Every month, 129 billion disposable masks are used and thrown away around the world. They’re an environmental disaster in their own right, especially the surgical kind made of polypropylene plastic. For starters, birds get their legs tangled in the elastic straps and sea creatures mistake them for food. Then as they break down into micro-plastics, they pollute waterways, and eventually our drinking water. But unfortunately for us all, they’re also a crucial part of combating the coronavirus.

Reusable fabric masks are a better choice, and at the very least, governments could be educating the public about how to dispose of them and coordinating mass clean-up campaigns. In the meantime, one South Korean furniture designer has an idea for making use of all the waste. With “Stack and Stack,” Haneul Kim transforms thousands of used disposable masks into colorful stools in white, blue, pink, black, and multicolored palettes.

“The disposable mask consists of a plastic (PP) material, melt blow filter, and spun-bond,” Kim writes on Instagram. “I make a chair-shaped module that melts, cools, and hardens the plastic mask. Thousands of masks, which were this thin fabric, combine together and finally have the durability of a hard, tough plastic. I hope that the curiosity of recycling masks will not stop at the object of chairs, but will be the possibility to inform the seriousness of environmental pollution and solve the problem.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CI2kTK-lMl2/

Kim breaks down the process in a series of Instagram posts, including how the masks were melted down into polypropylene globs and formed into various shapes. Experimental discs demonstrate the effects of mixing different colors of masks together with interesting dappled results. Each stool also has three legs which are constructed separately from the seat and then formed together with hot plastic and clamps. The results are certainly a little rough around the edges, but you can see how a little polish could make them resemble something you’d see for sale at a place like IKEA.

Finding a new purpose for used, bacteria-laden masks may strike you as a gross and potentially dangerous task, but there’s no need to worry about the finished stools being contaminated. Setting up a mask collection box at his school, the Kaywon University of Art and Design in Uiwang city, Kim gathered 10,000 used masks from his peers, along with more than a ton of defective masks straight from a factory. He then kept them in storage for at least four days to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission, removed all the elastic bands and wires, and used a heat gun to melt them within shaping molds. Trust us: the temperatures it reaches of over 570 degrees Fahrenheit are more than enough to kill any microbes present.

The 18-inch-tall stools went on display at Kim’s graduation exhibition, and he plans to expand “Stack and Stack” to additional furniture pieces like chairs, tables, and lamps in the future. Hopefully, this project will inspire others to find new uses for this newly ubiquitous litter, or at least encourage people to properly dispose of their old face masks.

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From 2003 to late 2017, Saunders expressed his passion for design in a variety of ways, working with some of the biggest names in the business. From creating the highly-photographed Alexander McQueen Bird-of-Paradise prints to working as Chief Creative Officer for Diane Von Furstenberg, his aesthetic was virtually everywhere during those years. In 2017, however, he announced his departure from the fashion world in order to explore the creative aspects of home decor and furniture making.

With a world of excitement and a flurry of ideas to consider, Saunders forced himself to narrow his focus, concentrating on marquetry, tubular steel, and textiles as his three signature elements. The resulting furniture collection was released at Frieze Los Angeles in February 2020 — and not unlike the fanfare and award-winning reception from his earlier fashion designs, this new endeavor is being enthusiastically received.

To embody the marquetry and tubular steel aspects of his burgeoning furniture style, Saunders created pieces like a sycamore and stained beech long bench, a set of shelves with crystal surfaces, a colorful yet functional armchair with nylon webbing for a seat, a pyramid-style table made from squares that interlock with a resin top, a cube stool, and a square stool with leather upholstery. And of course, textiles will likely always be at the forefront of all his work, stemming from his early days in 2002, when he earned an MA in printed textiles from Central Saint Martins.

Saunders says he almost involuntarily fell into the fashion world as a result of his studies and desire to work in a design setting. He explains: “I studied product design at Glasgow School of Art as my first love. I progressed into fashion almost indirectly because I was involved in making things and I love textile design and it was a natural progression for me to go into fashion. But for many years I was always thinking I wanted to make furniture as part of my own collection, but there was just never any time.”

