Milan - FF 2013 - Wallpaper Handmade party.
The Wallpaper Handmade magazine exhibition and party was held at Leclectico the
contemporary design gallery. As for the past
four years, the style bible assembled an international cast of star designers,
craftsmen and makers to create another show that is epic in scale and ambition.
Wallpaper’s editor in chief Tony Chambers, Lighting
designer Thierry Dreyfus and designer Ron Gilad. “Leclectico is a beautiful,
inspirational space and the perfect venue to host our annual celebration of art
craft, skill and vision. Tony Chambers said.
Leclectico’s Claudio Loria
Wallpaper Handmade: Stealth Kate – Marc Quinn and Manifold
Editions. This limited edition of 75 digital prints of
artist Marc Quinn’s iconic
1996 Kate Moss sculpture has been signed, titled and numbered by Quinn on the
front. It was printed with silkscreen glaze and diamond dust by Quinn, the
publisher Manifold Editions and master printer Brad Fein of Coriander Studios.
Quinn chose the digital print process for the image because it accentuates the
colors and shades of the image, while the diamond dust provides an amazing
contrast to the clean, detailed and sharp image of Moss.
Wallpaper Handmade: Umbrella – Naoto Fukasawa and Ombrelli Maglia.
What problem do you throw at probably the most respected product designer in
the world? This was a question we had to give some thought to when Naoto
Fukasawa signed up for this year’s Handmade. We thought about the weather.
We thought about the rain. We thought about umbrellas and asked Fukasawa if he
would pay a visit to Ombrelli Maglia, producer of high-quality, handmade
umbrellas in Milan. He came up with an idea for a smart umbrella that would be
a lifelong comfort and support, an umbrella to cherish rather than lose, and
one that would look as beautiful off-duty as on.
Wallpaper Handmade: Tipi – Emiliano Godoy and
The Woolmark Company. Mexican
architect Emiliano Godoy has reinterpreted the portable tent structure that has
been used
for centuries using five elegant fabrics in different shades of grey.
Its purpose is to remind people of the potential toughness of wool. The
structure was created using contemporary materials and CNC manufacturing
processes, creating a flat-pack structure that can be assembled in minutes. The
new fabrication technique allowed for
a more complex structure that provides a
sheltered entrance area.
Defne Koz, Marco Susani and Gaye Cevikel
Wallpaper Handmade: Mille-Feuille Storage Units – Emmanuelle
Moureaux and Schonbuch. Imagined as thin
layers of coloured sheets scattered in the air, then settling randomly on top
of each other, creating overhangs and recessions, the ‘Mille-Feuille’ storage
series was designed by Japan-based architect Emmanuelle Moureaux and created by
German furniture manufacturer Schonbuch. Employing her signature use of colour,
Moureaux draws inspiration from similar but larger-scale previous explorations,
such as her Sugamo Shinkin Bank (Shimura Branch) project. The colorful storage
pieces are handmade out of layers of lacquered MDF and come in three sizes.
Wallpaper Handmade: Woolen Bench – Esrawe Studio and The
Woolmark Company. Using folded woolen cushions on a walnut base and frame; the
concept behind this bench by Mexican designer Hector Esrawe is simple. It is
expressed by the strength of its repetition and the honest character and
elegance of the wool. In its own minimalist way, it evokes an antique textile
display.
Wallpaper Handmade: Box Of Secrets – Stephen Burks and Harry Winston.
We’ve long been fans of Harry Winston’s narrative take on diamonds, so when we
heard that the brand’s creative director, Sandrine de Laage, was a keen
follower of our Handmade project, we started talking. From the start we agreed
on the concept of an object, with one condition – it had to be practical but
not wearable. De Laage asked designer Stephen Burks to join in and the pair
devised our first ever $1m Handmade project – a transparent jewellery box
designed to give a tantalising hint of the pieces within. Made using opaque
quartz, crystal and chrome, it’s the sheer scale of de Laage’s vision that
dazzles: it measures 60cm x 40cm, more than any dressing table could ever
accommodate. Hence, the box becomes a rare and beautiful thing all of its own.
