The Creatives of DENFAIR 2016
“Created for the design forward thinkers to connect, work and inspire,” best describes DENFAIR, a three-day design mecca, which is taking place in June. Bringing together creative talent across contemporary furniture and design, lighting, textile and soft furnishings, home product design and homewares, DENFAIR unites local and international designers – emerging and established – who come together and ‘connect, work, and inspire.’
DENFAIR is back with its second edition, along with fluoro as a media partner to bring you exclusive and in-depth news from the world of design.
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In the lead up to the event, we explore the lives, practices and upcoming collections of some of the designers from this year’s event, including Copper Industrial Design (ID), Elise Cakebread, Jeremy Lee of JD. Lee Furniture, and John Parker of Nice Home.
EDWARD LINACRE AND VIKTOR LEGIN OF COPPER ID
Industrial designers Edward Linacre and Viktor Legin co-founded Copper ID, the Melbourne-based consultancy and studio producing furniture, lighting and custom residential and commercial interior solutions. DENFAIR is one of the last major completely authentic exhibitions in Australia. They say that too many exhibitions run under the guise of ‘Design’, when they should be titled ‘Replica’. If the industry doesn’t start supporting Australian manufactured and designed products, and just authentic products on the whole, the reputation of Australian design is at risk of being tarnished, they explain.
The work of Copper ID is nothing if but authentic. Their thoughtful design is always considerate of the spaces that it will inhibit, and has been exhibited all over the world. Launching at DENFAIR will be a range of new products developed in-house, as well as products born through the collaboration with Australian manufacturers and craftsmen.
At DENFAIR a new lighting collection will be launched, which was created in collaboration with Steve Fennell Managing Director at GRC (Glass Reinforced Concrete) Environments. GRC Environments are the behind some of Melbourne’s most visually interesting architectural projects using the GRC product, including the walls of the new underground museum at the Shrine of Remembrance, and the new inclusions at Monument Park in Docklands. GRC is distinct as it breaks the conventional understanding of concrete, with GRC concrete somehow more flexible. The collection is a unique approach to sustainability and design.
“Not long after fitting out his residence with custom lighting, Steve approached us with a proposition: use our concrete waste – a bi-product of the company’s innovative and award winning building and façade production – and turn it into a range of lighting,” the Copper duo explained. They have been experimenting with them for some time and are pushing the boundaries of GRC. “The relationship is invigorating. Learning the process from them and experimenting on site with this tangible, moulding, porous material that has endless possibilities, working with their high-end machinery, all with the knowledge that we are re-purposing industry waste,” they said. “I applaud Steve and GRC for considering the cost of manufacturing to the environment and more companies like them should follow suit.”
Inspired by a myriad of sources from natural geometries, structures and materials, to biomimicry, perseverance, minimalism, recycling, up-cycling, reclaiming and reusing. Scandinavian design culture as well as German engineering, Italian passion, Japanese craft and Australian innovation are also prevalent to Copper ID. But perhaps most pertinently is their pursuit of a reduction in consumerism and materialism.
Sustainable design is important to them. “We take inspiration from nature in some works, where natural structures and geometries inform our design process, but also through nature’s system of production; unlike our linear system which begins with resource extraction and ends in land fill, in natures closed-loop system waste is used as fertiliser for the next product,” they explain.
They not only use reclaimed and recycled materials where possible and in some cases pure up-cycling of waste product, but also focus on the total lifecycle of products, employing environmentally responsible design principles through the development process. In other words, they explained, considering all biological imperatives. “Human emotion is a constant consideration throughout the design process, from understanding the way humans interact with their environments and the products they surround themselves with, to the appreciation of the social and cultural effect our products have on peoples lives, and of course controlling our own emotions through the mayhem of the design industry.”
In their field of design, Copper ID believe design represents problem solving that incorporates all factors relevant to the task at hand and guided by a means of creative thinking, strategy and emotion. “This is employed in each project we undertake, from the lighting and furniture we make ourselves, to the medial devices and tapware we design for our clients. We believe is it the obligation of ‘designers’ to anticipate the needs of the client, the end user, the environment, and the whole community.”
Also on show will be their Frame and Taper collections. Frame is a collection of timber beams with an LED light source, and Taper is a minimal feature or task light that can work in a cluster or solo.
ELISE CAKEBREAD OF CAKEBREAD
This is the first time Melbourne-based textile design studio Cakebread will exhibit at DENFAIR.
