Top 25 Best homeware
The living is easy
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Dining chair Hans J Wegner Danish designer Hans J Wegner knew a thing or two about dining in comfort. The CH37 was designed in 1962, inspired by a simple Shaker aesthetic. We’d have one of these at either end of our oak dining table, accompanied by four armless CH36 chairs down the side. — tm carlhansen.com
Global
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Preface With the right furniture, storage solutions and utensils, your home life can be transformed. Decorate and co-ordinate your personal space with these ideal items.
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Still life Anders Gramer
Design Directory — issue 68 — 209
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Top 25 Best homeware
Speaker People People A friendly solution for your living room electronics comes from Stockholm design company People People. The four-year-old firm’s newest project, dubbed the transparent speaker, has a small wi-fi antenna that makes it eligible to connect to all electronic devices. “People don’t own cars anymore so they show off with their living rooms,” says Martin Willers, one of the four founders. “These speakers are the perfect way to do so.” — adc peoplepeople.se
Drying rack La Base The humble dish drainer is not generally at the top of anyone’s wishlist. However, if you do lust after kitchen kit have a glance at La Base, a range from Japan designed by home-cooking star Yoko Arimoto. The drainer is made from top-quality Japanese stainless steel and stands in a sloping tray coated with silicon for durability. Looks good and does the job. — fw labase.jp
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3 Letter opener Plant Brooklyn
Storage shelves Lundia
“We try to do good,” says designer Bjarke Ballisager regarding his eco-friendly interdisciplinary studio. Williamsburg-based Plant Brooklyn was founded by Ballisager and his wife Holly McWhorter who share a background in architecture. This letter opener is made out of poplar while its blade is constructed from recycled paper. — gsl plantbrooklyn.com
It’s tough to come by a product as practical and versatile as Finnish design company Lundia’s shelving units. Since 1948 the family-owned company has been constructing its shelves out of free-growing pine sourced from local forests, where long winters and short summers make the wood grow slowly and, most importantly, durably. “Lundia is the opposite of throw-away culture,” says CEO Michaela von Wendt from the firm’s main office building in Hyvinkää. “The core idea in our shelving system allows you to build, dismantle and reconstruct the shelves over and over again – without tools. It grows with the owner, from a child’s room to a student’s studio to an office.” — avf lundia.fi
Tableware Billy Lloyd
Vases Ro Collection
London-based potter Billy Lloyd’s new “Billy” collection for The New Craftsmen consists of a bowl, plate and mug, and is manufactured in Stoke-on-Trent. It’s not just the historical ceramics centre of the UK that Lloyd is aiming to put back on the map with these pieces, but also some of the more traditional craft techniques, including jollying and jiggering. Both these methods (yes, those are their real names) were used to create the distinctive ridge effect. “The ridging makes them tactile,” says Lloyd. “Lots of tableware has a smooth exterior but I was interested in a profile that accentuates form and demonstrates a precision in handmaking. I’m trying to show off a bit of precision and skill that can be done by hand and not on a computer program.” — tm billylloyd.co.uk; thenewcraftsmen.com
Danish design company Ro was established in Copenhagen this summer by Rebecca Uth and Ole Kiel, former colleagues at Georg Jensen who had long planned their own independent collaboration. They named themselves after the Danish word for “Serenity, calmness and peace of mind”. Ro launches with a collection that features a lounge chair from Shannon Payton and Arunas Sukarevicius, vases from Nina Erichsen (pictured) and a toolbox from Aurélien Barbry. It’s an eclectic selection that captures the essence of Ro: thoughtful works intended to endure. — etl rocollection.dk
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Cutlery Pott Although a traditional flatware firm in the 21st century may seem hopelessly old fashioned in a sea of cheap, disposable products, German company Pott stands out for all the right reasons. Dating back to the turn of the 20th century, the firm has worked with Bauhaus and Werkbund luminaries such as Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Elisabeth Treskow and Josef Hoffmann and gained a global reputation for innovation in cutlery design. Its items sit in museums around the world, including MoMA. The most popular range is the four-piece silverware set called Pott 33 that was one of the last designs by second-generation owner Carl Pott before he died in 1985. Known for the fine grooves at the tip of each handle, the utensils are also wider than average, making it easier to scoop up your food. — ak pott-bestecke.de
