Located on the property's East Wing, once home to the stables and workshop, the Conservatory opens follows a meticulous restoration that added an impactful glass ceiling and stone floors that connect the interiors to the outdoors. Flooded with natural light, the space is imagined as a 'skylit garden' featuring olive trees punctuating the dining space.

The interior also offers guests views of the adjacent 14th-century St Michael's Church, a further testament to RH's commitment to the location's heritage.

The unveiling of this new space follows RH's recent opening of its Paris gallery, set on the Champs-Élysées and with contemporary interventions by Foster + Partners, presenting the American company’s unique blend of design, art and hospitality in a grand environment.

The Conservatory will become a dining destination within the Aynho Park location, expanding on the culinary offering first debuted at the Paris Gallery. Guests can expect dishes inspired by RH CEO and Chairman Gary Friedman's travels through an unfussy menu that features novel takes on classics from mini baked potatoes to salads and steak frites.

The Conservatory at RH England, Aynho Park: light installation by Anouska Hempel

The Conservatory's centrepiece is a light installation by designer Anouska Hempel, a dramatic chandelier inspired by traditional hundi lanterns found in luxurious interiors in 19th-century India. The lighting design features 19 glass orbs, hand-etched and suspended from a hexagonal frame made of burnished brass.

'Gifted with the canvas of RH's inherently strong architecture, our goal was to complement with an installation that is both whimsical and deeply romantic,' says Hempel. 'We achieved this by weaving our signature bell glass jar lanterns through a bespoke tiered hexagonal brass structure – this marriage of strength and softness was informed by the principles of Sir John Soane and the rich history of Aynho Park and RH. This piece is a devotion to light, legacy, and levity.'

rh.com/gb/en/england

‘Forever Is Now 05’: art and the Giza Pyramids

Each formation by Proba curves towards the horizon in a sequence of soft, continuous gestures: a portal, an abstracted Eye of Horus (an ancient Egyptian symbol), a shallow concave plane. Carved from marble, onyx, travertine and quartzite, the sculptures register the day’s movement through shifts of translucency and tone in the heat and light, making the work a collaboration with the Earth itself.

'These stones already hold millions of years of emotion in their veins,' she says. 'My role was not to impose colour but to listen to it, allowing the forms to flow with the rhythm of each stone’s pattern.'

The compositions hint at ancient emblems, yet Proba approaches form through intuition rather than symbol. Circles and continuous curves recur across her practice as shapes that feel inevitable in themselves, free of overt reference, gestures with emotional resonance that remain open to interpretation. 'I’m drawn to forms that feel alive,' she explains. 'The viewer can decide whether they’re stepping through an eye, an orbit, a horizon or a memory. That ambiguity is part of the invitation.'

Working in stone altered the energy of her visual language. What is often playful became slower and more contemplative. 'The softness remained,' she reflects, 'but the weight of time gave it a new gravity.' Standing before the Pyramids also reshaped her approach. 'The Pyramids made me want to whisper rather than be loud,' she notes. Her aim was not to compete with scale, but to place something that felt as though it belonged, as if it had emerged from the desert itself.

To bring these gestures into monumental form, Proba collaborated with Solid Nature, the Amsterdam-based stone specialist known for its experimental work with OMA and Sabine Marcelis.

Under CEO David Mahyari’s direction, the fabrication became an exercise in structural problem-solving. The sculptures appear to hover lightly above the sand, yet the installation weighs around 20 tonnes. Achieving this visual lightness required an internal construction hidden entirely within the stone. 'The challenge was letting the forms seem to float without altering Alex’s design,' Mahyari explains. 'We had to find ways to counter the natural weight of the material, especially in the portal and the lashes of the Eye of Horus.'

Because nothing could be built directly on site, all components were pre-fabricated. Transport limitations meant hollowing parts of the stone from within to reduce weight, producing some sections fully off-site and shaping others for final assembly in the desert. Each sculpture is composed of two major stone parts bonded around a central support structure. The adhesive had to withstand an extreme climate, expanding and contracting with the desert’s dramatic temperature shifts while holding the overall mass securely. Beneath each form lies a custom-engineered steel platform, buried under the sand to distribute weight across the uneven ground. The platforms had to remain visually discreet yet structurally decisive.

Material selection was equally exacting. Blocks were chosen without natural fault lines or cavities, preserving the fluidity of Proba’s forms. Travertine was cut across the grain for strength, resisting the stone’s natural tendency to split along its layers. For the onyx at the centre of the Eye of Horus, Solid Nature selected a cross-cut orientation, revealing a cloudy, organic pattern that echoes Proba’s curves and sits in quiet dialogue with the geometric precision of the Pyramids.

These decisions underscore the project’s conceptual core: a meeting between geological time and contemporary gesture. Proba often describes stone as memory made visible. 'Memory here is very literal,' she says. 'The veining, the fractures, the mineral patterns are traces of millions of years. Carving becomes a continuation rather than a rewrite.'

