The theme of Visual Reference Studio’s booth at ICFF was Thermosensitive Experiences. The Mississippi-based design team of Erin Hayne and Nuno Gonçalves Ferreira is behind the Swamp Collection, a series of heat-sensitive stools and lounges that integrate materials that allow the surface to change colour temporarily in response to body heat or ambient heat. Far from being a gimmicky fad option, the collection is a class act that encourages users to interact with objects in order to enjoy tactile experiences. Visual Reference Studio’s new collection includes Touch wall panels for public spaces and the Please Touch pillows that offer a smaller scale thermosensitive option. A new colourway was also presented, so that there is also the option of seeing the red material change to violet.
What is the true measure of a man? Is it his ability to do the right thing when things are at their worst? Is it how much he gives of himself? Or is it as Plato states, “what he does with power…”? Nope, according to designers Changduk Kim and Jinsoo Jeon, it is best to measure oneself while coming out of the shower and naked as the day you were born. Actually this “Measuring Towel” design is more a playful and plush contra-concept of our pervasive digital lifestyles. Complimenting the sense of freedom and playfulness most of us feel while running around hotel rooms in our birthday suits, the designers hope to help us wrap ourselves in vanity and hopefully build self confidence. If the towel drops from around your waist and still manages to hang on to something without hitting the ground, then color me impressed.
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- Tags: Changduk Kim, Design Studio, Fashion, Jinsoo Jeon, Measure, Textile, Towel
Inspiration can come from anywhere. A book, a dream, a news report and occasionally some deeply dark and disturbing places in our society. Take for example this crystal collection that showed at this years Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. Designed by Koncern Design Studio for Rückl Crystal, this collection dubbed “Domestic Violence - Golden Edition” abstractly commemorates violent moments with these crystal designs that highlight the sad aftermath of domestic violent moments. Sliced, chopped and laid out flat, this collections even comes complete with a golden meat cleaver. Obviously this collection will not make the perfect wedding gift, but it may serve as evidence in the Superman vs. Lois Lane divorce trial.
Collection “Domestic Violence – Golden Edition” consists of red wine glass and carafe, martini glass, cocktail glass, vase and lustre all made of gilded 24% lead crystal and a golden meat-chopper.
The Cabbage Chair is created from a wrapped cylinder of pleated paper. A roll of this by-product paper was slit vertically, and a small nest of a chair was revealed by systematically peeling away each layer. Resins used during the original paper production process add strength and a bit of memory to the shaping process, while the pleats themselves give the chair elasticity and a springy cushioning. The Cabbage Chair has no internal structure or framework, nor is it assembled with nails, screws, or additional textile elements.
Tokyo-based design studios Curiosity and Tonerico brought fantasy and technology together.
The Tokyo Wonder installation, one of the works showed at the exhibition, reflected on Tokyo with a mix of fantasy and technology.
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- Tags: Curiosity, Design Studio, Exhibition, Fantasy, Illuminated, Installation, Light, Magical, Milan, Technologu, Tonerico