The transition hasn’t been flawless, and while Saunders has enjoyed the experience, he’s met many challenges along the way. Primarily he’s discovered that the design and production tempo of furniture is very different from fashion, especially the fast fashion realm so prevalent today.

He adds: “It’s a much slower process, but there’s much more development time — there’s definitely synergies and some similarities between how I worked in fashion and how I’m working as a furniture designer.”

With the newfound freedom to jump between mediums as he pleases, Saunders seeks to feed consumers interest in making their space their own. Similar to creating a sense of style (in clothing), he feels that the modern customer is looking for ways to insert personality into their decor through aesthetic appeal and color.

“I’m interested in developing more democratic pieces with a broader appeal, but that still allow you to have an emotional connection with something, that still has the language that I’ve used in terms of color balance and material choices. So I’m starting in this way with furniture and then branching off into other categories, other pieces, and customer bases, but that’s all to come. I haven’t given myself any constraints. I want to have a free attitude towards what this brand can become.”

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Tatjana von Stein and Gayle Noonan, founders of Sella Concept, were inspired by the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath to design their first-ever furniture collection for the commercial market. The pond is part of miles of expansive greenery located inside London, and it’s been providing women a private place to swim surrounded by nature since 1926.

The Simple Inspiration

The design duo was awed by the haven: a splash of wild abandon in the middle of a lively city where women of all ages, sizes, and shapes let go of societal constraints and swim with unbridled vigor and joy. Its influence is obvious in even the name of the Ladies Pond collection, which consists of three curvy stools that reflect the emerald colors of the pond. Simply dubbed “Bather 1, 2, and 3,” the set is meant to embody all the diverse body types of the pond’s users.

“Exploring form, material, and an emotive response was at the forefront of designing these sculptural stools. We worked with fantastic craftsmen to master the challenging art of curves, resulting in a free-flowing and tactile nature,” von Stein explains.

The Composition

Each ‘bather’ is entirely hand-turned from tulip wood. The pieces are then separately finished with a stone compound, which itself is available in several colors to meet many tastes. After the lengthy hand-turning process, each stone takes roughly three days to finish. The completed stools, which range in stature from about 25½ to 29½ inches, are then given a soft, comfortable upholstered top cushion made from a textured wool and cotton bouclé cloth chosen from the Wellington collection of Tibor, a renowned London-based fabric/textile studio. When all is said and done, the lead time for these made-to-order stools is roughly six to eight weeks, with each one retailing for around $2,600.

Future Plans

The collection was officially launched at the Design Encounter event at the 2019 Decorex, an international interior design show featuring over 400 interior designers. Noonan and von Stein are hopeful that this signals the start of a new path for their studio, one on which they can promote their products openly to domestic and commercial clientele alike.

“We will venture further into furniture design while keeping integrity as to why we do it every time and thinking about whether we can achieve it in the most sustainable way,” von Stein says. “It is a wonderful way for us to explore form and material outside of brand and site-specific projects, and working with a wider audience at heart allows us to explore different themes and processes.”

Their Mission Statement

Sella Concept’s website clearly states their goals, and the enthusiasts of The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond embrace their aspirations.

The duo adds: “Our clients are diverse in industry, outlook, and character but share a common goal: to transport their customers and users outside everyday life, to give them space to breathe and scope to dream.

“We create spaces that tell stories. Identities with meaning. Environments outside time. Sensory details that stir emotions and steer behaviors. Places where a thousand compelling moments unfold every day. Intuition-born, research-driven, and brand-inspired. Holistic approach. Creative solution.”

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Seating demand in a residential setting tends to vary dramatically depending on the day – most of the time two or four chairs may be enough, but when a half-dozen friends stop by, it can be nice to have some easy-to-free seats ready to unroll.

