The well-heeled Manhattan showroom of Henrybuilt, a Seattle-based company specialising in minimalist kitchen and home storage systems, was the perfect setting to showcase a collaborative exhibition of Ladies & Gentlemen Studio’s delicate lighting and the exquisite collection of Portuguese design objects from Origin. Courtesy: Ladies & Gentlemen Studio
Set against the elegant functionality of Henrybuilt’s collection, Origin’s assortment of handcrafted ceramics, limestone objects and wooden accessories shows longstanding Portuguese craft techniques in a modern light, thanks to designs contributed by 12 international designers, including Gabriel Tan (Origin’s founder), Zoe Mowat and Norm Architects. Courtesy: Ladies & Gentlemen Studio
It may be more than 60 years since Danish architect Paul Cadovius designed the modular Abstracta shelving system, an adaptable system that enabled complex configurations to be simply snapped in place, yet at ICFF, the system was once more cast back into the spotlight, thanks to a clever reimagining by the Brooklyn-based design studio Standard Issue. The firm has edited a selection of tube lengths to create an array of contemporary living necessities – media consoles, shelving for storage and display, side tables and bedside tables, while devising a new snap-in shelf and levelling foot. Completed by a stylish colour palette, what was once old now seems new again
At ICFF, Danish brand Reform launches three new kitchen designs by Note Design Studio, Muller Van Severen and Studio David Thustrop. With a playful aesthetic, Ghent-based Muller Van Severen’s model uses the signature wax-like HDPE in primary tones – the stone top contrasts against the brass bottom that sandwiches the structure
Not one to shy away from creating a mood, New York studio Apparatus transformed its airy penthouse showroom into an ode to fine handcraft. Its latest collection launched during Salone del Mobile and features an elevated range of materials and interventions. From intricate hand embroidery to pieces made from eel skin, Carpathian burl, alabaster and brass mesh, the sumptuous collection is a study in both rigour and refinement. To complement the installation in New York, Apparatus worked with Callidus Guild to create a triptych, installed along a slender corridor by its entrance, finished with plaster to evoke the look of an aged plaster and marble façade
As the champions of emerging and independent design, Sight Unseen took a break from staging its usual design showcase ‘Offsite’ this year, in favour of pursuing some new projects. The team curated a selection of glass objects for 4510/Six at its Hudson Yards boutique. The pieces were made exclusively for the occasion by a roster of designers and glass artists, including Trueing Studio, Andrew O, Hughes and Sophie Lou Jacobsen
The utilitarian modular systems of furniture company USM might often be found in offices or home workspaces, but a collaboration with the whimsical child-focused design label Kinder Modern has cast its ware in an entirely new light. Kinder Modern founder Lora Appleton has put a playful spin on USM’s modular designs, transforming its Haller system into a shared family desk configuration, a vanity table and even twin beds with ample storage
The installation is completed with new additions to Kinder Modern’s collection, including huggable soft sculptures by the LA-based artist Buckley, rugs designed by the ceramicist Cody Hoyt and a vanity mirror by artist Elyse Graham
A bright airy shopfront on the Lower East Side has been transformed into a stylish haven by the design studio Coil + Drift. The space is filled with a new lighting range, Assemblage – a collection that was originally designed for founder John Sorenson Link’s own home. Included is a cylindrical brass base table lamp with a cone-shaped cloth shade; the ‘Toam’ series which pairs matte bulbs with a chrome and walnut stem, and the ‘Pierce’ range which features sandblasted glass orbs that have been pierced all the way through with brass stems. Courtesy Coil + Drift
Art and design have always enjoyed some healthy competition, but for its latest exhibition, Pas De Deux, the design showroom Colony has helped to blur the delineations between the two fields even further. Colony tasked each of its designers to show work alongside a piece of art of their choosing, forming a lovingly idiosyncratic presentation of creativity, no matter where your allegiances lie. Photography: Charlie Schuck
Highlights include a takeover of Fort Standard’s ‘Tombstone’ chair with Ty Williams’ hand painted prints and an elegant chair design from Studio Paolo Ferrari that features the woven handiwork of textile artist Hiroko Takeda. Photography: Charlie Schuck
How do you entice visitors to view design? Host an exhibition inside a hidden bakery tucked in the arcade of a Neoclassical office building in Tribeca – that is where Workstead chose to launch its newest lighting collection, Chamber. Installed as chandeliers, pendants and sconces throughout the charming space, the elegant design features light fixtures enclosed with sculptural metal shrouds that can be adjusted to conceal and reveal light as one wishes. Photography: Matthew Williams
