Create an Array of Light + Atmosphere With the Kori Collection

The new Kori lighting collection, designed by Stockholm-based TAF Studio, is a welcome contemporary addition to Finnish design brand Artek. Its essence captures everyday beauty in a five product series that creates a diverse array of light and atmospheres. Three pendant light models, a table light, and a floor light feature modular design and pared-back aesthetics displaying the best of form and function. At the core of the design is a “basket” (kori in Finnish), a unique element that’s key to blending direct and indirect light – like sunlight filtered through trees.

Gabriella Lenke and Mattias Ståhlbom of TAF Studio shared, “With Kori, we wanted to achieve an atmospheric and glare-free light with different models adjusted to different spaces and contexts. The diffuser around the light source became very central, and through lots of experiments with shades and reflecting parts the different characters in the family appeared.”

Kori’s compact floor light provides great reading light in larger spaces, while the table light works well for bedside tables, sideboards, or shelves. The pendant light is arguably the most versatile, available in three models. When paired with a shade it provides a direct downlight and diffused uplight, ideal for smaller spaces. Add the Dune shade and illuminate the surface beneath while spreading glare-free light across a wide area. Or, choose the inverted Disc shade that reflects a soft cone of diffused light downward, good for smaller tables and sideboards.

The entirety of the energy efficient Kori collection occurs within a 200km radius in Italy, and the die-cast “light basket” is made from 100% recycled aluminum. A universal E27 socket ensures longevity, that bulbs are easy to replace, and the ability to choose from a full range of bulbs.

“Color-wise, we were inspired by the way light hits the matte white texture of an egg, and the thinness of an eggshell,” said TAF Studio. “Kori comes in extra matte white and a color that reminds us of egg yolk.” The Kori collection comes in a matte white powder coating, and the floor and table lamps are also available in a matte orange.

To learn more about the Kori collection, visit artek.fi.

Curiouser

A few weeks ago, I was on the phone with my friend James and he said, “You’re someone who’s so curious about so many things — why aren’t you curious about this?”

It’s become a question I’ve started asking myself almost once a day. Why aren’t you curious about this?

Like many of us, I do a lot of what my friend Alan Jacobs in Breaking Bread with the Dead calls “informational triage” — constantly trying to separate and sort out what the heck I should be paying attention to.

So I shut out a lot. But I also have to be open — what if the things I’m not interested in turn out to be interesting?

I mentioned this dilemma to Kevin Kelly (we were talking about AI), and he quoted one of the pieces of advice in Excellent Advice for Living: “For a great payoff / be especially curious / about the things you are not interested in.”

This is particularly true if you want to be a curious elder.

It reminded me of the perfect title of Nina Katchadourian’s great show that I saw five years ago: Curiouser. Nina spoke about how she liked the idea of “curiouser” as a noun, a job title, something you could be.

INNESS: A Country Getaway That’s Between Cultivated and Wild

INNESS is a boutique country refuge located in Accord, New York, designed by Post Company in partnership with restaurateur and trained architect Taavo Somer, development team Michael Barry, CBSK Ironstate, and Lee Pollock. Named after renowned American landscape painter George Inness, the retreat was brought to life by the aforementioned group of designers and developers.

The 225-acre property features 40 hotel rooms distributed between a 12-room farmhouse and 28 cabins. Amenities include a restaurant and lounge, a 9-hole golf course by King Collins, a sports outfitter, swimming pools, tennis courts, hiking trails, an events barn, a farm shop, and a 3-acre organic farm designed by landscape architect Miranda Brooks. Slated for 2023, the wellness building will offer a spa, gym, and spaces for movement classes and yoga.

The property’s central theme revolves around the contrast between the cultivated and the wild. The grounds are anchored by social hubs designed for both aesthetic appeal and communal function, while also offering ample space for exploration and discovery. Inspired by the region’s Colonial Dutch architecture, the buildings showcase a minimalist design that highlights the picturesque landscape. Rustic details and an emphasis on local materials unify the structures, which are further enhanced by Miranda Brooks’ carefully balanced landscaping that seamlessly blends wild growth with manicured elegance.

The farmhouse serves as a central hub, featuring a communal lobby bar, guest kitchen by Plain English, library room, and game room. A coffee service and continental breakfast are available for guests and members throughout the week. The farmhouse rooms offer mountain views, modern amenities, and are furnished with a mix of vintage and custom furniture – including pieces by Sixpenny – artwork, and wares to create a cozy, lived-in atmosphere.

