During New York’s design festival – which boasts the ICFF furniture fair, as well as dozens of events in both Manhattan and Brooklyn – Azure will be scoping out the best new talents, collections and trends. Here are a few covetable debuts to expect.
Step by MSDS Studio
Toronto design duo Jessica Nakanishi and Jonathan Sabine take part in the group show Furnishing Utopia 3.0: Hands to Work, where they will show off this ingenious nesting-table piece that pulls out to create a step stool. Curated by Studio Gorm, Christopher Specce and Ladies & Gentlemen Studio, the showcase explores modern takes on the Shaker style by 26 international designers who immersed themselves in workshops run by two preserved Shaker sites – Mt. Lebanon Shaker Museum in upstate New York and the Hancock Shaker Village in the Massachusetts Berkshires.
Where: Furnishing Utopia at Design Within Reach, 158 Mercer St., May 19 to 22
Chunk by Anna Karlin x Fernando Mastrangelo
We’ve long been fans of both Anna Karlin and Fernando Mastrangelo. So it’s wonderful to see them team up on this collection of tables that reimagines Karlin’s Chess Piece collection through the material experimentation of Mastrangelo. Originally available in a traditional palette of steel, wood and brass, the new limited edition of five distinct pieces are cast in cement, salt, glass, quartz, silica and other unorthodox materials.
Where: Anna Karlin showroom, 108 Eldridge St., until June 1
Either/Or by The Coast
It’s not every day that a designer turns to Søren Kierkegaard for inspiration. The Coast, helmed by Paul Chan, looks at the conflict between the aesthetic and the ethical in the philosophic treatise Either/Or as inspiration for this three-piece, cradle-like lamp collection in brushed brass and polished nickel that can be gently rocked back and forth.
Where: ICFF, Jacob K. Javits Center, 655 W. 34th St., May 20 to 23
Taher Asad-Bakhtiari Collection for Bernhardt Textiles
We’re keen to explore Bernhardt Design’s full roster of talents, which includes actor Terry Crews, better known for his scene stealing in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and frequent collaborators Claudia and Harry Washington of El Salvador. But we’re most eager to run our hands over this striking new collection of contract textiles by Taher Asad-Bakhtiari. The six unique patterns in 52 colourways infuse a vibrant modernism into the tribal weaves of the designer’s native Iran.
Where: ICFF, Jacob K. Javits Center, 655 W. 34th St., May 20 to 23
Omer Arbel debuts OAO Works
Another Canadian talent shining bright in New York, Omer Arbel will debut a sister brand to his wildly successful Vancouver lighting company, Bocci. OAO Works’ debut collection of five works, on show at showroom de Vera, includes the recently launched 84.2 vases and 31.3 glassware (above), as well as the all-new 64 beeswax candle and 71 electromagnetic accretion jewellery.
Where: de Vera, 1 Crosby St,, from May 16
Field Studies at Sight Unseen Offsite
Sight Unseen’s Field Studies, one of the online design magazine’s many NYCxDesign showcases, teamed up designers with pop-culture and art-world figures to create one-of-a-kind pieces that could be donated to charity. Seth Rogen was paired with Brooklyn’s Bower to make this circular mirror composed of longitudinal sections, separated to reveal a hand-painted substrate by artist Jasper Patch for a 3D sphere effect.
Where: 201 Mulberry St., May 17 to 20
Viso x Giancarlo Valle at Sight Unseen Offsite
This eccentric lounger, upholstered in a uniquely artful jacquard pattern by American industrial and interior designer Giancarlo Valle, was created in collaboration with Viso, a company that develops sustainable products with artisans in Europe and the U.S.
Where: 62 White St., May 17 to 20
Grönska by Ilse Crawford for Kasthall
British designer Ilse Crawford is one of the most respected interior designers in the world. Here, she has partnered with Sweden’s Kasthall on two tufted and three woven rugs for the Grönska collection, which arrives in New York just after debuting during Milan’s Salone del Mobile. Among the motifs is the limited-edition Åker, with horizontal block stripes of different textures, colours and tufting techniques. The block pattern abstractly recalls the farmland plots that surround Kasthall’s rural factory.
Where: Kasthall showroom, New York Design Center, 200 Lexington Ave.
Newson Aluminum Chair for Knoll
Marc Newson is known for his iconic furniture, so it makes perfect sense that he would be the person to reinterpret the legendary cantilevered designs of Mies van der Rohe for a new generation. Newson’s design for Knoll is defined by its seamless structure in aluminum, cast in three parts: the main frame and two end caps. It comes in combinations of three frame colours and six mesh hues.
Where: Knoll, 1330 Avenue of the Americas
Peca Design at WantedDesign Manhattan
WantedDesign boasts two meccas – in Manhattan’s Terminal Stores and Brooklyn’s Industry City – where dozens of designers get the showcase treatment. Apart from the Manhattan venue’s Zero Waste Bistro and Industry City’s Memphis-inspired mural by Camille Walala, we’re especially excited to see the pavilion of Mexican design. The latter includes Peca, a company making some covetable residential seating, including the Pita Daybed with its solid oak frame.
Where: WantedDesign Manhattan, 269 11th Ave., May 19 to 22
