The Unexpected, OffBeat and Over-the-Top Design Finds
CUE design agents represent Melogranoblu in the UK, as well as number of other European furniture, lighting, kitchen and wallpaper brands. The brand list includes Crassevig, Baltus Collection, Expormim, Wall & Deco,
The quest for a better way of doing things often powers and inspires the design world of home interiors. It's a realm that European designers tend to dominate with their witty, space-saving, streamlined and strategically engineered interpretations of all things related to the home. I wanted to personally experience this European ingenuity so I scouted the UK’s largest design trade event, 100% Design, as well as the shows Design Junction and Tent London for products that prove my theory. Here is the first in a series of blog postings on my Design Finds That Do It Better.
Design Blogger, Writer, Host Karen LeBlanc in London for the 100% Design Show
Rock Star Style
The Hooked Lighting Collection by UK Lighting Designer Buster + Punch
London brand Buster + Punch presents its avant- guard take on luxury furniture, inspired by a world of custom motorcycles and the rockstar lifestyle. I spoke with Buster + Punch Founder and Designer Massimo Buster Minale who says his company aims to "kick minimalism in the teeth" with a rock star aesthetic that is sexy and dark and oh so cool.
Design Blogger Karen LeBlanc with Buster + Punch Designer Massimo
His new lighting collection Hooked draws inspiration from the custom motorcycles that Massimo designs for celebrity clients. The bikes are prized for their knurled brass handlebars that appear as lighting fittings in the Hooked collection.
I'm infatuated with this collection because it amps up the whole Edison Bulb lighting trend with its raw exposed filaments. Each Hooked light is attached by a bronze hook so you can raise and lower the light and even move it to another area of your living space.
The Swing Table by Duffy London caught my attention because it illustrates how design can turn a daily routine into a novel, engaging experience. Imagine dinner time in your household with the Swing Table. I know my kids would run to the dinner table and eat their veggies if they could swing while they eat. I admire how Duffy London breaks all the rules of conventional furniture design by playing with the concepts of gravity, geometry and illusion.
The Swing Table also works as a great ice breaker and conversation starter at a dinner party. How could not you not crack a smile as you swing away with your cocktail in hand. A Geo lampshade and eight hanging chairs are suspended from the four-poster frame around a walnut table top. The Swing Table also is available in sizes to seat four and up to 12 people. Each one is handmade by local artisans and craftspeople using ethically sourced materials.
I noticed a recurring theme or dare I say "trend" at the many exhibitions and trade shows during the London Design Festival: it's the concept of cocooning furniture that envelopes you and provides your own private respite away from the white noise and distractions of your environment. The Beatnik chair is what I would call a "musical cocoon" because it allows you to retreat into your own soundscape with airplay speakers embedded in the furniture. Designer Matej Fegus calls this piece of sound furniture a "mood booster". Made by Solvenija manufacturer Donar, The Beatnik recently earned the prestigious Red Dot Award for its clever design and engineering.
You can connect your digital music player and listen to your favorite tunes, pipe in a phone call or use your smart tablet with a mount fitted on the chair. Fegus says it's the first chair with built-in Apple AirPlay technology, also supporting BlueTooth connectivity to virtually any device containing music and audio books such as laptop, mp3 player, mobile phone, tablet computer or even TV or Apple TV system. Stylistically, the chair looks like something out of The Jetsons cartoon and perhaps that's why it's fast becoming a media darling. The BBC recently picked The Beatnik chair to feature in an upcoming sitcom says Fergus.
Le Huit by French company Isidore is a stylish solution for outdoor furnishings because it's two chairs in one: lawn chair and lounge chair.
The chair is reversal allowing you to tip it over to one side for a lawn chair and the other side for a lounge chair. Notice in the picture that I am sitting in the lounge chair. The legs on the back of my seat are the feet of the lawn chair and the long platform for my legs becomes the high back for the lawn chair when reversed. Here's why I would totally furnish my outdoor living space with Le Huit: I no longer need to crowd out my pool area with both types of chairs (lawn and lounge) when I've got a sleek, weatherproof, colorful dual purpose alternative in Le Huit.
The famed knurled brass handlebar on Massimo's custom motorcycles that is the inspiration for The Hooked lighting fittings.
I'm infatuated with this collection because it amps up the whole Edison Bulb lighting trend with its raw exposed filaments. Each Hooked light is attached by a bronze hook so you can raise and lower the light and even move it to another area of your living space.