Photos by Adrian Gaut.

OBJECT Is an Umbrella for Anna Bera’s Utility Objects

When creating the OBJECT collection, Polish artist and maker Anna Bera was searching. Searching for a place where an object suddenly appears without justification, but whose existence is indisputable. The series was on display during the 19th edition of Collect in London as part of the Collect Open exhibition, the international fair’s platform for pioneering, thought-provoking craft installations by individual artists.

At Collect Open, Bera debuted the latest addition to OBJECT: a 2.6-meter tall sculpture, hand-carved from sycamore wood with a mirror made of polished steel. Its design, like the rest of the collection’s utility objects – the form of which does not reveal the functionality – plays with form. OBJECT is full of sculptures that may perform the function of mirrors, but then again may not. You may view it as something else entirely. This curiosity of function doesn’t make the pieces any less legitimate, even if all they do is simply exist.

To learn more about Object, visit craftscouncil.org.uk.

Photos by Emilia Oksentowicz.

The Avro Pendant Lamp Powers up Your Electronics

It’s a common circumstance in which many of us have found ourselves from time to time. It’s that annoying moment when our phone pings us that it’s on 10% battery or our laptop screen went black because we kept ignoring the alerts – only for us to look around and discover that there are no sockets available nearby. It’s in this moment that the Avro Pendant Lamp really shines. Designed by Studio Natural for Martinelli Luce, the luminaire has a hidden feature: the lower part of its shade conceals a socket, allowing you to power your devices right at the table.

Available in four different colors (orange, light blue, white, and black), the Avro turns any dining table into a workspace. No longer would you need to find a vacant outlet or ensure your cords are long enough to reach the wall. By plugging in a multi-socket, you can power up a whole team’s worth of devices.

 

To learn more about the Avro Pendant Lamp, visit martinelliluce.it.

Take Control of the Mood With the Nivél Pendant

Pablo Designs is hoping to redefine pendant illumination with the Nivél Pendant. It’s formed from a simple, pure silhouette and brought to life with a spun-shade form and a flat panel LED light. The LED pivots on an axis to focus light downward or as a soft wall wash, giving you the control to set the mood for any space. While on, Nivél only uses 10.5W of power, making it 90% more efficient than comparable halogen light sources and 40% more efficient than CFLs.

The Nivél Pendant can be suspended on its own or grouped in a multi-light cluster. The group can then be powered by a single hardwired light, allowing the user to reposition the height, span, and direction of each individual pendant. Choose from two available sizes, 15”(38cm) and 22” (56cm), and six powder coated finishes: matte white, Terracotta, Forest Green, Slate Blue, Espresso, and textured black. You’ll then have the option of pairing Nivél with a graphite or white fabric cord and ceiling canopy for a truly personalized experience. Nivél is also available in a flush-mount version in white for both sizes.

The design is sustainable, using minimal materials and containing no hazardous materials. And it’s ready to stand the test of time, lasting for 50K hours or 25 years of daily use – whichever comes first.

To learn more about the Nivél Pendant, visit pablodesigns.com.

5 New Colors + 1 Retro Pattern Refresh Panton’s Flowerpot Range

Arguably better than a fresh bouquet of flowers, the iconic Flowerpot range designed by Verner Panton is getting a spring refresh from Danish design house &Tradition with five, new, vibrant colors and a black & white pattern that has us feeling nostalgic for retro styles. The reissue of Panton’s hypnotic, wavy pattern is a particularly exciting one. According to family archives, it was first used in the 1970s and adds a bold, graphic element into interior spaces.

Monochromatic in color, the rest of the new Flowerpot arrivals add their own vibrancy, even when switched off. Those looking for that perfect poppy shade of red can lay down their search with the Vermillion Red color, which was first used in an invitation for Panton’s 60th birthday party in 1986. For something a bit moodier, Dark Plum is a never-before-used shade for the Flowerpot range that brings a chicness similar to black.

Perfect for spring, Tangy Pink delights like a full-bloomed tulip stem, adding a happy pop of color and energy to a space. In the cooler range of hues, Swim Blue is fresh and aquatic while Cobalt Blue is more subdued and sophisticated.

Check out the 5 new colors and black/white pattern Flowerpot designs at andtradition.com.

