New York-based designer Henry Julier’s collection of Danish paper cord-topped furniture with Swiss furniture company USM was among the stand-out exhibitions at the inaugural Shelter fair during NYCxDesign.
The Woven Structures collection saw Julier adding Danish paper cord tops to the classic modular chrome-plated steel grid system USM is known for.
Designed to showcase the contrasting materials without compromising on performance and function, Woven Structure includes several variations, from differently sized tables, seating, and trays.
“The materials are complementary, with the durable framework system and soft seating and surface material,” Julier told Dezeen, adding that USM has never used Danish paper cord before.
“What’s appealing about this is combining the different processes – USM’s structure with its precision as a mass-produced object, and then the craft and knowledge base around Danish paper cord weaving, which exists in many, many countries,” he said.
“These can be woven on a local level,” continued Julier, who was the design director for industrial design studio Standard Issue for a decade before going out on his own.
Currently, the team has sourced weavers in North America.
Woven Structures was showcased on a series of pedestals lined with grasses and signage in a central location on the Shelter show floor, inside the storied Starett-Lehigh building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood, walking distance from the design week’s major trade fair, ICFF.
The new design fair featured a number of noteworthy design studios and exhibitions.
Among the other standouts was an iteration of the annual Jonald Dudd showcase, which featured collectible design, art furniture and conceptual work. It was guest curated by Chen Chen & Kai Williams, with showrunners Chris Held of design studio Nice Condo and Charles Constantine of furniture brand Best Case.
The curators tied the curation loosely to the aesthetics of the American rock band The Grateful Dead, with some designers, such as New York-based designer Steven Bukowski, following it closely with a carved smiley face symbol on its back.
Other stand-out pieces from the Dudd exhibition include a light made from self-supporting paper pulp by Dan McMahon and a desk with a corrugated polycarbonate top and spindly yellow pine legs by Christian Borger.
Elsewhere, sustainable design was a focus, with the debut of a massive flatpack table by Joe Doucet made from recycled plastic material called Polygood, which was produced by Dutch manufacturer The Good Plastic Company.
New York-based designer Like Minded Objects showcased a series of chairs and furniture made from recycled materials, and experiments in mycelium-based composites for lamp structures.
Also in the area of reuse, New York-based studio Bond Hardware, known for its jewellery design, showed Exo chair, which consisted of the frame of a Marcel Breuer Cesca chair affixed with a pliable stainless steel mesh.
Bond Hardware also uses mesh hardware in bras and bag designs, and the chair demonstrated its flexibility and strength in performance.
A new shelving collection by Brooklyn-based designer Natalie Shook was also shown at the fair.
Shook won the Best in Show award at ICFF in 2022, and her new collection, called Ledoux Prêt, represents a more market-ready and condensed format for her sculptural wall units.
Other stand-out exhibitions included a booth by Brooklyn studio Garnier Pingree. Its pieces included the geometric A Chair and a gridded floor lamp, which plays into the “caged light” trend we pointed out earlier in the week.
Shelter took place from 17 to 19 May in New York. For more events during NYCxDesign (15-21 May), visit our dedicated NYCxDesign festival guide.
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