Designer Pierre Favresse lends his artistic design sensibility to another stunning lamp. This time, the Pearl lamp is functional and ornamental, a balance between perfection and imperfection. In collaboration with Emmanuelle Dupont, the decorative blue pattern reminds us of a modern oriental interpretation cased in a soft powder blue.

The process for making Hugo França’s work aligns itself with the central concept of his work: his preoccupation with not wasting wood and the belief that there are infinite possibilities in reclaiming this material. Finding wood left behind by deforestation requires constant scouting in the Trancoso, Bahia, area. Finding his way on foot, by donkey or canoe, he relies on the Pataxo Indians, local loggers and on his own knowledge of coastal southern Bahia, which he acquired during the fifteen years he lived there.
As long as the wood has not suffered irreversible damage, all parts of the tree may be utilised. Unearthed roots, trunks and branches are transformed by the artist into one-of-a-kind objects and pieces of furniture.

Artist Tomas Saraceno has asked visitors at his exhibition to rid themselves of any sharp objects - and you can see why. His Cloud Cities installation, currently on display at the Hamburger Bahnof Museum in Berlin, Germany, consists of large transparent spheres that lend themselves to an overall molecular aesthetic. Suspended in the air, visitors can walk inside the spheres as they tentatively balance in the midst. Tread with caution...no high heels allowed.

The Design Folio Incubator Award presented by Peroni is generating a diverse range of entries from all over New Zealand. We first came across our latest entrants Emma Fox Derwin and Nigel Groom of Wellington based design studio Well-Groomed-Fox a couple of years ago. Since then, they've exhibited in Milan at the Salone del Mobile, at the Interieur Biennale in Belgium and at the D3 Design Talents Competition at the Cologne Fair in Germany. Their collection, including the XY+Z Suit Rack and the C/Lamp is sophisticated and refined. Without doubt, they are among New Zealand's best rising talents. We caught up with them to ask them about their design influences, and to gather some insight into what they'll be submitting for the Design Folio Incubator Award.

What will you be looking to design and produce for the Design Folio Incubator Award?

Without giving too much away we are looking at two entries. We will be producing a new sofa proposition and a series of 2-3 pieces continuing the themes of our XY+Z Suit Rack. Conceptually both will have an interesting take on their parent archetypes, with beautiful tactile, material and graphic aesthetic qualities.

What key elements do you think define a successful piece of design?

A successful piece of design always incorporates some element of surprise and an effortless fluid functionality or usability. Designs also become successful when the designer looks beyond the final physical object and its first impression into the story of the object in the long term, designs that continue to surprise and reveal themselves as they are lived with and used are a joy to possess.

What are your key design influences?

It feels a little cliché to say but our design influences seem to come from all over the place and could be everywhere and everything – we are particularly fascinated by everyday objects and archetypal objects, materiality is also a huge influence.  We tend to design from our experiences and as such tend to design particular 'experiences' into our work, our ‘Soft TeaCup’ for example illustrates how the simple act of lifting a cup from a table can be transformed into an beautiful functional object.

What would be your dream future design commission?

Vitra no question - past, present, future - Vitra.

Well-Groomed-Fox portrait by Amelia Handscomb

The Luoxor light by French designer Léa Padovani attempts to convey a lamp not confined by any physical boundaries. The fluoro light escapes out of the geometric structure, enabling shadow play on the walls. Resting on the floor, it would look comfortable in an industrial setting. The cord of the lamp is also made prevalent by the geometric shapes down its length; another example we've noted of a growing trend with lighting design.

Here at Design Folio we're constantly impressed by designers like Lucie Koldova who create a design that is really so simple, it should have been executed years ago. Balloons, one of her latest lighting creations, consists of a transparent invisible balloon with a floating reflector and bright red upside down traditional pendant. Here, the lamp cords take up residence within the structure of the light, their coils becoming a design feature rather than a hindrance. Available in a table and floor model, we think they're pretty stunning.

Paying homage to the traditional lamp bulb, the Mimimalux 'Bulb' light is a modern take on something ordinary. As fans of the less-is-more approach to design, this lamp with its simple hand-blown opal glass form and brass stem is a perfect example of minimalism at its best.

The Design Folio Incubator Award presented by Peroni is generating a diverse range of entries from all over New Zealand. Our latest entrant David Moreland is a familiar face on New Zealand's design scene. His designs have graced the pages of many magazines and won him various accolades and awards. After studying 3-dimensional design at university, he worked with stalwart David Trubridge before settling in Auckland. As well as producing limited edition pieces and one -off commissions, his furniture has also wound up in commercial projects nationwide like Air New Zealand, BNZ and Government House. As production manager for Simon James Design by day, he knows a thing or two about how to create successful design pieces for New Zealanders. Below we ask David for inside information on what he will be producing for our Design Folio Incubator Award.

What will you be looking to design and produce for the Design Folio Incubator Award?

A floor standing light and a sideboard. Both will have interesting use of colour, material and finish. Understated, bold, subtle and vibrant all at once.

What key elements do you think define a successful piece of design?

For me functionality and a timeless aesthetic, a combination of these two simple elements seems to win every time.

What are your design influences?

I wrote and re-wrote this answer a few times and in the end realised that the biggest influence for me by far has been my local peers. They have paved the way for the NZ furniture design industry which is now so strong...David Trubridge, Simon James, Bob McDonald, Jamie McLellan, Fletcher Vaughn, Stu Barr, Oliver Craft, Humphrey Ikin and the list goes on, much respect.

What would be your dream future design commission?

Vitra drop me an email requesting a new piece for their collection, boom.

For more information on the Design Folio Incubator Award go here.

Japanese design studio Nendo has extended their Dancing Squares collection with these new additions. They explained that they 'assembled square planes to create a sense of motion in this series of objects. One part of the bookcase is frozen in a tumbling cascade, creating variety in the way books can be stacked...[likewise] lamps roll about but are stable [and] thanks to their planes, cast light in many directions.'

With the word vintage banded about so frequently these days, it's rather hard to get excited by the term. However, these latest designs by Canadian furniture designer Alex Jowett of Atelier 688 which use reclaimed materials for their various forms, seem to own the right to don the term vintage successfully. Made from old Manila rope, the lights above are definitely a new take on the traditional pendant, whilst other materials such as broken down kayaks, bike parts and animal skins form the basis of their other coveted objects.