Elephant Sofa by Christian Haas for Karimoku New Standard

Elephant is a compelling, versatile upholstery range, designed to function both in private and in public places. Its simple and calm, yet soft forms suggest timeless comfort and an unobtrusive cosiness.

The curved armrests invite to relax and allow different sitting postures. Together with its elaborate details, such as the feet crafted from carved solid wood, they make the sofa a unique piece of furniture. The different modules, consisting of a 3-seater, 2-seater, Ottoman and Chaiselongue, complement each other and allow for various combinations and a wide range of applications.

Elephant Sofa, by Christian Haas, for Karimoku New Standard

Kumiko Cabinets by Staffan Holm for Ariake Collection

If you ever visit Japan, you will probably encounter the fantastic craftsmanship that can be seen in the traditional art of Kumiko screens. The wooden screens are often used as privacy screens and or room dividers and can be very simple or consist of incredibly intricate geometric patterns. The Kumiko cabinets are inspired by the graphic expression and craftsmanship and I wanted to combine the simplistic Japanese and Scandinavian expressions into new form.

Kumiko Cabinets, by Staffan Holm, for Ariake Collection

Basset by Iskos-Berlin

Basset’s sculptural language is simple and clear. There are just two elements – a horizontal “pillow” for a seat and a vertical “duvet” at the back that wraps around the seat, embracing it from the sides. Upholstery details – marked piping is used to accentuate its shape in a natural way, giving it an easily recognizable design “signature”. Basset doesn’t demand much space and fits easily into smaller rooms.
Basset is constructed and produced following the finest traditions of craftsmanship for this type of furniture.

Basset, by Iskos-Berlin

Blossom Stool by Tokujin Yoshioka

Tokujin Yoshioka’s Blossom Stool is the newest standout addition to Objets Nomade. Now comprising 16 foldable, modular and portable objects since its launch in 2013, the collection is a pioneering crossover between fashion and product design that Louis Vuitton first launched in 2013.

The seat of the Blossom Stool is an articulation of the brand’s iconic four-petal monogram. The folding structure ensures absolute functionality, and the organic form makes for an indispensable accessory. “I always try to invent something beyond forms,” said Yoshioka. The Japanese designer has established a reputation for work that challenges the perceptions by seemingly defying the laws of nature. By emphasising the wood and leather techniques in the Blossom Stool, he wanted to highlight the timelessness and art of the brand’s exemplary craftsmanship. “I thought I would like to re-interpret the philosophy of Louis Vuitton to create a work which travels through the time of history and future with my expression and techniques, and express the new journey through time,” Yoshioka went on. A gilded metallic edition is available, as well as a soft leather edition in either white or black.

Blossom Stool, by Tokujin Yoshioka, Exhibition: Objets Nomade

Eco Chair by Carlos Tiscar for Capdell

Eco Chair, by Carlos Tiscar, for Capdell

Nest Collection by Form Us With Love for +Halle

This refined collection seeks to explore sheltering, in what could be seen as reassessment of open spaces. Triggered by the idea of gatherings, the Nest collection vividly plays with ideas of high and low, with seats perching on slim wood and steel legs in small clusters.
‘When extending the range, we wanted to add an unenclosed but somewhat secluded seat. The result is the new Easy Nest, a clean cut, high back armchair-a perfect covering, short of blocking your field of view.’ says John Löfgren, Founder and Creative Director at Form Us With Love.

Nest Collection, by Form Us With Love, for +Halle

Exhibition: Jonathan Muecke & Juliaan Lampens

For its seventh furniture series, MANIERA invited the American designer Jonathan Muecke to a residency in Belgium. The one-week stay was to take place in specific architectural surroundings with the aiming of being an inspiring source for the designer, as Henry Van de Velde’s Wolfers House was for Richard Venlet’s MANIERA 03. From a number of possibilities that MANIERA offered Muecke, the designer almost immediately chose the Van Wassenhove House by the Belgian architect Juliaan Lampens.

Jonathan Muecke & Juliaan Lampens, Maniera Gallery

Exhibition: Spring by Mathieu Lehanneur

In his ‘Spring’ exhibition at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in London, Mathieu Lehanneur takes us into a world of flux. As if the cycle of the seasons and nature’s forces have specially looked at the fate of objects… Here, the artist-designer with a passion for science, grapples with ancestral materials in order to suffuse them with plasticity, fluidity and tone.

The works in the ‘Spring’ exhibition seem to hesitate between solid, liquid and gaseous. They appear to be suspended mid-transformation in a poetic state of metamorphosis. Marble and aluminium become liquid, onyx becomes air and glass softens as in a return to its original state.

Mathieu Lehanneur: ‘Spring’ exhibition, (17 – 25 September 2016), at Carpenters Workshop Gallery, London

No-No tables by Note and Norm for Menu

No-No tables are a result of two Scandinavian design studios meeting and being inspired by an old patinaed Italian marble floor during a visit to Milan. “The tilting of the floor was put together from leftover pieces of stone. Almost randomly the different slabs of marble in a variety of qualities and colors came together in a beautiful disordered patten, that made it into the most beautiful graphic artwork.”, Kristoffer Fagerström explains. The thought of using this normally elevated and luxurious material in a more casual way became the starting point of this collaborative project between Note and Norm. Later the same day, Note Design Studio stumbled into Norm Architects somewhere in Milan and a discussion about the beauty of the random qualities of the floor – which you also find in the traditional Japanese landscape architecture – morphed into to a product idea for the design company Menu.

No-No tables, by Note Design Studio and Norm Architects for Menu

Assemblage Wood Dining Table and Bench by Fort Standard

A part of Fort Standard’s “Qualities of Material” collection, the Assemblage table and bench are made from hundreds of thin, hard maple slats. The slats are assembled into triangular tubes used to create the hollow top surfaces and hexagonal legs of this matching dining set.

Assemblage Wood Dining Table and Bench, by Fort Standard
Photos by Brian Ferry