Despite the global pandemic, creativity has not stopped. It cannot be canceled or put on pause because, for some, artistry is an ever-growing, ever-evolving expression of self. To those looking for an outlet for their work, Movimento, a young design gallery based in London, is the perfect place to display their art. The gallery opened last March at the start of the pandemic, and over the last year, has been supporting and highlighting young designers worldwide, exclusively selling their products online on the platform.
Read MoreSimone Polk Dahl is a Danish interior stylist and artist known for creating soft, abstract paintings under the name Polkenstudio. Having started her career in the television industry, it became clear that creativity and aesthetics made Simone the happiest, leading her to a more artful path. Taking inspiration from iconic Danish designers such as Finn Juhl and Børge Mogensen, she now translates a typical Scandinavian feel in both her artworks and interior stylings.
Read Moremeli Höcks is a Swedish freelance product and furniture designer with a great interest in sustainability and material research. Currently, she is based in Gothenburg, working toward a Master of Fine Arts at the Academy of Design and Art at the University of Gothenburg. Emeli works both on commissions and personal projects, yet always with her signature style and approach in which she celebrates art, creativity, and most importantly, sustainable materials. The designer creates decorative pieces from waste materials as she feels it is her responsibility as an artist and designer to make a change in the design industry and the world in general. Using these materials to create new pieces, she realizes objects in new and surprising ways, designing playful shapes that work from all directions and have a neutral color palette. With her minimalist and unique objects, Emeli creates beauty from what is already within our reach. The designer talks about how she strives for sustainability and her ideas to develop this approach further.
Read MoreThe German furniture company Faust Linoleum combines traditional carpentry and digital manufacturing, creating linoleum tables and tabletops in the Bavarian Alps. The family company has been an expert in environment-friendly furniture since the ‘90s. Their story begins in the early ‘80s, when carpenter and furniture specialist Franz Faust, who was working with designers in Berlin, wanted more than the luxury sector he was creating for at that moment. So he took a leap and developed his own business that would focus on people. Franz wanted his high-quality designer furniture to be available and affordable for everyone. He achieved this by combining and focusing on design, hi-tech production, high-quality materials, and elegant, functional aesthetics. Choosing linoleum as their key material, Faust Linoleum was born.
Read MoreFor some designers, their work is the foundation of their artistry, an extension of their creativity and personality, wrought through passion and expression. For others, like Robert Fehse of ARGUMENT, the design is meant to be perceived and understood by the viewer, left for interpretation as either functional piece, art form, or both. The German designer, founder, and creative director of ARGUMENT started the brand as a communicative tool, seeing artistry through furniture and everyday objects. But it’s the effect and appreciation of his design by viewers that give his work life.
Read MoreFreelance artist, graphic and interior designer Edith Beurskens is creating pieces of art made decidedly for the home. The visual creative, based in Amsterdam, discovered 3D printing when moving into her own home. Her need to create pieces during the building process led to her using the medium creatively, inspiring her to make wall art for her own home. Soon she was creating “design puzzles”—homemade 3D art made from plant-based material PLA and painted by hand.
Read MoreValerie_Objects is an Antwerp-based design label founded by Axel van den Bossche, the CEO of Serax, and art director Veerle Wenes, the owner of the Valerie Traan gallery in Antwerp. The two creative minds combined their knowledge and passion for all things good and beautiful in this amazing brand through which they “translate signature works of designers, architects, and artists into tangible objects.” Their mission is to appreciate the aesthetic meaning of everyday objects, focusing on what makes them special. That is why they started with cutlery, a tool that is not easy to design to be beautiful as well as functional. Among others, Maarten Baas, Muller van Severen, and Koichi Futatsumata have designed their own interpretation of these daily tools, leaving behind the classic silverware shapes. After this initial cutlery series, more creations and more collaborations followed. Today, they mostly work with Muller Van Severen, Maarten Baas, and Destroyers/builders. Valerie_Objects has grown into a global design platform “presenting everyday tools and objects that have a unique appearance” as their main philosophy.
Read MoreMelbourne-based Studio 11:11 is a multidisciplinary design studio that explores the boundaries between interior, architecture, leather goods, and objects. The studio was founded by New Zealand architect and interior designer Annabel Smart and Dutch interior architect Marijne Vogel. Annabel graduated with a degree in architecture at the Victoria University of Wellington, after which she worked for some renowned New Zealand design firms before moving to Melbourne in 2012. Marijne moved there after obtaining her Bachelor of Interior Architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts (KABK) in The Hague and working for Studio Hecker Guthrie.
Read MoreBelgian photographer Piet-Albert Goethals has a unique style and an exceptional eye for detail which he uses to capture strong images of objects, interiors, architecture, and people. His work offers his perspective on places, spaces, and moments and with it, he established himself in both the international and national world of design and architecture. Piet-Albert is based near Brussels, where he has both his studio and home. There, he lives with his wife Jessy Van Durme, a designer and writer, and their two sons.
