DESIGNRO » traditional craft

Too much creativity will never do wrong on brands like De La Espada

Cosmina Dinu — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:46:30 +0000

All poets have recurent themes, all artists have muses and all bloggers obsessions. Is it my latin origin or the rigorously arranged newsletter that brings me back to De La Espada?!
Oh, Lord, give us rain and economical crisis!…This autumn was incredibly full, don’t you think? I was overwhelmed by so many launches, new projects, lay offs, associations and good intentions. People really switch to positive thinking, not just on paper or negociations manuals. And particularily for Europe, there is a genuine work pleasure revival, turning to craft and doing fewer things and better.
One of the places where I would have loved to be this October is London during the Design Festival. I tried to catch up as much as I could through online means but of course, there’s no comparison with actually being on set.
The Portuguese-British brand De La Espada had some very good interventions during the 8 days dedicated to design. They held a series of three exhibitions in East London:
PROCESS: The Modern Workshop which focused on traditional craft in modern design
PRODUCT: which focused on 18 new products and several classics by four collaborating designers
PHILOSOPHY: Seating for Eating welcomed De La Espada’s newest collaboration, Studioilse

PROCESS: The Modern Workshop exhibition
At Tent London, it was presented a rare, behind-the-scenes look at De La Espada manufacture. The exhibition highlighted the relationship between craft and modern design through the presentation of raw materials, components and products.

PRODUCT exhibition
At the A Foundation in Shoreditch, thre were presented 18 new products designed by Autoban, Leif.designpark, Matthew Hilton and Studioilse. A vast, open plan exhibition space allowed the products to exist in their own area, whilst interacting with one another, highlighting the diversity of the products as well as the common ethos they share. The relaxed environment was enhanced each evening with casual drinks and nibbles.
If I were there, I’d take the following tour: I’d start with Matthew Hilton: Fracture Table
Brando SofaMars Table.
In 2008, De La Espada launched a collaboration with one of Britain’s most highly respected designers, Matthew Hilton. Hilton’s designs are understated, sculptural and meticulously detailed, with many already considered design classics. The Matthew Hilton range is designed by Matthew Hilton, and produced under licence by De La Espada. The complementary expertise of the two firms has ensured a furniture range true to Matthew Hilton’s creative vision, as realised through De La Espada’s material options and expert manufacturing.

Gloves put, tank fueled, wheels rolling, we enter the Autoban.Deco Sofa & Pumpkin Table
Holy Table
Wired King
Nest Lounge
The collaboration between Autoban and De La Espada launched at New York’s ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in 2007. Autoban is an Istanbul-based architecture, interior design and product design studio, founded by Seyhan Özdemir (architect) and Sefer Çaglar (interior architect) in the historic and bohemian district of Galata in 2003. The products, largely made from natural materials, cross boundaries of time and culture and playfully reinterpret the familiar. A selection of designs from Autoban’s ever-growing product portfolio are supported by De La Espada’s manufacture and understanding of solid wood.

Crossing the ocean, I’d wreck on Leif.designpark’s isle :Tone Cabinet
Lin pod Bench
Tone chair
Tone Chair for kids
Leif.designpark, a Japan-based design studio consisting of Takashi Ueno, Mamoru Naito and Keizaburo Honda, has been designing products in a variety of natural materials, with a specific emphasis on wood since 2006. Leif.designpark holds monozukuri- the art of traditional craftsmanship- in high esteem, and values the warm, playful relationship between a product and the user, as well as the comfort of the space where the two enjoy interaction. Their aesthetic is a result of applying monozukuri to the construction of modern designs to give the products a connection to traditional Japanese culture. Since 2007, De La Espada has manufactured and distributed select designs from their portfolio.

Heels kicking, neck twisting and enter into StudioIlse’s teritory:Low Bench & Stools
Settle &Low Bench
De La Espada recently launched a collaboration with renowned London-based design office, Studioilse. Ilse Crawford, principal of Studioilse is a creative director and designer who crosses the worlds of brand creation, interior architecture and products. She is a figurehead for design as a means for change and revitalisation; with a human approach that is emotional and intelligent. As the licensed manufacturer and distributor for Studioilse products, De La Espada will realise her designs through premium materials and expert craftsmanship.