Enclosed in this cube – which could serve as a side table itself – by Naho Matsuno are a series of birch plywood and maple seats. The stools themselves are very simple, yet each one is slightly different owing to the way in which they must slot together within the box in closed position.

That gives them a bit of extra personality, though, doesn’t it? Like seating for the (six) dwarves.

The only question is: once you take it all apart, will you need to get your guests to help puzzle it back together at the end of the night?

If so, you may want to check out this three-seat variant, which could also prove to be a bit more robust as well. Perfect for those who don’t require quite as much extra seating, it seems like it would also be a lot easier to reassemble at the end of the night. Especially if alcohol is involved.

Matsuno first unveiled this project at the Salone Satellite at the Milan furniture fair, where it got a lot of attention.

About designer Naho Matsuno:

“Born in Osaka in 1981. Graduated from the Department of Design and Design, Tohoku University of Art & Design in 2004. Studied at the Swedish National University of Arts and Crafts Design University in the same year. Graduated from Tohoku Art Institute of Technology, Graduate School of Arts and Engineering. After working at the same department as the product design department, the design office, the furniture maker etc. Emigrated to Oita Prefecture in 2015. Work on a wide range of products and graphics.”

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The Amazing Sculpture

The sculpture in question is officially called the NAWA Pavilion, resting comfortably on the tiny island of Daliowa in the middle of the Oder River. It was commissioned in 2017 in hopes of drawing visitors to the often-neglected area and is expected to be a permanent attraction. It took a while for locals to embrace the unique structure, but now they’re really warming up to it. Zieta himself reveals: “At first, many people were cautious. New projects often arouse mistrust, but right after the opening the island has become alive.”

Show and Tell

Zieta first developed his FiDU process (or freie innen druck umformung in German, which more or less translates to “internal pressure forming”) back in the early 2000s. He kept developing it and soon realized that it had the potential to permanently change modern-day construction techniques. His new pavilion is comprised of 35 polished steel arches, all of which have been attached side-by-side to create a nearly 25-foot tall structure that appears to gently rise and fall as it reflects the sunlight. The shiny surface of the art piece reflects its natural surroundings all day, every day, so its appearance is pretty much always in flux.

Zieta achieved these effects by welding two thin sheets of steel together at the pavilion’s outermost edges, leaving one small opening in between them so as to pump air into the hollow spaces inside. He explains, “it is the most flexible tool-less metal forming technique ever. It allows us to create innovative, customized bionic shapes and fully recyclable objects using very efficient mass-production processes and individualized shaping methods.”

Putting FiDU to Good Use

In 2008, Zieta designed a stool for a company called Plopp. The plan was to create a steady, safe-to-sit-on, and handy piece of furniture from thin sheets of hydroformed metal. The team couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome.

“Durability tests run on the Plopp stool gave surprising results,” Zieta reported. “A stool weighing just a few kilograms can stand a load of 2.6 tons. This is the weight of a full-grown elephant or two small cars. This drives us to create things that are not only beautiful but also technologically unique.”

The success of Plopp inspired Zieta to build “Wir,” a sculpture that’s nearly 79 feet tall. Wir is the tallest sculpture in the city of Warsaw and can be found in the center of the Galeria Północna. It is currently the largest piece of art to ever incorporate FiDU techniques.

The Future

Zieta sees his FiDU technique as groundbreaking, saying: “Such structures can be used as bearing elements and construction components, merging beauty and functionality. Currently we are intensely working on implementing FiDU in architecture as facade elements and in industry as ultralight constructions. Also in mining as volumetrically expanded steel profiles.”

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This vaguely cartoonish mushroom-looking chair is a fun update on the balance ball chair. Plenty of people use balance balls – also known as yoga balls – as chairs to keep their muscles engaged throughout the day and to improve circulation as they sit at their desks.

