10 Top Picks From Dutch Design Week 2023

At this year’s Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, the Netherlands from October 21-29, 2023, collaborations and collectives took center stage. Working under the theme “Picture This,” the city-wide exhibition’s focus was on a hopeful future shaped by inventive design. Here are our top picks from the fair.

Highlights From Dutch Design Week 2023

Messmerizing

Welcoming visitors to the fair was an installation at Eindhoven Centraal railway station featuring items curated by Sandra Keja Planken and Job Keja. Forming a collection meant to spark joy with works across mediums ranging from graphic design to art to fashion, standouts were the oversized Aperture Monumenta, a lamp series by Stijn van Ardenne and Lucas Zito; designer Pepijn Fabius Clovis’ Practice piano gilded in colorful metal by decorative painter and restorer Josephine; and eye-popping plant sculptures by LYb.

Grietje Schepers at Home of Design Kazerne

Ellipt #007, a large-scale installation by Grietje Schepers displayed at Home of Design Kazerne, emits light, attracts the eye, and enhances the space’s acoustics due to its composition of felt industrially cut into 3D shapes.

Ilaria Cavaglià at DAE

At the Dutch Academy of Eindhoven (aka DAE) showing of recent graduates, Italian artist, designer, and engineer Ilaria Cavaglià’s chair made from discarded bubble wrap stood out from the crowd. Cast from the plastic packaging, the project was called The Popping Sound of Bubble Wrap.

Marleen van der Knaap at DAE

Another graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven, Marleen van der Knaap presented Reconstructed Visages, a collection of curtain panels woven from upcycled marketing posters using a laser cutter and hand loom.

Teun Zwets

The designer who frequently dabbles in leftover material presented a collection entitled Splitted, the unique forms and shapes dictated by the process of splitting tree trunks.

MAST

Set in a central square of the Strijp-S area, seating islands constructed of over 1,000 crates covered in recycled plastic by the multidisciplinary design studio from Amsterdam provided respite for fairgoers. The circular materials will be reused post-event.

Emma Lawrence of United Matters

The designer asks how we can mine unique materials from our most mundane objects with their reuse of metals reclaimed from end-of-life household appliances like ovens, washing machines, and microwaves and reused on this sculpted work. It was part of the showing of works by United Matters, a London-based collective of Central Saint Martins graduates.

Piet Hein Eek

Big pieces being another theme for the show, local anchor of the design community Piet Hein Eek presented an overscale, hand-assembled chandelier for VANMOKUM made from glass pipes fitted within brass rings.

The Visionary Lab

Eight fashion designers reworked vintage Vitra chairs with upcycled Levi’s denim waste, including this Eames Shell Chair reoutfitted by Norman Monsanto and Kelly Konings, for The Visionary Lab’s Icons Re/Outfitted show.

Kiki & Joost Studio

Partners in life and design, Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk explored color, freedom, and play throughout their many contributions to Dutch Design Week. Here, Joost’s Tinkered sculpture presented as both abstract and unpredictable.

Must-See Tile and Stone Designs From Coverings 2023

Graphic takes dominated Coverings, the ceramic-tile and natural-stone conference, which took place in Orlando, Florida earlier this year. Check out INTERIOR DESIGN’s show highlights.

8 Highlights from Coverings Showcase the Latest in Tile Design

Anthology Tile

Matisse Moonstone ceramic tile by Anthology Tile.

Emilceramica

Pigmento Amaranto indoor/outdoor porcelain wall/floor tiles and large slim-line slabs inspired by hand-troweled cement resin by Ergon, through Emilceramica.

Ceramica Bardelli

Storagemilano’s Volume white-body porous single-fired wall tiles in extra-glossy finish by Ceramica Bardelli.

Vidrepur

Belgirate recycled-glass mosaic tile by Vidrepur.

Sicis

Ragtime ceramic mosaic tile by Sicis.

Lea Ceramiche

Ferruccio Laviani’s Pigmenti carbon-neutral, ultra-thin, laminated porcelain stoneware slabs by Lea Ceramiche.

Ceramica Fioranese

Riggiole Nero Mix porcelain tiles by Ceramica Fioranese.

Ascot

Joyce Decor Optical porcelain stoneware tiles by Ascot.

10 Design Showstoppers from Feria Hábitat València

València, Spain’s annual international furniture, lighting, and decoration fair took place September 19-22 and highlighted playful designs by Spanish makers as well as some surprising introductions from firms farther afield (think Tel Aviv), plus new works by designers hailing from Italy, Sweden, and beyond. Here are our top finds from Feria Hábitat València.