Above. Sandrine de Laage and Stephen Burks.
Stefan Scholten
Wallpaper Handmade: Coffee Bar - Coming Soon Coffee,
Architectural Titanium and Kebony. Hoi Chi Ng developed the blueprints for this
year’s Handmade coffee bar. Calling in help from numerous collaborators, all of
which are experts in their field, the bar is a triumph, thanks to Kebony, who
supplied the dark timber for the main body, and Architectural Titanium, who
supplied a light titanium for the louvres and other finishing touches, as well
as a host of coffee growers, grinders and machine makers.
Above. Hoi Chi Ng and Matthias Suchert.
Konstantin Grcic
Umit Benan, JJ Martin and Tom Dixon
Jaime Hayon
Wallpaper Handmade: Globe – Mathias Hahn and Bellerby and Co.
German born industrial designer Mathias Hahn’s globe manipulates the logic of
calculating a sphere from a flat, with the different hues for each longitude
and latitude creating coloured bands. These bands represent layers of light and
reflection, similar to the way colours physically arise and mix, when we see
them in nature. The pattern is similar to the weave of a blanket. The 72
longitude sections and 36 latitude sections generate 2,592 different shades.
Wallpaper Handmade: Felt Lights – Snarkitecture and The Woolmark
Company. Operating somewhere between art and architecture, Snarkitecture is a
collaboration between Alex Mustonen and Daniel Arsham. These light fixtures,
made from 100 per cent wool, are formed by stacking layers of thick wool felt
to build up forms that recall familiar pendants or table lamps. Whether
suspended from the ceiling or placed on a table, the undersides of the pieces
reveal a hidden world of excavated topography that play against the careful, precise
form of the exterior.
The courtyard
Constance Guisset
Brunno Jahara and Harry Allen
Wallpaper Handmade: Felt Shoes – Adam Goodrum and The Woolmark
Company. One of Australian industrial designer Adam Goodrum’s earliest
memories
is of his mother spinning wool at a timber spinning wheel. He would
help her comb
the fleece because the lanoline was good for his skin. Goodrum
decided to use wool to make shoes because of his interest in the way flat
graphic patterns can come together to create a three-dimensional form. Plus,
shoes were also something he could bring to Milan in his hand luggage.
Wallpaper Handmade: Book Shelf Lamp – Thierry Dreyfus. ‘I have
always wondered how to light my bookshelves...how to make the light source
invisible both when it’s turned off and when lit,’ says legendary French
lighting designer Dreyfus. Hidden between the books, this lamp opens like a
book enclosed in a precious casket. A discreet presence, the light is revealed
when the book is pulled from its holder. The wood, the main material of the
book’s support, becomes a lamp. Made entirely from cedar wood, a fine LED line
is hidden in the vertical element, which opens and closes to allow the light to
be controlled manually. The amount of light which emanates is thus regulated by
how open it is. The perfume of the cedar mixes with the perfume of the books
and once the lamp is closed, leaves only the memory of the light.
Above. Thierry Dreyfus and Nick Vinson.
Produzione Leclectico: Folie
Shirley Van Piere. The designer
developed a project based on reflections of the landscape of her native city,
creating curious and engaging scenes with a fascinating perspective and use of
vanishing points. This project led to
the creation of Folie, a bench in brass and wood, where the perspective is not
a technique but intrinsic to the object itself.
Wallpaper Handmade: Marble Installation – Michael Anastassiades
and Henraux. London based Cypriot designer Michael Anastassiades’ inspiration
for this marble installation was the red cellophane fortune-telling fish you
used to get in Christmas crackers that would curl and wiggle in the palm of
your hand. The challenge he posed to Henraux’s marble technicians was to push
the limits of what is technologically possible while preserving the inherent
qualities of the marble.
