Milan 09: Japanese designers Nendo will exhibit two products designed for Netherlands manufacturers Quodes at the furniture fair in Milan this month.

The modular Collar cabinets (above and below) are made of MDF and aluminium.

Aluminium handles extend around three edges of each drawer or door.

Hexagon shelving (below) is made of  powder-coated aluminum and steel, finished in black and white.

"Our aim is giving people a small '!' moment," say Nendo. "There are so many small '!' moments hidden in our everyday. We believe these small '!' moments are what make our days so interesting, so rich. That’s why we want to reconstitute the everyday by collecting and reshaping them into something that’s easy to understand."

Quodes will also present new pieces for existing ranges by Dutch Designer Marcel Wanders (Ken table, above and below), Zurich designer Alfredo Haberli and London designers BarberOsgerby.

A new range of bowls called Hyperbowl (below), designed and decorated by Amsterdam designers Skujeniece & Elsinga, will also be on show.

The following information is from Quodes:

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QUODES AT THE SALONE DEL MOBILE IN MILAN 2009

In April QUODES will present its latest furniture at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. It is a great honor to show our collection in Hall 12 among leading companies as Vitra and Kartell only three years after our start in 2006

Below: Pattern sideboard by Alfredo Haberli.

We are proud to introduce a new designer to the QUODES collection. The young and upcoming Japanese NENDO designed the serene COLLAR and HEXAGON furniture for QUODES.

He succeeded in reaching an attractive balance between poetry and geometry.

MARCEL WANDERS presents a persuasive extension to his baroque BEAUTIFUL WOMEN program and ALFREDO HÄBERLI, chosen as ‘designer of the year 2009’ by Architektur & Wohnen, transformed his PATTERN bookcase into a brilliant side-board.

QUODES also shows a new interpretation of HÄBERLI’s TECA wardrobe (above and below) from 2008. Finally we introduce new variations in the SATELLITE series by BARBEROSGERBY.

Besides furniture, Quodes introduces a new product category to its program: we will exhibit new ceramic bowls inspired by the diabolo, called HYPERBOWL. Timeless forms, designed and beautifully decorated by SKUJENIECE & ELSINGA.

The QUODES collection has matured and steadily develops into a balanced program for the interior and project market.

Above: Satellite by BarberOsgerby.

PRODUCTS:

NENDO: COLLAR and HEXAGON

NENDO is a Tokyo and Milan based design studio, founded by Oki Sato. Its reputation is expanding rapidly. NENDO concentrates on tranquil products and technically advanced research and was recently nominated as ‘Designer of the Future’ by Design Miami/Basel. For QUODES NENDO designed unpretentious but witty furniture items, which increase the potential of our collection for retailers and consumers.

The modular COLLAR cabinets are inspired by the collar of a shirt, which playfully echoes in the decorative aluminum fronts. These MDF / metal containers function as individual chest of drawers / side board or bedside tables but can be combined, forming attractive configurations for storing books etc. The subtle color-scheme and the vividly alternated forms express NENDO’s typical serene atmosphere.

HEXAGON is a contemporary interpretation of a form, already known in ancient Greek geometry. The regular six-edged-units are each divided by vertical sheets. Stacked they produce a beautiful rotational symmetry, typical for the hexagon, which NENDO cleverly exploits. They come in powder coated aluminum and steel, in varied heights (from 35 cm to 180 cm) and in black or white.

MARCEL WANDERS: KEN TABLE

MARCEL WANDERS’ new KEN side-table is a transformation of his KEN stool, selected by Elle Decoration as a Future Classic. A transparent glass top reveals the beautiful graphical stem of this design once more. The table is made from powder coated laser cut metal and UV glued glass.

ALFREDO HÄBERLI: PATTERN

HÄBERLI’s dynamic PATTERN bookcase, selected by Wallpaper as Best Shelving System in 2007, transformed into a never seen before side-board. Turned upside down it radiates a movement which is very different from the vertical version. Pattern is made of a lacquered aluminum composite material and available in varying sizes.

ALFREDO HÄBERLI: TECA

The architectural and graphical TECA wardrobe, introduced last year, has been further developed and perfected in detail. As such that its subtle dimensions, geometrical structure, the specially selected colours and intelligent doors which open over a rail and fold out like a book, perform at the ultimate. Their MDF corpus is carried by a powder-coated plinth. TECA opens infinite possibilities to solve spatial problems.