Highlights From the September 2023 Edition of Feria Hábitat València

Bõln

Slim, a new addition to the Sarek collection by Madrid-based architecture and interior design studio Stone Designs, provides seats made in Flexyskin, a proprietary foam consisting of plant-based polyurethane.

Estiluz

The Mood nomadic LED lighting collection by Nahtrang Studio for the Spanish brand offers rounded shades that can easily install in different positions, making for a highly customizable and kinetic experience.

Omelette Editions

A deceptively simple lounge chair dubbed Bolet by Valencia- and Lisbon-based MUT Design was inspired by the conical form of certain mushrooms and has an elongated button detail on its cozy seat.

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Want to see more highlights from recent design shows? Check out Interior Design‘s top picks from Maison&Objet’s September event.

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Sancal

The Spanish brand celebrates 50 years with their Fiesta fabric crafted by the Dutch textile manufacturer Byborre in two contrasting colorways: Día and Noche. The new Bold table by Studiopepe also refereneces the vibes of 1973, the year the brand was founded.

Punt Mobles

The Firenze storage unit with its obtuse angles is meant to float freely in an interior space, its mix of handmade oak veneers and glass the work of Italian designer and architect Rodolfo Dordoni.

Isimar

Lightweight and smooth like the namesake drink, the Martini outdoor chairs and tables by Lagranja Design adapt to many environments including hospitality, contract, and residential patios and the like.

Expormim

A special indoor edition of the brand’s classic Lapala chair by Lievore Altherr Molina marks the design’s 25th anniversary, the weave of its seat requiring a whooping eight hours to complete.

Iota Project

The Tel Aviv-based brand debuts at Habitat with a line of outdoor-ready rugs, poufs, and cushions, the latter two with incorporated straps for ease of transport from indoors to outside. Items are made by Syrian refugees currently based in Istanbul.

Ondarreta

Light passes through the semi-translucent Supra task chairs by Stockholm-based Note Design Studio, producing a delicate glow on the Iceberg, Dune, Brique, Biscay Blue, and Fumé polypropylene seats. Previewed by Ondarreta, the family-owned brand based in Spain’s Basque region, the seat comes with myriad base options and is also available upholstered.

Andreu World

Afuera, a distinctive outdoor modular sofa from the mind of brand collaborator Alfredo Häberli, rests atop two iroko wood supports, the construction inspired by traditional Japanese sandals.

Liam Lee’s Debut Solo Exhibition Features Otherworldly Seating

A Whimsical Chaise Lounge Inspired by the Look of Low Tide

Top Picks from Maison&Objet September 2023

At the September edition of the biannual Parisian trade fair, Maison&Objet, an international showing of brands from such countries as Korea, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Ukraine (plus of course home-turf France) unveiled must-see lighting, furniture, and accessories designed to please.

10 Finds At Maison&Objet’s September Trade Fair

Donna Factory

The Ukrainian brand introduced playful marblized tables as well as their Konyky seating designed by Natalia Filonenko, which takes the shape of puzzle pieces.

Design By Us

A portable LED lamp dubbed Trip by the Danish company looks as elegant indoors as out due to its materiality of eight combinations of polished marble bases topped with mouth-blown glass shades.

Ethnicraft

The Belgian brand’s popular N701 sofa gets an eco update courtesy of upholstery made in Italy from fibers upcyled from the fashion industry. Its colorway Moss—a nature-inspired fresh green—joins the neutral Graphite option.

Tangram

Aether and Aywa, motion-controlled lamps by the Korean brand, operate via a wave of the hand and articulate to illuminate any interior. They come in four colorways of anodized aluminum: Aether in space gray, racing green, rose gold, and scarlet red; and Aywa in metal gray, ultra violet, night blue, and sunshine orange.

Fermob

The iconic French maker of outdoor furniture expands its Surprising collection of chairs, stools, and rockers in metal and teak to include a strictly-indoor version with supports in natural leather.

Pulpo

The German brand tapped designer Sebastian Herkner from their Thales float glass table, which allows for shadow-play due to the incorporated graphic checkerboard pattern.

Fest

The Dutch design brand celebrates 10 years with new launches such as the squiggly Alp lounge chair designed by Martin Hirth as well as the generous and lush Leo sofa by Sebastian Herkner.