DREAMHOUSES: Abstract Fantasy Homes Prompt Short Stories

With controversial AI creations around so many corners, it’s refreshing to see an analogue project like DREAMHOUSES come along. Thought up by Fort Makers and stemming from the idea of vivid pandemic-induced dreams, the project is an online exhibition of abstract fantasy homes. Six artists and designers created their own “dream house” before being paired up with writers, who then used the creations as a prompt for an accompanying text work. The catch was that participants could only use materials that were available in their actual homes. The result is a digital neighborhood that explores the idea of what a home is to the creators.

“The past few years have forced us to radically reconsider our relationships with our homes, coming to realize that it is where our imagination comes together with reality: we create spaces in our own image while making sure they also serve our quotidian needs,” says Fort Makers Co-Founder Nana Spears. “With this project, we wanted to see what would happen if the artist is free to eschew the practical part of this equation and create a space of pure fantasy,” adds Co-Founder Noah Spencer.

CHIAOZZA x Janelle Zara, “Parallel House”

“Parallel House,” created by the duo at CHIAOZZA, features a horseshoe-style layout of two houses. With an all-white exterior and interior full of brightly-colored objects, the design takes advantage of indoor/outdoor living spaces. Entirely modeled of construction paper, this modern piece of architecture is ready for the California desert.

Janelle Zara wrote “Imagining Life Inside CHIAOZZA’s Dreamhouse, Which I’m Sure Exists in LA” in response. “In my dream house, time is an illusion, a social construct; here adherence to time is 100 percent a choice. There are no clocks, no scheduled zoom meetings, only the movement of light and shadow as the sun traces its path along the sky. Throughout the year, from day to day, this movement is never fixed; the day stretches and contracts according to the seasons.” Read it in full here.

Harry Nuriev x Drew Zeiba, “Off The Road”

Harry Nuriev’s immersive work likes to blur the line between actual and virtual realities, so it makes sense that “Off The Road” would follow suit. The 3D rendering uses his signature cobalt blue to highlight a canopy bed set in a green meadow. Once the sky dims, an otherworldly light of its own turns on.

In “Sense Index Zero,” Drew Zeiba dives into what we feel like when alone in the comfort of our homes and the color blue. “One can feel blue; blue is not something one wants to feel. In Maggie Nelson’s obsessive catalogue of the color, Bluets, she writes, “Loneliness is solitude with a problem.” Soot lands on my tongue as a reminder that there are things I cannot control, that home is not the shape of a globe, that there is no edge. The world escapes. I am beneath a sky of my own making as words crystalize carbon gray against my teeth. I shed description: I become primary.” Read it in full here.

Laurie Simmons x Natasha Stagg, “Sparkle House”

Artist Laurie Simmons, explorer of nostalgia, gender, and consumerism, created “Sparkle House.” A sparsely furnished Victorian mansion of sorts, its personality comes from the patterned textiles used throughout its rooms – including the sparkling rugs that come to life when hit with light.

Undeniably a great setting, Natasha Stagg wrote “Nowhere to sit” in accompaniment. The short story tells of a group of roommates, their various personalities, and the dynamics that exist in such situations. “The couch was so unlike the image when it arrived. All of the roommates looked at it, delivered and out of the box, the first new piece of furniture they had bought as a group. It was supposed to be what brought the room together, a luxurious blue velvet thing. They should have known, they all thought, that cheap velvet would look it, giving away more than what their second-hand or inherited furniture did.” Read it in full here.

Noah Spencer x Philippa Snow, “Sunshine Daydream”

“Sunshine Daydream” was brought to life by Fort Makers Co-Founder, wood sculptor, and painter Noah Spencer. The tiny mixed-media hut features a single unfurnished room that can move across the accompanying desert landscape with you – almost like a pet.

Critic and essayist Philippa Snow wrote “Ithaca” in extension.
“Ithaca, whose name was actually Jane, had dropped out of her Creative Writing MFA to start a new life in the desert, where she’d planned to write a novel, drop some acid, and behave exactly like the kind of white girl who called things her ‘spirit animal.'” Read it in full here.

Marcel Alcalá x Whitney Mallett, “Corner Studio Girlies”

Populated with non-binary figures, Marcel Alcalá’s “Corner Studio Girlies” uses glazed ceramic figures against a cardboard city painted red to share alternative expressions of queerness. It was photographed in the corner of Alcalá’s studio, which is also the piece’s namesake.

Whitney Mallet explored the hectic, playful yet dark, “Corner Studio Girlies” and wrote #Justiceforglitter. The piece revolves around Mariah Carey, 9/11, and the movie Glitter. “And while I’m not suggesting that sabotaging the vehicle intended to catapult Carey into cinema stardom played a role in Al Qaeda’s attack schedule, it has been documented that Osama Bin Laden’s preferred five-octave-range songstress was Whitney Houston.” Read it in full here.

