Here are a few of our highlights from the London Design Festival in 2016, curated by our design team for your information and enjoyment.
A well structured read by BLUEPRINT magazine
This was a delightful way to get our attention and certainly not your typical display for your favourite read, but certainly brings a different meaning to getting lost in a good book!
ANGLES OF REFLECTION
Absolutely on trend this caught the publics attention - the angular, gemotric, reflective furniture proved very popular and was unlike anything else at this years event. It was difficult to photograph and probably more complex to manufacture, but the result is a very contemporary collection of furniture.
NFOOITSCEELLGFNEAR
by Mervalia Mervalia is a Finnish-Brazilian design duo based in Helsinki consisting of Mervi Antila, a Finnish Product Designer with a great eye for colors and compositions along with Nathalia Mussi, a Brazilian Architect/ Designer with a special affection towards structures and geometry. Their work ranges from furniture to accessories and surface design. Overall seeking for ways to build a narrative around the objects they create, in a process that is partly obsessive and precise and partly undeniably extravagant.
Do you CNC me now?
DO I LOOK FLAT IN THIS
Designs by Thomas Vaughan New & old technology collide to create these organically curvaceous, yet rigid products of Parametricism. Initially parts are formed with a 5 Axis CNC with material left behind to provide strategic clamping points which are then removed and finished by hand in a time consuming and age old manner.
Alexander Kneller designs are sculpted in expanded polyethylene foam, reinforced with resin, and complimented with Kvadrat Coda fabric
“LOUNGER” - 2016
These designs show an explorative approach to furniture design. Unlike the furniture featured previously which is conceived before computer machining, these are developed by hand. The choice of material is not a commercially used medium in this format which makes for a unique process.
“ARMCHAIR” - 2016
STELLAR DESIGN
Celestial, by Edward van Vliet for Moooi
Our fascination with space has been reinvigorated in recent years with news such as that they have found water on Mars. Pioneers such as Richard Branson and Elon Musk are relentlessly pursuing ways to turn space travel into a commodity. Elon Musk has recently announced plans to start colonising Mars in six years! Billionaire Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, with the goals of enabling Mars colonisation and reducing space travel costs. This new found obsession with space continues to be reflected in product and interior design, as we look to the ever expanding universe and wonder...are we really alone?
Yoga Mannequin - by Global Display Meditation Seat Ware by Gao Fenglin “People usually use this old method of sitting to meditate. This posture is not only the function of sitting, but also the best way to maintain inner peace. We also used bamboo sheet to weave the surface that could bring us the natural feeling and good haptic in summer.”
Woven Bamboo fibers look like a golden carbon fiber
A MOMENT OF CONTEMPLATION
This odd form was displayed without an image of the man meditating, which leaves the viewer wondering as to what it was. It is probably rare that anyone would spend time sittng like this unless attending a Yoga session. Do you remember from childhood just how uncomforable it was to sit upon the hard floor? This however looks incredibly comfy and surely there’s nothing as ‘grounding’ as sitting on the floor!
Fishing nets strewn along the British and Puerto Rican coasts are repurposed to give these discarded materials a new life, used here to create decorative outdoor seating. Repurposed for its colour qualities rather then the integrity of its strength; these tarnished and coral coloured ropes give a great beachy aesthetic to this simple lounge chair. Its probably a lot easier to cut it into small sections then to attempt to untangle that lot!
THIS WILL CATCH YOUR ATTENTION
“Debris Chair� by Carmen Machado
by Brodie Neill Fragments of recycled ocean plastic are inlaid to achieve the terrazzo effect of the Gyro table, designed by Brodie Neill for Australia’s entry into the first London Design Biennale. With 24 shades to play with, from black through blue to white, he designed a series of tiles and pieced them into a digitally designed terrazzo kaleidoscope that he sanded down to resemble parquetry.
This is a great example of an internationally known designer takes a commodity material that we all take for granted and throw away soo easily, and they re-purpose it into something beautiful, desirable and therefore expensive. If we changed the way we see and use plastics and gave greater consideration to its use and life cycle our environments may not be as polluted and may be more beautiful.
“PLASTIC EFFETCS” 2016
Each panel is unique, made from an array of plastics sources, and arranged by hand onto the frame. Materials that have been utilised range from mobile phones and cds to wellington boots and yoghurt pots. A custom, recycled solid surface? If you want assistance in delivering something truly bespoke for your brand then please get in touch and we can help you to realise this.
FANTASTIC
Smile Plastics Smile Plastics has nearly 20 years experience of creating high end recycled plastics making specialist handmade panels from recycled material.
The colours seen in the cabinet pictured on the right, are all naturally occurring in the variations of pallet woods used. They are less visible when the planks are chosen in their raw state. The inner beauty and randomness is only exposed near to the end. Accross the world millions of Pallets are burnt and discarded. We are sure that you would not simply discard or burn something as beautiful as this? A great way to repurpose a product into something infinitely more beautiful than it’s original form.
ANOTHER MANS TREASURE
by Emodi “Here at Emodi we are incredibly environmentally aware and want to ensure that we produce furniture that reflect this. It seems that in modern times we have become a throwaway culture; many people opt to buy low quality, mass produced items that can be discarded with ease. We create beautiful, high quality solid wood furniture that are designed to stay with you for a lifetime and only improve as they age. Our furniture is all crafted by hand and is made from reclaimed or discarded wood using only UK materials, locally sourced.”
Some brands have been moving towards corporate deconstruction with more locally inspired or locally sourced materials, like these handmade tiles. Materials used might be abundant and famous in that area, or a particular landmark or artist may feature. If done in good taste these environmental elements can increase our feelings of familiarity and comfort and embody communities. This approach has more character and reflects that like all of us, we are unique and individual.
S’TILE
by Esther Khang is an experienced designer maker specialising in ceramic design and production, having graduated in 2012 from a design research MA at Central St Martins.
by Melanie Muir This designers creates jewellery entirely by hand using polymer and a process based on the Japanese metal working technique “mokume gane�. Her bold, colourful work features organically patterned veneers which are inspired by the landscape around her home in the Scottish Highlands. Melanie’s process means that every piece she makes is unique and unrepeatable. The colours in these ceramics are captivating, the pop block colours contrasted by the energetic and organic looking cells. A brave and bold deployment of colour that catches your eye.
by KLONG Klong develops products where the combination of functionality, materials and shape make something worthy of caring for, something lasting. Every piece is a product to be enjoyed for years to come by its owner. The intention of the design group is to produce products that respectfully take the human being and nature into consideration whilst finding inspiration in many different cultures.
BEAUTIFUL
This ethos rang true with us and is evident in the their products. We design and deliver lasting environments to be enjoyed that are respectfully considered. Take a look at our website to see some of the work we have done and please get in touch to see what we can do for you at www.global-display.co
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Globe House 84-88 High Street South Dunstable, LU6 3HD United Kingdom +44(0)1582 676 350 info@global-display.co global-display.co