Rock Chair by Fredrik Färg

Fredrik Färg’s rocking chair made a buoyant debut after Design House Stockholm first showed the prototype. One year after, the much awaited piece of furniture, named Rock Chair, proudly displays its eye-catching curves on the cover of the 2012 catalogue (celebrating the 20th birthday of the Swedish firm). Färg, a skilled cabinet-maker graduated from the Gothenburg HDK School of Design and Crafts, recalls how he first crafted the armchair a few years ago, then a student, during an exchange term in Australia. “I was given an assignment to create a chair using only MDF boards and a jigsaw. The real challenge was to produce something personal and coherent, using the simplest means.”

Färg’s Rock Chair perpetuates the traditional rocking chair’s comforting, soothing function, while displaying a contemporary design. Sign of the times, the Rock Chair, composed of five pieces, easy to fit together, is sold flat-packed. No hinge, screw or hidden element: this is a brilliant instance of “What you see is what you get” design.

“When the chair has been assembled, the construction is its expressive feature. Nothing is hidden and one can see how the chair holds together. There is a toy-like charm to its simplicity. As a model, Rock Chair is like a drawing that one can sit on, as beautiful as it is cleverly functional” – Design House Stockholm.

Comfort was needed to ensure relaxing time: Fredrik Färg also designed soft cushions for the Rock Chair. Made of leather or canvas, the round-shaped removable upholstery cuts a different graphic line that enhances those of the chair.

After his graduation in 2008, Fredrik Färg’s intelligent and accurate designs rapidly grasped international attention. Awarded such titles as ‘Rookie of the Year’, ‘Newcomer of the Year’, or even ‘Shooting Star of the Year’, Färg has now proved himself someone to count with, not the promising ‘up-and-coming young designer’ anymore.

Invited to imagine and curate a textile-themed exhibition during the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2012, Färg chose his co-worker and accomplice designer Emma Marga Blanche (their Färg&Blanche studio was launched last year) to develop the project with. ‘Beyond Couture’ might well, born from the gifted pair’s imagination, receive as much praise as their Biologiska’s exhibition (dubbed “the biggest attraction of the Stockholm Design Week” last year by The New York Times).

Rock Chair by Fredrik Färg

Elodie Palasse-Leroux is a Paris-based writer and journalist, the founder and editor of Sleek design.

Aluminium Series by Sebastian Scherer

Berlin based designer Sebastian Scherer has completed his Aluminium series, a set of furniture composed of a dining table, a chair and a coatstand, all made of 8 mm water-cut aluminium.

“The Aluminium Series is based on the idea of transforming a two-dimensional form into a three-dimensional object through the process of folding. The smooth oscilloscopic formed legs gives an kaleidoscopic impression when seen from different angles.”
- Sebastian Scherer

Aluminium Series, by Sebastian Scherer

Anisha Table Light by Studio Lievore Altherr Molina for Foscarini

Like a fluid and enveloping frame, an irregular ellipse that gives a sense of becoming, Anisha outlines an empty space, defines it and fills it with its light, producing a magical sensation. Realized in ABS, the table lamp Anisha is available in two two colours – pure white that blends with the space or red for a decisive, recognisable presence. It is suitable for a wide range of settings, environments and uses. In the entrance, in a lounge, bedroom or on a desk, with its light spirit and unmistakable identity: both on and off.

Anisha Table Light, by Studio Lievore Altherr Molina, for Foscarini

Exhibition: Philippon and Lecoq at Demisch Danant

Central to the French postwar reconstruction/industrialization effort, Philippon and Lecoq were among a group of young architects who changed the face of French furniture production in the 1950s and 1960s. Inspired by the teachings of the modernist masters of the Union des Artistes Modernes (U.A.M.), their goal was to bring harmony and comfort to interiors, employing modern materials and techniques, to improve the daily life of French citizens in the challenging postwar climate. Philippon and Lecoq’s furniture combines minimalism with a pervasive sense of architectural refinement and elegance. The couple approached interiors as well with an almost puritanical sense of functionalism, but succeeded in creating an extremely efficient environment which was still comfortable and humanly accessible. They received numerous prestigious awards during their career including the ‘Rene Gabriel’ prize in 1961.

Exhibition: Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq, at Demisch Danant

Highboard & Table by Eric Degenhardt for Böwer

German Manuacturer Böwer is showing matching highboards and a table to compliment a sideboard by designer Eric Degenhardt at imm cologne. With a similar construction of six milimeter wooden sheets, a horizontal gap and the long tabular steel legs, the highboards are available with drawers or doors and a open compartment. 120 cm wide and 100 cm high. The table is made of a vacuum veneered top – with a thin line ( available in wood or linoleum ) and is simply held by the v-shaped wooden base.

Sideboard, Highboard, by Eric Degenhardt, Table by Eric Degenhardt + Böwer, for Böwer, Photography by Tillmann Franzen

Skyphos Chandelier by Kateřina Smolíková

A chandelier designed by Kateřina Smolíková, inspired by deep sea luminescent organisms. Intended for darker places as an orientational light. It should remind one of the lightness of an organism levitating in the dark space.

Skyphos Chandelier, by Kateřina Smolíková, via: Designeast

Haven by Claesson Koivisto Rune for Paola Lenti

The lightness and the semi-transparent character make Haven perfect for outdoor lounging. The sofa consists of a frame made of a treated and varnished tubular metal covered with a high tech support net, which is resistant and elastic, letting air, light and water pass through. The rigorous shape is softened by the asymmetry of the seat cushion, which can be also produced with specific materials suited to remain outdoors.

Haven, by Claesson Koivisto Rune, for Paola Lenti

Glasscape by Aruliden for Gaia & Gino

Transforming of our most basic home item into beautiful new icon. Just ask the fish how he likes his new home… Made of hand-blown glass and manufactured by Gaia & Gino in Turkey.

Glasscape, by Aruliden, for Gaia & Gino

iF Product Design Award for BE Light by QisDesign

BE Light, a thin and foldable LED lamp, has just won Germany’s iF product design award. Made of aluminum alloy, the lamp delivers a sophisticated and premium feel. Inspired by the art of folding paper, BE Light transforms itself into a three-dimensional work of art. It can be fully extended up to an angle of 135 degrees, and folded down to flat when not in use. Brightness is also adjustable by pressing the switch button on the lamp base. Adopted with LEDs and light guide technology, BE Light not only provides evenly distributed illumination, but also eliminate glare issue. A safely lock is designed to protect users’ fingers when folding the lamp.

QisDesign BE Light, LED Task Lamp, Winner of iF Product Design Award

RockRegeneration Hennessy X.O Mathusalem by Arik Levy

Inspired by Levy’s Rock furniture and object collection, Arik Levy has designed a limited edition X.O (Extra Aged) cognac.

RockRegeneration, Hennessy X.O Mathusalem, by Arik Levy