Ballo is an “active” chair that looks a little less silly than sitting on a big rubber ball in your office. The stool weighs in at a light 13.5 pounds to make for simple moving around as you go from desk to meeting room and back. Hidden handles just under the top dome give you a handy grip on the seat while you’re carrying it.

The bottom of the stool is curved to keep you from simply resting all of your body weight on the seat. To stay upright you have to use your core and leg muscles, a practice known as “active sitting.”

The top of the Ballo is also curved and the firmness of the dome is adjustable so you can customize the sitting surface to your liking. A counterweight in the bottom dome keeps the Ballo from falling over when you aren’t sitting on it. Users up to 300 pounds can enjoy the health benefits of active sitting on the balance ball-inspired stool.

Made from eco-friendly materials, the Ballo is a more playful approach to an already rather playful seating solution. Designer Don Chadwick‘s goal was to create a fun and health-promoting product that would fit into just about any environment.

“Ballo is designer Don Chadwick’s vision of what a multipurpose stool should be—fun, engaging and perfect for short-term, active sitting in the home or office. With a compact central column and lightweight air-filled domes, Ballo is an imaginative take on traditional ball chairs, supporting flexibility and freedom of movement. Available in a variety of vibrant colors, Ballo has a dynamic nature that allows it to integrate into a wide range of environments. “

“Studies show that comfortable employees are happier and more productive. In the modern workplace, the ability to move is increasingly important for overall comfort and well-being. Ballo makes movement effortless, while its lightweight design makes it easy to transport for spontaneous use.  “

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Flatpack furniture has been a huge benefit for folks who want attractive furniture but don’t have an unlimited budget to buy designer pieces. The Frida stool and side table from Zanocchi & Starke are beautifully simple designs with simply beautiful construction.

The stool and table each come in four pieces: two interlocking base pieces, a flat top, and a butterfly screw that holds it all together. Each of the base pieces feature Lego-like pegs that slot into holes in the tops, providing stability that is hard to come by in other flatpack furniture.

When you’ve fitted all of the pieces together, the butterfly screw twists in through the base pieces. It keeps everything together and provides a cute little punch of color. And unlike most other DIY furniture, the Frida can be taken apart and put together again in your new place without losing any of its structural integrity.

“Frida is a flat pack furniture, very easy and intuitive to assembled. A single butterfly screw locks all the structure rendering the product immediately recognizable and adding a unique colorful touch.  Whoever puts hands onto the quick and simple mounting process will have no trouble at all, getting it steady and still in no time. No instructions are to use. No skills are required.”

“Zanocchi & Starke is an award-winning multidisciplinary design and architecture studio, founded in 2013 in Torino by the italian architect Andrea Zanocchi and the brazilian product designer Carolina Starke. The projects of Zanocchi & Starke come from their common passion for design, attention to detail and fusion of different professional and cultural experiences.”

“The daily interaction between people and the product is the starting point of all our work. We do not simply create objects or spaces to be used, but also able to let people happy having them around. We enjoy working with different materials, experiment and combine different manufacturing processes, whether artisanal or industrial.”

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There’s nothing comfier than sinking into a soft, cushiony chair that seems to swallow your body as you sit in it. Designer Véronique Baer created a line of chairs called Bounce that do just what the name promises: they bounce back into shape after supporting your body.

There are three chairs in the series. The first and largest is a mushroom-shaped chair called Anton. It is designed to support the back and sides of the person sitting in it, allowing the sitter to sink into its soft cushion.

The second is a dome-shaped seat known as Christine. It is a bit smaller but just as soft and welcoming as Anton. The last and smallest is Olaf. The series is designed so all three chairs can be lined up and used at the same time, with Anton supporting the body, Christine holding up the legs and Olaf providing a comfortable footrest.

The stools were all designed to provide equal support from all sides, lacking a front or a back. They are made of two pieces of soft foam glued together and covered with soft quilted upholstery.

Supporting the stools are four sturdy oak legs. They give each piece a minimalist base to nicely offset the soft, squishy tops. The Bounce collection was presented at the Blickfang Designworkshop in June 2014.

