Vienna Design Week Passionswege 2012: Daphna Laurens at Wittmann Möbelwerkstätten

Pretty much ever since we first saw Tafelstukken by Daphna Laurens at DMY Berlin 2010 we’ve had a bit of thing for them.

A fact that we are completely unapolgetic about.

There is something wonderfully eloquent, dignified and timeless about their work. Something that draws you to them. Their works invariably comprise a mix of materials, a mix of materials which is always central to the objects, yet is understated in the design, almost as if it doesn’t want to draw attention to itself.

For Vienna Design Week Passionswege 2012, Daphna Laurens teamed up with Wittmann Möbelwerkstätten – an Austrian upholsterer who can look back on a history spanning over 100 years.

We’re not going to claim to fully understand exactly what Daphna and Laurens did when in the research and planning phase they ” …gathered colour and mood images in the inner world of the production site…”

But we do like the results.

So we’ll assume that what ever they were up to they did it correctly.

“Chair 1” is perhaps the most accessible of the two products. In essence nothing more complicated than a steel wire chair with  textile/leather cushions, Chair 1 has an almost childish fantasy character about it. By which we mean it looks as though it belongs in an enchanted forest somewhere. That may be because the reduced size of the cushions combined with the open metal frame make Chair 1 appear a lot smaller, more compact than it really is. Like an elf.

“Stool 1” – love the names  – is in contrast a little more complicated.  A combination of stool and side table, Stool 1 is constructed from steel tubing, wood and leather, and from afar resembles a rocking horse. If we’re honest we’re not 100% convinced that the space next to the seat is suitable for its intended function. We like the idea. We like the realisation. We’re just not convinced its practical.

Unless of course we’ve completely misunderstood it and the open surface should be used as a side table when the stool section is not in use. For example by someone sat on a sofa.

But independent of the functionality, as with Chair 1 Daphna Laurens have created in Stool 1 an object with a form that is as unique as it is charming and familiar.  And two objects that not only wonderfully complement one another but which would work in any given space.

And so, once again, we have a new project from Daphna Laurens which impresses us and, once again, underscores all that is good, dynamic, fresh and genial about the pair.

Vienna Design Week Passionswege 2012: Daphna Laurens at Wittmann Möbelwerkstätten. The research....

... Chair 1...

...Stool 1.

Vienna Design Week Passionswege 2012: Daphna Laurens at Wittmann Möbelwerkstätten