Claesson Koivisto Rune have developed two products made from DuraPulp, a mixture of pulp and PLA, (an oil-free plastic based maize starch) developed by Sodra. First came Parupu, a bright fun eco chair for children. Designed for the heavy wear and tear that a child’s chair is put through, its sturdy and yet extremely light and water resistent. Once finished with the chair is completely compostable; DuraPulp is a naturally derived material.

Next as a contrast to the chunky chair, they have designed a sleek  light for Wästberg, launched at Stockholm Furniture Fair. The aesthetic difference as well the technical application demonstrate the breadth of potential in DuraPulp and shows that pulp doesn’t have to be grey.

Pulp 2.0 Post Consumer Vessels and Furniture by Jo MeestersThis work is a further development on his TESTLAB project that has been running since 2008. The original Pulp vessels were created using a mixture of newspaper and glue applied  to a vessel that acts as a mould. The new vessel is built up in layers before drying and finally being cut away. The cut pieces are joined with more pulp then the inside is treated with an epoxy resin to create a strong water tight product.

This formed the basis of the Pulp 2.0 furniture collection where the potential for upcycling cardboard panels and newspapers to create paper furniture has been explored. Water resistant properties have been added to the paper waste to create a collection that doesn’t hide its origin; the collection retains the colour of the pulped paper. The collection consists of a table, chair, four pendant lamps and a cabinet.

Mathieu Lehanneur has designed a meeting room for advertising agency JWT turning it into a creative cavern with walls totally produced from paper fibres. The cavern is a visual reminder of just how much paper can be eaten up in every day work and how in the move to digital we can consume less.“It has literally sucked up and recycled the available paper in the agency, an archaic and useless support that JWT France eventually envisages totally eliminating.’”.  The pulp also provides excellent soundproofing, and is usually used for thermal insulating in eco buildings. Here it has been exposed rather than hidden to create a cave like space; a contrast to the sleek white interior.

Trash Me Lamp by Victor Vetterlein The body of the lamp is made from the pulp of just four egg cartons mixed with water and poured into a mould. The intention behind the project was to create a product from waste, that could then be recycled at the end of its useful life.

Metro Cabinate by Will Shannon was created as part of Will’s graduation work for the Royal College of Art. For  his Design Products Collection he explored the notion of what is a factory and how we create products. Metro is a result of found objects and a mix of skills. The main body of the piece is made from paper pulp that was moulded inside a found suitcase and the legs are traditionally turned pieces of wood.

“My ambition is to develop an informal factory whose disparate employees – professionals as well as enthusiastic amateurs – are spread throughout the city, at work in their own cabinet making production facilities: turning wood in the shed in Bermondsey, or making papier maché in the kitchen in Dalston.”

Although not quite pulp I think Jens Praet’s Shredded Collection  is worth a mention.  Skippings the pulping process and using shredded copies of Frame magazine its a great reuse of a wonderful if heavy magazine. Incidentally I’ve switched my subscription to the digital version and saved a fortune as well as a tree! But I just wonder that with the transfer away from printed paper to ebooks;  pulp will become a rare commodity before we have developed a way to reuse it en mass.

Idyll by Johan Lindsten His chairs shown in both Stockholm and at Designersblock in Milan “These stitches and dreams are for most people forgotten and thrown away to an eternal lost never to been appreciated. This furniture’s destiny is to elevate and promote these neglected pieces of art, bring back a long lost sentimental value and mix it with contemporary aesthetic”

Stitch by Pepe Heykoop is a range of items salvaged from skips or secondhand shops and given a new hand stitched fabric skin. The skin is then stuffed with soft fibres. I’m sure traditional upholsterers would dispair at the obvious lumps and bumps and the visible stitching; but that would be missing the point. They have been brought back to life and given a character by this treatment. The lamp is particularly animated and looks like he could jump about, reminding me of Pixar’s Luxo Jr 

  Under Construction #2 by Anila Rubiku for Plusdesign(pictured above & below)  is a beautifully stitched lamp constructed from paper with an LED light. Anila’s works offers a contemporary perspective to the traditional craft of embroidery with her chioce of subject matter and use of material. Using scenes from contemporary life, drawn and hand stitched onto the paper houses Anila’s work illuminates an everyday domesticity that we would all recognise.  

