Martin Brudnizki and design partner Nicholas Jeanes present a new collection of furniture designs that ‘perfectly straddles the gap between functionality and beauty.’
The pair have worked together for 12 years at Brudnizki’s eponymous interior design studio, creating interiors for the likes of The Royal Academy of Arts, Soho House and Annabel’s, as well as creating furniture and objects for these spaces. The new design pieces are launched under And Objects, a collaborative studio born in 2015 from their mutual love for furniture and objects. This time, the designers worked without any boundaries or constraints, collaborating over 18 months to create a 14-piece collection that features furniture, seating and lighting.
‘We’ve always designed individual pieces for our interiors or [for] other producers, and love the collaboration on these projects, fusing our approach with another brand,’ says Brudnizki. ‘But we really wanted to take a step back and understand what And Objects stands for. What would a table look like if we had absolute freedom to create it. Hence this collection. It takes our focus on craftsmanship and combines it with a sense of playfulness to create a range of furniture for homes that embodies And Objects.’
One of the collection’s centrepieces is the Hambledon Bookcase, made of limed solid oak shelves with grosgrain ribbon banding, green lacquer octagonal columns and aged solid brass fretwork and cast finials
The furniture designs are presented through a highly evocative portfolio of images, shot at Sir John Soane’s Pitzhanger Manor in London. The designers explain how this location formed the ideal backdrop to their work, for Soane’s own ‘fascination with reinterpreting the past and reworking materials in unique ways’ particularly fit the collection.
Among the pieces they created is the majestic Hamebledon Bookcase, a visual feast defined by limed solid oak shelves trimmed with pale blue grosgrain ribbon and supported by high gloss lacquered columns topped with cast brass finials. Decoration is a common theme throughout the decidedly non minimalist furniture designs, characterized by bold colours, prints and ornaments. The collection’s features include bright ochre marbled scagliola, silver leaf crystal glass, blush pink hand-poured resin, multicoloured zig-zag upholstery and fired ceramic faience in a combination of blue and burgundy.
Inspirations for the duo came from Swedish Grace and the main influences that informed the movement, a nod to Brudnizki’s own origins and his Swedish upbringing. Neoclassical architecture, art deco and folk patterns and ancient designs from Scandinavian history are all elements that contributed to the movement’s aesthetic richness. ‘The greatest example of all these aspects coming together has to be the Swedish National Pavilion at the 1925 World Fair in Paris designed by distinguished architect Carl Bergsten,’ continues Brudnizki, adding that the work of designers such as Carl Hörvik and Gunnar Asplund and their ability to translate folk motifs and classical elements into contemporary designs was another source of inspiration for the collection.
The Orvington Table Lamp, made of hand-poured green resin with crafted aged silver metalwork adorned with cast bird on top
‘For us Swedish Grace was a starting point. We didn’t want to create a collection that copied these beautiful designs but instead that were influenced by and could move the conversation forward without being pastiche,’ notes Brudnizki. ‘We knew for it to be more contemporary the shapes should be more sculptural and less sharp, the materiality more modern and less art deco and more colour.’ Pieces such as the Marden Coffee Table with its architectural arches or the Denmead Stool, whose metalwork was inspired by a Viking bracelet give a feeling of the duo’s ability to transform those influences into a contemporary design language.
Pieces in the collection will be made to order, and the designers have collaborated with small workshops and craftsmen which they sourced locally, from Dorset to Lancashire. Brudnizki concludes: ‘we find that understanding the production process in meticulous detail really aids in designing the products and adapting your initial vision to make it not only viable but more beautiful.’
The Ropley occasional table, made of blue and burgundy clay formed fired ceramic faience
The Easton Side Chair (left) and Dining chair (right) crafted from stainless steel and Italian leather available in a colour palette that ranges from red and navy blue (pictured) to yellow and green. ’A refreshing look at a Traditional Design, the chair harks back to mid-century design influences,’ say the designers
Defined by a lightly brushed and ebonised stained oak top with individual turned oak balls and hand formed ochre scagliola legs is the Waltham console
The Denmead stool, whose decorative metalwork is inspired by a Viking bracelet
Shot on a staircase at Pitzhanger Manor, the Brighton side table features an English oak trestle base top supporting a marbled scagliola top
Among the collection’s upholstered pieces is the Candover Daybed, hand coil sprung and with contrasting piping
Pieces such as the Marden coffee table with its architectural arches is a good example of how Brudnizki and Jeanes subtly translated their influences into a contemporary design language
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