Vladimir Kagan

Midcentury modernist whose curvaceous sofas and streamlined tables continue to change the geometry of home furnishings.




Cubist double pedestal table (Vladimir Kagan, TK). Two walnut block pedestals hold a pair of satin-finished aluminum beams with patented extension mechanisms.



Serpentine sofa (Vladimir Kagan, 1950). The sofa’s free-flowing curves liberated seating from the walls.



Lotus chair (Ralph Pucci). Dating from 1970, this chair features a contoured Plexiglas shell and floating upholstered seat in a choice of fabric or leather. It differs from its cousin the Cycle in the elegant slope of the Plexiglas from back to front.



Unicorn end table (Ralph Pucci). Originally designed in 1957 with teak and brass, and then later in a version cast in bronze, the table is now available in all walnut or ¾" glass top with cast aluminum base in a mirror finish.



Tangent rug (Vladamir Kagan, TK). Custom, hand-tufted wool carpet.



Capricorn (Delgreco, TK). Line of wrought-iron furniture.



Fireside chair (Ralph Pucci). One of Kagan's best known early designs from the '50s, this armless chair features a tight seat and back with walnut or maple legs.



Chess table (Vladimir Kagan, TK).



Bilbao seating system (Weiman/preview, TK).

Todd Bracher

Todd Bracher represents the conundrum of American product design. One of the States’ brightest young talents, the native New Yorker—who holds a B.A. in industrial design from the city’s prestigious Pratt Institute—has nonetheless spent the majority of his professional life working in Europe, either on staff or as an independent designer for such esteemed brands as Zanotta, Holmegaard, and Mater. Bracher favors the clean lines and natural materials of Danish and American Midcentury modernists; his style can be described as a sensual minimalism that transcends trends. “The best design is design that lasts,” he has claimed. “The simple Seven Chair designed by Arne Jacobsen or an Eames chair. That's what I want to be about, what I believe in."

Case in point is his T-No.1 table for Fritz Hansen (2008), assembled from the fewest but purest elements possible: an aluminum spine and legs paired with a glass top. But rather than being coldly efficient, a mere exercise in reduction, the table is breathtaking beautiful thanks to the unfettered view of its sculptural frame. The angular Stick light (Designer, 2009) is “an insignificant tube and miniature LED disguised as a lamp,” according to Bracher. True, but it is also an ingenious solution for illuminating cramped urban spaces. And if Bracher seems wary of color, take note of his BOOM indoor/outdoor nesting tables (Serralunga, 2009). Available in glossy red, white, and black, the circular slabs pack a visual punch, their open centers playing with ideas about positive and negative space.

Prior to returning to New York in 2007 to concentrate on his eponymous studio, Bracher worked as a senior designer at Studio Giorgio Marianelli in Milan and at Tom Dixon in London, then headed to Paris, where he taught at nearby design school ESAD and served as creative director of Jaguar’s furniture collection. He is currently creative director of the Copenhagen-based luxury manufacturer George Jensen and continues to work on conceptual projects with designers Efe Buluc and Mark Goetz under the banner to22.



Dome (Mater, 2009). The lamp’s form takes its cue from the phases of the moon and its contrast between light and shadow.


BOOM (Serralunga, 2009). Collection of occasional tables whose open center increases visual impact and allows the pieces to nest within each other.


T-No. 1 (Fritz Hansen, 2008). The design of the table is as follows: A surface for function, ribs to support the surface, a spine to hold the ribs and legs to bring the construction off the floor. Nothing more than that and nothing less.



Librilounge (Zerofirst Gallery, TK). Storage unit that doubles as a bench.



Stick (Designer, 2009). Inspired by a walking stick insect and a deep sea angler fish, the light is, Bracher says, “an insignificant tube and miniature LED disguised as a lamp.”



Marblewood (Mater, TK). Rosewood bowl.



TOD (Zanotta, 2005). Occasional table with a big personality despite its small size, and whose shape was inspired by Cindy Crawford's beauty mark.



