As I mentioned in the last post we just moved house - although it was within 3 minutes drive it was still a monstrous task. There are still boxes in odd places and stuff that hasn't yet found a home and I am still working on the dining room table...so forgive me if I haven't got back to you as soon as I promised with more on D+D/Furnitex.
My visit to D+D was a whirlwind to say the least but I have a few highlights that I took the time to document. Unfortunately I didn't make it to Design:Made:Trade but I am hoping that a good friend may share her views on that soon so stay tuned.
One of the first things that caught my eye was the chair from View Furniture [above] a baroque inspired detailed arm chair. At first I was curious about the way the frame appeared to be separate from the upholstered seat and back, I then noticed the swivel base - tacky or clever? I found it amusing enough to be clever but wasn't sure I could think of an appropriate place for it, however their furniture is well designed and certainly worth a look. Another bonus is they are designed and manufactured in Australia.
Globe West was another furniture company that caught my eye, this time it was more about the stand design than the furniture - which is lovely - but I really loved the details they put into the design of their stand. The newspapers that wallpapered areas were of an asian origin and the stand encompassed you from both sides as you walked through, connected by the lattice like ceiling. It stood out as one of the best stands at Furnitex.
I have to admit it helped that they had featured one of my favourite things - the hanging origami drakes - I'm sure you've heard me mention more than once my love of the origami inspired element!
An area of particular interest was the Sampling Future Materials section. The area featured fabrics for interiors from both the Belgian Decotec and Australian companies. Surrounding this area were 3 installations.
Above was the collaboration between ITN architects, Australian Composites & The Specialty Group. The 'Libre-Pod' both a library and a lounge, is inspired by the Libra scales representing the perfect balance between work and recreation. The casing of the pod is a light cured resin impregnated fibre-glass from The Specialty Group. Space Age indeed!
I love a dino design - this one was created with Woven Image's Echo Panel. Developed in collaboration with Middlegrey and fabricated by Like Butter, 'Velociraptor' is a fun and unexpected way to use the panel material.
'Designing Miss Daisy' used recycled & recyclable thermoset polymer material to create an art type installation. The collaboration between Mark Watson, I.N.C Corporation, Aboriginal Artist Development Trust & Australian Rubber Matting Products was an interesting one but with nice results. I liked the individual items but would have like to see a more creative way to display them.
Vivid was still the best area within Furnitex, displaying some great talent [check out the link to see this years winners]. Above is the Unconformities Coffee Table by student Jessica Shannon of Central TAFE. The table is expandable and cleverly designed for small spaces.
Designer Ross Gardan's company Spaceleft developed the Flat Jack Bookcase - constructed with cardboard [an increasingly popular eco-choice] and designed for short term use. It can be created with a print as seen here [which I liked] or a plain surface. Its quite inexpensive - the plain version starting at RRP $350.
I liked these little stools - the curved laminated timber details in them reminded me of ripples in the sand or perhaps those made in a Japanese dry landscape garden. The Selina Stool is a concept piece by Jensen Ho.
Love to hear what you guys think, leave us a comment! Next Post - the beginning of a series on some Lifeinstyle exhibitors that caught my eye...
