Introducing Emeco x Jasper Morrison's Alfi Collectiom

British designer Jasper Morrison has unveiled an expansion of his T&O; furniture collection for Japanese brand Maruni, introducing two new tables that combine wood and painted steel elements. The new pieces, which were first showcased at Salone del Mobile in April, build upon the aesthetic established by the original T&O; chair and table designed in 2016. The collection's name, T&O;, is derived from the subtle resemblance of its components to the letters 'T' and 'O', where the crossbar of the 'T' and the circularity of the 'O' are reflected in the design. The new additions include a rectangular table featuring red steel legs with circular bases, and a smaller circular table supported by a similarly shaped metal stem. Morrison highlights the unique use of materials in his designs, noting that while combining wood and steel is not unusual, his approach of integrating steel, particularly with color, between wooden parts, brings a fresh perspective to furniture typology. He specifically appreciates the contrast between the round base and the square tops of the tables, as well as the wooden bar connecting the legs of the longer tables, which positions the metal elements strategically within the wooden structure. Morrison envisions the T&O; collection as versatile, suitable for both home environments and certain commercial settings, citing an instance where he saw pieces from the collection in a Tsutaya bookstore in Japan. His collaboration with Maruni dates back to 2011, during which he has also designed a wood-framed bench-like sofa for the brand. Recognized as a leading industrial designer globally, Morrison's design philosophy is characterized by his "super normal" aesthetic, focusing on creating everyday objects that are both functional and subtly elegant. He received his education at Kingston Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art in London, establishing his studio in 2008, which now operates internationally with offices in Tokyo and Paris. His extensive portfolio includes collaborations with prominent brands such as Aram, SCP, and Cappellini. Beyond his work with Maruni, Morrison's recent projects demonstrate his diverse design interests. He serves as an art director for Swiss electronics company Punkt and has designed sandals for Camper, furniture for Vitra, and a prefabricated cabin for Muji. His contributions to the design industry have been widely acknowledged, placing him among the most influential figures in the field, as evidenced by his ranking among the top designers on Dezeen Hot List. #JasperMorrison #Maruni #FurnitureDesign #WoodAndSteel #SaloneDelMobile #BritishDesign #IndustrialDesign #SuperNormalAesthetic #MilanDesignWeek

The Vaughan Ellisfield Collection, a new offering from the London-based trade lighting, textile, and furniture company Vaughan, draws inspiration from a diverse array of aesthetic movements and cultural influences. Co-founder Lucy Vaughan highlights the collection's roots in the Arts and Crafts Movement, emphasizing fine craftsmanship, organic materials, and nature. It also integrates elements from the Aesthetic Movement of the 1870s and 1880s, which prioritized beauty for its own sake, and showcases significant Japanese and Chinese influences, adding richness and sophistication to the pieces. This collection marks an organic evolution from Vaughan's previous Chawton Collection, a testament to the brand's flourishing creativity, particularly evident during recent periods of introspection. Among the pieces, the Colemore Chest of Drawers is a standout, admired for its beautiful wood finish, elegantly tapered legs, and fine brass handles. This piece evokes a sense of nostalgia, as its original counterpart has been a fixture in Vaughan's London drawing room for a decade. The Ellisfield Collection signifies a forward movement for the brand while simultaneously honoring its heritage as antique dealers, reintroducing furniture alongside new lighting pieces. This strategic addition of furniture serves to ground the lighting elements and provide functional bases for them. The collection introduces several fresh and exciting pieces, such as the Woodcott, Somborne, and Linford tables, which feature striking ebonized bases that blend contemporary and traditional aesthetics through the contrast of different wood finishes. In the lighting category, the Ibthorpe lantern is a favored item, noted for its naturalistic leaves and soft white finish. The primary materials used throughout the collection are wood and brass, selected for their versatility and capacity to accommodate a wide range of finishes, textures, and