ICFF + WantedDesign: Get Up And Go
After a 30-month hiatus, ICFF joined forces with WantedDesign to bring back an in-person event in November, which benefited from the melding of each brand’s strengths. For example, the latter’s typical focus on emerging design was on display with Launch Pad, a platform for new designers to introduce their concepts and prototypes.
Quill Chair | Hali Barthel Studios
Constructed from industrial materials such as braided tubing, carbon fiber and 3-D printed TPU, this lounger is part of a collection that investigates “industrial materials as a proxy for contemporary luxury,” says Barthel. “High technology materials such as carbon fiber have been flaunted by automotive designers on million-dollar cars. These materials were engineered for their utility, but this collection asks whether they could be used as simulacra for old world grandeur.”
Providence Project | Lauren Goodman
According to Toronto-born Goodman, the three pieces were “developed with the intention of highlighting under-represented models of production and undervalued material resources. Made entirely from salvaged, discarded material harvested from the Providence [Rhode Island] area, I aim to draw from my surroundings, a narrative of what Providence might look like as furniture.”
Sweet Gathering | Mana Sazegara
Three new pieces debuted at the show from this multidisciplinary designer, including the Henri stool and Alice mirror both made of laminated MDF, and the Carole rug of finely woven flatweave wool. Clearly inspired by Memphis style, Sazegara says she situates her practice “at the intersection of architecture and graphic design: engaging, enhancing and empowering life.”
Origin | Bizmuth
This new furniture brand debuted both themselves and their Origin collection at the show. For both company name and product, designers Bronsin Ablon and Jared Scheib took inspiration from the transformational qualities of bismuth, a pure metal on the periodic table that when melted and cooled morphs into a spiraling, geometric crystal. Each piece is available in North American white oak or black walnut.
Sonia and René | Tomma Bloom Studio
The new collection by the Boston-based surface design studio melds aesthetic inspiration from Art Deco luminaries Sonia Delaunay and René Lalique into a contemporary interpretation of upholstery fabrics, wall coverings and 3D wall tiles using recognizable features such as bold colours, exaggerated shapes, and small details.
Jimmy chair | Jaeyeon Park
Themes of existential anxiety, absurdity and longing are what Park likes to explore in his work, rendered mostly in a mix of installation art and furniture. For this series of chairs, inspiration came from the 1985 song La Ballade de Jim by Alain Souchon (specifically the 2014 cover version by Paradis), and a materials palette of blistering neon colours and coated epoxy clay were apparently needed to help deal with the pain of lost love.