Urban Embroidery by Melissa French for Puff & Flock (detail picture below) This is another example of taking embroidery and applying the technique to an alternative material. Melissa has used an old bench and applied her own design (with the help of a drill) to plot the pattern across the surface.

Saved Handkerchief by Studio Makkink & Bey for Droog This limited edition range produced by Droog for Salone del Mobile 2010 was a response to the ongoing economic crisis. Droog purchased various items from companies that had gone into liquidation and invited designers to create something desirable from the unwanted. Studio Makkink & Bey were given 900 handkerchiefs to play with. They created an embroidery kit; with news reports from different newspapers printed over 30 days in March and screenprinted onto the handkerchief. They also provided a skein of embroidery thread and a needle. I have to say i,t requires a bit of skill from the purchasers (or should I say collector) but its an interesting challenge. I nabbed one, and you can spot a slightly confused looking me over on the Droog blog. You can also have a look at all the other products designers came up with in the range. 

Stool bySuperfolkThis Irish design studio produce products that are a tribute to Ireland’s traditional skills. The stools have been made using locally sourced Oak and Ash from sustainable forests. They can be linked together with  a series of cross stitches running through the holes drilling into the seat. If you don’t want to link them together the cord can be stored by doing a quick running stitch round the seat. 

Shown at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2010 Paul Smith has taken a series of wood frame chairs and recovered them with stunning floral digital prints. We’re used to seeing this kind of “brown” furniture upholstered in floral damasks of different eras. The fabric not necessarily matching the era of the furniture. They’re the inherited pieces passed down or sold on for the next owner to recover in their own way. Smith has just done exactly this, but in an exaggerated form. Detailed, close shot, naturalistic images with saturated colour as opposed to the stylised rather more dainty fabrics of old. 

Reglo by Sophie Hedderwick. Having majored in both weave and experimental textiles Hedderwick’s work  reinvents traditional pieces by combining ancient techniques of weaving with sophisticated new material.  “it is an ancient art that can be endlessly re-invented and interpreted to produce new and exciting forms, although a 2D craft it can be rendered as almost sculptural in form depending on the materials used.  My work is now a fusion of the 2 disciplines. In the last 5 years I developed this experimentation further using wire with lights which adds another dimension to the weave. Also in this project I am weaving off-loom which is a challenge for any weaver. The idea was to produce a new weave structure that was strong enough to sit on without using a traditional woven seat style” .Using reclaimed vintage chairs Hedderwick has  re-woven the seat base with bright electo-luminescent wires that light up for 5,000 hours. New work currently in development will be shown in Milan this year at Designersblock at Zona Isola  

Richard Hutten -Playing with tradition for I+I Milanshown at Object Rotterdam 2010. Richard has taken a complex Persian rug design and stretched the pattern out. Prior to computers we’d find this quite a shocking treatment of the design.  Now we’re all used to whizzing down a web page and dragging the pixels along with us, it doesn’t seem peculiar at all.  

“For already many years I had the idea to do something with traditional oriental carpets. I have an antique Persian carpet at my home, which I still find the best carpets to have. The idea behind the carpet was to build a bridge between the old and the new, east meets west. From this starting point I looked at various ways to give a reinterpretation.

In my previous work I also used existing forms which I than reinterpret. For the carpet I did research in the various patterns available. Than I came up with the idea to stretch the carpet a certain point. I found out it’s very important where to start the stretching. On the traditional side I kept the fringes, on the contemporary side I made a clear cut.”

Portmanteau After Thonet by  Mathieu Lehanneur. Mathieu has taken a familiar coat stand and gone a little wild with the hangers. I’m  guessing but the advantage over the original may be that it can hold a little more. I seem to remember my parents old fashioned version was always so completely covered,you wouldn’t know what was under the mass of coats. Its certainly a witty remake of a familiar piece and I hope it will go into production. Apologies for the photo, I think I was a little phased out by Maison Objet at this point and as it is a proto-type I can’t find better images at the moment.

This post has nothing to do with post holiday blues and the dullness of those long dark winter days - no really. This is an appreciation of Blue and how designers have used this incredible colour in its various shades and hues. Blue has long been associated with quality work. Far back into the Middle Ages the cost of  Ultramarine led to its use sparingly for the finest works, and so our association of Blue with quality began. 