veneers. This allows for diverse applications across both lighting and furniture. Vaughan envisions designers utilizing the Ellisfield Collection in various spaces and contexts, suggesting that the new pieces can be seamlessly integrated with existing lighting and textiles from the brand. The anticipation is to observe how designers will innovatively apply these items, allowing them to bring life and a sense of grounding to people's homes. The development of the collection has been a rewarding process, with the most significant satisfaction derived from seeing the finished pieces come to fruition. Each collection presents its own unique journey, and the Ellisfield Collection, in particular, has been a joy to develop, with meticulous attention given to fine-tuning every detail. #EllisfieldCollection #VaughanDesigns #HomeFurnishings #LightingDesign #FurnitureDesign #ArtsAndCraftsMovement #AestheticMovement #JapaneseInfluence #ChineseInfluence #InteriorDesign

The article introduces the Diesel Home Collection, a collaboration between fashion brand Diesel, lighting brand Foscarini, and furniture brand Moroso. This collection, showcased at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, features a range of furniture and lighting designed to express the Diesel style through ironic, irreverent, and creative means. The lighting collection, developed with Foscarini, offers lamps inspired by various themes, from rock music to retro aesthetics. The Graf collection, for instance, draws inspiration from pop music, featuring graphic representations of DJ consoles and natural elements on its opaque weave fabric. These lamps are available in hanging, table, or floor versions and provide a warm, diffused light. The Rock lamp, a standout piece, is an artistic interpretation of a split volcanic rock, with a rough, dark exterior and a shiny, iridescent interior that creates dramatic visual effects when illuminated. Stud, another lighting design, embodies rock energy with metal nails on its base and a chrome-plated diffuser reminiscent of mirrored sunglasses, offering variable lighting effects. Cage lamps are inspired by old lanterns, featuring a luminous body protected by a decorative metal cage with an irregular structure. These come in white, black, and light green, offering different moods and visual transformations when switched on. Glas reinterprets classic work lights found in warehouses and factories, using innovative materials like glass with a silver-colored surface to create a unique decorative element with a retro feel. The Fork lamp is an ironic nod to camping, with a canvas shade resembling tent stitching, available in floor and table versions. Tri-p is a portable floor lamp with an umbrella-like structure, designed for easy transport and featuring a changeable elastic fabric shade. For furniture, the collaboration with Moroso resulted in the "Successful Living from Diesel with Moroso" collection, designed to embody a relaxed and comfortable informal lifestyle. This collection targets consumers who appreciate simple shapes combined with high-quality materials and distinctive, pure-lined designs. Patrizia Moroso, who oversees the design projects, explains that the collection explores two coexisting aspects of contemporary trends: a darker, underground-inspired aesthetic with an aggressive and enigmatic feel, and a lighter, nature-inspired one with soft, welcoming shapes. This approach led to the creation of the Camp and Rock collections. The Camp collection includes the Nebula Nine Sofa, described as soft like a large cloud with generous shapes and stonewashed linen covers, providing an ideal space for relaxation. The Cumulus Chair offers similar comfort with its large cushions. This collection also features hand-painted wooden furniture such as the Overdyed Lounge Chair, Overdyed Side Chair, and two tables (rectangular Overdyed Table and round Overdyed Side Table). The painting technique, known as ragging, reveals the natural wood streaks and creates a special vintage effect, complemented by black-painted steel support structures. The Rock collection takes a different direction, drawing heavily from music, concerts, and visual idioms. The Xraydio 2 Disc occasional table features an X-ray print of a DJ console on glass, using electric blue and black shades to create a strong, evocative, and iconic effect. The Xraydio 1 Razza table uses a similar process with an image of a ray fish. The 3-panel screen, Xraydio 3 Natura Morta, displays a photographic image playing with the archetype of a seventeenth-century still life. Further rock-inspired elements include the Bar Stud stools, available in two heights, and the Ego Stud mirror, both adorned with studs on leather. A special item is the Flightcase storage unit, inspired by musician's instrument cases, available with two or three doors. The entire collection aims to create an alternative and distinctive mood, where each product possesses a strong identity that is further enhanced when combined, resulting in a laid-back, fun, and rock-inspired atmosphere. #DieselHomeCollection #FurnitureDesign #LightingDesign #MilanDesignWeek #Foscarini #Moroso #InteriorDesign #ContemporaryDesign #ProductLaunch