Back in 2014, Workstead came up with the train carriage-style concept for Arcade Bakery with its fold down tables and alcove seating. Here, they teamed up with Calico Wallpaper for the installation, displaying its latest design, Relic – a decoupage-inspired pattern that layers metallic and tissue-like materials, creating a playful effect with the positive and negative space. Photography: Matthew Williams
The Female Design Collective, an organisation dedicated to supporting women in creative fields, presents an all-female exhibition of design and art pieces at 1stDibs Gallery. The show is curated by the collective’s founder Lora Appleton, and brings together 19 designers from all over the world, with a range of work that includes ceramics, textiles, lighting and glass in both decorative and functional realms
Entitled ‘Deeper Than Text,’ highlights include new objects from Kiki van Eijk, a new dining table from Egg Collective, pendant lights from Konekt that are draped in chain mail and playful furniture from Leah Ring
In Brooklyn’s Vale Park, design practice Kin & Company are debuting its outdoor furniture collection, co-curated with Asa Pingree. Twenty designs by the likes of Trey Jones Studio, Kaye Blegvad, Chiaozza, Huy Bui and more pepper the urban outdoor area. Intended to be a relaxing show, the often whimsical designs appear as artwork in the surroundings of boutique hotel The William Vale. Photography: Alexander Kusak
The Future Perfect’s Noho showroom is host to a ‘The Chair,’ an exhibition that elevates the functional object to artwork. From 133 entries, 50 pieces were chosen and vary from a melted marble iteration by Bower to inflatable form from Seungjin Yang
Spanish design and lifestyle brand Viso Collective has taken over a 5,000 sq ft industrial space in Tribeca with a vibrant installation of its latest wares. For an extra New York flair, the collective has recruited three New York City-based interior designers, Michael Bargo, Giancarlo Valle (installation pictured) and Andre Mellone, to each curate and envision three special installations to house its collection. Photography: Pippa Drummond
From vibrantly patterned ceramics, blankets and pillows to vintage pieces re-made with fabrics sourced by Viso, and a bench designed in collaboration with Tortuga Living, the eye-catching setting is made all the more pleasing by the fact that visitors are able to purchase a selection of objects on site. Pictured: Andre Mellone’s installation. Photography: Pippa Drummond
Jasper Morrison’s cork creations get their first US debut at Kasmin gallery. For the solo show, the British designer showcases the pleasing tactility and lightweight nature of cork staged within a domestic set. Photography: Diego Flores. Courtesy, Kasmin Read more here
The quirky, idiosyncratic design perspective of duo Chen Chen and Kai Williams takes an elevated turn with their latest exhibition of new works, ‘Romancing the Stone’, which is currently on view at Casa Perfect. Focused on working with stone, which includes the found to pieces leftover from quarry excavation, some of the show’s highlights include light fixtures made from slicing stones so finely that they become translucent and allow light to pass through, as well as the duo’s Geology collection, which sees tables created by splitting stones in half, and thus revealing their natural mineral composition in its cross section. Photography: Eric Petschek
Elsewhere, shelves and stools have been formed by pairing stones with a lattice of steel armature, made especially to hold them. Emphasising the stones’ rawer aspects while still conveying a sense of refinement, the duo’s innovative design approach to the collection simply rocks. Photography: Eric Petschek
For one week only, Fort Standard is taking over Colony‘s light-filled space on Canal Street for early NYCxDesign festivities. The new products take a personal turn, all designed by founder Gregory Buntai. The Cooperage dining collection takes its cues from barrels and casks, and the vivid pattern is created from white oak paired with darker oak, achieved through roasting it at a high temperature
The magnetising works of designers born between mid-1960s and early-1980s come together for Libby Sellers and Brent Dzekciorius’ curated exhibition ‘An Accelerated Culture’ at Friedman Benda. Exploring generation X, the installation focuses the economical, social and digital changes that occurred while these designers produced work. Pictured: End Grain by Raw Edges. Photography: Timothy Doyon. Courtesy, Friedman Benda
‘These practitioners went on to challenge the status quo by questioning everything, the design industry included, in order to redefine what a design practice could encompass and the territories where design can tread,’ says Sellers on the exhibition. The roster of global designers in the show include Maarten Baas, Michael Anastassiades, Matali Crasset and Julia Lohmann. Photography: Timothy Doyon. Courtesy, Friedman Benda