Whether a luminous iridescent or a flat matt pigment designers have chosen a variety of shades to launch and promote new products in the past year. Starting from the lighter brighter blue from a spring morning (its January - I’m feeling hopeful!) down to a deeper day-into-night shade  

At the beginning of the year in Stockholm Ineke Hans chose to exhibit her Fly Chair  in a beautiful matt sky blue. Produced by Arco  its simple oak frame has been matt lacquered, allowing the form of the chair to been seen in varying shades.

At the same show Ligne & Roset displayed Confluences by Philippe Nigro seen here in a range of tonal blues.   Launched at IMM Cologne the interlocking yin yang design not only allows different arrangements but also posture settings for the different users.   

Quilt by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec was launched by Established & Son at Salone del Mobile Milan. Using a shade of blue that expresses the moment that day turns to night . Appropriately enough, the day I got to see this the chair had been taken over by a lady in her twilight years who just wouldn’t move. For anyone.

At Design Miami/Basel 2009 designer Tomáš Gabzdil Libertiny of Studio Libertiny  The Bic Blue Cabinet. As the name suggests  Tomáš has used the ink from the ubiquitous Bic pen to colour his cabinet  not for him the finest most expensive natural pigment! That said though he hasn’t just coloured in an MDF cabinet and whacked on a bit of varnish. For 26,000 you get a handmade American Walnut cabinet, coated with Bic ink and hand-finished with French Polish; layer upon layer applied as you would to antique furniture. The combination of ink and polish give the cabinet an iridescence; a reminder of why this colour has been inspiring and intriguing artists for centuries. The finishing touches of gold plated hinges and Libertiny logo are hidden inside, there is no handle, it is a push to open system.

At the London Design Festival Benjamin Hubert chose blue for Splay his Coat stand for De La Espada. Seen here with all the other products this prolific new designer has launched in the last year.

And if you wanted to completely immerse yourself in blue, you could have visited the magical art installation Seizure by Roger Hiorns. Created by pumping 75,000 litres of copper sulphate into an abandoned council flat at letting the evaporating liquid form incredible blue crystals. It must have been quite some moment cracking open the seal to see if it had actually worked. Thankfully it had. Sadly the block and its crystal contents will be demolished – but then they said that last year… http://www.artangel.org.uk/

 Knitting along with other traditional crafts has enjoyed a revival in the past few years. We’ve rediscovered the art of making and experimented with materials old and new to create a whole different product

From a childhood spent in part in the Korean countryside Kwangho revisits the traditional craft of knitting and knots that he remembers from his youth.

For this range of lighting he was inspired by his mothers knitting and saw a pile of electrical cable as yarn and proceeded to knit a light, using varied lengths to create the different effects. Some wouldn’t look out of place wound round your neck like a scarf – not advisable though. Others appear wildly brush-like with the knitted loops extended out to trail onto the floor. 

In a further development Kwangho has knitted a sofa out of  garden hose. “I like to look for materials the same way I’m walking around the grocery store, thinking about what to make for dinner. And there is always a change in the end from what you start out thinking you’ll be making, which is quite charming. I just love finding materials, working on them and seeing where it takes me”

http://www.kwangholee.com/

Soojin Kang ‘s work  A Continuous Chain crosses the boundaries of art fashion and design, items can be worn or placed in the home. Her work is the antithesis of fast fashion and the problems associated with disposable design. Soojin  asks us to consider our basic needs and what we already possess and to use these materials wisely and beautifully. Using craft techniques and a combination of antique and raw materials to create the work is the logical means of expressing this. The craft traditions convey a considered thought process and have always seen the value in reusing and repurposing.

Olof Nordenson has encased a group of lights in what looks like mohair – but it could just be the light source picking up the finer bits of fluff! Five knitted braids extend down from the ceiling concealing the wires. As the braid is stretched the the wool gives the light a wonderful luminous texture. Olof has used a combination of hand and machine knitting.

www.olofnordenson.com

 Noose Light by Ana Maria Stewart-Pasescu is the culmination of a design challenge set by Phillipe Starck. Just a simple cable looped and knotted it could be seen as a representation of life and death. Its the choice and quality of material that really makes this design work. The chunky black cable, brass light fitting and the glowing element work so well together.

