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| Herman Miller Retail's Eames Aluminum Group cinched an Editor's Award in the outdoor furniture category with these beauties. I'm coveting the chaise. |
The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) is open to the general public today. With more than 500 booths showcasing contemporary wares made by designers and architects hailing from more than 30 countries, there's a lot to see. So, if you have a spare couple of hours, get there. You won't be sorry.
I had the pleasure of running amok here in NYC at the Javits Center yesterday. As always, I was wowed by all the ingenuity and inventiveness surrounding me--and I really found it hard to leave the building.
In addition to the stellar furniture concepts, this year's lighting designs were spacey and otherworldly (lots of feathers, too), and floor coverings really made their mark.
Here are a few of my favorite highlights.
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I spotted this ethereal washi-paper
DCS Corp lamp in the Japanese-
design aisle. I'm in love.
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Mineheart's cheeky lamp
is a fun twist on a staid concept. |
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Here and above, Mineheart is a splicing together of the unexpected.
A cheerful (and thankfully not "steampunk") Dr. Frankensteinian approach to form. |
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Artek's striking mid-century inspired pieces won editor's pick for best furniture.
It's certainly clear the revered Finnish company remains true to
Alvar Aalto's timeless aesthetic. |
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Can someone help me ID this gorgeous chair? It looks
like an Eames Tulip draped with a life-sized cabbage leaf.
I think it was in the USA area. I was too spellbound to attribute it(!) |
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Cool Brit Tom Dixon set up a spectacular light show (debuting his Bulb and Etch lighting lines) that won him an editor's award for best booth. He certainly took Extremism to new levels. We really didn't expect less.
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| Another example of Dixon's space-age appeal. |
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| Constructed with a Nottingham lace loom, the delicate Indochine Collection features bamboo forests, cherry blossoms, and bonsai trees. |
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| This. Is. Just. Magnificent. |
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| Onlookers admire German contemporary rug designer Jan Kath's creations -- each wool piece was hand-knotted in Nepal. These, and the modern furniture in the foreground, were showcased by NYC architects/designers Khouri Guzman Bunce, Ltd. |
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| Lladró Atelier (a new branch of the Spanish company run by artist Jaime Hayón) unveiled its Metropolis line. Boxes, mirrors, and vases and the like were stunning, utilitarian, and decidedly modern. Definitely not your mother's cloying figurines. |
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| I also liked Christiane Büssgen's Adolf Loos goes Hula Hoop installation in Austria's Woka booth. It was sexy and fun, especially since the company mainly reproduces lighting designs from the early 20th century. |
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| I especially loved the rich textures. I'm also thinking last year's gray-and-yellow color trends must have legs. |
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| Since the early 70's Orley & Shabahang have been selling antique Persian carpets. In 2001, they began to make contemporary-revival pieces that are out-of-this world amazing. |
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| Their abstract tribal-looking works of art had me stopped dead in my tracks for awhile. |
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| Sizzling red lacquer and slick white-stripe detailing made a loud large-scale floral look impossibly hip. |
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| The company's ethereal limited-edition Apaya line (created by Ayala Serfaty and Irit Dulman) looks like a series of undulating jellyfish. Who knew mohair, silk, and wool could be so breathtakingly beautiful? |
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Spain's Nanimarquina had me yearning to sit down and relax after a long day of perusing. Its rugs looked more like delicate hand-painted tapestries than things meant to be tread on.
What was your take on this year's ICFF?
Did you see something I missed? Let me know!
Drop me a line. I'd love to hear about it. |
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteJust came across this now. Nice post!
And in case you haven't figured it out yet, that gorgeous Bloom Chair is by ridiculously talented Filipino designer Kenneth Cobonpue :-)
www.kennethcobonpue.com