A thoughtful selection of the latest lifestyle and design news, plus the modular seating goes where you need it to
1. Pillow sconces by Sklo
Sklo marries modern Californian design with centuries-old Czech glassblowing traditions, designing and manufacturing handblown glass lighting and objects from its studios in Healdsburg, Northern California, and the Czech Republic. Its latest Pillow wall sconces, which come in three sizes, are quirky, colourful lights that will add a welcome pop of colour to most interiors. They come in contrasting colours and finishes – the gently curving, organic forms of frosted glass contain smaller, smooth glass shapes that are lit from within.
What’s more, Sklo’s designs celebrate the traditional handblowing process and its products wear their subtle irregularities with pride. “The Pillow series grew directly from experiments in combining not just glass colours, but also glass finishes,” says Sklo’s co-founder Karen Gilbert. “The contrast between frosted and smooth glass accentuates the two-tone colourplay.”
2. Puffy Sofa by Faye Toogood and Hem
Hot on the heels of the Puffy lounge chair and ottoman comes the Puffy sofa, designed by London-based Faye Toogood in collaboration with Hem, an independent design brand. Much like the lounge chair, the sofa is delightfully playful and easygoing, with a bold contrast of forms and materials. An extravagant, quilt-like detachable upholstery cover rests freely on and spills over the tubular steel frame, inviting you to sink into the reassuring comfort of its plump padding.
“I wanted to emphasise the purposeful and playful juxtaposition of two almost contradictory ideas,” says Toogood. “First, stability and strength, highlighted by leaving the considered, stainless-steel framework of the sofa on display; and second, comfort and reassurance in the form of the generous, puffy upholstery.” She was also inspired by the work of American-Swedish artist Claes Oldenburg. “He created big, soft, stitched sculptures of everyday household items, enlarged to the point of being comical. I wanted to bring this sense of exaggerated softness and playfulness to the Puffy chair and sofa.”
3. girl in red x Caran d’Ache
For more than 100 years, Swiss brand Caran d’Ache has been supplying writers and artists with slimline pens, colouring pencils and various accessories. The company develops and produces every product in its Geneva workshops, and often collaborates with household names, such as Paul Smith and Keith Haring, on contemporary iterations. This time, it has come together with Norwegian singer Marie Ulven, whose stage name is girl in red, to release two limited-edition 849 ballpoint pens.
The first features a subtle gradient of red, Ulven’s signature shade, while the second has a grey body adorned with the singer’s running silhouette. Ulven has always written and composed by hand, and is a particular fan of Caran d’Ache stationery. “When I first found the 849 it unleashed a newfound love for pens,” she says. “I’ve been carrying the pen with me for the past three years. It’s always with me. In the studio and on the road.” Unleash your own creativity with one of Ulven’s designs – it might just be your greatest hit.
4. Ease Portable Lamp by Muuto
As we increasingly work on the move, shifting between various rooms in the house or even transitioning to outdoor spaces, it’s useful to have a cordless lamp we can carry from place to place. This is where the Ease Portable Lamp by Muuto comes in handy. Thought up by Dutch furniture and product designer Johan van Hengel, the lamp has a solid base that’s easy to grip, while the top’s opal acrylic gives off a pleasingly ambient light that strikes a balance between atmosphere and function. Offering three levels of glare-free, dimmable light, it is as perfect at illuminating garden parties after dark as it is being a bedside reading lamp or brightening up cosy office corners.
5. FAT Chair by Tom Dixon
The inspiration for Fat Work, Tom Dixon’s home office chair, came to him during the pandemic. Dissatisfied with the bland chairs he borrowed from the London HQ for his home office, he set about designing a seat that would fulfil his own expectations of comfort. The result is a pleasingly rounded and perfectly padded swivel chair without armrests, which features a spherical cushion seat and curved backrest balancing on a sleek metal frame.
“The new blurred landscape we now inhabit of hybrid work and pleasure demands furnishings that match our increasingly flexible and unpredictable lifestyles,” says Dixon, an award-winning designer who is known for pieces that have a recognisable sculptural quality and materiality. “Fat Work is a response to these recent adjustments where the home has been redefined as a place to work or learn,” he adds.
The plush chair, which is part of Dixon’s Fat collection, comes in more than 200 colour and fabric options. First shown during Milan Design Week in April, and then at Scandinavia’s popular 3daysofdesign in Copenhagen, it has arrived just in time, as workplaces increasingly reject an overly formal environment in favour of comfort and more inviting aesthetics. The swivel option makes it simple to turn to face colleagues while the thick upholstery and generously padded backrest offer plenty of support in all the right places.
6. Taburete 8 by HAY
Majorca-born industrial designer Marc Morro left the island to study in Barcelona and has called the city home ever since. His forte is functional carpentry work, and the young creative soon caught the eye of Rolf and Mette Hay, who invited him to collaborate on a sturdy bar stool. Morro’s first piece for their brand HAY is named after the Spanish word for stool, taburete, and ‘8’ after the number of prototypes it took to perfect it.
The resulting piece is robust and exudes a contemporary aesthetic that is characteristic of Morro’s direct approach to design. There is a raw simplicity to the components, from a steel tube frame to the curvy plywood seat. “I like the idea of making something out of very little: a balance between efficiency and good comfort,” says Morro. Colour is very much part of his design language, and the stool comes in four bold hues: Signal Red, Eggshell, Soft Jade and Black. “It’s a stool that comes with a statement. You see it and don’t forget it,” says Rolf Hay, who hopes to work with Morro on further releases.
7. Alder collection by Mater and Patricia Urquiola
Danish green-tech design brand Mater (Latin for ‘mother’) is constantly striving to push the boundaries of sustainability and circularity in furniture design and production. To that end, it has worked with renowned Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola on the new Alder collection, which consists of oval and square lounge tables, a side table and a stool. Available in four earthy colours – Terracotta, Light Green, Sand and Earth Grey – the pieces are made from an innovative new material, Matek, which is a mix of coffee or wood waste and certified biodegradable plastic derived from sugarcane.
Those who enjoy furniture with an interesting back story may want to opt for the lightest shade, which reveals the fibres used to create the piece. What’s more, the collection is designed for disassembly, allowing each component to be upcycled into new production cycles through Mater’s Take-back System, and each part is fully decomposable. The stool and tables, handily suitable for indoor and outdoor use, have a soft, curvilinear form, which is meticulously shaped through press moulding, and a lovely ridge detail on the top.
“If you ask any designer today what materials they would like to work with – of course they’re biodegradable, because we know we must return our materials to the Earth,” says Urquiola. “I think we are now more focused on the right way to approach products, materials and processes, but there is so much more to do.”
8. Arcs Trolley by HAY
Designed by Belgian duo Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen, the Arcs Trolley is a nifty piece of furniture that combines industrial craftsmanship with Hay’s trademark playfulness. Made from powder-coated steel, the trolley comes in an array of vibrant colours, such as jade green and auburn red, while its elegant, scalloped edging makes it a distinctive piece.
“For us, a good object is always technical and poetic at the same time,” say the designers, who share a passion for art, architecture and materials. “The curves in this object are not random, they have a function.” The trolley effortlessly adapts to its surroundings; with a choice of two or three tiers and slender legs on castors for ease of movement, it can serve as a display and storage solution in the living room, lend an extra layer of shelving in the kitchen or double as a cabinet in home offices or co-working spaces.
Images by Sklo, John William, Caran d’Ache, Muuto, Tom Dixon, Nicklas Hemming, Ollie Tomlinson, Anna Kagitina, Alanna Paterson
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