Through the Aisles of #NYIGF 2013
By alexandra
On Tuesday, Design-Calendar checked out the second to last day of the NYIGF. With seemingly endless aisles of new products from across the globe on display, the show is always a bit overwhelming at first. This year was no different, with plenty of design eye candy in every lane. We’ve reviewed just a few of the many exhibitors who stood out to us, including one that got our Accent on Design® Blogger’s Choice vote! We were so honored to be a part of the blogger’s choice again this year. Never an easy job…more on that later!
First up, we were enticed by the chic and functional objets at Kontextür. The understatedly elegant decanter and hand-blown glass set, the “3.2.1” from designer Jeff Miller, had a wonderful texture and a classic meets modern aesthetic. The “Berta Mouthwash Carafes” by Hlynur Atlason are an ingenious invention. Finally someone wants to make the task of doing one’s ablutions design friendly. The “x3” water cans by Paul Loebach come in several hues and are made from just one piece of metal, which is bent three times (as its name suggests) and then soldered onto a metal can.
Next, we checked out HumanScale. It displayed its latest LED lighting solutions, such as “Horizon”™ and “Element Disc.”™ We loved the Element Disc in particular. It’s not only a stand-out design piece, it’s cleverly equipped with a “passive infrared (PIR) occupancy sensor,” which automatically turns the light off or on when the user leaves or enters the area.
Wrapped, a hip, L.A. based, wrapping paper company boasts some very distinctive offerings—with unconventional prints, the answer to mundane gift wrap is here! As an added bonus, all of its products are designed and manufactured locally in Los Angeles to ensure quality and support the local economy.
At Pappelina we got a dose of Swedish design. Its vinyl products, like colorful rugs, are highly functional and design conscious. Pappelina clued us in on its inspiration: in Sweden small rugs like these are found in most households. The company wanted to bring this tradition to the world through its modernized iterations.
New graphic printed items from Artek and scent dispensers from Serene House rounded out our top picks—though we wish we could include more of our fab finds!
Finally, the pièce de résistance was our selection for the Blogger’s Choice Awards. Souda’s striking “Bubble Chandelier” caught our eye right away. Though we’ve seen similar types of glowing pieces, when we heard its back-story, we were completely sold. The Brooklyn company’s Bubble light is composed of post-consumer PET plastic bottles, which sets it apart from others in the category. Its sourced from “Sure We Can,” a Brookyln-based non-profit that runs the only homeless-friendly can redemption center in NYC. Even better, a portion of the proceeds of the light are donated directly to Sure We Can to improve the conditions of their facility. We loved that the piece is functional, creative and especially that it supports Souda’s local community.