Elise Cakebread, the founder of the studio, chose DENFAIR because of the focus on aesthetics, quality and locally made design. “No other trade show places emphasise on these qualities the way they do. It will be an honour to show my work alongside so many of the other talented designers involved,” she said.
Cakebread designs certainly fit the bill. She produces wares from earrings, cushions and bedding, all with the a certain eccentric and frivolous aesthetic. “My design style is driven by a love for the tactile, the colourful and the frivolous,” said Cakebread. Her main source of inspiration is derived from the materials she works with, experimenting with combinations of materials, fibers and yarns, and exploring the unique properties that they each have to offer. She spends time researching and experimenting with traditional textile techniques, developing skills and then seeing how they can be re-interpreted or developed. “There’s nothing quite like leafing through a book on embroidery techniques of the 1800s and having an idea about how you can apply an old technique in a completely new way!” she said.
Her unique approach to design possibly has something to do with her approach. “Good design,” she explained, “should start with quality and functionality, but for me I think really great design is something that is also engaging as an object beyond it’s functionality.”
“That might be because it is exceptionally beautiful, inviting or because it has approached an idea or technique in a completely new and interesting way. An object that is well designed should give you a little glimmer where you stop and think, or smile every time you use it,” she said.
Her pieces are works of art in themselves, let alone their functionality. The pieces of Cakebread are a ludic display of colours patterns and textures. “My favorite and most popular pieces by far are the Soft Hemispheres in all their various incarnations. They are made using what has become a signature Cakebread tufted yarn technique,” she said. “The Soft Hemispheres are characterful pieces that have a highly tactile quality that really resonates with people. I’m always excited to make new versions of these, whether they be tiny almost pom-pom like spheres or huge one meter wide orbs with extra long strands like the Leviathan piece I made for Space furniture back in 2014,” she added.
She is also experimenting further with this technique to make a new highly detailed piece exclusively for DENFAIR. “I’m always most excited about the current piece I am working on and I’m very much looking forward to seeing how this work resolves,” she said.
Also on show at DENFAIR will be the launch of new colours across the Cakebread range that will also be available in stores over the next month.
JEREMY LEE OF JD.LEE FURNITURE
The designs of JD. Lee Furniture focus on sustainability and environmental considerations. He works mainly with wood, and has done so from a young age where he would hack timber from under the house and turn them into skateboards. Connecting with the worlds of design and technology, his passion in furniture and handicraft grew into his flourishing business today.
JD.Lee Furniture creates responsible and ethical products. The design process is both creative and calculated, he explained, by holistically assessing, understanding and evaluating each stage of the products lifecycle we are able to fully engage with the needs (environmental and ethical) of each piece and work on creative designs that meet our requirements.
From an idea, to sketches, refining the concept in CAD, and then drafting, the idea is slowly but surely realised. He uses organic materials like wood, which means that each piece is unique.“I spend a lot of time identifying the natural defects in each piece of timber I use – knots, bows, grain direction. This then dictates what it will become – an armrest, a table leg,” he said.
“For me it is an intimate process of understanding the wood and how to work with it. Each piece of timber is hand selected for each piece of furniture we make, and there is not much more special then being a part of that transformation, from forest to floor.”
With the creations of JD.Lee Furniture to be on show at this year’s DENFAIR, he will also have the opportunity to connect with other likeminded designers, who share the same passion of sustainable design. “Being newly established we are stoked for the opportunity to reach such a wide audience in one event, and to be displaying our work alongside other talented designers.”
JOHN PARKER OF NICE HOME
John Parker’s Nice Home, a range of home furnishings from lamps, tables, chairs and lighting, was launched at DENFAIR in 2015. With worldwide recognition Parker’s design philosophy is simply about living better, “letting thoughtful, considered and practical objects into your life can lift your thinking above the everyday,” he said.
Parker has scoured the globe to curate a collection that is not your run of the mill furniture. The work of Carlo Moretti, who is renowned for his colourful and ludic creations attracted Parker for these very reasons. “Combined with the artisanal manufacture of the items in a centuries old tradition in the glass making capital of Italy, Murano island in Venice, Carlo Moretti provides a link to a centuries old craft. And they look amazing mixed into any classic or contemporary interiors,” said Parker.
This is much of what we can expect from these international products that are set to launch at DENFAIR: an arresting aesthetic from joyous items that can add heartfelt highlights to any interior, explained Parker.
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This year’s DENFAIR promises to present an eclectic, beguiling and inspirational set of designers, ideas, and works. DENFAIR runs from Thursday 2 – Saturday 4 June 2016 at The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Melbourne, Australia. Click here to register.
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