New York Design Week might be winding down, but things at the festival’s marquee event, the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), are just heating up. The trade fair, which takes over the Javits Center until 20 May, marks the largest showing of its kind in the U.S. More than 450 exhibitors from 35 countries show off the latest in furniture, lighting, materials and more for both the primary show and its sister presentation, WANTED, a showcase of American design that occupies about 20,000 square-feet of the already-sprawling exhibition floor. That’s quite a lot of ground quite literally to cover. But there were many stand-outs, including fresh approaches to sustainability and craft. Without further ado, here are five things that particularly caught our eye.
Virginia Sin’s new ceramic lighting
You’ll likely know Brooklyn-based ceramicist Virginia Sin for her playful, hand-built bowls, candelabras and vessels, but increasingly she’s been expanding her practice with lighting. At ICFF, she’s showing off her largest lighting assortment to-date with the introduction of two new collections, OBEL and STRIA. For Obel, Sin was inspired by the monumentality and history of Egyptian obelisks. The result is a series of table lamps with sculptural ceramic bases and gently tapered pyramid-shaped shades. But we were especially drawn to her STRIA collection of sconces, whose chubby interwoven forms have all the elegance of a Bottega Veneta bag. It was all about exploring ancient techniques, Sin says: ‘By translating those histories into light, the pieces become more than just functional—they hold space, carry meaning, and bring a sense of presence into the home or wherever they’re installed.’
Rockwell Group's cork lamps for Stackabl
Cork has been everywhere lately and no one has mined its potential quite as rigorously as Rockwell Group. In Milan, the design studio debuted Casa Cork, an entire pop-up devoted to this sustainable–and beautiful–material. The fascination continues with a new fixture Rockwell Group has launched in collaboration with the lighting company Stackabl. The company uses felt offcuts to create light fixtures that not only look cool (you can customize the colours to suit your space) but also addresses textile waste. Rockwell Group’s collab of lamps uses, you guessed it, a cork base with a blue, white and purple felt palette chosen by David Rockwell himself.
Put a cork in it? Don’t mind if we do!
LaRose Guyon’s gauzy-and-gorgeous booth
It takes a lot to stand out amid a sea of hundreds of booths at ICFF. But, as design editors at the fair all agreed, LaRose Guyon’s immediately snagged the eye. In lieu of a traditional booth with rigid walls, the Canadian lighting company, which creates hand-made light fixtures with jewellery-like precision, hung layers of gauzy fabric to create a soft, illuminated enclosure. Combined with the chandeliers, the booth glowed like an otherworldly sea creature from afar. No surprise, this beauty took home 'Best Exhibit Design' at ICFF’s Design Awards.
Cuff Studio’s glamorous collection
In the Wanted portion of the fair Cuff Studio’s presentation stood out. The Los Angeles furniture and lighting studio showed off its new WITHIN collection, a glamorous assortment of new to-the-trade furniture and lighting. We loved the Puddling Cascade lamp, a sculptural light made from white cotton rope that softly tumbles from the ceiling, as well as the C-Back lounge chair, which comes with a sexy hand-textured patinated bronze frame and was shown in a pretty plum-coloured upholstery. We’ll take it all, please!
CJ Hendry’s inflatable tubes
The chaos of Design Week can have a funhouse feel (especially if you’re party-hopping) which is why we appreciated CJ Hendry’s cheeky addition to ICFF. The Australia-born artist created a series of knotted inflatable tubes – an installation dubbed ‘Keff Joons’– that sprawled across the convention floor like a bouncy castle. Hendry also showed her Space Chairs, a set of unique seats made from 65 per cent recycled materials.
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The first fine jewellery collection from Mara Paris brings a refreshing informality to precious materialsNatura Forma, the first fine jewellery collection from Mara Paris, is gorgeously imperfect in its fluid forms
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Detour Discotheque is bringing ‘the world’s dreamiest party’ to PugliaThe pop-up event, La Dolce Vita Disco, promises dancing, good food and sunshine in a 16th-century Italian farmhouse
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Pierpaolo Piccioli is heading to Balenciaga as creative directorFormer Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli will replace Demna, who is heading to Gucci
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Ludmilla Balkis’ organic, earthy ceramics embody the Basque countrysideThe sculptor-ceramicist presents a series inspired by and created from found natural objects in a New York exhibition
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Designer Danny Kaplan’s Manhattan showroom is also his apartment: the live-work space reimaginedDanny Kaplan’s Manhattan apartment is an extension of his new showroom, itself laid out like a home; he invites us in, including a first look at his private quarters
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New Superhouse show captures the rebellious spirit of Dan Friedman’s Manhattan apartmentIn the late 1970s, graphic designer and artist Dan Friedman transformed his apartment into a Day-Glo laboratory of ideas. Now, a new exhibition at Superhouse in New York revisits his vibrant, rebellious world
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Design practice Astraeus Clarke is inspired by cinema to tell a story and evoke an emotionIn a rapidly changing world, the route designers take to discover their calling is increasingly circuitous. Here we speak to Chelsie and Jacob Starley the creative duo behind Astraeus Clarke
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Hella Jongerius’ ‘Angry Animals’ take a humorous and poignant bite out of the climate crisisAt Salon 94 Design in New York, Hella Jongerius presents animal ceramics, ‘Bead Tables’ and experimental ‘Textile Studies’ – three series that challenge traditional ideas about function, craft, and narrative
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One to Watch: designer Valerie Name infuses contemporary objects and spaces with historical detailFrom vessels to furnishings and interiors, New York- and Athens-based designer Valerie Name finds new relevance for age-old craft techniques
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First look: Matthew Fisher opens the doors to his first gallery in ManhattanHistory, design, and environmental consciousness converge at M. Fisher in New York City, offering an experience that is as meaningful as it is visually striking
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Cooper Hewitt’s ‘Making Home’ triennial reveals an intimate side of the museum’s Gilded Age architecture'We live and work in the Carnegie Mansion, but it's not typically something that we engage with directly in our exhibitions,' says Alexandra Cunningham-Cameron, one of the co-curators