Gorbon

The Patisserie collection of delectable dry-pressed ceramic tiles and objects by Studio Yellowdot is made in the brand’s workshop in Istanbul, run by third-generation owner Orhan Gorbon. Names like Éclair, Donut, Biscotto, and Puff whet the appetite. The collection also includes furniture.

Maërl

The distinctive Dory armchair, crafted of steel and wood and upholstered in Dedar fabric, offers a playful yet ergonomic ball-shaped hand rest by the French brand named for seaweed endemic to Breton’s coastline.

Serax

Los Angeles-based design doyenne Kelly Wearstler launches two versatile tabletop collections (Zuma and Dune) with the Belgian brand, with the Zuma line’s imperfectly-perfect grid-patterned plates being a top highlight.

8 Noteworthy Product Launches from 3daysofdesign 2023

10 Star-studded product launches distinguished the Copenhagen fair’s 10th anniversary.

Copenhagen’s 3daysofdesign Spotlights New Product Introductions

Formakami Limited Edition JH5 by Jaime Hayon for &Tradition

The artist/designer’s existing rice-paper pendant light gets a glow-up with the application of colored organic shapes inspired by hand-painted lanterns found in Kyoto, Japan.

Compound by Thomas Lykke and Anne-Marie Buemann for Mater

Copenhagen’s OEO Studio conjured a chair collection (in lounge and dining versions) whose backrest and seat support utilize Matek, the manufacturer’s patented material that turns waste into furniture.

Grid by Hallgeir Homstvedt for Heymat

With his machine-washable recycled-PET doormats, the Norwegian offers a fresh take on the familiar pattern of intersecting parallel lines by combining a trio of hues in each of three colorways.

Edaha by Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi for Koyori

It took 20 prototypes to perfect the specs and size of GamFratesi’s sinuous chair for the upstart Japanese maker, with a seat-meets-leg configuration that evokes a leaf’s gentle connection to its supporting branch.

Gomo by Hugo Passos for Fredericia

A joint effort between the Portuguese-born, London-based designer and the family-owned Danish manufacturer, this upholstered lounge with optional swivel base boasts utterly curvaceous contours.

Apex by John Tree for Hay

The British designer’s enlightening grouping of tabletop and clampable lamps modernizes old-timey banker’s lights by way of mirror-polished bases and tented steel diffusers, in six colors including Luis pink.

Penumbra by David Thulstrup for Georg Jensen

Elliptical designs from the renowned silver specialist’s voluminous archive sparked the Danish architect’s enigmatically geometric centerpiece with rectangular outline and oval interior.

El Raval by George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg for Man of Parts

The Canadian brand introduces Yabu Pushelberg’s oak and blackened-brass bench, with handwoven caning and cushions in nubuck leather, named for the Barcelona neighborhood where cultures intertwine.

10 Top Designer Launches From Copenhagen’s 3daysofdesign

Copenhagen welcomed design-minded visitors in early June for the 10th anniversary of the city’s 3daysofdesign fair. Spread across 13 design districts and touting the theme “Where Would We Be Without You?”, the annual festival in Denmark could be explored by foot, metro, car, or bicycle—the latter the locals’ preference. Top designers produced work with a focus on human-centric ideas, craftsmanship, natural materials, and sustainable solutions, such as furniture, lighting, and accessory launches by some of today’s greatest design talents.

Jaime Hayon for &Tradition

The Spanish artist and designer created a capsule tabletop collection set to launch in late summer and dubbed Momento consisting of a polished or lacquered stainless steel (no-spill!) pitcher plus two vase forms and a colorful candlestick holder produced in Portugal. Hayon also invented a limited-edition of his Formikami JH5 lantern light decorated with his painterly patterns for the occasion. Mark your calendar for the August launch!

Hugo Passos for Fredericia

The Gomo lounge collection by the Portuguese-born, Copenhagen-based designer includes the upholstered chair with curved lines and conical base for the family-owned Danish brand founded in 1911.

Noah for Gubi

Mathias Steen Rasmussen’s MR01 outdoor lounge chair is reimagined by New York-based fashion brand Noah’s founders Estelle Bailey-Babenzien and Brendon Babenzien in fresh colorways for the high-performance polyester rope: sporty yellow, royal blue, classic navy, and neutral gray, all coastal classics.

