Inga Sempé
France

The new "COLUMN" collection by Inga Sempé for Reform shows the future of the modern kitchen: multifunctional, modular and unconventional.

Inga Sempé is known for her delicate and playful designs. She tells us how diverse her portfolio is and what she has planned for this year.

After 126 years in business, Swedish furniture manufacturer Gärsnäs has proved itself to be a paramount example of high-quality design from the far north.

At this year’s Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair the Scandinavians show how much we long for homeliness.

Leather, hide or brocade – fashion is reveling in high-grade materials and elaborate textures. The furniture design at times remains restrained.

Hard-edged and technoid or soft and round – formally furniture and fashion are certainly not so far apart from each other.

We certainly didn’t imagine that designer Inga Sempé has a soft spot for gas stations and autos.

Ever since 2012, the "Japan Creative" initiative has functioned as the interface between internationally active designers and traditional Japanese crafts workshops. Most recently, Stefan Diez took even the Japanese experts by surprise – with his version of bamboo furniture.

The Euroluce and the events accompanying it in Milan showed how light and luminaire makers are tackling the challenges of the electronic age: with a specific mixture in each case of tradition, technology, and private equity investors.

Inga Sempé for Golran

Following Bertjan Pot and Raw Edges, Inga Sempé got the chance to dream up rugs for Israeli manufacturer Golran. We asked the French designer what she has in store for us.

Inga Sempé has dragged the winged armchair into contemporary life – with “Beau Fixe” for Ligne Roset. In an interview with Uta Abendroth, the French designer explains what the design has to do with her childhood, why she likes working in a team, and why she feels attracted to small objects.

In the hunt for the feel-good factor that straddles the tried-and-true and the surprisingly new, designers and manufacturers are busy presenting their novelties at the imm cologne and the Passagen. The clear message: Things are getting more softer and sensual.

During imm Cologne, the Museum für Angewandte Kunst opened a special kind of exhibition: “Isn’t it romantic? – Contemporary Design Balancing between Poetry and Provocation”. An homage to the longing for a world that isn’t always perfect.

French designer Inga Sempé is one of the most interesting phenomena in the current design scene. Nancy Jehmlich talked with her about the status design has in France, about her experience with manufacturers, about expensive and cheap products, and about her favorite places in Paris.

You only need to step out of the plane to be enjoying good, plain contemporary design. What the Stockholm Furniture Fair has to present in its halls does not exist in isolation. It comes to life in the city.

What emerged at the imm Cologne in 2011 was that the fair has steadied, and in the form of "Living Kitchen" and "Pure Textiles" has gained two important new areas. Thus, the Cologne hodge-podge of the diversity of homes has something for everyone, for a man of the world, a man of the masses, and for kids, too. That said, the high-end design did not live up to expectations.