The bronze hook that allows you to raise and lower the light and even move it around.
Funsy Furniture
The Swing Table by Duffy London at Tent London
The Swing Table by Duffy London caught my attention because it illustrates how design can turn a daily routine into a novel, engaging experience. Imagine dinner time in your household with the Swing Table. I know my kids would run to the dinner table and eat their veggies if they could swing while they eat. I admire how Duffy London breaks all the rules of conventional furniture design by playing with the concepts of gravity, geometry and illusion.
The Swing Table by Duffy London
The Swing Table also works as a great ice breaker and conversation starter at a dinner party. How could not you not crack a smile as you swing away with your cocktail in hand. A Geo lampshade and eight hanging chairs are suspended from the four-poster frame around a walnut table top. The Swing Table also is available in sizes to seat four and up to 12 people. Each one is handmade by local artisans and craftspeople using ethically sourced materials.
The Beatnik Chair
I noticed a recurring theme or dare I say "trend" at the many exhibitions and trade shows during the London Design Festival: it's the concept of cocooning furniture that envelopes you and provides your own private respite away from the white noise and distractions of your environment. The Beatnik chair is what I would call a "musical cocoon" because it allows you to retreat into your own soundscape with airplay speakers embedded in the furniture. Designer Matej Fegus calls this piece of sound furniture a "mood booster". Made by Solvenija manufacturer Donar, The Beatnik recently earned the prestigious Red Dot Award for its clever design and engineering.
Design Blogger Karen LeBlanc tries out the multimedia capabilities of The Beatnik Chair
You can connect your digital music player and listen to your favorite tunes, pipe in a phone call or use your smart tablet with a mount fitted on the chair. Fegus says it's the first chair with built-in Apple AirPlay technology, also supporting BlueTooth connectivity to virtually any device containing music and audio books such as laptop, mp3 player, mobile phone, tablet computer or even TV or Apple TV system. Stylistically, the chair looks like something out of The Jetsons cartoon and perhaps that's why it's fast becoming a media darling. The BBC recently picked The Beatnik chair to feature in an upcoming sitcom says Fergus.
MultiTasking Furniture
Le Huit by Isidore Design on exhibit at 100% Design in London
Le Huit by French company Isidore is a stylish solution for outdoor furnishings because it's two chairs in one: lawn chair and lounge chair.
Design Blogger Karen LeBlanc lounging in Le Huit at 100% Design in London
The chair is reversal allowing you to tip it over to one side for a lawn chair and the other side for a lounge chair. Notice in the picture that I am sitting in the lounge chair. The legs on the back of my seat are the feet of the lawn chair and the long platform for my legs becomes the high back for the lawn chair when reversed. Here's why I would totally furnish my outdoor living space with Le Huit: I no longer need to crowd out my pool area with both types of chairs (lawn and lounge) when I've got a sleek, weatherproof, colorful dual purpose alternative in Le Huit.
Le Huit as a lawn chair by Isidore Design
Clever Storage Solutions
Italian Design Company Ronda Design caught my eye at the show 100% Design for its magnetic shelving system called the Y shelf. It's a clever, flexible way to build a shelving system without a handyman or even a hammer.
The Y Shelf by Ronda Design on exhibit at 100% Design
The L shaped magnetized shelves are available in painted metal or wood and each piece sticks to any metallic surface and you can configure it in a variety of stylish ways to custom craft your own shelving system.
The Y Shelf by Ronda Design on exhibit at 100% Design
This is such a brilliant design idea because you can change the configuration or even move the shelving system to another magnetized surface so it gives you complete flexibility to redesign your living space without being tied down to built-in shelves.
I also love the product's sculptural quality and doubles as wall art. In the office you can see how the books are artfully displayed in color blocks—functional and artistic. The Y Shelf is available for sale in the US and retails for $392 per set.
Pedaling Wall Art
The Pedal Pod by UK designer Tamasine Osher
The Pedal Pod takes on the function of bike storage with style. UK designer Tamasine Osher created the shelving system to show off your bike instead of hiding it from view in your garage. The Pedal Pod is available in solid oak, solid walnut or veneer. In Europe where space-saving design often dictates products, The Pedal Pod offers an ingenious solution by turning your bike into wall art with a few spaces for storing books or displaying decorative items.
Labels Out
So if you love your vino like I do, then you are probably proud of your collection. Why not show it off with The Vintage View.
