieces by Canadian artist Andy Dixon, who hand-painted oversized shirts with both iconic Versace prints and new prints he developed in collaboration with Donatella Versace. Dixon is known for “layering historical references with contemporary social commentary,” playing on art history and questioning the inherent value of “luxuries.” He draws comparisons between his own work and that of Versace in that they both marry pop culture and art and toe the line between sophistication and kitsch.

As for the furnishings themselves, they range from upscale versions of patio furniture that would fit right in on the Golden Girls’ lanai to sculpted polyethylene chairs featuring the face of Medusa in all her snake-haired glory. Pop Medusa translates the latter theme into weather-resistant chairs and glass cubes that serve as side tables or stools. Rhapsody showcases vivid Baroque prints, and Logomania is exactly what it sounds like, splashing “VERSACE” across various surfaces in stark black and white.

The Jungle pieces represent Versace’s first foray into outdoor furniture, and its tropical prints reference the unforgettable green V-cut silk chiffon dress Jennifer Lopez wore to the 42nd Grammy Awards ceremony in 2000. Also included in this mini-collection are a hanging bed, fire pit table, lanterns, and sun loungers.

The Versace villa at Via Gesú opened its doors to the public during Milan Design Week to show off the exhibition. Smaller pieces from the collection, like Medusa head vases and a set of ornate porcelain Rhapsody plates, are already available for purchase on the Versace website.

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Making its North American debut in February 2019 on the “Big Fat America Tour,” Dixon’s new collection is designed to hug the body in a variety of seated positions. The rounded cushions on these dining chairs, lounge chairs, and bar stools encircle you with molded foam when you sit down. The London-based designer says the “extreme simplicity” of their components, including the glossy black metal bases, is a testament to form following function “while maintaining a humorous silhouette and a reductionist aesthetic.”

There’s something instantly iconic about these chairs’ shapes, particularly in this palette of black, gray, beige, and ivory. The aim of FAT, and of many other Dixon designs, is to strip out all unnecessary complexity, leaving behind a refreshingly usable object that’s also gallery-worthy in its own right. The design process played a significant role in these results, starting with quality materials and intriguing shapes and using full-sized mockups and prototypes to produce pleasing proportions.

For OPAL, Dixon formulated a custom tinted white opalescent polycarbonate for the globes to produce a ghostly ethereal effect of soft, diffused light. The spheres were then blow-molded for a shape that’s just imperfect enough to appear organic. The collection is comprised of two different-sized pendant lamps, a surface-mounted lamp, a vertical floor lamp, and an arcing floor lamp.

Dixon notes that new technologies help spur his creative approach to these new pieces, particularly when it came to lighting. The digitization of the manufacturing industry is providing designers with unprecedented freedom to experiment with innovative new materials and small production runs of concept products.

Dixon’s website reads: “Tom is a restless innovator who works mainly in lighting, accessories, and furniture. From his departure point in the early eighties welding salvaged steel into radical furniture, he has constantly reinvented himself through a series of different design lives — working on luxury Italian goods with Cappellini, Creative Director at Habitat and Artek, creating plastics company Eurolounge, and finally instigating his own eponymous brand in 2002 to rethink the product designer’s relationship with industry.”

“The latest chapter of Tom’s design journey began in 2002 when he left corporate life to create his own eponymous brand as a platform for a series of new adventures in the design of products and interiors. 15 years on, Tom Dixon is now a widely celebrated global force in interior design, with hubs in New York, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Our 600 products range from lighting to furniture, from tableware through to fragrance, and are distributed in over 65 countries; they are instantly recognizable for their sculptural qualities and engineered materiality.”

Selected items from the FAT series of upholstered seating are available for purchase online at Tom Dixon’s shop, starting at £725 GPB (about $980 USD).

The post FAT: Plush Minimalist Chairs Designed to Embrace You first appeared on Dornob.

Continuing his longtime “Mechanical Cabinet” series, Errazuriz offers modular furniture that doubles as interactive art. Currently based in New York, the Chilean-born, London-raised artist blends traditional woodworking and technological components with unexpected forms to produce fascinating transforming pieces.

At first glance, many of these cabinets and credenzas just seem like beautiful things to look at; the functionality they have to offer is hidden beneath the complexities at the surface. But once you peel back the layers to reveal what’s underneath, you learn that they are just as usable as any piece that overtly prioritizes function over form.