“BOUNCE is a foam sculpture, which transforms into a soft and comfortable chair at the moment when someone sits down. It adapts totally to any kind of body shape and bounces back up, after its user left. The symmetrical shape of the chair invites to sit in it from every side and in every position.”

“The design is defined by simplicity. Only two foam plates are glued together by their ends to build the body of each chair. Covered by the flexible furniture fabrics of the dutch brand Febrik every chair gets its unique character.”

“It is fascinating how materials are able to change shape and transform their functions again and again. BOUNCE shows in how many ways normal furniture foam can be used. A chair can be much more than the usual seat surface with back support and legs. The BOUNCE family consists of three members Anton, Christine and Olaf. Big Anton will surround its user with back and side support when someone sits in it, while Christine is a soft comfortable chair and little Olaf has the function of a stool. They make a lovely picture when standing together. “

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If you’re the type to shy away from attention, you might not want to take a seat in a chair that essentially puts you on display, framing you from various angles each time you adjust your position. The rectangular ‘Frame’ by Ola Giertz is a modern easy chair that functions like a three-dimensional picture frame for both the sitter and the wall or room behind him.

Soundproofed upholstery gives the sitter a sense of privacy and solitude, yet to others in the room, he’s just as conspicuous as a piece of framed art thanks to the shape of the chair.

Sit up straight to use it like a stool, lean against the side for more comfort, or place the chair against the wall for additional back support.  Stack multiple units together to create a deeper space.

‘Frame’ is available in multiple colors at Swedish furniture retailer Materia.

The post In Focus: Picture Frame Chair Puts the Spotlight on the Sitter first appeared on Dornob.

If you have a choice between using a completely mundane piece of furniture and having fun with a cute animal-like home accessory, which would you choose? Designer Hanna Ernsting definitely chooses the latter with her line of adorable footstools that look like playful animals.

The Petstools series consists of four animals: an elephant, a pig, a sheep, and something which may be an anteater or perhaps a goat. Ernsting imbues a cuddly sense of personality into each of the stools, making them look almost like pets just begging to play. Besides being completely adorable, the Petstools fold over your feet to keep them warm.

Perfect for kids or fun-loving adults, the Petstools all come with removable, washable wool covers. The designs turn a boring utilitarian home accessory into a cute and playful companion that can bring a smile to your face every time you kick back and put up your feet.

“The desire to relax at home, to cuddle up on the couch and put your feet up serves as a constant inspiration for the designs of Hanna Emelie Ernsting.”

“With Pets she transforms the purely functional, everyday footstool into a delightfully cozy companion enhanced with new aspects. You can put your feet up…or plunge them into the soft material to warm them. Pets are true eye-catchers and can add a humorous and playful contrast to more conventionally furnished living spaces.”

With few details enhancing the minimalist shapes, Pets evoke associations with animals and irresistibly invite you to ‘pet’ them and be amused. The many different animal forms offer creative combination possibilities and will spark the collector’s passion.”

“Hanna Emelie Ernsting is a German-American designer. From 2004 to 2010 she studied product design at the HfG in Karlsruhe and at the ENSAD in Paris. During her studies she worked with the Dutch designer Ineke Hans in Arnhem, with the architects ISAR in San Francisco, as well as with the Vitra Design Museum. Hanna started her own design studio in 2011.”

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Multifunctional furniture is often some of the most inventive and fun furniture, and the Superbambi is no exception. The Superbambi from Scoope Design is composed of two pieces: a white base, and a bright orange piece that slots into different positions as needed.

The orange piece is where the Superbambi gets its name; it looks a bit like a superhero’s cape extending from the white base. In one position, it is a simple chair.

Remove the orange piece and the Superbambi becomes an end table or a child’s writing desk. The orange piece, placed on its wide end, can be used as a coat rack or bedside butler.

When the orange piece is slotted into the bottom set of holes with its “feet” on the ground, Superbambi is a step stool that lets little ones extend their reach.

