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Daphna Isaacs
The Design Invertuals exhibition, a collection of Dutch designers’ work, was a repeat of an event in Eindhoven last October, but we were happy to be reunited with Dutch designers Daphna Isaacs and Laurens Manders’ beautiful lighting pieces. Their name Taffelstukken doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but they are a likeable bunch of lights made from porcelain and oak with pretty details such as nuts, bolts and wingnuts. They are a take on the traditional table centrepiece, providing a container for objects or food with the lamp highlighting the content.
Established & Sons
There was a somewhat sombre feel to Established & Sons’ display. The new pieces were offered on large white plinths without any fuss. Stefan Diez’s stackable shelving New Order in powder-coated aluminium represented this pared-down approach very well, while Konstantin Grcic’s Crash armchair was a mystery. Its upholstered seat resembles a deflated beanbag. It was good to see Martino Gamper working on production pieces (see Magis overleaf) and his Sessel bentwood chair was a one of the strongest pieces, working particularly well when the wood was stained in two colours. Established & Sons also launched Estd, a range of less expensive pieces such as the Spin table on mismatched wheels, already available to buy online. It’s a departure for the company in two ways: first, the designers of the pieces aren’t revealed and second, it’s an attempt at reaching a larger audience.
Moooi
Moooi opened a permanent showroom in Zona Tortona during the fair, a minimalist space in glass and concrete by Italian architect Matteo Thun. Arihiro Miyake’s Miyake light looked great in it. The lamp is set on a multifaceted concrete base which allows the user to angle the light any direction they wish simply by rolling the base around. In three different sizes, the smaller desk light seemed to work best in terms of proportions.
Wästberg and Södra
Last year, Claesson Koivisto Rune produced a stackable chair in pulp for pulp manufacturer Södra; this year it repeated the experiment, working to create a task light. The W101 lamp is now in production with Swedish lighting manufacturer Wästberg and it’s a little engineering marvel. It’s moulded out of pulp and stands on a metal base. The electrical wiring is integrated into the arm of the design and the lightsource is an LED.
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Words
Johanna Agerman and Anna Bates
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