Seeing the pieces in action is fascinating. Just when you think the object can’t transform any more than it already has, Errazuriz demonstrates yet another way in which it can blossom like an alien flower. The Magistral Chest looks inhospitably spiked when closed up, protecting drawers full of mysteries at its heart. The Fan Cabinet unfurls like a tropical bird concealing row after row of dazzling feathers beneath an unremarkable exterior. The Grand Complication Cabinet is especially deserving of its name, starting out small and unfolding one component after another. Other cabinets in the collection spin, twist, and even reveal beautiful kaleidoscopic displays.

“Breaking the Box” is a solo presentation of Errazuriz’s new work, currently on display at New York City’s R & Company gallery. The curators note the mechanical brilliance of the pieces, each of which requires a high level of technical precision to be used to its fullest potential. Other pieces on display at the show include works from Errazuriz’s “Metamorphosis” series, which feature taxidermy birds from the artist’s native Chilean landscape.

The R & Company website reads: “’Breaking the Box’ presents a curated selection of Errazuriz’s newest functional sculptures, [which] exemplify his multifaceted practice and evolution as a contemporary artist and designer. The diverse work on view challenges the boundaries between art, design, and technology while inviting the viewer to question their purpose and function. His experimental approach to this new series is seen through the varying materials and stylistic methods he employs. Unified together thematically through their ongoing exploration of nature, humor, life, and death, Errazuriz encourages viewers to engage and discover the new works in the exhibition.”

Speaking on the project himself, Errazuriz says: “We tend to understand reality by constraining meaning into closed and simplified boxes defined by previous cultural convention. We live within these pre-established cognitive borders, where we only tend to see, recognize, and accept as true that which has been previously ordered and defined. In ‘Breaking the Box,’ I use art, design, and craft to break open our relationship to objects, function, beauty, and time in order to reconsider conventions.”

The post Breaking the Box: Creative Transforming Cabinets and Credenzas first appeared on Dornob.

Sort of like how the Jetsons put a fun futuristic spin on midcentury modern and Googie architectural styles, a new series of furniture by Barcelona-based design studio Six N. Five and Brazilian industrial designer Artur de Menezes takes classic forms of midcentury modern furniture and gives it a whole new look that feels fresh and playful in 2019. “Holo-Scandinavian” brings a futuristic vibe to elegant couches, chairs, and tables with an oil-slick iridescence, making them appear pink, blue, purple, or green depending on the angle of the light and your perspective while viewing them.

The designers say: “Exaggerated and unexpected shapes appear as a strange but at the same time beautiful celebration of the midcentury Scandinavian design, leaded by its delighted and organic curves. Holographic materials and lights contribute to a surreal and almost unreachable result, and it reflects our vintage narrative from a place that is not inhabited anymore.”

“A place that stands in the past, of which we no longer have access, with its own memories and solitude. No more than an emotional expression of our favorites from the past brought to life into our modern view. We usually solve concept and/or set designs where the products ‘live.’ This year we wanted to go further, so in addition to the concept, art direction, and set design, we designed the furniture itself — the star of the visual — and in this way, did the complete job. Hope you’ll like it.”

Beautiful, right? But of course there’s a catch. Not only is this collection just a conceptual prototype, it isn’t even actual physical three-dimensional furniture. At least, not yet. Holo-Scandinavian was created using hyper realistic digital modeling software. The designers wanted to join their mostly digital process together with industrial design to capture an aesthetic that’s as contemporary as it gets while maintaining the grace of midcentury modern furniture aesthetics. Now they’re looking for a partner to potentially produce and sell it.

Six N. Five is “a contemporary design studio specializing in still life visuals and videos with a clean and modern aesthetic; Apart from working on advertising, editorial, and video commissions, they also find time to create experimental work which is legitimizing CGI as a new medium for creative self-expression. Their refined imagination, poetic compositions, edgy minds, and sleek skills make the studio a hit in the uniqueness and purity of its results.”

Artur de Menezes, on the the other hand, is a “multidisciplinary designer, working in the field of product design and eye-catching CGI visuals with a contemporary aesthetic approach.” You can see his work rendered in slightly more traditional textiles at his website.

The post Midcentury Furniture Gets Iridescent in New Holo-Scandinavian Collection first appeared on Dornob.