OEO Studio for Mater

Copenhagen-based OEO Studio launched their organically-formed Lily tables and Compound lounge and dining chairs in proprietary Matek material manufactured by the company known for turning waste material into furniture.

Chris Martin of Massproductions

Stockholm-based manufacturer Massproductions’ Gridlock wall-mounted shelving system in FSC-certified ash wood is easy to assemble and comes in two depths plus a desk component, all available in three finishes: natural, white, and black-stained ash. Standard options are available plus the brand’s online configurator allow for customization.

GamFratesi for Koyori

The local design studio consisting of Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi presented their built-to-last Miau table made by the Japanese brand founded in 2022 using precision joinery techniques. The designers’ complex Edaha chairs comprised mainly of curved surfaces presented a technical challenge to the maker (requiring nearly 20 prototypes) and are now also available.

Inga Sempé for Kvadrat

The French designer known for work with a light touch produced the Multiply residential curtain collection for the Danish brand, its patterns of fine lines, grids, and prismatic layerings based on the designer’s own hand sketches.

Muller Van Severen for Hay

Playfully scalloped mirrors and a serving cart join the Belgian designers’ Arcs collection, available in colorways like red, green, and subdued white. The collection previewed during 3daysofdesign and launches in stores and online in fall 2023.

David Thulstrup for Georg Jensen

The Penumbra centerpiece—crafted in the heritage brand’s signature silver and designed by the renowned Danish architect known for sophisticated lines and modern materials—offered eye-catching accessorizing for interiors, its surface hand-hammered upwards of 3,000 times over four months until perfectly finished.

Vaarnii at Tableau

Collectible design gallery-cum-flower shop Tableau, the Finnish design brand founded in 2021 and known for championing pine, presented new lights and a perch. Attractive fixtures by Hans-Agne Jakobsson included the 1004 Hans wall light and 1005 Hans ceiling light. Frederik Paulsen designed an understated tripod seat called the 001 Stool. “I wanted to create a piece that was small and light and would be used as a seat, rather than an undefined piece of furniture,” said Paulsen. The work was shown alongside functional art curated by Tableau founder Julius Værnes Iversen.

13 Belgian Creatives Featured at the 2023 SaloneSatellite

Belgium Is Design, a group of the country’s 13 emerging creatives, is among the up-and-coming talent show­cased at this year’s Salone­Satellite in Milan, the Salone del Mobile program laser-focused on the under-35 set. Among the highlights: Marianne De Cock uses lacquered larch for her jaunty Fold stool; Ahokpe + Chatelin encourages circularity with Ku do azò, a hammock made with secondhand sweater yarn; curves delineate Fersasos founder Pauline Vercammen’s Shell light; and childhood games inspired a tapestry by Manuel Leromain. Narcissus by Studio Matta is a polished-steel mirror integrating a shelf and vase. Notadesk’s laid-back lounge chair pairs an ash frame with a recycled-cotton sling seat. Playful Piédestal 1 by Tim Somers mixes wood species, and textile artist Emma Terweduwe contributes Gradient, a reversible felted rug that’s endearingly wonky. We love, too, how the mirrored top of Joe Sterck’s Speculum table separates from its base to become a stand-alone art piece.

7 Standout 2023 NYCxDESIGN Exhibits Worth The Buzz

Editors and designers alike have playfully observed the NYCxDESIGN festival’s weeklong celebration of design has expanded over the years, encompassing not just multiple weeks but, some might say, the entire month of May. Luckily, the extended schedule provides us with ample time to savor and admire the latest offerings. Here, Interior Design recaps a selection of the year’s outstanding NYCxDESIGN expositions, many of which are works by female-identifying designers and curators.

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Interior Design is proud to unveil the 2023 NYCxDESIGN Awards winners. Check out product, project, and student honorees, and catch all the excitement on demand on DESIGNTV.

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Slash Objects’s Unbroken

Cast-offs from the stone yard become covetable tables, chairs, and lighting for Slash Objects’s Unbroken exhibition. New works by founder Arielle Assouline-Lichten include Lino and Oni, the latter a green onyx-topped table with hand-finished aluminum legs. The pieces evoke genial characters while utilizing scraps of travertine, onyx, and marble twirled into tables fastened with custom-machined aluminum hardware as well as suspended celestial light fixtures that double as mobiles. Impeccable details and elegant forms made the collection a must-see.

