30 Highlights at NY NOW 2015
This week, New York’s Jacob K. Javits Center hosts NY NOW. At the twice yearly event, formerly known as the New York International Gift Fair, an array of home and lifestyle products—from fashion and stationery to collectibles and candles—are on display throughout the four levels of the sprawling convention complex.
While there are plenty of exhibitors offering traditional furnishings, tabletop, and textiles, for those interested in tracking the latest trends, the area known as Accent on Design showcases innovative products from makers and designers around the world. The most noteworthy of the product introductions include new and surprising uses for materials.
Elyse Graham, a young artist out of Los Angeles, shapes plaster inside inflated balloons into stunning vases. Each one-of-a-kind piece is finished with a UV-resistant acrylic in a variety of soft hues. Equally striking are her mirrors and trays, their crown-like circular frames formed from dripped resin.
London-based textile design studio Wallace Sewell—whose designs cover the seats of the city’s Tube and who recently teamed with Designtex for a memorable collection—exploits industrial techniques to create innovative woven fabrics. Co-founders Harriet Wallace-Jones and Emma Sewell introduced new patterns for their plush Honeycomb series of throws.
French design stars Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s first collaboration with legendary Helsinki-based housewares line iittala is a deceivingly simple vase intended to be clustered in groups. Meaning diamond in Finnish, the sharp angles of Ruutu push the limits of mouth-blown glass, a process usually reserved for making round objects.
Designer Anna Rabinowicz’s nature-inspired pieces for Rablabs combine wood, rocks, crystals, and metals in opulent tabletop and serving items. The new Casca Bowl features a hand-carved, semi-precious gemstone core drenched in electroplated pure silver or 24K gold. The Kiva Cheese Set does the same with knives and spreaders.
Salem, Oregon-based Pheromone takes nature-inspired to a whole different level. The latest works in artist Christopher Marley’s Reclamation series feature preserved and framed specimens including snakes, birds, and octopus that die of natural or incidental causes. Marley’s new book, Biophilia, will be released this spring.
NY NOW runs through February 4.