Design Blogger Karen LeBlanc discovers The Vintage View at 100% Design
This linear wine storage system caught by eye because unlike the typical wine storage systems that store bottles with the cork facing front, The Vintage View stores the wine bottles labels out so you can display your favorite vintage. The linear racks come in one, two or three bottles deep, and nine or twelve bottles high providing a flexible and effective way to store wine bottles in nearly any space, regardless of height, depth or width limitations.
The Vintage View wine storage system
The architectural possibilities are many: display your wine in a niche, under a staircase, in your wine cellar, on a kitchen or living room wall. The linear racks come in a black or platinum finish and are easy to install by simply using a screwdriver to attach them to the wall. They retail starting at approximately $72 and up depending on the size of the linear rack.
Check back in for more London Design Finds as I continue to curate.
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I have a passionate love affair with coffee that goes beyond addiction. I bestow upon the beverage the sort of respect and reverence reserved for all things sacred so when I discovered these functional objects d'art that serve up coffee with the kind of ceremony and appreciation that mirrors my own coffee experience, I had to share with the world. These espresso cups making their debut at the London Design Festival starting September 14th.
Matching cups from the Flora + Fauna Pop Up Shop at the London Design Festival
You can find them at the Flora + Fauna pop up shop, one of many that will dot the urban landscape of London during the 10 day event. Flora + Fauna is the brainchild of Designers / Makers, an Agency for contemporary design within the UK. The pop up shop is the physical incarnation of an online store that offers unique limited edition works by UK Designers. I adore these geometric two-toned terracotta planters for a kitchen herb garden. They have a sculptural quality that turns potted plants into organic artwork.
Geometric Glazed Terracotta Pot Set by UK Designer NICK FRASER featured at the Flora + Fauna Pop Up Shop during the London Design Festival
Check out these adorable handcrafted pillows, Birds, Beasts & Botanicals are decorative themes making big debuts at the London Design Festival.
Columbia Road Flower Market Cushion atFlora + Fauna Pop Up Shop the London Design Festival
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Molding Marble Into Light
Marble's pliable, fluid properties form the DNA of some of the world's greatest works of art and architecture. From Michelangelo's David, Venus de Milo and other masterworks of ancient Greece and Rome to The Lincoln Memorial on Capitol Hill, we owe a debt of gratitude to this hard crystalline metamorphic form of limestone. Fastforward to modern-day where this ancient stone takes on the unconventional function of contemporary furnishings. A budding UK design company called On Entropy recently debuted a marble collection of contemporary furnishings and lighting fixtures at 100% Design during the London Design Festival.
Design Writer/Blogger/Host Karen LeBlanc at the 100% Design show in London checking out the Ray Marble Light by On Entropy
It seems counterintuitive that a solid stone can illuminate a space so I was surprised by the design and engineering feat of Architect Niki Moskofoglou, who was able to tame marble's properties into a beautiful translucent glow.
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| The Particle marble floor light made of bronze legs by On Entropy |
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| Ray Marble Light Pendant by On Entropy |
The On marble light by On Entropy
"The concept of entropy sprung over the last two years, as I was designing marble furnishings for friends and clients. I started designing furniture because I could not find in the market exactly what I had in mind," explains Moskofoglou, who draws from his background in architecture to create interactive experiences with his creations.
His fascination with marble began as a teen while working in a marble quarry. Moskofoglou was drawn to the strength and fragility of this material. "The ability of such a sturdy material to collapse under certain pressures and different slip surfaces is something that still blows me away. It is a natural material and I do admire its uniqueness, as one can never find the exact same piece twice," says Moskofoglou.
Aerial Marble floor light with solid bronze legs by On Entropy
The creation of marble light fixtures is a time-consuming process. Moskofoglou chooses marble based on its properties like color, mineral content and its fragility. For light fixtures, he carves out parts of the raw stone to create a void that hosts the light.
"After experimenting with what each different piece can do, I set up a design brief. Then metal work follows. All bronze detailing is hand-crafted with care and a certain level of experimentation to the finish of the metalwork is undertaken. My aim is to produce fine items, which engage most senses," says Moskofoglou. All items are designed and made as single, seamless cut marble pieces. On entropy also designs and manufactures contemporary furniture that mixes marble and metal such as bronze.
The Orbit marble coffee tables with metal base by On Entropy
The Blast marble and bronze shelf by On Entropy
On entropy's custom marble lights and furnishings are available in the US on demand.
Prices range from $500 to $5000 depending on the size and detail entailed in each item.
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