RAW EDGES

YAEL MER AND SHAY ALKALAY founded Raw Edges 16 years ago. In 2009, they were named Designers of the Future by Design Miami/Basel, and their star has steadily ascended ever since. With collaborators like Stella McCartney and Airbnb, and works in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Vitra Design Museum, the London-based duo balance a beginner’s mind with an expert’s skills. This equipoise was instrumental in the development of their new Objets Nomades, Binda Armchair and Sofa.

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION? It’s not very romantic, but, as our ideas often come as a result of trial and error, “the place” of inspiration for us would simply be our studio. At the same time, when we are in the middle of a project and there are problems to be solved, it’s very important to leave the studio and go for a walk or a cycle. Solutions to problems come when you least expect them to.

HOW IS RAW EDGES’S ETHOS REFLECTED IN THESE NEW OBJETS NOMADES? Our work is about introducing playful new inventions. In our Objets Nomades “Concertina” collection, for example, we worked on a collapsible armchair that is folded in a beautiful and surprising way. It is very much related to the time when Louis Vuitton was founded, during the Industrial Revolution, when so many new inventions were presented.

WHAT’S ONE MATERIAL THAT ALWAYS TRANSCENDS YOUR EXPECTATIONS? Paper! Not that it doesn’t get enough credit, but it is still amazing what can be done with such basic material. The ease, directness, and beauty in creating paper models is magical, and sometimes it leads to even bigger surprises like Binda, our latest addition to the Objets Nomades, which started as a paper model of a tennis ball.