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If you can’t make it good, make it big. Or so the art-school saying goes. Dutch designer Bauke Knottnerus does both. Built from a collection of giant foam-filled threads, his Phat Knits are woven into furniture-like items. Chunky rugs appear ripped from a swatch of a giant’s sweater, while his unconventional seating resembles noodles from that same giant’s dinner plate. “I’ve always been interested in scale, using basic stylistic ideas but with new proportions,” says Knottnerus. The tubes themselves are made industrially, but the large-scale knitting process can take up to four people—and though it might sound like a joke—Knottnerus actually uses PVC needles up to 13 feet long and the same techniques one uses to weave garments.   MORE >>

If you can’t make it good, make it big. Or so the art-school saying goes. Dutch designer Bauke Knottnerus does both. Built from a collection of giant foam-filled threads, his Phat Knits are woven into furniture-like items. Chunky rugs appear ripped from a swatch of a giant’s sweater, while his unconventional seating resembles noodles from that same giant’s dinner plate. “I’ve always been interested in scale, using basic stylistic ideas but with new proportions,” says Knottnerus. The tubes themselves are made industrially, but the large-scale knitting process can take up to four people—and though it might sound like a joke—Knottnerus actually uses PVC needles up to 13 feet long and the same techniques one uses to weave garments. Acknowledging the influence of Pop Art and Surrealists such as Magritte on his work, Knottnerus admits he enjoys the reactions his humorous pieces elicit. “I don’t really see myself as a furniture designer. I’m more like a material designer,” he explains, citing his next project—creating multi-layered textiles for a fashion designer. “These things I make could end up as furniture or as textiles,” he explains. “It’s more like creating media that can be used to construct a coat or a carpet or a curtain.” So it follows that Knottnerus’ shapes are intentionally ambiguous. “I like that unfinished part. It starts with a joke, but after that, it could be anything.” baukeknottnerus.nl   << LESS

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Swedish design studio Front is breaking with tradition. In an industry dominated by men, the firm is instead led by four women. And in a scene driven all too often by ego, Front takes a fully collaborative approach. “We never design individually,” explains member Sofia Lagerkvist. “The outcome is always better if we work together.” Having met while studying industrial design at Stockholm’s Konstfack, the quartet, which united in 2003, has maintained an intimate practice ever since, and so far the ethos is paying off.   MORE >>

Swedish design studio Front is breaking with tradition. In an industry dominated by men, the firm is instead led by four women. And in a scene driven all too often by ego, Front takes a fully collaborative approach. “We never design individually,” explains member Sofia Lagerkvist. “The outcome is always better if we work together.” Having met while studying industrial design at Stockholm’s Konstfack, the quartet, which united in 2003, has maintained an intimate practice ever since, and so far the ethos is paying off.

At this year’s Salone del Mobile alone, Front showcased six different projects, including new pieces for Moroso, Skitsch, Moooi, Established & Sons, Porro and Veuve Clicquot. But this is no overnight success story. Collections such as 2004’s Design by...including a UV-sensitive wallpaper and vases that appear to tumble off the shelf—introduced Front’s expertise in exposing the small, often disregarded phases of the design practice. This year, they continue to do so by toying with the notion of image.

“All the 2009 projects are connected, but approached in different ways,” explains Lagerkvist. For Moroso, the team created the illusion of texture and three-dimensions by printing furniture upholstery with photorealistic imagery. The seat cushions of the Kuddsofa appear to balance on their edges, while the Soft Wood sofa disguises a comfortable seat with a fabric that mimics wood. The idea is similar but simplified in the storage collection for Porro. On the credenza, a line illustration conveys weave patterns, while the armoire resembles the twinkle of wind-tousled curtains. Each piece emphasizes how little is needed for a designer to fool the eye. “We want these pieces to play on the knowledge we have about objects,” Lagerkvist says. “They’re intended to make people think about their presumptions of everyday furniture.” It’s this intelligent sense of fun that has propelled the foursome into the big leagues of international design. And it’s this desire to challenge old preconceptions that will keep them there-together. frontdesign.se   << LESS