There is always something fascinating about the use of geometric construction in design. The extrapolation of a simple pattern into a more complex one tweaks the senses into looking more closely, trying to understand where the pattern begins and ends. As Karim Rashid said “It’s a way to move the eye and break up surfaces to bring illusion or entropy , to embellish and give richness to surfaces materials and objects. It can add emotion and meaning to the flat dull world”Islamic design has employed the mathematics of geometry to dramatic effect for centuries.  Here’s a few examples of how designer and artists have stripped back the ornamentation and used colour and geometry.

Above is the work of Matt W Moore the painter designer and illustrator. His work is inspired by sacred geometry, asymmetry and optical illusions. His Vectorfunk series uses a vivid colour palette.  “its about adding and refining layers to the point where I’ve got a well balanced, unique, powerful composition.          

www.mattwmoore.com

Coming up for AW09  Basso & Brooke Collection features their signature digital prints but this time with a distinctly geometric feel.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 Swatch by Hella Jongerius  Identical in shape, sections of coloured tiles are set in walnut marquetry on a simple low table. The coloured sections are made of individually cast polyurethane. Within each colour, different hues can be seen, orange within red, blue greys within white. Light can flow through some sections but not others. The piece holds with Hella’s vision of design offering options and possibilities.   www.jongeriuslab.com 

 Above is Pentagon by Thomas Tritsch   Inspired by medieval fortresses it demonstrates the innumerous possibilties of geometry. Each of the elements can be slotted together to suit the space or your mood! You can create curves, circles, straight lines.

http://www2.quinzeandmilan.tv/#/en/home/

Of course geometry isn’t just about the creation of flat tesselated patterns. Messing about with the angles and you suddenly have a chair – oh it sounds so simple! Thomas Feichtner’s FX10 Lounge chair pictured below is an example. Invert an angle or two and you have a chiseled chunk of a chair. The designer likens it to the angles cut to make igloos, and although it does look rather hard edged, the soft upholstery doesn’t make the sitter feel their on a block of ice! It does look really cool though…. yeah bad joke

Clouds by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec is a 3 dimensional installation that you construct yourself to create your own unique cloud. Using tiles that can be bent on the crease lines and elastic bands to join the tiles together the installation can either be hung from the wall or ceiling. You can rearrange your cloud or add to it create a multicoloured cloud. Its up to you how you use the pieces.

www.kvadratclouds.com

 And should you wish to have a play with geometry you can’t go wrong with David Sutton’s beautiful little book Islamic Design  A genius for Geometry. Available through Wooden Books  www.woodenbooks.com

At last years Salone Internazionale del Mobile Tord Boonje introduced his beautiful Fig Leaf Wardrobe. Perhaps more of an art piece than a functional wardrobe it still got me thinking about how designers have used trees as inspiration. So here’s a serise of products  on this woody leafy theme. 

Vegetal by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra

The original source of inspiration for the chair came from the work created by aboursmith Axel Erlandson. Aboursmithing is an ancient form of tree manipulation, creating furniture and other structures by bending young tree branches and allowing time and growth to create a more stable structure. In the 4 years the chair has taken to develop I doubt they’d have had a usable tree chair in that time!

The challenge for Vitra was to retain the natural structure of the trunks and branches but still produce an item that is commercially viable. The use of injection moulded plastic in a product so linked to nature seems at odds with the concept but it works on a number for a number of reasons. Its affordable, the chair can be used outdoors as well as indoors and it challenges the idea of a plastic chair being a throw away item.  

Jakob Solgren – Wood You Like a Cup of Tea.  This is Jakob’s contribution to the tradition of bizarre teapots, although I don’t really think this is bizarre, its rather lovely. Delicately sculpted from black stoneware its the colour of the dried tea its meant to brew. 

jakob.solgren@konstfack.se

Snowdon Flood produced these stunning silhouette tree glasses.

http://www.snowdenflood.com/

Leaf -it Post it note by Sangwoo Nam. Beautifully packaged post-it notes. You can have your desk scattered with leaves rather than those horrible fluorescent things. Heres a link but I think the product is too new to show up yet!

http://www.designfountain.com

Tree by Katrin Olina Petursdottir and Michael Young for Swedese.  Since its introduction in 2005 the coat hanger has become a classic for Swedese. Freestanding or wall mounted the branches form the hangers.  www.swedese.se

Twig Bench by Pinch. Originally designed for Neals Yard Remedies the bench went into production after a so much interest in the design. Made of hazel twigs stacked the bench is intended for indoor use only.