Masai (Habitat, 2005). Stacking storage unit.

Boym Partners / Constantin and Laurene Leon Boym

Like Warhol and the Pop artists, Constantin and Laurene Leon Boym mine the symbols of mass culture. But rather than rarify these icons, they use them as opening gambits in a conversation about the meanings these objects hold.



Babel Blocks (Boym Partners, 2007). Series of wooden dolls that represent NYC’s mix of races, religions, and cultures.



History Chess (Boym Partners, 2008). A chess set that alludes to popular culture icons from the last 100 years, including a Coca-Cola bottle, Panton chair, the Titanic, and the space shuttle. In a signed and numbered edition of 8.



Unabomber Birdhouse (Boym Partners, 2008). A fully functional wooden birdhouse in the shape of the Unabomber’s cabin.



Ultimate Art Furniture (Boym Partners, 2006). Chairs and sofas made of painted canvases that were removed from their frames. Created as a way the design world could appropriate art, in response to the art world’s appropriation of design.



Buildings of Disaster: World Trade Center (Boym Partners, 2001). Bonded-nickel replica of the World Trade Center. Part of the ongoing Buildings of Disaster series, which started in 1998 and marks places where disaster have occurred; each building is limited to an edition of 100. Part of the Souvenirs for the End of the Century collection, these totems play with the idea of performance, emotion, and memory.



Buildings of Disaster: Watergate (Boym Partners, 1999).



Salvation ceramics (Moooi, 2002). A serially produced collection of ceramics made from second-hand plates, cups, and saucers sourced from flea markets in Holland. Explores the tension between one-offs and mass production.



Crystal rug prototypes (Swarovski, 2004).



Blueprint (Acme, 1998). Line of pens, wallets, card cases, ties, cufflinks, watches, and pencil cups with blueprints on them.

David Weeks

Although best known for his spare, Calder-esque chandeliers and lamps, David Weeks is also an accomplished furniture and product design who infuses a quiet wit into his work.



Oval Boi Chandelier #418 (Ralph Pucci, 2003).



Hanno (Areaware, 2008). Toy gorilla with elastic-band muscles and durable wood limbs that connects Kay Bojesen’s iconic teak Monkey with the contemporary market of graffiti-culture action figures.



Sculpt (Ralph Pucci, 2008). Upholstered furniture collection (armchair, sectional, and two sofas) inspired by the peaks and slopes of topographical maps and Barbara Hepworth’s stone sculptures. Each piece has a stainless steel frame gently cradling an asymmetric seat and scooped backrest.



Bound rocker (David Weeks Studio, 2006). Nickel plated frame with leather strap seat.



Torroja Cross # 425, 3-Tier (Ralph Pucci, 2005).



Castlight (Kikkerland, 2007). Candlestick or LED flashlight, depending on which end you use.



Sarus chandelier No. 428, 4-Tier (Ralph Pucci, 2008).



Semana (Habitat, 1999 and 2007). Chair comprising thick leather straps hung from an epoxy-lacquered, steel-rod frame.



Cement Standing #307 (Ralph Pucci, 2003).



Aluminum Bullet chandelier #403 (Ralph Pucci, 2003).

Elena Manferdini

SCI-arc professor whose innovative experiments in laser-cutting grace architecture, interiors, clothing, and objects.



Iguzzini (FooDesign, 2004). Stainless-steel pasta strainer commissioned by Fratelli Guzzini for the 2004 Milan Triennale.



Bloom “Fiori d’arancio” (Alessi, TK). A series of one-of-a-kind mass-produced trays, each laser-cut from a lightweight stainless steel metal sheet.



More Bloom.



Swarm (2006). Clothing featuring laser-cut patterns generated through flock animations. The cuts give an impression of curves on the flat fabric.



Air Scales (created with Scott Wilson and Natalie Candrian) (Nike, TK). Sneakers and clothing prototypes for Nike’s sphere line, designed for dance and tennis. The laser-cut high-tech fabrics wick away water and allow air to flow over the body.

