Hip hip handmade
Maybe it's a reaction to mass production or perhaps it's just a desire to keep the past alive, but designers are reviving old handicrafts. Paper-cutting, enamelling and hand-stitching are being experimented with in new ways and the results are painstakingly produced designs made not just to look good but also to last.
Tel Aviv-based designer Arik Ben Simhon dabbles in these techniques even though his finished products have a futuristic look. His cubic silver chair and bronze chaise longue look as if they are taken from the set of a science-fiction film. But he is typical of many contemporary designers constructing their work with a heavy nod to the past.
'I experimented with different stitching techniques and chose to adapt the Chesterfield style, resulting in the stitching being extremely prominent,' Simhon says. Not only does he appreciate the visible stitching but by 'hand-stitching each piece from behind the fabric in one long stitch rather than from above', Simhon was able to create a padding effect evocative of the 19th-century drawing room staple. 'I wanted to update the process and create a stir in the design world,' says Simhon of his upholstery.
Modern designers are often criticised for ignoring the practical needs of the consumer in favour of aesthetics, but many of today's designers are taking not only techniques from the past, but common sense lessons too. 'The padding adds to the comfort and styling of the chair,' says Simhon of his silver chair.
At the more decorative end of the scale, London-based designer Yu Jordy Fu's paper lamps may appear effortlessly put together, but their appearance belies the vast amount of work put into them. 'Paper cutting is a unique art form,' Fu says, explaining that the artist must have nimble fingers and oodles of patience to work with this technique, which dates back to the 6th century.
One of the few designers working with this form, Fu says her lamps 'break free from the two-dimensional realm to an almost dreamlike three-dimensional landscape'. She says she was inspired to revive the craft by the 'Chinese women who traditionally used this graceful and intricate media to decorate their homes'.
Sometimes the clash between traditional and modern techniques can produce an almost surreal effect. Take designer Fredrikson Stallard's Hot Rod set of 15 curvy vases, which were produced in the porcelain manufacturing capital of the world, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province.
The vases were fired up in the 1950s Americana style and feature images of scantily dressed women. Painters more accustomed to airbrushing images on automobiles hand-finished the vases to create a distinct look.
Dutch designer Tord Boontje also uses a team when needed. Purists may argue that this isn't artisan behaviour, but they are likely to be more forgiving when they realise that his fig cabinet comprises 616 hand-painted enamelled leaves.
Enamelling - a favourite practice of the ancient Egyptians - gives the leaves a magical varnish.
To assemble a team, 100 of Britain's 2,000 ateliers were interviewed, but only 10 were commissioned to work with Boontje, who has exhibited his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Given the high level of production and craftsmanship that goes into producing the cabinet, only one or two can be produced each year. The materials used in the cabinet's creation, including pure copper, steel and bronze, ensure that it will remain on the high end of contemporary design.
According to London's Meta, which sells the cabinet, the designer faced constant opposition regarding its manufacture. 'The most common word we heard when working on this cabinet was no,' says Meta spokesperson Eleonore Halluitte.
But both Boontje and his team were determined and, like so many designers who aren't shy of painstaking work, they are taking the techniques of the past and combining them with the artistry of the present for work that will stand the test of time.
