Beat Bloom Propeller by Beat Glaesser and Studio IVANK

During Milan design week 2010, Hungarian concrete furnishings manufacturer IVANKA and Swiss designer Beat Glaesser will introduce the Beat Bloom Propeller coffee table.

Description from IVANKA:

The Beat Bloom PROPELLER is a go-anywhere coffee table and seating with storage on wheels by Beat Glaesser and Studio IVANKA. A new creation for the different functions of seating, coffee table and storage to be skillfully combined in one piece of furniture, in a daring design. Material as well as form and structure confer a contemporary look. This piece has been given a dynamic shape with the distinct feeling of constant motion. It’s sleek and sinuous sculptural body contrasts marvelously with its surroundings. Perfectly suited for both indoor and outdoor usage due to its extremely durable fiber reinforced high performance cast concrete material. Its surface shows its best in nature and ages to its advantage.

It lends itself not only for domestic use but also for public purposes and it can be a highlight of commercial places and working environments. The flock of elements, like a group of three objects can form an ideal space unit of ‘furniture ensemble’ vitalizing the community activities of urban dwellers. It’s a product to improve people being together with other people. It drives and inspires users in use.

Baba Lounger by Objekt Incorporated

London-based design firm Objekt Incorporated have sent us the Baba Lounger.

Description from the designers:

Created from a stainless steel frame and cylinders and fitted with individually upholstered suede cushions, this strikingly simple design requires no hand tools to assemble. The high density extruded foam cushion cores provide a firm and durable seating which is exceedingly comfortable. Designed with commercial spaces in mind, this piece would also sit comfortably in a domestic environment. Made from easily recyclable materials, whose component pieces can be easily replaced, this piece is designed to last.

Axum and Lalibella Stools by David Keller

Israeli designer David Keller has sent us his Axum and Lalibella stools, that are inspired by the Ethiopian immigrants who live near him, who have developed their own dual-culture.

Description from David Keller:

Near the place I live in, there is an “absorption center for new immigrants”. In this place new immigrants spend their first years after coming from all around the world before they are acclimatized in their new country. In the center near my home live a few hundreds of immigrants from Ethiopia. They live there for almost 25 years. Their “acclimatization” takes time, and it seems to me that they have developed during those years dual, Israeli-Ethiopian culture. Their houses, clothes, Friday markets and social habits are modern and ancient, 3rd world and western at the same time. This research was the foundation for my design.

The joyful and colorful stool is upholstered with a rough, almost “impolite” Ethiopian fabric. The rubber joints are hard and aggressive. The stool is forced to be pleasant and comfortable, no matter if he wants it or not.

Awake Your Inner Vandal by Ilan Dei

Venice, California-based designer Ilan Dei has sent us his Awake Your Inner Vandal collection of furniture that features graffiti hidden inside or underneath the pieces.

Description from Ilan Dei:

In his obsession with nature and ongoing exploration of water, Ilan Dei has created a contrasting collection between well crafted contemporary furniture and urban graffiti. Unnoticeable at first glance the graffiti is like a seedy underbelly of the furniture that you can only experience from certain angles and interactions. The elegant wood credenza, console and side table were inspired by Dei’s travels to the desert coastlines of Namibia, while the subtly constrained graffiti is applied as an urban infusion inspired by the street art around the Venice Beach Studio.

Ashes to Ashes Chair by Johanna Mattssoni

Johanna Mattsson, a recent graduate of the Danish Design School in Copenhagen, has created the Ashes to Ashes chair as her graduation project.

Description from Johanna Mattsson:

With this project I have highlighted and tried to solve the following problem: Outdoor furniture sold and used in Scandinavia are often made of exotic wood imported from faraway countries, which generate a huge amount of co2 pollution; or the materials used are non-renewable resources hard to introduce to new lifecycles and therefore creates an unwanted environmental impact during their lifetime.

I have created a concept for outdoor furniture suitable to the climate, history and the assets that are represented here in Scandinavia; a concept with references to Nordic furniture history, the Nordic mythology and traditional furniture manufacturing.

The first piece of furniture from this concept is a chair made from solid ash wood. The chair can be used throughout the whole year, both outdoors and inside. By the end of its functional life is meant to be burned to ashes, which gives nutrition and life to another plant or tree: ashes to ashes.

I wanted to focus on the locally grown and produced materials, and furthermore inform the consumer about the lifecycle and environmental impact of the chair. Lastly I wanted to stress the owner responsibility in regard to caring for the chair and thus extend its functional life.

The design is inspired by the ash tree to remind of the chairs origin but also show that wood is an organic material.

Armillaria Stool + Table by Odoardo Fioravanti

At Salone del Mobile 2010 in Milan, the Italian manufacturer PLUST Collection exhibited the new Armillaria Stool + Table that has been designed by Odoardo Fioravanti.

Description by Odoardo Fioravanti:

This project takes its cue from a research about industrial production and the mechanical reproduction of products. It comprises a family of products born out of a common root whose offshoots form the individual objects, each addressing a different function. In this way the pieces of the series share a single base from which they sprout. Armillaria is the scientific name of a common species of fungi: the iconic mushroom is found easily in the woods, rising rapidly from the ground with its colourful caps. This project represents a reflection on vegetal shapes, their structure and their appearance. Fungi are complex lifeforms whose various parts are different in shape but work together to form a cohesive, beautiful whole. Each piece of the collection alludes to the notions of birth, and growth. This collection consists of a stool and a table. All the products are made by rotomoulding.

An Furniture by KAMKAM

The Korean design group KAMKAM have created the An Furniture collection.

Description from the designers:

Ax sheets (A3, A4, A5, etc) have “Golden Ratio” that promotes productivity by keeping the dimensions always (approximately) in the same ratio of width:length when they are folded in half. Inspired by these Ax sheets, we assigned fresh sculpture of distinctive ratio to furniture, which makes the furniture economical by saving raw materials. Since An Furniture also can be rearranged and relocated to a closet, a bookshelf, a storage cabinet and a drawer by a straightforward process, there would be no furniture better than this for single-person households.

African Design at ICFF 2010

At ICFF 2010 in New York, the Amaridian Gallery and Design Africa presented furnishings, lighting, and decor items from a select portfolio of studios from across Africa, representing a range of media and product categories.

Amaridian is a New York City based gallery and showroom specializing in innovative sub-Saharan design, craft and fine art. The company is focused on promoting Africa’s emerging talents. It offers a distinct perspective allowing different ideologies, concepts and expressions to maintain their identity without conforming to conventional standards.

Amaridian and Design Africa have formed a pioneering partnership to foster Africa’s growing presence in the global marketplace. The venture assists rising design stars to achieve critical and commercial success by connecting private enterprise with progressive development and their creative coordinates with discerning international markets.

Companies:
Aboubakar Fofana (Mali)
Mud Ceramics (South Africa)
Tekura Design (Ghana)
Zenzulu (South Africa)
Kpando Pottery (Ghana)
Diallo Design (Mali)
Egg Designs (South Africa)
Ronel Jordaan (South Africa)
Twig (South Africa)
Willowlamp (South Africa)
Gone Rural (Swaziland)