This little transforming wonder, with its rearranging parts and multiple uses, is a terrific example of simple yet elegant design. No special tools or knowledge are needed to switch functions; the two pieces and the pre-cut holes are self-explanatory and lend the Superbambi a sense of almost toy-like fun.

The post 3 Functions, 2 Pieces, 1 Super Transforming Furniture Hero first appeared on Dornob.

Can you imagine what it would feel like to sit on a pile of brightly-colored cotton candy? Designer Jojo Chuang’s Hard Candy series isn’t nearly as soft (or as sticky) as the tooth-rotting treat, but it is just as whimsical in appearance.

The designer uses a flexible foaming agent mixed with dyes to form the swirling stools and armchair in the Design Candy series. Exploring the unusual technique of forming the material results in furniture that looks as though it is dripping and actively swirling with pigments.

Mixing layers upon layers of differently-colored foam, Chuang’s creations look like something straight out of a surrealist painting. Each one is unique, exhibiting different shapes and suggestions of movement.

With his background in graphic design, Chuang wanted to explore methods for bringing graphic elements into physical form. The Hard Candy collection adds virtual colors and shapes to a physical form while creating objects of pure fun.

More from the designer

“The hard candy chair is the first prototype I made during my residency at The Talking Dolls in Detroit during the summer of 2013. From a graphic design and fine art background, I’m always interested in how to restore the handmade quality while transforming graphic into form. In contrast to the former studies using rigid structure and material, the Hard Candy series approaches graphics through a more soft and tactile way. This prototype armchair uses a flexible foaming agent and dyes to mimic the movement of flowing pigments. Because the nature of the materials, every piece will be one of a kind just like a painting.”

About Jojo Chuang

“Taiwanese designer Jojo Chuang was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. Jojo received a Master of Fine Arts, major in 3D design from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2014 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts, major in Graphic design from National Taiwan Normal University in 2009. Jojo chuangs work focuses on blurring the edge between 2D and 3D. Mixing his background of graphic design and 3D design.”

The post Hard Candy: Colorful Flexible Foam Molds Into Sweet Furniture first appeared on Dornob.

Wouldn’t it be great if your furniture could change shape to fit whatever need you have at the moment? The Room for Two stool from designer Karthik Poduval is a compact little seat for one when you need to save space, but it easily expands to fit two when you could use a bit of extra room.

Inspired by the conflicting needs to both save and expand available space, Poduval invented the stool as a way of inventing a new, shared space. The Room for Two looks like a regular stool with just enough room for one person’s behind. When someone else needs to occupy approximately the same space, one end of the stool easily pulls out to accommodate both.

The trick is in the construction. Each stool sports six legs and a top that is made of interlacing wood strips. When the stool is in its compact configuration, the wood strips are all pushed together and the top appears solid. But when pulled out, each seat gets half of the slats. There are then two legs at each end and another two legs in the middle of the bench-style seat.

The Room for Two comes in a tall version and a short version. The taller seat is made of ash and the smaller one is made of oak. The stools are available for purchase directly from the designer, with the lead time for a made-to-order stool being 2-3 weeks.

“The Room for Two Stool was initially born out of an interest in creating space-saving furniture for both public and domestic use in our increasingly crowded cities, but in use, becomes a fun and innovative way to share space – rather than save it. The stool, sleek and modular – is made from only 8 different components – while still being sturdy and thoughtfully designed. Available at two heights, [0.8 metres] and [0.45 m], the bar stool is made from solid ash and the short stool is made from oak. Materials are all locally sourced in the UK.”

“A recent graduate from Camberwell College of Art, Karthik Poduval has already garnered a significant amount of attention, having had work exhibited at the V&A in April 2012, at the prestigious Design Junction in 2013, part of London Design Festival, and being listed in Wallpaper* Magazine’s Graduate Directory 2014 as being among the world’s best graduate design talent.”

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