PHILOSOPHY: Seating for EatingThe London Design Festival marked the beginning of our collaboration with Studioilse. Leila’s Shop in Shoreditch housed an installation of the new Studioilse seating collective, allowing visitors to sit on the products while enjoying a meal. A series of Kitchen Table Talks were held on the premises each evening focusing on the link between growing food and community. Speakers included the founder of Aesop, Dennis Paphitis and Tristram Stuart, author of ‘Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal’. The installation remains until 1 November.

You wish you were there too, I know…

De La Espada
Matthew Hilton
Autoban’s
Leif.designpark’s
StudioIlse’s
London Design Festival

ryan frank.

Cosmina Dinu — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:54:04 +0000

While experimenting different ways of non-polluting housekeeping and cleaning solutions, I rememberd Ryan Frank, THE Ryan Frank, a South African designer living in London. If you don see the connection I will tell you that Ryan Frank was awarded “Most sustainable product in 2006 & 2007″ and “Best Press Profile in 2006″ at the Hidden Art Annual Awards ceremony. Despite his impressive media coverage, Ryan Frank is truly some”one to watch” as per The Observer’s New Faces of 2008 since he is genuinely concerned about good design in terms of resources management, durability and functionality. As Maarten Baas would put it, why digging new holes in the mountains or cutting down trees when there are so many disused things on the streets, waiting to be reshaped and transformed?
While being an ecologist designer, pleading for vegetable patches and anti-consumerism, his work is still original, mostly because of his South African roots. Ryan Frank takes every opportunity to make use of traditional African crafts and symbols, a rich culture, source of inspiration for other designers also – I give only one example – Stephen Burks and his Love Collection for high end brand Cappellini, consisting in a set of small tables and bowls realized with paper mache and glass pieces by African artisans. The paper used for this project actually represented the designer’s magazines and newspapers and the glass pieces were reclaimed from different broken objects.
Ryan Frank offers a condensed list of objects produced in UK, with local materials. And this was no limitation for inspiration.
Skimming through London’s heaps of discarded furniture and usable timber, Ryan Frank turned deconstructed old office furniture and FSC wood into new, sleek chair and tables. Strata is a range of furniture including a chair, stool, coffee table and dining table. Materials for the items have been sourced from old office furniture and FSC birch ply. The chairs are CNC routed from the salvaged materials.

Another piece from his collection, a stackable stool called Isabella provides eco-ergonomic seating in addition to a sculptural storage solution inspired by hand-carved African designs. Rather than using the exotic hardwoods featured in traditional African seating, the innovative designer chose to work with 100% felted wool and strawboard – a sustainable, formaldehyde-free material made entirely from compressed straw.
Strawboard is a durable material that offers a sustainable alternative to plasterboard. Brands such as Invotek and Stramit helped to popularize the material, and now Frank’s stacking Isabella stools stand as a perfect example of the material’s versatility.

Hackney shelving is a very good example of collaborative process design, an ingenious idea that blurs the boundaries between furniture design, graffitti and conceptual fine art. London designer Ryan Frank strategically places white boards at various points in east London and waits for illicit decoration to begin. Frank leaves boards out for weeks until they have sufficiently “matured” into colorful pieces of street art. Once the boards have matured, they are removed and transformed into these colorful mobile shelving units – juxtaposing street art with interior environment. For the collectors out there: every piece is a completely unique slice of “recycled” Hackney street art.
Hackney Wick is part of the Hackney range and follow up design of the iconic Hackey Shelf. With a white front and back face, this product allows the owner to do graffiti in the privacy of their home.

To the series of successful recylcled-chic projects, Inkuku (zulu for “chicken”) is added, an armchair made from plastic bags combined with traditional South African craft. Once again, Ryan Frank proves that trash can be treasure.

A number of commissions opened for the public and a recent dinner at the Royal Palace won Ryan Frank a place in “Who’s Who” of TIME magazine as an eco-guide. All eyes on him and I have a feeling that he won’t fail. Good luck, Frank!
Ryan Frank‘s giant Love Nests were designed, built and hung from a huge Horse-chestnut tree for an English summer festival.

Ryan Frank
Maarten Baas
Stephen Burks: Cappellini Love
Invotek
Stramit
Inhabitat