Craft London, interior design by Tom Dixon.
One of the big takeaways from Maison et Objet is the single word descriptor floating around the event: “wild.’ Wild is a good adjective to describe the surprising mix of traditional fare and innovative design on hand in the more than eight vast exhibition halls in Villepinte, just outside of Paris. Hall 7 plays host to the theme “Design à Vivre,” and true to its designation, its here that living spaces are stunningly reimagined, whether it be via Tom Dixon’s oversized chairs and couches to Abate Zanetti’s ceramic chain-linked LED lights.
Tom Dixon
And then Dixon gives you something to perk up about. The brand has cultivated a catalogue of scents to perfume the living space. Vases and scented candles populate the “oil” hemisphere of the brand. Iridescent vases made to look like “petrol on glass” or water on the wing of a dragonfly give off a vibrant violet color while their corresponding scented candles smell subtly of wood and organic aromas. Some of Dixon’s recent work includes giving new London hotspot Craft a jolt of energy with its fuchsia bar stools and hanging lights that resemble star bursts or clouds with swirls of lightning inside them. The very popular wingback dining blue chair retails for roughly 2000€ and its cousin with copper legs for 5220€.
Slated
“We are a luxury brand,” says Tara Hammond. “But we’re a family brand. We’re artisan. Everything is by hand. And it’s a tradition that we’ve passed down through generations.” Does that mean that rendering something for huge corporate clients is unheard of? “No, we take on big contracts all the time. We welcome the challenge.”
One would think that the intimate and artisanal flavor that is Slated’s catalogue of coasters and round and rectangular placemats would somehow get compromised by the demands of a growing business. But Hammond insists that’s not the case. In fact, what makes Slated different than a host of other companies hoping to build upon the same idea of stoneware for the home is, “We still are all by hand. No machinery.” Wood, slate, and copper are a few of the common elements Slated uses to mold candle holders and slates, platters and boards.
Abate Zanetti
The Malfatto collection imagines glass bowls illuminated with LED plates set atop them. Here at M&O, Abate Zanetti demonstrated just how to fill your living space with lights. Big salon tables or simple coffee tables can be re-purposed as functional art pieces with the lamps as a headpiece.
But perhaps Abate Zanetti’s piéce de résistance is the Caena, a series of chain-linked Murano glass pieces that interconnect. Once connected, individual LED lights illuminate each respective chain link. The design comes in a matte or gloss finish and, hanging from the ceiling, appears as a steady flow of dripping light.
