In a locavore, organically grown, responsibly sourced world, we’ve learned that it might be better — for everything from the environment to our taste buds — to get, say, our goat cheese from the goat farmer down the road rather than the supermarket. At the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in May in New York City, it was clear that a similar trend holds true for furniture.
Major manufacturers such as Herman Miller and Vitra were in attendance, but the show’s momentum belonged to the smaller, artisanal makers who have long been an ICFF mainstay.
“ICFF has always had these guys from Brooklyn,” said design arbiter Holly Hunt as she strolled the aisles, referring to the borough known for its burgeoning numbers of woodworkers and craftspeople. “But it seems much more high energy than last year. It feels very creative.”
That creativity was stoked by the little guys. And they’re not just from Brooklyn anymore. “I was in architecture,” says Seth Grizzle, whose Seattle company, Graypants, makes intriguing pendant lights out of laser-cut cardboard boxes. “But at the end of the day I found I just wanted to make things. I think with my hands, I guess. And I’m really passionate about what I do.”
So are the people at the revered Pennsylvania workshop of George Nakashima, exhibiting at ICFF for the first time, though Nakashima’s pieces have been canonized in design circles for decades. “We’ve got a lot of fresh energy right now, ” says general manager John Lutz, “so we thought we should be here.”
Chicagoan Michael Dreeben collaborated with Ayush Kasliwal of India on their akmd line, which includes chairs upholstered by traditional Indian saddle makers and Shaker-inspired wood pieces handcrafted in Chicago. “We wanted to make a statement about craft,” says Kasliwal, “without being crafty.”
Peter Sandback, who creates tables intricately inlaid with nails in his New Hampshire workshop, says small has become cool. “This show has always had two sides to the spectrum: the mass manufactured and the handmade,” he says. “I think now people are drawn to the made stuff.”
With the Internet as a ready tool to connect them with designers, store owners or even retail customers, smaller producers are becoming just one more option for furniture buyers who want eclectic pieces with a story behind them.
During a post-ICFF stroll through SoHo with a friend, she pointed out a piece she had bought at the Blu Dot showroom, then mentioned that when she and her husband were looking for a new bed, “We wanted something different, so we went to (online craft marketplace) etsy.”
Which just goes to show: Your next piece of furniture might come from a factory. Or it might come from that woodworker down the block.
3 trends to track
Other highlights from the International Contemporary Furniture Fair:
Traditions, recast:
Frank references to American forms showed up in more than one booth. Brooklyn manufacturer Shimna introduced a line they describe as “Americana for the 21st century,” and Rhode Island’s O&G Studio expanded a line of classic American chairs with modern details and a punchy color palette. “It’s important to us that we’re drawing on classic American forms, but making them modern” says designer Sara Ossana.
Meanwhile, the traditional crafts of other countries continued to make appearances as well. Designer Sami Hayek, brother of well-known actress Salma Hayek, showed his first collection, Espacio Sami Hayek, which included tables designed in the style of traditional black Oaxacan pottery and made by artisans in Mexico.”My mother is from Oaxaca,” he says, “so I’ve been fascinated with this my entire life.” Manulution, a Bosnian manufacturer, showed a line of modern tables, chairs and credenzas employing traditional carving techniques. The resulting look is folk-art-gone-mod.
Mixed media:
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Wood was everywhere — even when it wasn’t real, as in Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek’s Scrapwood Wallpaper, which looks like weathered planks. In furniture and accessories, wood often combined with metal or other materials, continuing a trend toward cozy modernism. At Blu Dot, new tables such as the Lily Pad coffee table, sported wood tops on metal legs, while Julian Chicester combined wood with vellum on armoires and chests. Areaware introduced Bow Bins, designed by Cordula Kehrer, made of wicker interwoven with plastic. The bins are made by a community of basket weavers in the Philippines, creating opportunities for impoverished traditional craftsmen.
Lights fantastic:
Lighting continued to dazzle as designers turn their attention to improving and exploring designs around LED and CFL lights. Pablo’s Circa LED lamp was designed with either a standard base or a tray that can charge electronics. Ameico’s Trash Me lamp by Victor Vetterlein is made of matte gray paper pulp that is reminiscent of an egg carton. Spanish maker LZF renders strips of veneer into lights that resemble everything from paper lanterns to fish scales. And the Molecules collection from Aqua Creations combines a shade created using origami techniques with untreated wood.