Arik Levy and Jerry Helling
Beverly Luckings and Giannino
Malossi
Wallpaper Handmade: Blue Porter – Mathias Kiss and Pierre Frey. This is a
reflection on the fold and deformation of rigid materials, using
a combination
of craftsmanship and contemporary experimentation. Mathias Kiss drew and
painted the marble patterns using an oil painting technique he learned as an
apprentice Compagnons, the French guild of craftsmen and artisans that dates
back
to the Middle Ages.
Above. Pierre Frey.
Wallpaper Handmade: Architects’s Portfolio Bag – Sealup. Generic black portfolio case, this architect’s bag is completely waterproof,
unfailingly sturdy, and easy on the eye. To pull it off,
we turned to outerwear
supremo Sealup, who constructed an A2-sized portfolio case out of strong
waterproof bonded cotton and lined it with 3D padded netting. Roomy enough to
fit in a whole host of blueprints and plans, the bag comes equipped with handy
shoulder straps to allow for easy carrying. Completing the blueprint for the
perfect architect’s companion, it is also equipped with an inner pocket to fit
an iPad, and has been accessorized with two straps at the bottom to store tubes
and drawings.
Wallpaper Handmade: Hogalid Sofa – Karl-Johan Hjerling and Karin
Wallenbeck, and George Smith. For their sofa, Swedish designers Karl-Johan
Hjerling and Karin Wallenbeck wanted to represent the craft and heritage of English
furniture maker George Smith but highlight it with a contemporay contrast. A
pouf is transformed into a sofa using a wooden and leather frame, creating a
wonderful contrast between the soft pouf, with its curved shape and upholstered
velvet mohair, and the rigid wooden frame with its hard expression.
Above. Karl-Johan Hjerling.
Wallpaper Handmade: Valet Brush Set – Sebastian Bergne and Kent
Brushes. Designed by cosmopolitan, London-based designer Sebastian Bergne, this set of eight
brushes addresses the specific needs of today’s well-dressed man, some of which
he may not realise he has until now. The same shape of satinwood handle is used
for each brush, each time re-orientating the block to give a different holding
position and bristle arrangement for a specific function. Whether it’s for
cleaning different leathers, servicing your watch, brushing your cashmere or
dusting your shoulders, there is a dedicated brush for the task.
Above. Sebastian Bergne.
Wallpaper Handmade: Travel Clock – La Montre Hermes. Though it
has been involved in creating watches since the 1920s (long before it started
making silk scarves), it was only last year that Hermes presented its first
in-house mechanical movement, the ‘H1837’. And that got us thinking – what if,
in the era of digital clocks, Hermes revisited the idea of time as a luxury?
So, after a brainstorming session with the company’s creative team and a look
through its watch archives, we settled on
the idea of revisiting the travel
clock. Hermes was already working on a new pocket watch design that fitted our
brief perfectly as we wanted a neat, functional and beautiful object that was
portable enough to use everyday. The strap makes the watch easy to tie to the
inside of a handbag or carry case, while the leather stand allows it to become
a chic bedside travel clock, designed to add a comforting touch of luxury
whichever time zone you happen to wake up in.
Wallpaper Handmade: Butler No. 4 – Ron Gilad and The Woolmark
Company. Wallpaper’s 2013 award winning
designer. Butler No. 4 follows on from Ron Gilad’s ‘Butler’ series which the
designer first debuted in 2009. In the same vein as these previous design/art
pieces based around the concept of a valet, ‘Butler No. 4’ is Gilad’s
‘investigation into the absurd’. Essentially a giant room divider, each panel
comprises a pair of white-gloved hands holding up a panel of wool fabric, from
under which a disembodied pair of shoe-wearing feet is seen peeking out below.
When viewed from the front, ‘Butler No. 4’ seems almost like a hyper-realistic
servant, yet from behind its form is completely abstracted into a wireframe
stick figure, altering the spectator’s perception by questioning the
relationship between form and function.
Above. Ron Gilard and Simone Farresin.