Jasper Morrison's 'Tea' chair, designed for the Italian luxury brand Molteni & C, is presented as a contemporary interpretation of traditional wooden-framed, upholstered dining chairs. This marks Morrison's second collaboration with Molteni & C, following the 'Ink' home office. A central element of the 'Tea' chair's design is Morrison's consistent preference for wood, with the entire frame crafted from solid eucalyptus, black oak, or natural oak. This choice of material highlights the chair's profile through its inherent simplicity. Morrison's design philosophy for the 'Tea' chair focused on updating the classic dining chair by subtly integrating the upholstery. He aimed to reduce the upholstery to a surface rather than a visible volume, concealing it within the wooden frame. This approach was intended to deliver unexpected comfort while eliminating the visual heaviness often associated with upholstered furniture. The chair's backrest also received meticulous attention, designed with a rounded shape and kept relatively low. Morrison explains that this decision was influenced by his dislike for tall-backed dining chairs that can obscure the view of the table. The 'Tea' chair combines elegance with ergonomic considerations. Its seat and backrest are constructed from cold-moulded polyurethane foam, offering a comfortable seating experience. These components are available for customization through Molteni & C's extensive textile and leather collection, which includes almost 150 color options. The available materials range from Andromeda canvas fabric in sandy tones and Kupido linen in earthy hues to various bouclé fabrics in dark blues and browns, bright green velvets, deep purple Sunniva wool, and grey textured Luxor leather. Morrison expressed satisfaction with the collaborative process with Molteni & C, noting the brand's allowance for creative freedom. He acknowledged that the development phase was prolonged by the pandemic and the intricate challenge of seamlessly integrating the upholstery into the frame while maintaining optimal comfort. Despite these complexities, Morrison believes the team successfully achieved these objectives. The resulting design is described as an elegant and refined piece, likened to a light green tea rather than a robust builder's cuppa, signifying its delicate aesthetic and sophisticated appeal. The 'Tea' chair's design was unveiled at Salone del Mobile 2021 and represents a thoughtful balance of traditional craftsmanship with modern design principles. #JasperMorrison #MolteniC #TeaChair #FurnitureDesign #ChairDesign #SaloneDelMobile #ItalianDesign #WoodenFurniture #UpholsteredChair

The Frick Collection, housed in a 1914 limestone mansion in New York City, has undergone its most extensive upgrade in nearly 90 years, allowing visitors for the first time to explore the private second-floor suites of the Frick family. Previously, the museum primarily showcased its collection in the grand first-floor rooms, but now the more intimate, domestic-scale spaces—comprising about 10 rooms and several passageways that once served as bedrooms and sitting rooms for Henry Clay Frick, his wife Adelaide, and daughter Helen—have been converted into galleries. This transformation offers a unique perspective on the collection within a historically preserved domestic setting. Selldorf Architects completed this comprehensive renovation, which opened in April, revealing the grand architectural style and personal living spaces of the early 20th-century industrialist family. A notable artistic feature on the second floor is an enchanting ceiling mural along the corridor, contrasting with the formal interiors. This hand-painted work by John Alden Twachtman depicts cerulean skies and landscapes filled with monkeys dressed in Chinese costumes, engaging in human activities. This playful design is a nod to French Rococo traditions of singeries and chinoiseries, with a particularly charming detail being a monkey lighting candles for a floating lantern near the entrance to Adelaide’s bedroom suite. The mural's commission highlights the pioneering work