by Jo Ann Locktov

“My, what splendid pants you have!”  (canary yellow with statuesque grey elephants; pants only a man of particular confidence would ever wear).

”Yes, I have 100 pairs and just ordered 100 more!” he answered.

This exuberance that Philippe Starck expresses for his custom clothing—fabric purchased in Africa, sewn by Agnés b.—is the same enthusiasm he reserves for most conversation, as we progressed from clothing to creation.

Delineating between inventors, artists and designers, Mr. Starck (at Conran to promote his Zikmu speakers for Parrot during ICFF) reveres the inventor for his perseverance and ability to produce functional objects, tolerates the artist (citing an over-abundance of listings in the French phone book that make them appear disingenuous) and dismisses the designer with an impatient wave of his hand. Perhaps then it is no surprise when asked what he considers himself, the French man with the crowded closet declares boldly, “creator.”

Wood

Daisuke Hiraiwa

Inspired by the bursting of sunflowers, Hiraiwa wants to change our ”daily fixed values into positive senses.” He uses mundane materials like toothpicks and plastic utensils to elevate our perception of these rudimentary objects, turning them into lighting fixtures. Stamen (above) is comprised of 12,500 toothpicks, which are glued into a flexible base. Taken out of their traditional context, the toothpicks become a beautiful intricate mass.

Plastic

Eugenio Menjivar

Repurposing household litter, Salvadorian environmentalist Menjivar created the Heliocarpus series of orchid lamps(right). Recycled plastic jugs for petals and aluminum pipe for stems form the elegant floating flowers emerging from press-casted Raku ceramic bulbs.  

Where on this progressive spectrum—from inventor to artist to designer—do the participants of ICFF fall? To label these fertile minds at all is perhaps a disservice, but it’s impossible not to ask the question given that we are treated to unconventional explorations during the fair, most of which illustrate a desire to create, invent, and design—artistically, rigorously, confidently.

Marble

Laura Gottwald

Gottwald’s strategy merges a minimalist sensibility with the organic colors inherent in marble. Her modernist tile series for New Ravenna (left) uses this classic material in geometric patterns to create limitless combinations of line and shape.

Aluminum

John Reeves

The scapula bone recreated in a hand-carved timber mould gives the Cast Aluminum One furniture series (right) its poetic allure. The recycled solid aluminum frames, with their soft uneven charcoal patina, are reminiscent of river stones—caressed by water, worn through time. Integral white oak slats are hand-stamped with the corresponding number for insertion into the metal, resulting in a charming assembly process. Born in England, Reeves now lives and works in Vietnam.

Titanium

Hiromi Kim

China uses 25 billion wooden chopsticks a year, equal to 18,500 wooden houses. Alatus (which means wings in Latin) is Hiromi’s answer to the disposable chopstick (left). The elegant titanium chopsticks, produced in Japan, are recyclable, non-corrosive, hyper-allergenic and dishwasher safe. The tips do not make contact with any surface, so they can rest, poised on the table, ready for flight. 

Gold

CottoVeneto

The 2009 Gold Collection (right) manipulates precious metal into lyric arabesques, molten bullion, and lavish stones in precious colors. Distressed and drizzled, the gold tile in this collection arrived in New York under a halo of Byzantine splendor.

Clockwise from top left: Modulari’s dividing system, made of flip-flop material, that snaps together a section at a time; Kontexture’s new line of textiles in collaboration with Kaniez Abdi; Ango’s Seventh Stone light fixture; Jane Hamley Wells’ Ona chair in bubble-gum pink; MYTTO’s Mirtillo; and Glimmerglass Furniture’s Mohave table.

Left top and bottom: light fixtures by Re-surface; top right, Aswoon’s Bausmann Spring Screen; below, Skram’s Line Ground Arm Chair.

Far left, Jake Dyson’s Motorlight, which throws dreamy patterns onto a ceiling or a wall; left, Trove’s new Askella wallpaper; and above, Bert & Dennis’ Fold chair.

Northern Irish artist and designer Rachel O'Neill seems to have caused the greatest post-fair debate with her KnickerBockerGlory Chandelier created specifically for the fair. Blogs and publications polled readers to ask if they think the light fixture is sexy. The answers were mixed as were the reviews. The Chicago Tribune began it’s take on the entire show with, “They ogled designer Rachel O'Neill's chandelier made of black lace panties.” A little hint of sex in the city or last week’s laundry? Visit our blog and tell us what you think.

The exhibition was curated by Dan Rubenstein and Jen Renzi (above left). The party was packed and the design elements, made with building blocks that most people toss rather than re-imagine, were clever without sacrificing style. Ate Atema of Atema Architecture and Amy Campos (above right) with their Egg Carton table, one of the pieces in the show.