Q&A: Marcel Wanders’s Flare Table

Marcel Wanders, Designer Flare Table, 2003 Magis Where did you get the idea for the table? Eugenio Perazza [the director of Magis] and I talked about doing a table together at some point, and from one thing came the other. I like the fact that you can fill the legs up with paper, your own […]

Marcel Wanders, Designer
Flare Table, 2003
Magis

Where did you get the idea for the table?
Eugenio Perazza [the director of Magis] and I talked about doing a table together at some point, and from one thing came the other. I like the fact that you can fill the legs up with paper, your own drawings, or posters—maybe your restaurant’s posters. But it’s also possible to put in three-dimensional stuff. You can put toy bears or spaghetti or forks in it—things that concern the table or your hobby, or things that you want to store.

What’s innovative about it?
This option to make it your own is very interesting for people who have their own personal things, and for businesses. The restaurant architect could make a fun plan for the legs, to make it work in an interesting way. That’s an important point: the table gives people the chance to personalize the product.

What was the greatest challenge to realizing the table’s design?
The project seems very simple, but it was difficult to detail the underside of the legs. The material consequences were pretty interesting because we wanted the legs to be beautifully clear, but also strong. All those things led us to choose a certain material—standard-injection molded ABS transparent plastic—which took some time.

Did anything interesting happen to you during the development of the table?
We always have the greatest time at Magis. This is something that makes Magis a very special company—this contact with Eugenio Perazza is very interesting, very nice. We discuss design and life over a good dinner. That’s a very special thing to do with people in this position.

What’s your favorite object?
I like apples.

Is there anything you absolutely must do while you’re in New York for the ICFF?
I think this year there will be an exhibition of Maarten Baas’s work at Moss, which should be spectacular. It is based on the Smoke chair he did for Moooi. He is making a whole collection of unique pieces.
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