Egg Collective’s Snake Eyes

Powerhouse trio Crystal Ellis, Hillary Petrie, and Stephanie Beamer of the firm Egg Collective celebrate 11 magical years of crafting elegant-yet-functional furnishings. Three years in the making, their new collection includes standout pieces such as the Robins armchair with a sinuous powder-coated steel frame. Fortune tables incorporate totems and iconography like snakes (the symbol of infinity and love), honeycombs (sweetness), and hearts on hands (charity) on their surfaces. The Ouroboros sign, depicting a snake swallowing its tail, evokes the cycle of life, and the firm’s collection reflects its dedication to rebirth and reinvention.  

Marta & Catalog Sale’s Make-Do

Back after last year’s outré showing of toilet paper holders, Los Angeles-based gallery Marta unveiled a collection of Make-Do chairs against the industrial backdrop of a former medical facility on Manhattan’s Chatham Square. A collaboration with auction house Catalog Sale, the group’s 24 historic and contemporary ad-hoc pieces spotlight the creativity of its talent-filled roster, including Isabel Rower, Sarah Burns, and Chen Chen & Kai Williams. Tasked with fashioning seating using on-hand materials, the artists incorporated varied media—from cardboard to discarded carpets to beaded car seat covers—into their designs. Memorable pieces include Sarah Burns’s slipper chair, featuring soft padding paired with pine slab, and CCKW’s amalgam of materials unearthed in a recent studio move.

Radno̲r’s Crafted By Nature

There’s a reason HBO’s “Succession” chose to film in Radno̲r’s sophisticated apartment-like showroom on Manhattan’s Upper East Side: The skyline views are stunning, but the furniture and accessories are even more elevated. For this exhibition, Radno̲r founder Susan Clark offered a textural, low-slung coffee table hewn from a single piece of Italian Siena marble. A rakish lounge chair by Bunn Studio with well-construed details like bleached maple inlay armrests affords deep repose and a place for devices. Inaugural launches from the brand’s Radno̲r Gallery program include chairs in ancient woods by Japanese maker Toshio Tokunaga that delight the eye and artwork by Abigail Booth stitched and printed with natural dyes. All pieces pair nicely with the sunset-saturated space.

Upon Further Reflection

A true highlight of the New York design circuit, this moving show of fresh works by Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) female-identified creators merits best-in-show for this year. Held within 3.1 Phillip Lim’s store and co-curated by Lora Appleton of the Female Design Council and Andrea Hill of Tortuga Forma alongside design alliance AAPIDA, the exhibition invited designers, artists, and makers to offer their takes on reflection and finding place within the historically white-centric United States. Bubbly, iridescent lamps by Brooklyn-based Rosie Li worked in concert with a tabletop mirror by Jean Lee (of Ladies & Gentlemen Studio), referencing the story of Narcissus. Knot guru Windy Chien pushed her work with new materiality such as flecked performance rope applied to transparent flame-polished acrylic strips. Kinetic wood forms by sculptor Pooja Pawaskar of Whirl & Whittle delighted. Urvi Sharma of INDO- offered a mirror obscured by swingy strands of ball chain nodding to traditional Indian architecture and jewelry.

Public Access

Design was a walk in the park (literally) at Brooklyn’s Naval Cemetery Landscape where the exhibition “Public Access” is on display through June 3. For a continuation of the “Furnishing Utopia” exhibition, Jean Lee of Ladies & Gentlemen Studio tapped like-minded designers to explore design for the public good and communal use. Comprising 36 works from 39 designers, the showcase includes highlights like a squiggly rainwater collector by Vera & Kyte; an anthropomorphic habitat for bees by Grain; a lost and found station by Ladies & Gentlemen Studio; and a bike rack with attached circular stool co-conceived by Jonah Takagi and Pete Oyler.

Sight Unseen

Don’t call it a come-back: Jill Singer and Monica Khemsurov of Sight Unseen have been ceaselessly triumphing independent designers since their founding in 2009. After publishing their book How To Live With Objects in late 2022, the duo found time to curate and produce another lovely showing of design’s emerging and established minds at Voltz Clarke’s Lower East Side gallery in conjunction with artist Heather Chontos’s colorful abstract paintings. Included works such as playful Tone tables in hand-dyed acrylic by Sohyun Yun; a stained glass table lamp by New Zealand-based Frangere, marking the return of the material once utilized by Tiffany Studio; and Danny Kaplan’s newly launched ceramic furniture invite admiration. The best part: The shoppable show comprised new additions to the Sight Unseen Collection that can all be purchased directly.