Eny Lee Parker presents "lumpy and imperfect" homeware at ICFF 2019
Brooklyn designer Eny Lee Parker's latest homeware includes a mirror that looks like "dripping pancake batter" and donut-like lamps.
Parker debuted the designs at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), an annual showcase that coincides with the NYCxDesign festival.
The 12 piece collection builds upon her handmade ceramic work, called First Hand Collection, which included terracotta jugs as table legs and floor lamps that look like desert cacti.
Parker's new handiwork results in organic forms that mimic a human body's natural curves.
"First Hand Collection Part II is an evolution of the hand-built ceramic series which flirts with familiar gestural forms and curvaceous human body," Parker told Dezeen.
"Everything is about what you can do with your body so there are a lot of the shapes are very lumpy and imperfect," she continued.
Parker created the works using a variety of techniques and gave them playful names to describe exactly what they look like.
The Lumpy Breakfast Table, for example, features a curved glass top that slices through a wide and curvy smooth ceramic base. The remaining ceramic piece on top of the glass is indented to place items inside.
Slip mirror was made with thick slip, a type of liquified clay that Parker poured into a flat mould multiple times to look like layers of "dripping pancake batter".
Her Blob Sconces resemble large donuts with a terracotta hue, with light bulbs placed in the middle of each. The sconces are slip-casted with ceramic into a mould, then reshaped by hand to "give a unique shape for each piece".
Dangling from the sconces pull switches are custom gota beads, a ceramic embellishment that was created in the same style as her new earring line.
Stitch Stool, an upholstered seat with four curvy, pronged legs "seemingly escapes your grasp with its arthropod like appendages", according to Parker. A beige ceramic version of the stool spotted with dark brown speckles is also available in a glazed finish.
The Lumpy Vases were created with a similar finish to the ceramic stool by a hand-thrown pottery process, which was then reshaped by hand. Flat protruding rims around the outer edges make the vases appear like life-size mushrooms or fungi.
Parker graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). She relocated to New York to create furniture, lighting, and jewellery design. Prior to working with clay and ceramics, she was skilled in welding, which she incorporates into her current work.
Her previous designs include a geometric metal candelabra she created in collaboration with Norwegian artist Kaja Solgaard Dahl as part of Sight Unseen Offsite exhibition at last year's New York design festival.
ICFF took place from 19 to 22 May 2019 at the Jacob K Javits Center in New York City. Other launches at this year's event included kitchens designed by David Thulstrup, Note Design Studio and Muller Van Severen for Reform and a wooden chandelier by Stickbulb.
Photography by Jahmad Balugo.