Handmade 2016: the sketchbook
Wallpaper* Handmade is packed with strokes of genius. A design happens in the act of sketching and modelling, a thinking out loud, a reverse engineering. For Handmade, built on new and sometimes unlikely creative partnerships, these workings-out carry an extra charge. Here is a selection of Handmade 2016’s most revealing prep and plotting...
‘Butler’ stand
David Chipperfield, E15 and AHEC
Crafted from American willow, the stand includes a luggage rest, rail, seat, drawers, shoe storage and mirror, making it an all-in-one solution for efficient unpacking
Jumpsuit
Alfredo Häberli and Cerruti 1881
’I found inspiration in the precise cuts of airplane fuselage fairings, and the details on the body of a Gran Turismo [car], and tried to transfer them into a modern sewing pattern,’ says Häberli. Helping create his futuristic jumpsuit, a comfortable but tailored take on the classic racing suit, was Italian fashion house Cerruti 1881 and its chief creative officer Jason Basmajian
Tea and coffee glassware
Jenkins&Uhnger and Ichendorf Milano
Taking inspiration from Japanese tea ceremonies, Jenkins&Uhnger chose to focus on the ritual of decanting tea or coffee into a cup. The transparent glass vessel, manufactured by Ichendorf Milano, incorporates negative space between an inner and outer layer, placing emphasis on the pouring itself and keeping the exterior cool to the touch
‘The Wheel’ magazine rack
Vladimir Kagan and H Furniture
The idea for ‘The Wheel’ came to the late American designer Vladimir Kagan during a trip to London, where he noticed that the London Eye’s shape would make a perfect rotating home for magazines. Standing on a red metal base, the rack is made of solid oak and metal, and can turn in both directions
Hotel keys
Karl Zahn and The Nanz Company
The hotel key card may be a signifier of modern advancement and convenience, but we can’t help longing for the old-world charm that some grand European hotels still uphold: a good old-fashioned key. Enter New York-based designer Karl Zahn and his zoomorphic trinkets, with keys realised as gazelles and alligators by hardware manufacturer The Nanz Company
Sculptural valet
Carlo Brandelli, Claridge’s and Cenacchi International
Carlo Brandelli teamed up with Claridge’s to redefine the gentleman’s valet, creating this sculptural, unisex version. ‘The materials are evocative of Claridge’s deco past,’ he says, referring to the piece’s palm marquetry and bronze work, handmade by Cenacchi International. ‘My design, however, is contemporary and angular, a floating C, which stands for Claridge’s (and Carlo)’
‘Field’ chandelier
John Logan and Lasvit
Glass artist John Hogan’s captivating chandelier – created in collaboration with Czech glassware behemoth Lasvit – produces different colours of light with the use of polarising foil and the prism effect
‘One Point’ minigolf
Studio JinSik Kim, Cuellar, Bolon and Anun
Our futuristic round of minigolf, featuring abstract shapes and contrasting materials, is perfectly pitched
Water cabin
AFSO, Klafs and Perfumer H
Our portable luxury cabin offers an immersive showering experience ideal for the modern nomad. Made from Narvuban oak, impregnated with fragrant beeswax specially created by Perfumer H, the space is totally enclosed and features brass shower fixtures by Cooper & Graham
Breakfast table and chair set
DWA and Mariotti
While Mariotti’s composite material Silipol has many industrial applications, its use in smaller projects is a lesser-known quantity. DWA designed this set to be used in a hotel breakfast room. In reducing the scale of the material’s application, the textural and visual characteristics of the material are brought to the fore; coating the tabletop and seats utilises its strength, while a unique colour pattern emphasises its aesthetic versatility.
Bed
GamFratesi and Hay
Italian conceptualism and crisp Danish design collided to produce this understated bed. Inspired by the billowing sail of a boat, its main feature is a backrest made up of two vertical elements – ‘masts’ – embedded in the main frame, which is covered in contrasting fabric by Giulio Ridolfo and Raf Simons for Kvadrat
‘Grid’ umbrella stand
Front and Alpi
Swedish design studio Front created a playful umbrella stand from finely crafted wood veneer using a brand new pattern, entitled Grid Wood. The motif is inspired by classic trompe l’oeil patterns that create the illusion of depth. The piece was manufactured at the workshop of Giordano Viganò in Milan
‘Calendar’ overalls
David Kohn Architects and Kinnasand
Kohn and fashion designer Colomba Leddi played with a theatrical idea of hospitality to conceive their project. Created in collaboration with Kinnasand, the collection consists of 12 overalls cut from 52m of the Swedish brand’s gridded ‘Yuki’ fabric. Each carries a phase of the moon on its chest in ‘Takio’ and ‘Jujo’ fabrics, tailored with 365 stitches and closed with seven buttons