In est Magazine Issue 47, we compiled an edit of consciously-designed products for 2023, with inventive ideas drawn from a creative state of mind.
“We cannot stand still; in fact, we have a duty to move even faster in the direction of design, production and distribution solutions that are as sustainable as possible,” declared Salone del Mobile president Maria Porro at last year’s fair. Recognising a designer’s role in meeting these challenges, we uncover 10 products leading the exploration of traditional crafts, new materials and technological innovation.
This feature originally appeared in est Magazine Issue 47: Creative State of Mind (pp. 136-151).
1. The Mother and Child Cabinet
Adam and Arthur
Australian industrial designer Adam Goodrum and French marquetry artisan Arthur Seigneur joined forces under the banner ‘Adam and Arthur’ to design the Mother and Child cabinet. The award-winning cabinet’s defining feature is straw marquetry; 16,000 pieces of white straw flattened and woven into an intricate, embedded pattern. The straw was also dyed black to create a striped pattern that accentuates the mother and child silhouette. “It’s radical and even a little absurd, but why not? We want to achieve something that hasn’t been done before,” Adam says.
2. August Industry Stool
Aamu Song & Johan Olin for Nikari
Finnish designers Aamu Song & Johan Olin conceptualised the August Industry stool for timber design studio and manufacturer Nikari. Established in 1967, Nikari only use sustainable, bio-diverse timber from a neighbouring sawmill in Fiskars, Finland. Aamu and Johan were one of 12 design studios to respond to Nikari’s philosophy through new product design, presenting the August Industry stool with legs that follow the form of tree branches, informing the unique joins on each.
3. Le Bambole Sofa
Mario Bellini
Architect Mario Bellini designed the Le Bambole series for B&B Italia in 1972. The evocative forms responded to women’s emancipation in Italy and the subsequent movement toward more informal interiors. For its 50th anniversary, Mario Bellini and B&B Italia relaunched Le Bambole with a radically different composition. Designed to include both fewer and repurposed materials, the Le Bambole now features a 77 per cent product circularity; all parts were re-designed to aid in the disassembly, repair and end-of-life recycling of materials.
4. ReRug
Nanimarquina
Spanish rug company Nanimarquina presented Re-Rug at this year’s Milan Design Week, working with their suppliers to use accumulated surplus wool to create a new rug collection. Founder Nani Marquina set out to preserve the leftover wool’s ‘irregularity and tonal richness’, experimenting with new processes to create a yarn with multiple colours intertwined, suitable for weaving. Crafted using the dhurrie technique on a handloom, the circular collection features 50 per cent virgin wool and 50 per cent reused wool.
5. Bio Componibli
Anna Castelli Ferrieri for Kartell
Following the ‘Kartell Loves the Planet’ manifesto in 2020, the Italian furniture brand revised their widely-recognised Componibili storage unit into a ‘fully sustainable’ counterpart. Originally designed by co-founder Anna Castelli Ferrieri in 1969 and made from injection moulded ABS plastic, the revised Componibili – now in pastel colours – is made from a biodegradable material developed from agricultural waste, manufactured by Italian bioplastic producer Bio-on.
6. Soriana Sofa
Afra and Tobia Scarpa
Cassina has reissued the Soriana sofa designed in 1969 by Afra and Tobia Scarpa; recipient of the prestigious Italian industrial design Compasso d’Oro award for its ‘complex design’ using ‘simple tools’. In bringing this iconic piece back from the archives, Cassina have focused on its environmental impact; substituting the original polyurethane structure with a new BioFoam® that’s biodegradable and hardwearing. They’ve also included PET padding that wraps around the sofa, enhancing the original design intent and subsequently, the sofa’s comfort.
7. Momentum Collection
Studio David Thulstrup
Danish multidisciplinary practice Studio David Thulstrup collaborated with Søuld, producers of eelgrass acoustic mats, on their limited-edition MOMENTUM collection. Eelgrass is commonly known for being used as thick roof-thatching on Denmark’s Læsø island, which can be traced back to the 1600s. After a decade of research, Søuld have reinvented the ‘seaweed house legacy’ by working with local farmers and ecologists along Denmark’s coastline. At the hands of Studio David Thulstrup, the non-toxic, CO2-storing material has been translated into a low table, high table, podium and screen.
8. Veil Pendant
Ladies & Gentlemen Studio
Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, based in both Seattle and Brooklyn, design objects, furniture and lighting characterised by a slow and sensitive approach to craft. The Veil collection is one of their most recent releases, deliberately pared down to a series of honest materials, including silk, cotton and linen to ‘dress’ the light source and create an interplay of light, shadow and pattern.
9. Helm
Kooij
Dirk van der Kooij founded his Amsterdam studio while exploring the possibilities of recycled plastic. The result of experimentation that started in a basement of the Design Academy, Eindhoven, Kooij has presented exciting new lives for discarded objects – from CDs to kitchen appliances. At the union of craft and technology, Helm by Dirk van der Kooij is sculpted from ‘syrupy ribbons’ of molten, recycled plastic using 3D printed bands.
10. Tacta Armchair
John Pawson for Passoni
UK designer John Pawson collaborated with Italian furniture brand Passoni on the Tacta armchair. The armchair reflects Passoni’s commitment to FSC® certified timber cultivation and natural finishes, hailing from a small village in Friuli, Italy and overseeing all stages of production. Described as a quiet expression of its antecedents – the Thonet Bentwood chairs – Tacta is defined by two lines of timber that extend from the legs to form the arms and backrest.
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