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9 Coffee table Shigeichiro Takeuchi Japanese designer Shigeichiro Takeuchi was invited by Commoc, a Tokyo furniture and product-design studio, to collaborate on the creation of a coffee table. The Tricom’s most unique feature is its single powder-coated steel pipe, winding underneath a solid glass top to form three legs —a simple yet fluid design. Available in black, white or green, it sums up Takeuchi’s design principle: “To find the essential function and structure of the object”. — avf commoc.jp
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Garden chair EMU
Top 25 Best homeware
Coffee and side tables Arthur Casas Ever since Oscar Niemeyer designed a rocking chair, Brazilian architects have liked the challenge of turning their hand to furniture. São Paulo architect Arthur Casas’s Arquipélago’s coffee and side tables, handmade by Etel Carmona, are some of our favourite end results. Available in either Freijó or Sucupira woods, they’re raised off the ground by some architectural pilotis (legs) and are undoubtedly the best place to rest a caipirinha. — tm arthurcasas.com
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Salt and pepper mills Normann Copenhagen
11 Tea towels and oven mitts Saana Ja Olli
Emu has made its reputation as a leading outdoorfurniture company by combining elegant designs with weather-resistant materials. The “Shine” collection by Arik Levy is an example of the Italian company’s recent efforts to collaborate with international designers; other partnerships have seen works by the likes of Jean Nouvel and Patricia Urquiola. We love this light aluminium chair in yellow with its magnificent sunshine effect. — gsl me.emu.it
Designed for Normann Copenhagen by Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts graduate Simon Legald, these Craft salt and pepper mills are formed from a classic white-oak mill crowned with Italian marble knobs; black for pepper, white for salt. Nestled inside the solid wooden column is a ceramic CrushGrind grinder, tested to grind for two centuries of use without visible wear. A seasoned favourite. — etl normann-copenhagen.com
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Serving pot Marimekko Marimekko’s autumn collection was inspired by the stirring shades of the Finnish weather. Marimekko designer Aino-Maija Metsola has produced a series of watercolour-heavy textiles and homeware with a meteorological bent to it. Not so much a storm in a teacup as clouds on a jug, this ceramic serving pot – plus a dainty milk jug – are great for serving or decoration. — tm marimekko.com
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14 15 Towels Murakami The Japanese city of Imabari is synonymous with towels. We like the premium quality bath towels from Murakami, which has been in business in Imabari since 1927. Generously sized, they are made from cotton and come in seven colours. — fw murakami-towel.com
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Sofa B&B Italia For sofas made with a commitment to craftsmanship we turn to B&B Italia. The family-run Italian firm has pioneered injectionmoulding technology using cold polyurethane foam to turn out firm but comfy sofas with a long life cycle. Standing out from the pack is the sleek-bodied Frank sofa designed by Antonio Citterio. Conceived as a modular system that can be mixed and matched with a selection of backrests, central benches and chaise lounges, it is available in leather or fabric. — ak bebitalia.com
Saana Ja Olli is a Finnish textile company founded in autumn 2008, the cherished offspring of Saana Sipilä and Olli Sallinen, a design couple from Turku. The pair work only with sustainable European hemp with printing, sewing and design all taking place near their home in southwest Finland. Just as production is rooted in their locale, so is the vision. “We love traditional Finnish folk craft aesthetics and want to keep them living with our prints,” says Sipilä, rather than seeing them consigned to forgotten history. These pieces feature a repeating Maailman synty (the birth of the world) design, inspired by Finnish mythology and the country’s traditional wall rugs. — etl saanajaolli.com
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Top 25 Best homeware
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With a surfeit of gadgets on offer it’s a relief to find something simple. The Nixon Blaster is a shock-resistant, water-resistant wireless speaker that can play for 12 hours non-stop. Light and portable, it comes in a selection of colours – olive making a change from the norm. Nothing complicated about it, it just works. — fw jp.nixon.com/blaster
Sofa Erik Jørgensen
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Speaker Nixon
A 1970s classic, the EJ 220/270 sofa by Danish manufacturer Erik Jørgensen is the perfect resting place for your new home. Last year, the EJ 220/270’s back cushions were given buttons but we’re also fans of the pared-back simplicity of the chrome-footed original. — tm erik-joergensen.com
Cups and bowls Ceramik B
