design folio

Moon Chair by Tokujin Yoshioka

Anna Kidman - Wednesday, March 02, 2011


Tokujin Yoshioka has extended his collaboration with Italian furniture manufacturer Moroso with his new design - the Moon chair. Full bodied like the moon, the chair was inspired by a phenomenon known as angel's ladder (when light cuts through cloud). He will present this chair as part of his Twilight exhibition at this year's Milan fair (April 12th-17th 2011).

Moroso is available locally here



UFL Pop-Up Store Opens in Wellington

Anna Kidman - Sunday, February 27, 2011

 

(Above: UFL pop-up store)


  

Above: Leaf chair by Arper


 

Above: various designs by Alexander Lotersztain of Derlot


It's exciting to see some pop-up store action focusing on design and furniture happening in Wellington. UFL who bring us wonderful designs from international manufacturers such as Arper, Andreu World, Derlot, LZF-Lamps & Verzelloni among others, has set up shop for a short period of time on Thorndon Quay in the old Apartmento space. Kicking off with an interesting talk from Alexander Loterszstain (recognised as one of the top 100 influential designers worldwide), the store will continue to be open until the 10th of March this year. We recommend you head over and check it out.

The Pop Up Showroom is located at 103 Thorndon Quay and is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday this week and until Thursday the 10th of March.

Visit UFL to see their full range of furniture and design.





XXXX Sofa by Yuya Ushida

Anna Kidman - Tuesday, February 22, 2011

 

Designer Yuya Ushida spent three excruciating months laboring over her XXXX sofa. Comprised of over 8,000 chopsticks - we hope it finds its place as a piece of sculpture to be looked at from afar, rather than risk someone breaking it by parking up.




Angel Stool by Gry Holmskov

Anna Kidman - Friday, February 11, 2011



Casting an angelic shadow, the Angel stool incorporates a minimalistic seat with a fanned out base. Created using steel rods, designer Gry Holmskov drew inspiration from the annual rings of a tree. On first sight we thought it was from Nendo (a Japanese collective) as it shares a similar overall aesthetic. It's an impressive piece.



Pressed Chair by Harry Thaler

Anna Kidman - Tuesday, February 08, 2011


Harry Thaler presented his Pressed chair at the annual International Mobel Messe (one of Europe's oldest furniture fairs in Cologne, Germany). Sharing the first prize at the D3 Design Talents competition, The Pressed chair is a light, stackable metal chair stamped out of a 2.5mm aluminium sheet. His intent was to create a chair from one single sheet of material with no joints. By using one sheet it also ensures that there is no waste and that it is 100% recyclable. Thaler, a goldsmith by trade with a background that covers everything from jewellery design to carpentry aims to explore the world through reinvented objects with high quality craftsmanship - we expect this little chair will do quite well.



Adjutant Table by Nathan Goldsworthy

Anna Kidman - Wednesday, February 02, 2011



Images: Garth Badger

Nathan Goldsworthy, one of New Zealand's leading designers has just released his Adjutant Table. The Adjutant, clean in form, does not require an allen key, glue or screws. Its legs simply screw into and lie completely flush with the tabletop to create a table with a simple and sophisticated aesthetic. Made from solid white oak the table is designed to be taken apart and reassembled as many times as necessary. The tabletop is also reversible.

Nathan explains to us his thought process behind the design:

'The first flat packed furniture was designed to be used on the field of battle. Campaign furniture, as it's known, is designed for portability and quick assembly. [This design] comprises of ten pieces that are assembled by the new owner, but it goes a step further than the ubiquitous flat packed furniture model...[because] in many instances the fact that the end-user has to put the furniture together doesn't inform the design process [but] the Adjutant addresses this as an integral part of the product.'

Available locally from here.



Liquid Bench by Ross Lovegrove

Anna Kidman - Tuesday, January 25, 2011

 

Ross Lovegrove describes the process of designing the Liquid Bench as being similar to animation. He imagined slowing pulling a block of liquid aluminium apart and then snapped a mental freeze-frame just as it was mid-pull to imagine the final form. The bench is actually comprised of a solid block of aluminium and finished with a mirror polish, but the effect is quite fluid and surreal.



House of Cards table by Mauricio Arruda

Anna Kidman - Thursday, January 13, 2011

 

Never has a house of cards looked so stable. Designer Mauricio Arruda drew inspiration from a famous childhood pastime and created a table capable of supporting up to 250 kilograms -  slightly more impressive than the gentlest of breezes needed to knock over a deck of cards. By laser cutting 4mm deep steel plates and producing cards in a scale of 13:1, the table is literally put together like a house of cards, allowing each owner to fully customise its configuration. Table tops can also be swapped in and out lending further towards the versatility of this design.

For more information go here.



Play Collection by Philippe Starck for Dedon

Anna Kidman - Tuesday, December 14, 2010

 

Just in time for the summer holidays, Philippe Starck and Eugeni Quitlett's Play chairs for Dedon have arrived on our shores. Available in a range of colours and weave variations, they encourage the user to literally 'play' with the various outcomes on offer. This simple and unobtrusive chair is useful for adding to any existing setting without disrupting the original aesthetic. 

Available locally from here.



Tron Chair by Dror Benshetrit

Anna Kidman - Tuesday, December 14, 2010

 

There's no better way to announce our winners of the Tron: Legacy competition we ran a couple weeks ago, than by celebrating this ultra sci-fi chair release by Cappellini and Walt Disney Signature named Tron. Inspired by the soon to be released Tron: Legacy film, designer Dror Benshetrit presented this chair during Design Miami 2010. With each chair uniquely hand finished, each resembles the digital landscape of the outlands terrain in the movie. The chair is comprised of intersecting layers and textures of digital rock and is constructed with composite materials including polyester resin - which Disney hopes will encourage each owner to sit 'off the grid'. And whilst it may not be the prettiest chair we've ever laid our eyes on, I'm sure for Tron enthusiasts, it's another highly valuable collectible worth investigating further.

The winners of our competition are:

Winnie Chou, Jeremy May, Rose Watkins, Ryland Wood and David Moreland.