Sparkk fabrics designed and made in Sydney
Family-run company Sparkk is a Sydney-based business that designs and digitally prints textiles and wall coverings for residential and commercial interiors. Customers can choose to create their own personal pattern or choose from a number of Sparkk’s designs, which can be customized by replacing colours with others from the 165-colour palette. The latest design release includes geometric, abstract and floral designs. Sparkk also collaborates with designers to create new patterns, and the current collection includes designs from Australian artist Mark Alsweiler (pictured), textile designer Ngahuia Damerell and New Zealand artist Peter Featherstone.
Sparkk
+61 2 9313 8759
sparkk.com.au
Skin collection by Pepe Heykoop.
Skin collection, leather offcuts by Pepe Heykoop
Dutch designer Pepe Heykoop has used scraps of leather to create a collection of furniture that makes a statement about the industry’s wastage of the material. The Skin collection is made up of existing furniture that is modified and covered in these leather leftovers. Each piece is unique, with the leather scraps turned into random skin patterns, a reference to cell structures and growth in nature. Heykoop’s work features at a new space in Perth called Portal + Zekka, which aims to promote projects and collaborations from the art, design, fashion and film worlds.
Pepe Heykoop
pepeheykoop.nl
Portal + Zekka
+61 8 9384 1787
portal.zekka.com
Splint-Leg office table by Owen and Vokes.
Splint-Leg office table by Owen and Vokes
A study of plywood jointing has inspired Brisbane architecture firm Owen and Vokes to design a new office table. The basic design evolved out of a study developed through experimentation with CNC router technology at the University of Queensland. The table’s plywood legs are connected with a simple lap joint to form an X-shaped cross-brace motif, similar to the exposed single-skin bracing of Brisbane timber cottages. The graphic of the legs is then expressed in the table surface through simple interlocking tabs that pin the ensemble together. Three hardwood half-dowel pieces then wrap each of the legs to stiffen them; these are reminiscent of Gothic column clusters. The 720-mm-high tables are being used at Owen and Vokes’s Brisbane office for informal meetings. Constructed by Adam Meisenhelter of Doppel Factory, the Splint-Leg office table is available to order.
Owen and Vokes
+61 7 3846 2044
owenandvokes.com
Klee chair, designed by Alessandro Andreucci.
Klee chair is solid in black
With an attractive yet understated floral pattern cut into its backrest and seat, Klee is a solid, comfortable chair with a high or low back, available with armrest or no arms. Manufactured by Italian company Emu, the chair is made of 22-mm-diameter tubular steel with a seat and backrest made of hot dip galvanized slats riveted to the main structure. Klee is designed by Italian designer Alessandro Andreucci in collaboration with German designer Christian Hoisl and is available in Australia from Prototype and Ke-Zu.
Prototype
+61 2 8394 8220
prototype.net.au
Ke-Zu
+61 9669 1788
kezu.com.au
Pi Ki Puht / Earth, Clay, Cup, Earth by Sian Pascale.
Pi Ki Puht / Earth, Clay, Cup, Earth by Sian Pascale
Melbourne artist Sian Pascale has taken the concept of a traditional Indian disposable chai tea cup and turned it into a sustainable object. Pascale’s cups, which have been hand thrown in terracotta clay and bisque fired, have nasturtium, carrot, rocket and parsley seeds embedded into a clay and water “slip,” and in a groove around their exterior. In India, chai tea was traditionally served in red clay disposable cups that were tossed away once the spicy brew had been drunk. More recently, these are being replaced with plastic ones, contributing to mountains of waste across India. Pascale’s adaptation of the chai cup is a version that promotes growth once it has been discarded.
Sian Pascale
sianpascale.blogspot.com
Kohler’s artisan series
A truly global company, Kohler sells throughout the world and also designs for local markets in America, Europe and China. This means the bathroom company is constantly on the lookout for new – or old – technologies to feed into their creative product design. “We believe being global is much more about understanding culture than just exporting product,” explains Mark Bickerstaffe, UK-based designer and director of new product development for Kohler. Their new Artist Editions range of basins is a case in point, taking their inspiration from ancient artefacts from China, Greece and South-East Asia. The freestanding, bronze Kamala basin (pictured) is inspired by the ancient tribal rain drums of South-East Asia.
Kohler
kohler.com.au
Mico Design
+61 2 8354 0999
mico.com.au
Kiwi and Pom Disco chair.
Kiwi and Pom go Disco
Made from two hundred linear metres of illuminated wire, the Disco chair is a one-off furniture concept that transforms into a neon rainbow when powered. Commissioned by Wallpaper* magazine, Kiwi and Pom’s Disco chair has a pulse setting that makes it flash on and off, creating an instant disco installation. The concept behind the brightly coloured chair was to create a dual-function object – an item that would look normal in domestic settings but come to life at night. The wire bands of colour are reminiscent of a 1970s disco typeface made up of continuous offset lines. The chair is constructed from a steel frame with an Electroluminescent wire woven seat, which is an energy-efficient wire coated in phosphor.
Kiwi and Pom
kiwiandpom.com