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Montréal-based ceramicist Basma Osama founded Ceramik B in 2007 to specialise in minimalist tableware with elegant silhouettes. These Morijana cups and Bohemian bowls come in soft natural hues and are meticulously shaped and sized to make your morning serving of tea and cereal a contemplative experience. They are available at Toronto retailer Made, which only sells Canadian designs. — jzl ceramikb.com; madedesign.ca
Blankets Nishikawa No bed should be without one: a cashmere blanket in classic beige from Nishikawa in Osaka. Nishikawa has been making bedding since 1566 and the cashmere blankets are still made by craftsmen in the Senshu area south of Osaka. An investment that will see you through many winters. — fw nishikawa-living.com
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Children’s furniture Soeta Craft
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Made in white beech with a paper-cord seat, this pint-sized chair for children is made by Yasuhiko Soeta, a craftsman from Fukushima. Soeta produces original wooden furniture and accessories that he designs and makes lovingly by hand from start to finish. He chooses the wood too and leaves it unvarnished, preferring to use a light oil instead. — fw ne.jp/asahi/fukushima/soetacraft
Footrest Coco Flip
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PHOTOGRAPHER: HAYDN CATTACH
Bench Heerenhuis Manufactuur Set up as an antiques business in Antwerp back in 1978, Heerenhuis Manufactur moved into manufacturing about 15 years ago and has been producing its own beautifully made furniture ever since. Run by Geert Legein and Louis van Haesebrouck, the collection is simple, comfortable and focused on using great-quality materials. This rubber-and-oak bench is a case in point. “We like to use real materials – basic, uncomplicated, non-perfect stuff,” says Legein. Hence the rubber seat? “It will not stain, tear, rip, split or discolour – and it is amazingly comfortable.” Distributed through London’s Different Like a Zoo studio. — tm heerenhuis.be; differentlikeazoo.com
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Melbourne-based design studio Coco Flip named these quirky Puku ottomans after the affectionate Maori word for “chubby belly”. Inspired by founder Kate Stokes’ visit to Japan last year, the seats are upholstered in fine wool blends from Danish company Kvadrat and can be playfully mixed and matched in 15 different colour palettes. “I loved the way Japanese design so often uses anthropomorphism, giving human form or other characteristics to inanimate objects,” she says. “I also love Miyazaki
Stepstool Sarah Kay
films, so I wanted to try and give this product a real character – cute, a bit chubby and slow but loveable.” Stokes founded Coco Flip in 2010 and mostly works with manufacturers based in Melbourne. “As we usually keep to raw materials, working with upholstery and colour was an entirely new and exciting experience,” she says. — avf cocoflip.com.au
This solid-oak step-cum-stool is the first solo piece by British-born designer Sarah Kay for London retailer and manufacturer SCP. Kay recently went it alone, having worked for years with Andrea Stemmer as part of design duo Kay+Stemmer. This A-shaped stepstool is ideal for a multitude of uses throughout the home. “I have fond memories of various stepstools in friends’ homes that I would perch on while they cooked,” says Kay. “Since their use is so specific but sporadic, I wanted to make sure that it could double as a shelf and side table.” — tm sarah-kay.co.uk; scp.co.uk
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Top 25 Best homeware
25 Bed Nihon Bed
PHOTOGRAPHER: KOHEI TAKE
For a proper night’s sleep it would be hard to improve on a mattress from Nihon Bed, Japan’s oldest manufacturer of western-style beds. The company, which was founded in 1926, rarely advertises but it only takes a quick 40 winks on one of its beds to know why they turn up in Tokyo’s best hotels and why everyone from sports stars to royals is using them. The secret is not in fancy materials or new technology – it’s all in the springs. Where the average bed has 600 springs, one from Nihon Bed has 1,200 of them, creating a mattress that is supportive without being uncomfortably hard. The beds are made by a skilled team led by Akio Kurosaka (pictured) in Nihon Bed’s factory in Ibaraki. Back in the showroom, staff will discuss customers’ sleep patterns, take into consideration their height (and any back problems) and come up with the best
mattress. Options include soft, regular and hard with varying configurations of the individually wrapped springs. The Silky Puff mattress is like a cocoon while the Beads Pocket is for those who like something firmer. Also on offer to complete the perfect bed set-up: pillows, quilts and original bed linen in a range of muted colours and fabrics including Giza 45, the finest cotton in the world. None of this comes cheap, but Nihon Bed says it’s an investment that will last for years. And what price a lifetime of good sleep in your new home? — fw nihonbed.com
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