New York 2019 – We explored WantedDesign, New York’s design festival during NYCxDESIGN and selected 10 independent designs by international emerging talents. Located both at Industry City in Brooklyn and in Manhattan, WantedDesign 2019 gives voice to established designers and well-known brands as well as American makers and independent creatives from Colombia to Korea.
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Caribe cabinet by TU Taller
Colombian design studio TU Taller presents the Caribe table. A metallic or acrylic structure is wrapped by a frosted glass surface. The furniture was inspired by Caribbean architecture, “built to allow the ocean cross winds pass through while exposing what the eye can see and permeate but not contain,” say at TU Taller.
Yoga chair by SunnyKim
South Koream designer Seonhee Sunny Kim, a.k.a. SunnyKim won the WantedDesign Launch Pad Prize for emerging talents with the Yoga Hammock chair which combines an elastic textile wrapped around a wooden structure. Launch Pad is the unique platform in the US to promote international emerging talent.
Equant pendant lamp by Cecilia Xinyu Zhang
At WantedDesign Launch Pad, Cecilia Xinyu Zhang presents Equant, a perfectly balanced geometric suspension lamp with an adjustable circular reflector providing indirect, diffused and reflected illumination. The name “Equant refers to the mathematical concept developed by Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD to account for the observed motion of the planets.”
Ledge floating console by Simon Johns
Simon Johns has created Ledge, a floating console, mounted to the wall, in solid ash with a black glass top that looks like it is made from crumbling stone. “The wood components are scored across the grain, then carved by breaking the woods grain, to create patterns of variable depths“, according to Johns’ sketch of the rock formations outside his studio in southern Quebec.The opaque black glass top nods to the mirror effects of water and contrasts with the minerality of the rest.
Slash Objects’ squishy designs made from recycled rubber
New York firm Slash Objects has recycled rubber to create a homeware and furniture collection. The series comprises a set of trays, placemats, coasters and trivets framed with polished brass edging and a daybed with a neat geometric imprint. All pieces feature a terrazzo-like composition that is squishy to the touch. “We believe that a considered use of materials should lead to a better and more lasting product design,” says Slash Objects’ founder Arielle Assouline-Lichten.
Possibility tools by Yuko Nishigawa
“There is always a dialogue between the objects and us,” says Tokyo-born and Brooklyn-based designer Yuko Nishigawa. Her Possibility Tool series of handcrafted ceramic tools, vessels and lamps suggests possible conversations. “The idea came when I saw a group of stone and clay artifacts displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They are “possibly a handle for a vessel to carry water”, “probably a container for medicine”, and “probably religious idols”.
Gradient wooden furniture by Indo-
Indo- is a contemporary furniture design studio based in Providence, Rhode Island. At WantedDesgign 2019 they presented new pieces including the dip-dyed coffee Ikat credenza inspired by Antony Gaudì’s mosaics and architecture in Barcelona. The furniture is inspired by traditional Indonesian weaving techniques: “each warp end is dyed individually with the desired pattern prior to weaving the final product“.
Cut Me Out ceramics Magdalena Pilaczyńska
Polish illustrator Magdalena Pilaczyńska presents her Cut Me Out collection for the brand Look At Me Plates. Fluid and pastel-coloured geometries add a quirky vibe to plates, cups, sugar-bowls, vases and other porcelain objects inspireXd by cut-out play. Magda Pilaczyńska also designs posters, most often for cultural events, using illustrations and collage techniques.
Huichol rugs + tableware by Elissa Medina
Brooklyn-based designer and maker Elissa Medina presents a collection of tubular gradient-hued vessels as well as a pixelated carpet inspired by traditional rugs by the Huichol Indians of the Sierra Madres in Mexico. Individual hexagon shapes link up together taking on the form of an animal skin.
Portal mirror by Lake+Wells
The oblong Portal lamp, by Chicago-based Lake+Wells studio “balances two surfaces, wall and floor.” Its polished brass core “nods to the mirror as a literary object of magic, a portal to other worlds”. Each piece is machined from a single block of solid aluminum, refined by artisans, anodized, and then assembled with a hand-polished brass mirror. Developed in collaboration with Canadian custom lighting and metal work manufacturer Karice.
