Urban slumberland: Blond & Bieber create portable bed-backpack
To celebrate the freedom of sleep, Berlin-based design studio Blond & Bieber created Sleep With Us, a woolen backpack/bed that can be rolled out at your leisure when the urge strikes you. 'We picture a modern urban nomad traveling through the city, working as well as sleeping where it is necessary,' says Rasa Weber, who leads the studio along with Essi Johanna Glomb. Through their research, which included interviews with the Sleep Academy of Berlin (Schlafakademie Berlin), the award-winning studio discovered that from libraries to cafes to offices, people sleep in public places – but because of the stigma of laziness and inefficiency attached to this practice, people attempt to keep it hidden. 'The backpack is a form of "hiding" the bed,' says Weber.
An object in between furniture and clothing, Sleep With Us was inspired by the kepenek – a traditional shepherd’s coat made from an extremely resistant felt that allows the shepherds to sleep on the spot. Currently only produced in a limited edition, the robust bed is made using local wool from German breeds of sheep. The leather straps are sourced from German leather manufacturers who hand sort and cut the leather.
Formed in 2012, Blond & Bieber is behind the award-winning Algaemy project, which uses microalgae in textile printing.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Blond & Bieber’s website
Photography: Lukas Olfe. Courtesy of Blond & Bieber
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Explore Cornwall's cosiest coffee shops
Cornwall is known for its natural beauty and stunning landscape, here is our pick of coffee shops to enjoy the views and refuel
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Maude’s Brâncuși-inspired sex toys go on display in a new Paris exhibition
Maude’s design-led vibrators are now on display at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as part of ‘Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media’. Brand founder Éva Goicochea talks to Wallpaper* about partnering with the museum and opening up cultural conversations around sex
By India Birgitta Jarvis Published
-
‘I was captivated by the idea of merging two iconic brands’: Nigo on his 1990s-inspired collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz
Unveiled at Moncler’s ‘The City of Genius’ event in Shanghai this past weekend, Japanese fashion designer Nigo unpacks his three-way collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which includes a play on the G-Class alongside a fashion collection in his eclectic style
By Jack Moss Published