Suzanne Tick

To uncover innovative textiles, ones that weave science within the strands, look to the sportswear industry, whose never-ending quest is to develop fabrics that wear longer, look better, and enhance performance. But also should turn your eye to the home furnishings market. There, in the seemingly mundane world of residential and commercial coverings, works Suzanne Tick. The co-founder of Tuva Carpets and former creative director of KnollTextiles makes upholstery, draperies, wall coverings, and mesh screens—as well as lighting, rugs, and architectural products—that cross disciplines and challenge perceptions. Her processes also test the physical limits of manufacturing.

Texture and technology are Tick’s tools, innovative weaving techniques her hallmark. Take Close Knit, whose raised stitch pattern is created by crocheting three long strands of yarn into a circular tube shape, which is then piece-dyed and split to yield finished 54-inch segments. In other cases, it’s Tick’s unorthodox material combinations that produce gems. Items like Imago, a first-of-its-kind panel featuring fabric embedding in resin, and Entangle, glass tiles decorated by lacy screen-prints of translucent knit tape, create new typologies, posing questions about textiles’ very essence.

A master weaver, Tick thinks best on the loom, turning to the warp and weft to figure out how to work with a new fiber or to create a desired effect. It’s through such means she came up with Foil Wrap, a striated polyester wall covering resembling metallic mesh. The pattern started life as a one-off textile that Tick hand-wove from Japanese industrial steel yarn (That prototype was included in a 1998 exhibit at New York’s Museum of Modern Art); the piece proved too difficult to reproduce commercially, so she employed the softer, flame-retardant polyester. The loom is also the constant in Tick’s more experimental propositions, such as Crossform. Created in collaboration with product design Harry Allen, the fabric features fiberoptic filaments Tick wove into a double cloth, which Allen then molded into a sculptural three-dimension shape.




Entangle (Skyline, TK). An advanced screening technology allows this direct translation of translucent knit tape to glass. The pattern’s rippling and twisting lines are based on a scarf by Japanese textile artist Junichi Arai; the irregular thick and thin lines give the glass the softness and delicacy intrinsic to hand-woven cloth.



Crossform (2003). Fiber-optic filaments woven into a 3-dimensional sculpture. Made in collaboration with product designer Harry Allen, Crossform was created for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s 2003 Triennial; it is now in the museum's permanent collection.



Enmesh (KnollTextiles, TK). This recycled polyester upholstery features a double beam weave construction and added metallic ground yarn that makes it glisten like steel mesh.



Close Knit (KnollTextiles, TK). A stretchable polyester textile with a 3-dimensional pattern. The piece is continuously knit into the shape of a tube, piece-dyed, then split down the middle to create finished 54-inch sections.



Triple Lace (KnollTextiles, TK). Vinyl upholstery with a three-layer print application. The first layer creates the ground foundation, the second is color represented by the weft threads, and the final layer is the metallic pigments resting on the warp threads on top. The end effect is that the textile appears to have interlacing threads.



Hard Rock (KnollTextiles, TK). Made by plying then pressing into a fabric two flat tape yarns extruded from metallic and pearlescent pigments. The result, reminiscent of taffeta, has the smooth finish of brushed metal.



Lyonese Velvet (KnollTextile, TK) This textile's pattern is not a burn out, but rather achieved via a two-color dye process. The fabric is woven on a loom created especially for the purpose.



Foil Wrap (KnollTextiles, TK) This technical grass cloth blending olefin and solution-dyed polyester is an industrial version of a handwoven stainless steel fabric Tick created for a 1998 exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.



Photon (KnollTextiles, TK). By manipulating matte and shiny yarns so that they absorb and reflect light, this recycled-polyester wall covering reinterprets the classic honeycomb weave, creating an extremely tactile surface. The fabric does not contain CFCs or formaldehyde.



Life Line (Tuva Looms, TK). Woven-velvet, cut-loop carpet with high-contrast vertical stria inspired by zebrawood. Rather than the usual polyurethane, the backing is made of jute, a rapidly renewable material.