MATERIAL OF THE MOMENT

RESIN IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY POPULAR FOR CRAFTING BESPOKE FURNITURE AND HOME ACCENTS

Above: Resin designs by Phillip Thomas show o the material’s range. Top right: A table designed by Quincy Ellis.

Opaque or transparent, colorful or muted, resin is a chameleon of sorts°and it’s having a moment. 6ncreasingly, designers are using the versatile substance to craft bespoke furniture and home accents.

4enerally thought of as a plastic derivative, resin, as interior designer ;ina :agon of 0ontour 6nterior 1esign in 5ouston describes, is “a naturally occurring organic compound sourced from plants that consists of a noncrystalline, liquid substance that is fusible.” And resin casting is a method often used for making furniture, whereby a mold is fi lled with liquid resin, which then hardens.

“<ne of the most noted designers, who was groundbreaking in using resin in furniture, lighting, and accessory design in the late 1960s, early ’$0s, was :arie-0laude de Fouqui{res,” says 4uy ?egal, a ;ew Fork-based dealer of fi ne art and antiques. “Through a chemical reaction, the material is given a crackled eff ect,” he says. And 9ine Vautrin, who worked through the 19 0s, ’40s, and ’50s, was well known for incorporating resin in her sunburst mirrors, which created a luminous eff ect, ?egal says. “/oth of these artists’ works are highly sought after by collectors and achieve fi ve-and-sie-fi gure prices at auction.”

UNIQUE ADAPTATIONS <ne of the main reasons for resin’s growing popularity is its versatility, fl eeibility, and durability; Wust a simple hand sanding at home can smooth surface scratches. 6t also can be used as a varnish or lacquer, which not only makes it something that can suspend obWects eff ectively think' coins or insects in a paperweight, for eeample but also coat them, :agon says.

:arina 5anisch of :arina 5anisch 6nteriors in ;ew Fork tries to incorporate resin into wood slab furniture. “The luminosity refl ected in the resin combined with the organic nature of the wood creates a perfect harmony between natural and synthetic materials,” she says.

6nterior designer =hillip Thomas, founder and principal of =hillip Thomas 6nc. in ;ew Fork, has used the material in millwork designs for counters and shelving, to cover fl ooring, and as artistic home accents. To create a focal point in a study, Thomas used a fractured resin sphere to decorate a green lacquered desk. As the light changed throughout the day, the sphere went from looking slightly opaque to more translucent to a glowing bronge.

“6 love how fractured resin captures the light and changes as the light in a space changes,” he says.

MODERN MAKERS 6ndustrial designer >uincy Ellis, owner of /rooklyn-based Facture Studio, an art furniture company, thinks of resin as art, then made into something functional. 8nown for his molded popsicle-like resin pieces that blur the lines between sculpture and furniture, Ellis plays with how the eye perceives color and depth at the same time. “They’re active pieces that are ever changing along with light conditions,” Ellis says. “The way we can shape, color, and make resin transparent and into a beautiful obWect that lasts forever is amaging.”