BESPOKE | 12 SEPTEMBER 2020
Wallpaper* + Selfridges
Good design inspires, enriches and endures, and makes a better world. We should think carefully about what we buy, consider the consequences of our consumption and take note of each purchase’s real worth – the inspiration and intent, craft and innovation present in its material and make-up. Its usefulness and beauty. Its humour and honesty.
Selfridges’ Project Earth initiative explores how we can all change the way we shop, and includes collections that celebrate the new design thinking. It’s about reusing and remaking, rather than wasting; finding solutions in innovation; and celebrating the rewarding and fundamental relationship we have with the physical, also acknowledging the simple notion that the best things are made with care and built to last.
SHOP THE EDIT
Here’s our pick of thoughtful, enduring and desirable design from Selfridges
(From left to right): Diptyque - Hand Lotion, Neat - Spray and refill, Haeckels - Candle, The Lab Co – Sleep wash - Cleaner, Noble Isle - Room Diffuser, Skandinavisk - Hand Cream
New Thinkers
Candles, fragrances, diffusers, creams and lotions. Innovative solutions that soothe, clean and calm
Selected Products
Noble Isle reed diffuser
Tapping into the power of fragrance to enhance mood, trigger memories
and create a sense of place, the Noble Isle reed diffuser is designed to
take you on sumptuous, olfactory journeys. Scents include ‘Rhubarb
Rhubarb’, to take you to the wilds of Yorkshire; ‘Willow Song’ to transport
you to the fresh green woods of Lavenham Walk in Suffolk; ‘Whisky &
Water’ to bring you the warm aromatic scents of Scottish whisky; and
Golden Harvest to give you the fresh and tantalising experience of a
vineyard in Kent.
Neat Cleaning Concentrate
Mix the Neat company’s clever ‘neat’ concentrate with tap water to make an effective, plant-based and biodegradable range of game-changing, multi-surface cleaning formulas, while cutting out plastic. Learning that the cleaning product sector is largely constructed around shipping large plastic bottles filled with 90 per cent water, the Neat team has created a range of 94 per cent smaller products, in multi-use, aluminium containers.
The Lab Co – Sleep wash
The Lab Co makes luxury, plant-based laundry detergents and mists that contain natural essential oils.
The brand’s Sleep Wash has been developed specifically for bedding and sleepwear, and contains a slumber-promoting blend of wild lavender, chamomile and jasmine petals. As well as smelling amazing, it cleans and conditions your pyjamas, sheets, duvets and pillows without any harsh chemicals or toxic ingredients. It’s vegan too!
(From left to right): oOuum - Marble Candle Holder, Montblanc - Fountain Pen and Lid, Georg Jensen - Watering Can, coming soon, Tom Dixon - Puck Glassware collection, Reflections Copenhagen - Vase, coming soon, Villeroy & Boch - Manufacture Rock Collection, coming soon
Built to Last
Writing equipment, home bar accessories and cocktail glasses, crafted for pleasure, made to last a lifetime
Selected Products
Montblanc Writing Instrument
A Montblanc pen is a fine, lifetime companion, a treasured writing instrument and expression of fine craftsmanship that can be passed down through the generations. Renowned for its performance and quality since the company’s beginnings in 1906, Montblanc is an expression of sophisticated style for those who want to leave their mark
Villeroy & Boch Manufacture Rock tableware
The Manufacture Rock collection by Villeroy & Boch offers the natural appearance of slate in porcelain. With a fine relief and a touch of glaze, the tactile tableware has a look of weight and permanence, and an enduring appeal.
Tom Dixon Puck glassware
Tom Dixon was inspired by geometric forms – cylinders, cones and spheres – when he designed the elegantly sturdy Puck glassware collection. ‘Anchored with a satisfyingly thick base reminiscent of game pucks used in ice hockey, Puck is a collection that’s resilient enough to survive in a professional cocktail environment,’ says Dixon.
(From left to right): LPJ Studio - Throw, Maze - Table with tray, Goodwaste - Light, Huskee - Cups, Original Home - Throw
Material Matters
The fundamental beauty of clever ceramics, remade from waste, designed to be loved
Selected Products
Maze interior objects
Swedish interiors brand Maze has admirable ambitions of sustainability, ‘from design to the selection of materials, production and working conditions, “ says’ Maze’s Creative Director Lotta De Visscher. “We would rather develop and improve existing products than come up with new ones. By perfecting piece by piece, we make designs that will last for generations. We use honest manufacturing, recycled materials and a strict no-air-freight policy.’
GoodWaste lamps
The ‘Dot’ and ‘Slot’ lamps were designed by GoodWaste specifically for Selfridges, Oxford Street, using discarded materials reclaimed from the store itself. Promoting a new model of local, circular manufacturing, the lamps use perforated steel sheet, once used as interior wall-cladding for a brand concession. The material was cleaned, cut, formed, welded and painted, all by local suppliers and makers. The lamps use LED bulbs, from London-based Tala; the light shining through the perforated steel waste material casts shadows.
HuskeeCup
Perhaps the ultimate circular economy product, the HuskeeCup employs recycled coffee husks – organic waste material produced at the milling stage of coffee production – as its raw material. Manufactured using non-toxic (BPA-free) materials and zero hazardous chemicals, the cup reduces your eco-footprint every time you re-use it for coffee. We like the ribbed construction and the asymmetric design.
(From left to right): Nude Glassware - Carafe, KANA - Yellow Glazed Ceramic Bowl, 1882 x Bethan Gray - Ceramic Vessels, Eesome - Terracotta Vessel, The Conran Shop - Vitra 75th Anniversary LCW Chair, Fornasetti - Profumi Casa Con Colonne Candle with Lid
Made with Care
Mid century furniture classics, and kiln-fresh pottery elegantly handmade to cherish and delight
Selected Products
Vitra and The Conran Shop’s exclusive ‘LCW’ chair
Celebrating the longevity of good design, Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra and London’s The Conran Shop are marking the 75th anniversary of Charles & Ray Eames’ Plywood Group chairs with an exclusive, special edition of the iconic ‘LCW’ (Lounge Chair Wood) in a never-before-seen combination of black ash and pigmented walnut. A midcentury classic becomes a this-century collectible.
Eesome vintage homeware
From rustic French jugs to midcentury Danish dinner services, Eesome trawls the markets and stores of Europe to curate a considered and utilitarian collection
of pre-loved vintage ceramic homeware. This decorative French vase made in the 1970s is one of many pieces sourced by Eesome exclusively for Selfridges.
Kana bowl
Ana Kerin’s east London-based design and fine art studio Kana produces handmade ceramics - bowls, plates, cups and vases - ‘fresh from the kiln’. This sunny yellow bowl is typical of her approach to craft. The personal application of the glaze lends an uneven and unique finish to every piece, while small imperfections are all part of the nature of the technique and design.
