A big highlight from DENFAIR 2019 was seeing a light shone on New Zealand design in a collective showcase featuring some of New Zealand’s leading furniture and lighting designers. A joint vision initiated by The Designers Institute of New Zealand, the installation Palisades was designed by James McNab from Think + Shift, and presented designs by Tim Webber and Nathan Goldsworthy. With both designers featured in the TDC x Cult giveaway collaboration in the lead up to DENFAIR, it was exciting to see their first joint DENFAIR presentation come to life. In addition, the stand featured a selection of complementary collaborators including Alex Buckman, whose work has also been featured on TDC.
The curved, textured walls and muted colour palette of the installation created an inviting space, and welcome escape from the 'buzz' of the exhibition. Enveloping visitors and allowing the featured pieces to have their own moment, the installation was designed specifically for this purpose, to isolate both audible and visual noise from neighbouring exhibitors. Auckland-based Autex Industries, who specialise in acoustics and insulation products, provided the high-tech material used to create the vertical cylindrical surrounds.
Palisades is an immersive space that drew its inspiration from the fortifications that once protected hillside early settlements throughout New Zealand. The installations curved walls are fabricated from vertically standing tubes, echoing the defences on these ancient sites. —The Designers Institute of New Zealand
Pivot Coffee Table, Dowel Pendants and Donut Side Table by Tim Webber Design
Atlas Table by Nathan Goldsworthy
Nathan Goldsworthy presented the Atlas Table for the first time at DENFAIR. Taking its cue from the Vitruvian sketches, the Atlas table finds a likeness between architectural symmetry and the body’s ideal proportions. Solid oak blocks are cut, hewn, laminated, machined, and polished to create elemental forms derived from vertebrates. Resembling a spinal column in repose, these blocks stack, located by polished spheres, to bear the weight of the table’s disc-shaped upper surface. Finely machined bearings permit the tabletop’s fluid, zoomorphic movement, remaking the mechanics which guide the head.
A beautiful and innovative design, I love how the table top pivots around, with storage space underneath. The Atlas Table is available in American Oak and Rimu, both featuring an oiled finish.
Diva Bar Leaner by Nathan Goldsworthy & Wrap Stool by Tim Webber Design
Kimono Stool by Nathan Goldsworthy
Think + Shift also launched new products at DENFAIR including the Bollard Side Table, created from satin sheen aluminium, in collaboration with Saintleo. The new Desk Organiser is a clever set of modules and bases designed to house business cards, notebooks, pencils, a phone, pens and any other small objects throughout the home or office. The organiser is machined from 100% recycled aluminium.
Tim Webber's impressive line up of products included the new Dowel Wall Sconce, shown here in the brass finish.
Dowel Wall Sconce by Tim Webber Design
Stand imagery by Tim Webber / Edited by Michelle Halford-TDC
Atlas Table imagery courtesy of Nathan Goldsworthy