Nendo created an installation for Established & Son’s in their London showroom for this years London Design Festival.

The installation was inspired by looking back at nostalgic images of London fog; with the “fog” appearing to emerge from the wall to engulf pieces from the current collection . Created from thousands of pieces of transparent paper depicting random maps of London the fog engulfs the full height of the cavernous showroom.

At first I thought it rather funny that London’s reputation for fog has lingered for so long. It was a man made phenomena created from pumping out so much coal smoke from power stations. I live near to the carcass of one of these power stations; Battersea Power Station and another has been turned into Tate Modern.  Both are well loved landmarks despite the fact its noxious fumes probably killed thousands of Londoners!

So just as I was thinking “how odd, we never have fog now….” this morning Battersea Power Station was covered in the soft fluffy harmless fog that Nendo envisaged!

Christian Hallerod and Johannes Svartholm Mobile Office & Art for  arts organisation Mossutställningar. A conceptual piece consisting of four unique modules representing archetypes from the office contained within a frame. The pieces can be used separately or in formation to create a complex labyrinth.

2D LED by ding3000 A simple outline of a lamp made in aluminium and rubber. The light can be bent over to provide directional lighting from the LED contained in the outline of a lampshade. It turns from a graphic icon of a lamp into an animated character with a tilt of its neck.

Chicako Ibaraki – Weave Bookshelf.  Tokyo designer Ibaraki devised a bookshelf that can hold up to 200 books Interlocking steel frames have been set at angle to allow the books to be slotted in. The steel frame has been coated with a rubber paint to prevent the books from slipping.

Loop Stand by Leif Jørgensen for HayThe Loop collection is inspired by traditional trestles that have been stripped down to emphasise the 3D and give a graphic look. The range consists of trestles tables in three heights and and a wardrobe pictured here. I guess “wardrobe” is pushing it a bit but there you go!

Thin Black Lines byNendo Exhibited by Phillips de Pury & Company at the Saatchi Gallery during the London Design Festival and Frieze Art Fair.“Slight black lines like the traces of sketches drawn in the air made transparent surfaces and volumes appear, which we assigned practical functions.The designs gently break the relationship of before and behind, and traverse at times the space between two and three dimensions. Multi-faceted and constantly morphing, they move alternately between the becoming and collapse of form.”

Here are some beautiful products that give the illusion of floating. Perhaps the weight of the worlds problems feel a little too much, we’d like to float off or at least rise above them.

Blown by Nendo

Looking like bubbles about to lift off into the air, these lanterns were inspired by the traditional Japanese chochin lanterns. Created for Tokyo Fibre 09 Senseware the material they used is ‘Smash’ a long-fiber non woven polyester.  The properties of Smash allowed Nendo to shape it like blown glass into a seamless lantern. This technique allowed them to use the imperfections and mutations of glassblowing to create a product that is far from the standardized forms created by mass production. The translucent quality of the fibre add to the feeling that these lanterns may gently float off at any moment. But they won’t. The base is weighted and contains an insulated chamber to prevent the fibre loosing its shape from the heat of the lamp.

http://www.nendo.jp/en/

The Ghost of a Chair by Valentina GonzalezWohlers

Valentina describes her chair as “An apparition from death revealed to the living as a nebulous image – no chair, only its memory, its disembodied spirit captured and frozen in time.”  Inspired by Starck’s Louis XV Ghost chair mixed with the old custom of draping furniture in a white sheet when it is not in use, Valentina has created a floating apparition of a chair.

www.valentinagw.com 

Floating Garden by Benjamin Graindorge & Duende Studio  

An ingenious idea that saves you a couple of jobs in one go. It’s a recycling system based on hydroponics and though the piece looks highly decorative its designed to help out with the mundane tasks of water changes and watering your plants.   The aquarium water is filtered through a natural process of sand and plants it mimics in miniature the symbiotic relationship that exists in nature.

Ovangkol by Reiko Kaneko

Made from Ovangkol a tropical African hardwood the weighty tabletop appears to be floating in the air. Reiko has cast crystal clear resin onto the table legs to create the illusion. I would love to see further developments on this idea.  

http://www.reikokaneko.co.uk/table.php