Strength in Numbers

As New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair continues to grow, it is marked by increasing international diversity. In this, the show’s 17th year, a record 21,428 design professionals turned out to see products from 29 countries. It is a tradition for national contingents, such as the British European Design Group and the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), to pool their resources and exhibit together. The Swedish Trade Council, representing 13 companies, showed for the first time this year. Having observed the benefits of this strength-in-numbers approach, some U.S. regions have followed suit. Furniture New York, a nonprofit organization that promotes artisans in the greater metropolitan area, has shown previously; Left Edge—a group of 13 California-based companies who share a similar design philosophy—exhibited for the first time this year. “The presence of other countries at the fair almost overshadows independent U.S. designers,” says Marc Yeber, principal of L.A.-based Em collaborative studio and one of Left Edge’s co-organizers. “The idea of exhibiting together came out of a desire to create a California destination at the fair. Individually and collectively it was good for us—we were able to share some of the marketing, sponsorship, exhibition design, and organizational efforts.” Other regions from the United States and abroad made a strong showing informally. We noticed a number of designers from Texas this year, and the quality of their work is testament that this is an area worth watching. Here we feature products from seven contingents and several regions that show the diversity and breadth of work that helped make the ICFF 2005 so interesting.

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Sweden

Øresund Sideboard
Børge Mogensen
Karl Andersson & Söner is producing designs by Danish master Børge Mogensen—originally conceived for Øresund in 1955—including individually numbered limited editions of this pine and teak sideboard. www.karl-andersson.se

Brick Blue, Lampor Orange, and Trassel Brown Ceramic Vases
Lotta Jansson
Jansson moved from Sweden to San Francisco, where she opened her studio, Lotta Jansdotter, in 2002. She applies hand-drawn patterns—to vases (shown here), tableware, stationery, textiles, handbags, and T-shirts. www.jansdotter.com

Maxelle Chair
Harald Belker
The fact that LYX’s Maxelle chair seems to borrow its swooping curves from Batman and Robin’s Batmobile is no coincidence—Belker is the designer of both. The fiberglass chair, his first commercial furniture, can be ordered in custom colors. www.lyx.com

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Denmark

BestLite
Robert Dudley Best
Designed in 1930 and originally produced by BestLite, this lamp became popular in England when Sir Winston Churchill used it on his desk during World War II. The Danish company Gubi now markets this design classic with a shade that comes in chrome, matte nickel, black, or cream finishes. www.gubi.dk

CH_20 Elbow Chair
Hans J. Wegner
A winner of this year’s ICFF Editors Award for Furniture, the CH_20 (originally designed in 1956) is now in production for the first time by Carl Hansen, which has been manufacturing many of Wegner’s classic designs since 1950. www.carlhansen.com

Harmony Flatware
Erik Bagger
The Danish designer’s stainless-steel Harmony flatware takes inspiration from traditional cutlery but is crafted with attention to ergonomics, drawing on Bagger’s training as a goldsmith. The clean modern lines, satin finish, and a pleasing weight make the dishwasher-safe pieces equally beautiful and functional. www.erikbagger.dk

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United Kingdom

YingYang
James Benjamin Walby
Blaize Innovations’ lamp allows a single bulb to provide either direct or ambient lighting: the pendant shade flips up or down at the pull of a cord, depending on the user’s needs. The fixture is available in small and large versions, and comes in many colors. www.blaize-innovations.com

Police Storage
Rajko Debeljevic
and Peter Mayne
Zimzum Studio’s warm walnut and oak storage units are manufactured in Slovenia, and the name comes from the Slovenian word for “shelves.” They are part of a larger collection of storage pieces. www.zimzum.co.uk

Gather and Rouche Floor Cushions
Kirsty Anne Powell
The pillows in Oromono’s paper collection, available in small, large, and floor versions, are upholstered in 100 percent paper fabric. All the textiles that the company uses are entirely renewable and sustainable, in keeping with the organic shapes—such as flower petals or sea creatures—that inspire the pillows’ sculptural adornments. www.oromono.com

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Japan

A Lower Chair
Patrick Chia
Chia created this lounge chair with a molded fiberglass shell for Japanese company Time & Style. “Subconsciously the cool elegance of Sean Connery in Dr. No inspired me,” he says. “Consciously I was trying to capture sensuality and luxury with the least amount of material, volume, and gesture.” www.timeandstyle.com

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Canada

Riverstone Cubed
Zac Ridgely
The Toronto-based designer’s indoor-outdoor ambient light sculpture uses natural river stones to diffuse a warm glow. Made of welded stainless-steel mesh, Riverstone Cubed can be used for seating or—when fitted with a glass top—as a table. www.ridgelystudioworks.com

Flo
Patrick Messier
Industrial designer Messier’s free-standing pedestal sink for ´Editorial has a stainless-steel faucet that regulates water pressure with a slight push or pull of the insulated handle. Temperature is controlled by rotating the handle left or right. www.editorialliving.com

Iceberg
Thien Ta Trung and My Ta Trung
Brother-sister duo Periphere’s sculptural table—which features a repeating snowflake pattern laser-cut from a sheet of steel—was inspired by cold Canadian winters. www.periphere.com

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Spain

Orca
Enric Miralbell
The Barcelona designer’s ICFF debut included this organic sculptural armchair for Seven Seas, which features dark brown or black leather upholstery over a molded fiber core. The chair and pouf have dark-stained solid-oak bases (shown) and are also available in wengé. www.sevenseasbcn.com

Suso
maríA Martínez Otero
Otero’s desk—which made a cameo in the James Bond movie Die Another Day—is made of plywood panels with wengé, walnut (shown), or ebony finishes linked by stainless steel. The center panel comes in crystal (shown) or leather. www.martinezotero.com

Vague
Lievore Altherr Molina
Molina has designed his first Dona Living collection, which is dominated by clean lines and natural wood. The Vague table, which has shiny chrome or black matte nickel-plated legs, is available in five low-height sizes and as a writing desk. www.donaliving.com

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U.S.A.

Leaf, Twig, and Drift
Kristina de Corpo and Nicole Chiala
Silkscreened with silhouettes of leaves, twigs, and flowers, Amenity’s cotton duvets come with matching peacock, cream, cocoa, or almond solid-colored shams. They are made in the United States from imported fabric. www.amenityhome.com

Ether
Kevin Hayes
Santa Monica-based Hayes Lighting presented the “pure architectural geometry” of their table lamp under the Left Edge banner of the California pavilion at the ICFF. The incandescent fixture has a sliding chrome dimmer control for ambient and mood lighting. www.hayeslighting.com

AS4
Joseph Fratesi and Thomas Wright
Atlas Industries’ modular shelving system has a steel frame to which desktop surfaces, shelves, and drawers can be mounted for easily customizable storage. This spring the company updated the system with enclosed cabinets and wooden racks. www.atlaseast.com

Elephant Chair
Lost City Arts
This modern twist on the classic wing chair—a forgotten form in modern furniture—is custom made in a local New York shop for Lost City Arts. Its maple frame can be stained in any color and upholstered with any fabric. www.lostcityarts.com

Barnacles
John Paul Plauché
These marine-inspired storage containers can be used as buckets, umbrella stands, and flowerpots or hung on walls as shelves. Produced by the Houston-based designer’s Plodes Studio, the Barnacles come in sets of three and have holes at the bottom for easy attachment. www.plodes.com

Sculptural Porcelain Installations
Jennifer Prichard
J. Prichard Design’s hand-thrown porcelain installations—shown here on the interior of the Providence restaurant, in Los Angeles—are mostly unglazed and get their color gradations from the firing process. www.jpricharddesign.com