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Furniture Suspense
by Martina Metzner | Jan 22, 2015
Flying elephants: The young French Label Petite Friture present Hanna Ernsting’s „Petstools“ and pile them up for “Featured Editions” in hall 2.2. Photo © Barbara Wildung, Stylepark

Anyone wandering round the “Pure Editions” in Hall 3.3. at imm cologne or now also through Hall 2.2, will come across any number of surprises: Designers and manufacturers at the “Featured Editions” certainly go beyond the normal limits of conventional trade-fair displays. They stage their items in a context that is a far cry from everyday life. The 14 installations in the “Featured Editions” format, organized and curated for the third time by the team of Koelnmesse creatives led by Dick Spierenburg in collaboration with Stylepark, all attest to how intensely and creatively designers and manufacturers are working together in fields beyond unit sales and profit margins.

For example, Swiss chair specialists Horgenglarus have once again taken to the “Featured Editions” together with Studio Hannes Wettstein, who have chosen to clad a Horgenglarus chair in broad woodchips that seem to have been frozen in mid-air, highlighting the craftsmanship that is innate in the chair-maker’s products. Which is also the case with the “Klio”, a novelty by Studio Hannes Wettstein that Horgenglarus presents at its booth right next door to the “Featured Editions”. Other manufacturers also showed how marvellously the cameoed “Featured Editions” support the explicit display of goods at the booths. There’s Werner Aisslinger’s “Minimum” chair for Conmoto, which he took to pieces specially for the installation (likewise adjacent to the manufacturer’s booth at the fair) and where the seat shell made of molded felt morphs into the backbone of a Chinese dragon. It is one of the most inspired and ironic pieces conceivable if one bears in mind what relationship obtains between the European furniture trade and China. And Formstelle’s “On air” for Thonet is equally cheeky – they’re placed their new “808” lounge chair on a post and you can only reach it by climbing up a rope ladder.

In fact, as a whole the installations this year are very playful, such as the rocking chairs by Paul and Yannic Renner, made from a Corian mineral material produced by DuPont. Then there’s the stack of sweet “Pet Stools” by Hanna Emelie Ernsting, who sends her little seating animals spiralling upward. Or the huge rocking chair by Lionel Doyen for Extremis. They all seem so at ease and vivacious. The initial urge is to jump on them, rock a bit, and be whisked upwards.


>> All about the imm cologne 2015 on Stylepark

Werner Aisslinger likes Chinese: The felt seats from his chair “Chairman” for Conmoto form the spinal column of the dragon. Photo © Barbara Wildung, Stylepark
Place for dreaming: Lionel Doyen for Extremis. Photo © Barbara Wildung, Stylepark
On Air: Designer duo Formstelle lifts up its new „No 808“ loungechair for Thonet. Photo © Barbara Wildung, Stylepark
Sebastian Herkner has designed new “Collar“ lights for Gubi and let them “rain”. Photo © Sarah Böttger, Stylepark
"Transformation“: design duo Läufer + Keichel present the genisis of their lightweight chair „Satsuma“ for Schneiderschram. Photo © Sarah Böttger, Stylepark
Happy birthday e15: Philipp Mainzer celebrates with “Bigfoot – the making of an icon” the jubilee of the company. Photo © Barbara Wildung, Stylepark
Benny Mosimann has created in 1997 a sideboard for Wogg that has now been adapted – also for the “Featured Editions”. Photo © Barbara Wildung, Stylepark
The chips from the chair production at Horgenglarus are recycled in „Schnipselsturm“ by Studio Hannes Wettstein. Photo © Sarah Böttger, Stylepark
Paul and Yannic Renner have made swings of Corian DuPont. Photo © Sarah Böttger, Stylepark
Greek artist Evangelos Papadopoulos has made the sculpture for the Cubit shelving supplier Mymito, on site. Photo © Sarah Böttger, Stylepark
Also furniture can have tattoos: “Tatoo Collection” by Alessio Bassan and Silvano Piedonà für Capod’opera. Photo © Barbara Wildung, Stylepark
Plug and play with Emir Salkic for Zanat. Photo © Barbara Wildung, Stylepark
How the „Lounge Chair“ is produced? Joelle Aeschlimann and Sylvain Aebischer for Vitra. Photo © Sarah Böttger, Stylepark