of Elsie de Wolfe, considered America's first interior decorator. De Wolfe, at the beginning of her career, boldly pitched her services to Mr. Frick in 1914, emphasizing her expertise in detail and understanding of women's spaces, which she argued male decorators often overlooked. Her persistence led to her being hired, and she subsequently created the iconic Boucher Boudoir. This room, a vibrant display of 18th-century French exuberance, features eight cherub-laden panels painted by François Boucher, depicting the arts and sciences. After previously being displayed on the museum’s main floor, the Boucher Room has been meticulously restored to its original location adjacent to Mrs. Frick’s bedroom. This boudoir, serving as Mrs. Frick's private sitting room, is celebrated for its complete ensemble, including its corner location with windows offering views of Central Park and 70th Street. Another significant area now accessible is the beloved breakfast room, where the family shared their first meal of the day. This room, facing east, captures the morning light, creating a warm ambiance, and showcases the domestic routine of the Frick family, where meals were brought up from the lower-level kitchen by a waiter. To commemorate these enhancements, the museum is hosting the exhibition "Vermeer’s Love Letters" throughout the summer. This exhibition reunites the Frick’s masterpiece, Vermeer’s "Mistress and Maid," with two special loans: "The Love Letter" from Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and "Woman Writing a Letter" from the National Gallery of Ireland. Displayed together in a single gallery for the first time, these three works offer a fitting tribute to the newly refurbished Gilded-Age museum. #FrickCollection #NewYorkCity #MuseumRenovation #ElsieDeWolfe #InteriorDesign #GildedAge #VermeerExhibition #ArchitecturalHistory #ArtCollection

Jasper Morrison's 'Tea' chair, designed for the Italian luxury brand Molteni & C, is presented as an homage to lightness and a contemporary interpretation of traditional wooden-framed, upholstered dining chairs. This marks Morrison's second collaboration with Molteni & C, following the 'Ink' home office. The 'Tea' chair's design emphasizes simplicity, featuring a frame constructed entirely from solid wood, available in eucalyptus, black oak, or natural oak. This choice of material highlights the chair's profile, contributing to its understated aesthetic. Morrison's primary objective with the 'Tea' chair was to refine the conventional upholstered dining chair. He achieved this by minimizing the upholstery, transforming it into a surface rather than a volume, which is cleverly concealed within the chair's wooden frame. This design approach creates a visual lightness, eliminating the typical heaviness associated with upholstered furniture, while still providing an unexpected level of comfort. The designer expressed satisfaction with integrating the upholstery seamlessly into the frame while maintaining optimal comfort, a process that required extensive development, partly due to pandemic-related challenges. The chair's backrest is meticulously designed with a rounded shape and a relatively low height. Morrison intentionally opted for a lower backrest to avoid obscuring the dining table, a design preference he holds. The seat and backrest of the 'Tea' chair are crafted from cold-moulded polyurethane foam, ensuring both elegance and ergonomic support. Customers have a wide array of choices for customization, as the chair is available in Molteni & C's complete textile and leather collection, encompassing nearly 150 colors. This extensive selection includes materials such as Andromeda canvas in sandy hues, Kupido linen in earthy tones, various bouclé fabrics in dark blues and browns, bright green velvets, deep purple Sunniva wool, and grey textured Luxor leather. Morrison highlighted the smooth collaborative process with Molteni & C, noting that he was given complete creative freedom. The chair, initially presented at Salone del Mobile 2021, reflects Morrison's ongoing exploration of material and form, particularly his inclination towards wood. The finished product is characterized by its elegant and refined appearance, described metaphorically as a 'light green tea' rather than a 'builder’s cuppa,' signifying its sophisticated and subtle appeal. The 'Tea' chair is positioned as a significant contribution to contemporary furniture design, blending functional comfort with a visually light and elegant form. #JasperMorrison #MolteniC #TeaChair #FurnitureDesign #DiningChair #SaloneDelMobile #WoodenFurniture #UpholsteredChair #DesignInnovation #InteriorDesign