Sam Harvey x Tash Nikol, “From Here I’ve Seen Even More”

Like something out of a fairytale, ceramicist Sam Harvey created a single tower. Covered in light blue shingles and waving a flag reading “having no idea as to what it all meant he chose to stay home,” your imagination just might run wild.

Poet, writer, and curator Rash Nikol interpreted the tower into words, perhaps as a link to another world, in “Waiting Room for Spirits.” “the wise ones speak of the spirit house / here and there / our ancestors speak of a place there / a holding room for spirits / outside of skin / not far from clouds.” Read it in full here.

To learn more about DREAMHOUSES, visit dreamhouses.fortmakers.com.

The Unexpectedly Playful NomNom Light

“NomNom Light is about playful minimalism with unexpected logic. The
silhouette is simple, but it has an unexpected playfulness to it that keeps you looking,” said designer Odin Visser. Created for lifestyle brand Moooi, the contemporary, versatile suspension light adds to their overall collection.

Visser’s goal for the NomNom Light was to design something playful yet elegant, simple in functionality but visually intriguing. It doesn’t get more simplistic than a sphere and two straight lines, the only components of the light. The two lines gently squeeze the glass sphere, holding it in place and giving the illusion of chopsticks picking up a bite of food. The minimal design makes NomNom ideal for use in a corner or suspended above a side table – or opt to group several lights together for a more dramatic effect over a dining table or in the entryway.

NomNom is available in six colors: Nori, Wasabi, Ginger, Blossom, Indigo, and Ruby. Moooi’s Wireless Wall Switch – available in White and Anthracite – gives you full control over the light with a single touch and needs no electricity (excluding the 110V version). Its most interesting function is that it uses an energy harvesting technique, which means that it charges itself as you use it! A full dimming range provides bright light for tasks such as reading or cooking and low light when the mood calls.

To learn more about the NomNom Light, visit moooi.com.

The Les Mille et Une Nuits Workplace Collection Turns Matisse 3D

The task of translating a masterful painting into three-dimensional objects is no small feat, as Guillaume Delvigne can likely tell you. Created for Maison Matisse, the French designer reimagined Henri Matisse’s 1950 painting “Les Mille et Une Nuits” into a collection by the same name for today’s workspaces. These are the first office accessories being offered by the brand, and they are functional, versatile, and expressive. Les Mille et Une Nuits, the collection, made its debut in Paris at Maison & Objet, January 18-23, 2023.

“It was really important for me that the results were not rigid, because that would not have been in the spirit of Matisse, and to instead create movement and make the collection dynamic,” says Delvigne.

He borrowed the essence of Matisse’s painting, particularly the original scissor-cut shapes and bold fields of color, to design the office collection. Using blocks of sliced cork, a very sustainable material, stools, trays, shelves, and more, soon took their forms. Veritable 3D objects of the artist’s paper-cuts!

To learn more about the Les Mille et Une Nuits collection, visit maison-matisse.com.

A Modern Netherlands Penthouse With Panoramic Views

Bureau Fraai designed this modern penthouse with panoramic views that include both the sea and city in the Netherlands. The Panorama Penthouse apartment resides in an old office building that was transformed into a high-end residential building. The design plan required come creative thinking as they wanted to preserve the 180-degree views from all spaces. To make that happen, they designed free-standing oak structures to create an open layout. The four floating volumes disguise an office, walk-in closet, primary bathroom, and sauna. By being positioned as they are, they create privacy for both the primary and guest bedrooms, while still remaining open to the views.

Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the outstanding views no matter where one stands.

The living room rests on an elevated wooden platform framed by an outer bookcase. The sectional sofa is positioned toward the windows where one can gaze at the city’s sights.

The overall apartment’s design leans towards minimalism with a white and light grey color palette. The wooden platform and volumes, along with the plants resting atop the structures, warm the space up.

Both the office and sauna volumes have windows that allow natural light into the closed spaces.

A media and lounge room bisects the lower level terraces but has sliding glass doors on both sides that open it up to the outdoors.

Sliding steel and glass doors close between the volumes to give the primary bedroom privacy. The walk-in closet is directly behind the bed, with the bathroom on the left and office on the right.

Just off the guest bedroom is the sauna which features windows on one side facing the perimeter windows so one can enjoy the views while in there.

Photos by Flare Department.