BARBER OSGERBY: SATELLITE

BARBER OSGERBY’s SATELLITE program has been extended to open new potentials for commercial spaces like offices. The cabinets are now also available without the base. The especially composed color-schemes have been preserved but can be adjusted to the client’s preference.

SKUJENIECE & ELSINGA: HYPERBOWL
Skujeniece and Elsinga designed a family of ceramic bowls inspired by the diabolo. The irregular decorations offer a subtle contrast with the symmetry of the product.

Mara Skujeniece combines working as independent designer with teaching at the Design Academy in the Netherlands while Roel–Jan Elsinga works at Marcel Wanders studio as well as independent.

This is a project in cooperation with Royal Goedewaagen in the Netherlands.

More details:

Collar
Cabinet system, Quodes, the Netherlands

Storage units composed of multiples of 25 cm wide / 20 cm high modules that can be freely added and arranged. Raised ‘collars’ on all four edges serve as door and drawer handles, and give the units a particular flatness, as though they have no up or down, left or right. Pieces with a door and pieces open like a bookshelf work together naturally, giving this modular piece an organic wholeness. Oki Sato, Designer (founder of studio Nendo)

Hexagon

Modular bookcase, Quodes, the Netherlands. A bookshelf in the form of a hexagonal pillar. Each side is set off 120° from its neighbours, allowing access from all directions, and giving the bookshelf a different form depending on the angle from which it’s viewed. Oki Sato, Designer (founder of studio Nendo)

Teca

Bedroom cabinet system, Quodes, the Netherlands
New: Teca will be on the market as from April 2009

The idea of TECA is the relief-like front creation. The grips which allow the opening of the doors and drawers originate from the overlappings of the surfaces. The choice of colors is based on a contrast between shining and matt surfaces. The three basic volumes of TECA – high wardrobe, small wardrobe, chest of drawers – are placed on a metal base. The basic volumes can be combined together. Thus TECA can be adapted to the individual needs. Alfredo Häberli, Designer

Pattern
New: Pattern as side board

“I love books very much, the weight, the smell, the haptic. It is a source of inspiration and relaxation, I love to be surrounded by. I could say I am a book maniac. The idea of Pattern is to create a non-horizontal shelf. One which help the thin books or magazines to stay in an upright position. By searching a geometrical figure to repeat, I found an irregular pentagon which adding it to each other, creates a Pattern and gives the opportunity of using it for several sizes. Meanwhile there is a horizontal surface which allows arranging objects on it. Not having a real back, it can be used as a room divider.” Alfredo Häberli, Designer

Empire
Bookcase, Quodes, The Netherlands

“Again, I am fond of books. With Empire I wanted to create a very small bookshelf (or for other things), one that you have in a corridor, behind your bed, in a corner, placed just inconspicuous in a space. In the meantime is Empire a vertical sculpture full of books.” Alfredo Häberli, Designer

Beautiful Women
Dressing table, mirror & stool, Quodes, The Netherlands. New: Ken as side table

“Luxury is to live an exciting passionate life in comfort and commitment, to feel you are special and make a difference while achieving personal growth, to contribute to the greater good and feel you share love. Luxury starts where functionality ends and where the true value is personal and so has no price or reason”. Marcel Wanders, Designer

Satellite
Sideboard, Quodes, The Netherlands

”An exercise in graphic composition and organised volumes. It is about proportion, modularity and purity with character. We see an array of objects, some coloured, resting on trestle bases - a series of ideograms. This informal character implies variation, movement and adaptability. The temporary made temporally permanent. Time and space, balance and expression”. Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Designers

Hyperbowl
Series of bowls, Quodes, the Netherlands.

Turn a classic ceramic bowl upside down, and there is another little bowl. By upgrading the ‘base’ into a usable little bowl, the total-bowl has now two upsides! Away with the downsides, this is a win-win situation..the hyperbowl is born! Mara Skujeniece and Roel-Jan Elsinga, Designers

QUODES philosophy:

The QUODES name is a combination of quality and design. All QUODES furniture reflects our desire to produce functional and authentic furniture that will be passed down through the generations. Our philosophy stands out in this period of economical crisis because of its material and visual durability. By offering interior products, which enrich life by ‘the best possible’ aesthetical avant garde design in combination with superb technical quality and attention for sustainability, QUODES wants to contribute to society. The main product focus is storage units.

Exhibition : QUODES in Salone del Mobile, Milan,
Period : 22 through 27April 2008
Location : Salone del Mobile, hall 12, booth B05
Opening times : 9.30 AM – 18.30 PM

See all our stories from Milan in our special MIlan 2009