Handmade at Downtown Design

A hundred years into the advent of modernism, technology dominates almost every aspect of life. But today, consumers, designers and architects are pushing back, and exploring a more personal approach to design.

Downtown Design presents a series of handmade design from around the world:

Fruit and Vegetable Peels by ViiCHENDESIGN, Taiwan Design Week

ViiCHENDESIGN works with natural materials, advanced workmanship and extensions of memory. It leverages on the physical experience between user and object. Fruit and Vegetable Peels is a project that intends to explore the education behind using fruit and vegetable peels as utensils for eating them. The idea has been translated by depicting the texture of the peel of six vegetables and fruits into cups enriching the experience of the user.

Babu by TORU, Barcelona Design Week

TORU is a young craft and design company that produces beautiful yet simple furniture design with exquisite materials. All products are handmade, unique or produced in small quantities with the use of high quality vegetable-tanned leather. Babu is a nomadic chair that is constructed from a single piece of 6mm thick saddle leather that folds back on itself to shape the backrest. 

Fatty by Tamara Barrage, Beirut Design Week

Tamara engages in exploring the tactile and sensorial characteristics of various materials. Using an array of techniques, Tamara aspires to better articulate how forms and textures provoke our senses, emotions and memories. Fatty is a stool made by pushing foam inside fabric and allowing the material to take shape by itself. This stool is made to break the chain of mass produced identical objects, it portrays a more human, non-conformist side of an object.

Book Rack by AGUSTAV, Design Week Reykjavik

Headed by designers Agusta Magnusdottir and Gustav Johannsson, AGUSTVA creates high-end furniture that last several lifetimes. The creation process centers on weighing out aesthetic and functionality while product quality is assured by carefully choosing high quality materials that are skillfully handcrafted by furniture makers. The book rack comes in solid Oak, with a set of 12 pins/bookmarks. The pins are detached and can be moved around the back piece to meet your needs at each time. The books rest on a small wooden plate so the pages stay intact. The plates can be moved back and forth on the bottom of the book to control the height of which the book hangs, making it possible to line different sized books up in a straight line.

Axum Ottoman by Jomo Furniture, Design Week Addis Ababa

Designer Jomo Tariku’s design genesis always begins with African original ideas. He spends hours researching and sketching ideas from body paint and tribal scarification patterns, architectural structures, hair weave designs, jewelry, household utensils, religious iconography, wildlife videos, fashion, etc. Using this inspirational foundation he recreates and adapts these ideas into contemporaty furniture designs while paying homage to past accomplishments. The Axum Ottoman was inspired from the architectural styles of the city of Axum in Ethiopia. The arched headrests and notched legs give the chair a royal appearance. The seat cushion and back rest provides added comfort and creates a stunning contrast with the solid wooden frame. These majestic chairs can stand alone or can be used in groups for an impressive living room set.

Diamond by Illulian

World renowned in the field of luxurious custom handmade rugs, Illulian has never stopped evolving in its over 60 years of activity through a process of uninterrupted growth, participating in great projects and collaborating with prestigious figures in the world of architecture, design and fashion.

Samovar Carpets

Being a family based business that dates back to the 1920’s, Alaa Hindi and Sons have built a name that has become synonymous with luxury and quality by providing their clients with the most exceptional handmade carpets, furniture and antiques from around the world. Samovar Carpets and Furniture presents the traditional and timeless beauty of the past with a modern flare while also providing a luxurious and leisurely experience worthy of the treasures held within.

Serip Lighting

Serip’s design concept consists of nature-inspired organic shapes. The round, spiral, disproportionate and uneven form sets Serip’s design apart as exclusive and is immediately identified as ‘Organic Lighting’.  Serip´s passion for lighting and search for design innovation provides a unique point of view in today´s massified decoration market. Due to the almost entire absence of mechanic elements in the production process, and the increasing human touch, there are never two exact pieces. Every produced piece is a singular and unique work of art.

Lasvit

Lasvit combines the authenticity of Czech heritage of glass craft with innovative technologies and creative craftsmanship. Delivering bespoke lighting sculptures and art installations made from hand-blown glass Lasvit sheds a new light on Bohemian glass and takes it to the next level.

Canvas Carpets Cushions by Cecilia Setterdahl

CCC by Cecilia Setterdahl offers a unique design proposition by using Cecilia’s own canvas compositions and turning them into beautiful handcrafted, limited edition carpets and cushions. She first paints the canvas and then has the rug hand knotted in India. Each rug is made in a maximum number of 10.

Crystal Automata, Preciosa Lighting

Preciosa Lighting works with an unbelievable space of 900 square meters of creative energy and craftsmanship that blows life into one of a kind objects and installations made out of glass of the highest quality, ingeniously penetrated by sources of light. The process is unbelievably complex and interdisciplinary, involving many different specializations and teams of experts in respective fields. Every manufactured piece is therefore touched by a number of skilled hands and imprinted with Bohemian heritage, strengthening its surface with authenticity and originality.

Register to now to see these brands and more at Downtown Design here