New York’s Design Week 2012 might be over, but the abundance of furniture displayed in private lofts, showrooms, and on the vast floor of the Javits Center at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) is still fresh in our minds. Between handing out hundreds of copies of the newspaper at our booth, AN‘s editors combed the floor at ICFF and selected an array of products that caught our eyes from chairs, to rugs, to lighting and more.
Designed by by Studio Bouroullec, the Losanges collection (top) for Nanimarquina reinterprets Persian rugs using traditional kilim weaving. Pakistani artisans weave 13 colors into a complex rhombus shape with a notched edge reflecting the geometric pattern.
BluDot‘s new Grotto sofa (above) is ideally scaled for compact urban apartments. Just larger than a love seat, the sofa has a rigid frame with comfortable, slightly slouchy cushions. The sofa’s striking frame provides a tectonic contrast to the upholstery as robust dowels are help together by an elegant steel frame.
The Skyline Planter by Phase design cleverly frames the plants it holds, creating an intriguing tension between the organic and the geometric. The concise architectural lines would lend contemporary elegance to terraces and gardens alike.
Designed by Philippe Stark the Broom chair for Emeco is made of recycled plastic, typically used for decking, to make a strong but light weight stackable chairs, with a pleasing, tactile finish.
After following the Parsons/Carnegie/Moorhead crew’s race to design their booth with Xorel fabric wallcovering, it was great to see the finished product. Particularly striking was the interior of the origami-like structure, which stood without support of booth walls.
Of the many robust materials found in the Groundwork‘s booth, none was more impressive than the marble slabs atop a utilitarian steel base with industrial wheels, but even more impressive is that they were salvaged during the restoration of Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Lindsey Adelman always makes an impressive showing at ICFF, but this year the lighting designer went all out by bringing the assembly process into the booth. Several of the firm’s artisans toiled in a makeshift “factory,” crafting all sorts of light fixtures. It was nice to see that Adelman saved a few product introductions for the New York audience—take that Milan!
Lindsey Adelman’s Marina Ceiling Medallion would look great overhead in any room, but at ICFF it also made a striking impression installed on a wall. The organic lines radiating out from the light fixture recall the facets of a sea fan or coral while the central shade brings to mind a limpet shell.
Dutch wallpaper company NLXL debuted their new collection, “Concrete” by Piet Boon, a designer from the Netherlands. This wallpaper provides a non-sweater-snagging alternative to rough material.
Italian manufacturer Bisazza hit a grand-slam with a bath collection by Marcel Wanders, of Droog and Moooi fame. The collection melds the past and present into a fantastical landscape of literal references and exaggerated ornament. Stark, white bar-of-soap-shaped basins and tubs float gracefully in contrast with baroque furniture in the background. The inspiration? “The original concept for the collection came from a fantasy I had of taking a bath in a bar of soap. The ultimate clean!” according to a statement from Wanders.
Seattle-based Graypants makes light fixtures out of cardboard, repurposing the dull packaging material into luminous orbs by stacking laser-cut rings. The corrugated cardboard is cut at many different angles, creating variation in visual effect as light shines through.
Architect Antonio Citterio’s Repos and Grand Repos chairs for Vitra bring the swagger of the Mad Men era firmly into the present day. The chair’s back and seat operate independently of one another and are responsive to weight, providing a very comfortable experience in which to sit back and enjoy a martini.
Vancouver-based Molo Design has become famous for its structural paper creations in its “soft” collection of partitions, but the firm has also previously ventured into the architectural world of glass and steel. At ICFF, Molo stacked layers of vibrant blue paper expanded to create a foot-thick wall of honeycombed paper in which to enshroud its equally delicate Cloud Softlight pendant fixture.
Eric Pfeiffer’s Plank Collection for Council offers a clean, modern alternative to the adirondack chair. Available as a lounger or stackable side chair, the chair is defined appropriately by a clean, curved seat of pine planks bound together by a thin metal frame.
Texas-based furniture designer Peter Glassford has transformed recycling into a art. He uses scraps from the furniture-making process to create richly-textured custom wall installations. The green and natural wall on display at ICFF shows just how appealingly tactile trash can become.
Another winner is Kohler’s collaboration with Jonathan Adler, displayed in a bright shipping container with one side propped open and boldly proclaiming, “We Love Color.” The booth attracted crowds with its highlighter-yellow bathtub sofas offering snacks and phone chargers for weary ICFF-goers. At the heart of the display, though, were Adler’s brightly glazed washbasins in a variety of shaped and hues.