Wallpaper Handmade: Kage Suitcase – Tsatsas. This is just the
suitcase for seasoned business travellers and weekend escapers who know too
well the perils of airport commuting. Called ‘Kage’, which is Japanese for
‘shadow’, and small enough to comply with airline hand-luggage restrictions,
Tsatsas’ trolley suitcase, complete with debossed Wallpaper logo, features
three compartments – one for clothing, one for shoes, and one that opens while
the suitcase is upright for easy access to a specially designed section for
laptops, boarding passes, and a specially crated plastic bags for those
all-important liquids.
Xavier Lust and Nathalie Jean
Wallpaper Handmade: Chess Set – Richard Meier. Chess is pure
mathematics, and the sublime geometry of archistar Richard Meier’s bespoke set
translates the game’s familiar pieces into abstract sculptures, paring down the
distinguishing features into the most minimal expression possible. Handcrafted
in wood at the New York studio’s model shop, a subtle stain distinguishes each
player. Proportions are hugely important, and Bishop, Queen and King are made
distinct by the addition of a square sliver of wood, which intersects the piece
at three different angles to determine its function. The board itself is
comprised of carefully routed squares, enabling each game to be an evolving
work of abstract art.
Wallpaper Handmade: 8ung! – Klaar Prims. Belgian glass artist
Klaar Prims essentially draws in glass, creating coloured strings that she can
weave and melt together before moulding the entire form – in this case, into
a
glass bowl. It is remarkably simple and pure, beautiful work, the product of
many years of research, hard work and development.
Wallpaper Handmade: Clothes Horse – Jonah Takagi and Another
Country. The daily ritual of dressing takes centre stage with this modern
clothes horse by American designer Jonah Takagi. The arching clothes rail, which
incorporates a full-length mirror and vanity shelf, builds on his previous
explorations of creating structures that work to define a larger space.
Together, the all-encompassing dressing unit forms a worthy alternative to what
might be typically found in the bedroom. Despite its straightforwardness, there
is still a theatrical thread in the piece; from the front, most of the
stretched wooden rail is hidden from view. British wood specialists, Another
Country, were the perfect partners to bring this modern piece to life. Realised
in ash wood painted in the brand’s signature Pigeon Blue, the piece is a
timeless vision that boasts exposed brass hardware and visible joinery to
highlight the honesty of its construction.
Above. Jonah Takagi.
Wallpaper Handmade: Life is Precious Survival Kit – Fort
Standard. Designers Gregory Buntain and Ian Collings, of Fort Standard, have
reimagined the standard outdoor ‘survival’ kit, making use of their love of
hiking and the outdoors to create ‘Life is Precious’, a comprehensive emergency
aid designed to look and feel as precious as its contents would be to its user
in an emergency situation. Combining form with function, it comprises a
compass, fire-starting kit, whistle and signal mirror, sewing kit, and fishing
kit, packed into a tool roll screenprinted with instructions. The kit
is
contained in a waterproof brass canister engraved with motivational lines that
encourage the owner to familiarise themselves with the contents of the package.
Wallpaper Handmade: Travel Bike – Explorateur and Rapha. We
invited London-based bicycle frame-building company Explorateur to build a
bespoke frame for Simon Mottram, founder of Rapha. Made of Columbus Spirit and
Kaisei steel tubing and painted in the distinctive Rapha livery, the design
incorporates the ingenious Ritchey Break-Away system and can be dismantled for
travelling. Mirroring the geometry of a Colnago C50 (Mottram’s number one
ride), other features include carbon fibre disc forks, internal cabling and
stainless steel rear drop-outs.
Wallpaper Handmade: Bonbonnieres - Julie Bonde Bulck. Danish
born Scotish based potter Julie Bonde Bulck, with sugary treats never far from
our minds at Wallpaper HQ, we thought not only to develop our own sweets, but
also something to put them in. We turned to the young Danish ceramicist Julie
Bonde Bülck, sensing she was of similar mind – she had already worked on a
collection of seductively sweet- shaped bonbonnières. Developing a new
prototype and casting mould for our project, she used nature as a reference point
for the pieces, creating glazes and textures that turn them into large, but
very tactile pebbles.
