Elements by Jaime Hayon (below) was inspired by cacti: "I have always been seduced by the perfect form the cactus symbolises," explains Hayon. "The fact that it is modular, allowing for multiple combinations, has always seemed interesting. I wanted to exploit this quality, building up the piece with different shapes. The priority for me was that each part, if removed from the whole, would still be appealing but also have a function of its own. So, a functional sculpture it was: A piece that could be as beautiful as the cactus, but that would offer a variety of uses.
"At the beginning, I thought of making a series of stackable stools in different materials. i thought about it for a while and started wondering, 'why should they all be stools?' So we started working with the Moooi team on a new concept where each piece of the stackable sculpture would have a different use: mirror, table, tray, etc. A series of different colour, materials and finishes would then be applied to each vertibra making the whole richer and more flexible."
Glass table by Front (above) is based on an extract from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Suddenly she came upon a little table, all made of solid glass: there was nothing on it but a tiny golden key... she found a little bottle with the words 'DRINK ME'," write Front. "'What a curious feeling!' said Alice... She was now only ten inches high... When she got to the door, she found she had forgotten the little golden key and when she went back to the table for it, she found she could not possibly reach it: she could see it quite plainly through the glass."
Ludo table by Bertjan Pot (above and below): "that awkward shiver you get when brushing your bare leg against the bare cold steel frame of the table or chair is history."
Paper table lamp by Studio Job (below) is "inspired by classic icons but manufactured like modern day furniture. This cardboard furniture collection is an ode to classical style and to the material. Monumental and light, transitory and timeless."
Below: Lolita by Nika Zupanc. "Who is afraid of pink?" asks Zupanc. "My imagination chases female archetypes intentionally. Frivolous, even naïve objects are my favourite victims.
"And when, during such a process, I manage to be creative in an evidently reserved way, then I touch the purest meaning of my work and frivolity becomes timeless elegance.
"Lolita is here to play with your emotions. She is here to break up your everyday routine."
