This year’s Design Week, which just came to an end, was filled with tons of events, including the obligatory visit to the mother ship: the Javits Center, where the International Contemporary Furniture Fair was spread over the football-field-size space. I started my trek delighting in the photorealism of Mineheart’s wallpaper. Who says you can’t live like a king? Photo: Wendy Goodman
Have fireplace envy no more: Hearth Cabinet makes it possible to install safe and ventless fireplaces in spaces that have never seen a roaring fire; in fact, this company developed the only ventless fireplaces approved for New York City. The fire was even crackling! Donald Trump Jr. has one. Photo: Wendy Goodman
This couch with fabric depicting the New York City skyline by Timorous Beasties is from the British company Ercol. They had lots handsome furniture. It was their first time at the fair here in New York City. Photo: Wendy Goodman
Jerry Helling, Bernhardt Design’s president, is forever unearthing brilliant new design talent around the world. This year at the Wanted Design fair at the Terminal Warehouse on Eleventh Avenue and 27th Street, Helling brought over the Carrot Concept from El Salvador, and not only was the installation wonderful but each and every piece was fresh and made an impact. Harry Washington, a co-founder of the Carrot Concept, explains the name: “El Salvador’s design community has come so far in a short time. What we needed was a carrot on a stick to encourage designers to keep the momentum going.” Photo: Wendy Goodman
One of the most understated and elegant new designs I saw at ICFF was this series of braided nylon cords with lights attached, courtesy of a new design team, Alexandra Burr and Allen Slamic of AlexAllen Studio. They also showed the lights as a shelf bracket, which combined the light and shelf in one”really clever and fun. Photo: Wendy Goodman
Back at Wanted Design, these playful light stools stood out. They’re from Brazilian designer Renata Moura. Photo: Wendy Goodman
The Barcelona-based Nanimarquina rug and textile company, founded by Nani Marquina in 1987, introduced its first collaboration with the legendary artist and graphic designer Milton Glaser. (Glaser founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968 and was the president and design director of the magazine until 1977.) Glaser writes, “This rug collection came about as a result of an accidental encounter between Shakespeare, Africa, and Nani Marquina. I believe that ultimately all things are connected and that the role of the artist is to discover the inevitable relationship to everything.” Photo: Wendy Goodman
Let’s just say it in one more time: Tom Dixon is a genius. Dixon had 3-D printers set up on site to show the making of some of his new lighting fixtures. Here, the Base Table Light in copper and the Cell Light on top of one of the new “extreme polished” surface tables. Photo: Wendy Goodman
The commute between the Javits and the Terminal Building where Wanted Design took place involved walking over the abandoned railroad tracks that will transform into the Hudson Yards. Photo: Wendy Goodman