Read MoreNicholas Worley is a London-based architectural and landscape photographer, who has shot images all around the globe. Originally studying architecture at The University of Newcastle, he worked at an architectural practice in New York for two years before settling his own practice in London. Considering his background in architectural education and practice, he is great at looking at a project in detail and interpreting its design narrative which he masterfully translates to film. Both his landscape and interior images are captivating and hold the same core philosophy while still portraying new and unique impressions from time to time.
Read MoreWithin an empty space, there’s the unlimited potential that allows for one’s creativity and personality to shine through. In a house, it’s not only representative of the people in the home, but should be filled with individual style and a balance of beauty and functionality. For artist and stylist Merete Vyff Slyngborg, her fine arts education and experience as an artist allows her to see each space from a uniquely creative perspective and design it not only with style but professional artistry in mind.
Read MoreIn 2017, high-school friends Emelie Ivarsson and Shalony van Stralendorff combined their passion and fascination for nature, gastronomy, and the presence of everyday aesthetics into their very own design studio, Bonnibonne. The fairly young studio is based in Norrland, Sweden, and aims to highlight some of Norrland’s cultural heritage. Together, Emelie, now Chief Operating Officer, and Shalony, Creative Leader, present traditional craft and ancient knowledge in a new and contemporary context. They make different interior accessories and everyday objects with a functional purpose while maintaining an elegant and timeless look. Balancing on the border between poetic and timeless aesthetics, they create beautiful products born out of everyday needs. Emelie and Shalony even published a book, Kontur, in which they continue the line of slow living and artistic configuration that is also present in their designs. The women of Bonnibonne talk about how they add value and Scandinavian heritage to everyday life.
Read MoreThe German designer Johannes Lindner founded his eponymous studio out of a deep interest in modern design. His work mainly focuses on modern products and furniture design, and he creates commissions for a wide range of Scandinavian and international design companies such as Skandiform, Flensted, Pierre Junod, Present Time, and others. Focusing on quality and craftsmanship, Johannes Lindner Design “embodies products that are appealing in a timeless and functional way and have a strong identity,” the studio notes. Functionality, aesthetics, clean lines, and a perfect choice of materials are combined into coherent and striking design projects with a clear visual expression and modern simplicity.
Read MoreLOEHR is a Berlin-based design studio that combines the talent, interests, and passions of three brothers into one brand. David, Leon, and Julian Löhr founded LOEHR creating furniture and objects in “a constructive interplay of force, planes, and materials.” So it is no surprise that their brand name derives from their last name: In German, ö can also be written as oe, which is completely identical. Setting the name with an oe works much better visually and internationally, according to the brothers.
Read MoreAn artistic soul, interior stylist and product designer Colin King has expressed himself creatively as a dancer, trainer, and decorator, finding the beauty in all things artistic. His work in interior design hones in on the forgotten beauty of a space—a lone corner, an overlooked bathroom, a well-used room—and elevates it into an attention-grabbing area that anyone would want to live in. From the big dynamic furniture to the smallest of accessories, he focuses on the smallest detail and how each piece functions and contributes to the space as a whole.
Read MoreAnna Devís and Daniel Rueda are two imaginative Spanish photographers who together make up the practice Annandaniel. The studio is all about creativity, exploring the world, and telling mesmerizing and fun stories. Hence their unique and humorous style. Anna and Daniel met at the Universitat Politècnica de València, where they both graduated from the School of Architecture. They have been creating together ever since, using their architectural background to “tell stories through fun and surprising images that are far from conventional architecture photography.” While Daniel takes care of the technical part, Anna is mostly the creative brain behind their projects, making them a perfect duo, acting like one. Annandaniel has already worked with renowned brands such as Netflix, Disney, Facebook, Pantone, Coca-Cola, Huawei, and so on.
Read MorePhotographer, architect, and founding partner at the renowned Danish studio Norm Architects, Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen, composed his first monograph The Reinvention of Forms, a collection of compelling black and white photographs. Published by Etui Editions, it’s not only a treat for the eye with striking, minimalist images, but the book includes several interesting textual additions as well, such as an introduction by Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa and a short fictional story by Danish author Thomas Rydahl.
Read MoreSpecializing in photography, art direction, copywriting, and strategy consulting, the Copenhagen-based creative studio Merō offers a very versatile concept, created by founders Monica Steffensen and Alona Vibe. The two had been following each other’s work for a while and one day, they decided to meet up for coffee. Back then, Alona worked at a consultancy firm and was finishing her master’s degree and Monica worked part-time at Norm Architects with photography, copywriting, and PR. When they met again for lunch half a year later, it became clear that they were destined to do great things together in the world of design.
Read MoreWith a touch of minimalism and graphic inspiration, photographer and art director Thomas Wiuf Schwartz is bringing a new touch of personalized creativity to photography. A passion for design and visually minimalist imagery of forms, shades, materials, and objects, he creates photos that speak to brands and artists, creating concepts that are uniquely his own. He works in detail, focusing on the play between materials, background, foreground, light, and shadow.
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