Wooden Usb by Oooms Theres something rather nice about sticking a stick in your computer, and it is a real stick. Collected from the woods and carefully crafted into a USB they’re all uniquely beautiful.  http://www.oooms.nl/wooden-usb-stick/

Artists and designers have been fascinated by invertebrates for a millennium – or two or three or more… If you think of how the ancient Egyptians revered the humble dung beetle, maybe the start of our recognising beauty in something that on closer inspection can be rather monstrous. Perhaps the current interest has something to do with our sense of decay in both the environment and the economy. Our little bug friends are particularly good at clearing up our shit and surviving in the worst of conditions.

 Seen above a wallpaper designed by Alain Couillaud, used by Ineke Hans in her room set for Stockholm Furniture Fair

http://www.yourwallpaper.se/collection_item.php?id=79

Lou Rota uses reclaimed chairs covers them with newspaper and a range of beetles and bugs playfully scuttling across the seat. Each piece is made to order from http://www.lourota.com/

Above some creepy fridge magnets by Atypyk.

 A little Etsy find. Metal draw pull with a vintage illustration, would look great on the right reclaimed chest of draws.

Flypaper by Rob Wynne at  Studio Printworks  http://www.studioprintworks.com

Below a napkin by Gina Pericinihttp://www.flockhome.com/

Paperweight by John Derian http://www.johnderian.com/

We’ve seen so many plaid shirts around I guess it was inevitable it crossed over into furniture.

I love the way Norwegian firm LK Hjelle have used plaid to cover a number of their designs. Their Boy Ottoman pictured in the background looks particularly cute in red plaid. In the foreground is their modular seating system Ugo.

Also by LK Hjelle Hotel Chair

Ralph Lauren have been pushing plaid for years and they’ve got a great range to choose from to get this look.

Osbourne & Little’s Lomond Wool Collection is a more contemporary update of Plaid using hot pinks and chartreuse mixed in with the more traditional plaid colour palette.

And to complete the theme you could also listen to Plaid, an old favourite of mine and they just happen to be playing at the Southbank Centre this weekend…

Have a peek at their lovely site to see what they do http://www.plaid.co.uk/

Jeroen Wand Paper Chair – Starting with paper only 160 grammes thick the chair is constructed by layering 30 laminated sheets together in 8 different moulds. Each chair takes 25 hours to construct and is a limited edition of 25. http://www.jeroenwand.nl/         

David Graas Finish Your Self junior – A chair and a puzzle in one. You pop the pieces out of the packaging then watch as your child spends ages trying to fit it together, actually it doesn’t look that hard to do and a 3 year old could probably do it quicker than you; but then they’re good at that kinda thing. Its also 100% recyclable for when they’ve grown out of it. Heres a link to David’s website, the Don’t Spill Your Coffee Table looks like more a challenge if you’re into puzzles. http://www.davidgraas.com/

Oki Sato – Cabbage Chair:  Fashion designer Issey Miyake challenged design agency Nendo to produce a chair out of the waste paper left over from producing his Pleats Please clothing range. Oki’s solution was simple, take a pair of scissors, cut each layer and fold down. The paper is impregnated with resin adding to the stability of the chair; the pleats give a springy elasticity or gently cushioning effect as you sit down.

Originally exhibited at the XXIst Century Man exhibition held at Tokyo’s 21_21 Design Sight Gallery (curated by Miyake) the chair has been selected for the MOMA collection.  http://www.nendo.jp/en/

 Frank Gehry Wiggle Chair- The grandaddy of the paper and card chairs; originally made in the 60’s the chair has been reproduced by Vitra. Created using 60 layers of corrugated cardboard the chair is held together by hidden screws and has laquered hardboard edges.