This article is part of our Design special report previewing Milan Design Week.
Designers are by definition manipulators — of materials, senses and expectations. There is nothing they like better than making the beholders of their creations stop in their tracks. At the Salone del Mobile, in a show devoted to emerging designers that runs through Sunday, visitors may be arrested by a cushion that resembles a big colorful, softball and sits like an egg in a nest of polished wood sticks. What is it? An ottoman, naturally. A few other eye catchers and head scratchers are presented below.
Another Approach to Seating
After studying industrial design at the University of Notre Dame, Ryan Twardzik tried his hand at footwear, accessory and graphic design. But “all I wanted to do was furniture,” he recalled. Moving to Schuylkill County, in Pennsylvania, in 2021, he had access to local manufacturers, including a metal fabricator who primarily built roller coasters. That led to his furniture company, Unform Studio, and its debut collection, Drip, a series of fluoro-colored chairs formed of bent metal sheeting. “I want to make things that are not just fun to look at, but also fun to touch and interact with,” he said.
Mr. Twardzik is showing works from two new collections at SaloneSatellite, the presentation of young designers that runs concurrently with the Salone del Mobile. The first, Spherae, is a ball-shaped cushion supported by three polished wood dowels that slide through a brass disc and lock into place.
“I’ve been calling it passive joinery,” Mr. Twardzik said, because the construction, inspired by foldable camping chairs, does not require tools for assembly. The stool or ottoman comes with four different cushions resembling giant, fruit-toned softballs that can be swapped out. “You can just pop whichever color you want on there,” he said, “and the other three live around the piece.”
The designer is also showing an armchair from his Pop-Up collection. Formed of 20 metal posts wrapped in upholstered foam cylinders, it functions loosely like a soft-touch bed of nails. “They pop up at different heights. Some to arm and back height and some to a shorter seat height,” he said about the components. The experiments, he added, are far from over: “There are so many ways to explore how to make a chair.”
On view Tuesday through Sunday at Salone del Mobile, Pavilion 5, Booth C17; unformstudio.com. — LAURA MAY TODD