Working with a material that may outlast countless generations reshaped her sense of design’s lifespan. It also introduced an ecological dimension that felt clarifying. 'Making sculpture from the Earth’s own material changes how you think about impact,' she notes. 'It feels more responsible, more connected.'

As the sun moves, the sculptures act as instruments of measure. The portal frames the pyramids from certain angles; the Eye of Horus abstracts ancient symbolism into a contemporary flow; the concave plane receives the horizon as though holding it in its bowl. Proba describes seeing the sculptures arrive on site as a moment of recognition. 'They looked as though they had grown from the desert sand,' she says. 'As if the site had been waiting for them.'

At Giza, Echoes of the Infinite sits with a calm that belies its complexity. The three sculptures align with the three Pyramids as though the site had anticipated their arrival, yet their presence rests on months of blue-sky engineering: hollowed stone, concealed steel, calibrated joints and surfaces tuned to heat and wind. What emerges is a study in how mineral colour, geological time and contemporary form can meet without strain. The work holds its place airily, as though carved from the desert, its origin reading as geological, its logistics effectively invisible.

‘Forever is Now .05’ is on view until 6 December 2025,
Giza Plateau, Cairo

Keith Haring's carousel – one of Luna Luna's most notable exhibits – has inspired a playful new furniture collection with Gufram. The radical Italian design house has worked with the Keith Haring Foundation to reissue two of Haring's original fairground seats, The Dog, and the Crawling Baby, which will soon be available to buy.

The new seats capture Haring’s renowned two-dimensional line drawings in sculpture form. His pop-art visual language is reproduced in polyurethane with a Guflac finish (a proprietary paint which leaves a leather effect, developed by the Italian design brand).

The park's inaugural opening was in 1987 in Hamburg, Germany and attracted around 300,000 people in three months. It was Heller’s dream to get the park on tour, yet it never managed to make it to New York.

The theme park originally featured around 30 rides designed by artists such as Joseph Beuys, Sonia Delaunay, Rebecca Horn, Salvador Dalí, and David Hockney, in addition to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Kenny Scharf.

The exclusive collaboration between Gufram and Luna Luna, in partnership with the Keith Haring Foundation, is an ode to the artist’s legacy. It will be available soon from lunaluna.com

Born and raised in Manchester, the fashion designer developed a trophy concept that pays tribute to the city, which will host the Brit Awards for the first time, in a switch from its regular home at the O2 arena in London. Inspired by his roots, his design is characterised by an amber-toned resin that nods to the honey of a worker bee, the city's mascot, while the figurine stands atop a sphere representing 'the global reach of British music'.

Williamson follows celebrated creatives who have shaped the awards' trophies over the years, including Yinka Ilori, Es Devlin, Zaha Hadid and Tracey Emin.

As the new trophy is unveiled, we speak to Williamson ahead of the Brit Awards 2026, to find out about his design and his connection to the city of Manchester.

Brit Awards 2026: trophy by Matthew Williamson

Wallpaper*: What have the Brit Awards meant to you over the years?

Matthew Williamson: I have such fond memories of watching The Brits as a child. I remember being excited in the run-up to it, and watching it at home in Manchester with my family was a TV highlight of the year. I always found it so exciting to see the red-carpet arrivals and the presenters and performances. I’ve watched every year since then and still love to see the spectacle of it all.

W*: What moments of the awards’ history have been memorable to you?

MW: Like most, I remember the presenters' blunders, and of course Madonna’s cape malfunction, but perhaps my favourite performances have been by Adele. She sang 'Someone like You' in 2011, and in 2016, 'When We Were Young'. I loved the magical set and her dress in that performance. It seems like a night to let go and express yourself. I remember one time many years ago dressing Cat Deeley in a pink lace dress, and on stage she was shot out of a cannon. I guess anything goes at The Brits and I love that sense of freedom and self-expression it represents and encourages.

W*: What are the main elements of your trophy design?

MW: The trophy this year sees the iconic Britannia figure cast in an amber-toned resin to represent golden honey. It came from my idea to reflect the city of Manchester and I used the worker bee logo as my starting point. I was keen to keep the form recognisable but change the plinth to a sphere to represent the globe. I imagined winning the trophy and feeling on top of the world; [also] the music the winners create is globally accessible in the blink of an eye.

W*: Tell us about the materials and manufacturing.

MW: The trophy was created in honey-pigmented resin. It was moulded using a pattern produced from a 3D render of the original visual. Once removed from the mould, it was cured in an oven, then polished and given a high-gloss lacquer finish.

W*: How important is the trophy’s connection to Manchester?

MW: Manchester is my birth place. I grew up there, was educated there and now visit as often as I can. I love the city and have seen it go from strength to strength over the years, largely due to the people. My parents and sister still live there. I was keen to make the award have a true Manchester connection and the worker bee and its honey sprang almost immediately to mind once I got the call. I wanted the Mancunians to feel proud and in some way this trophy is a tribute to them and their city.

W*: The ceremony is in Manchester this year – why is this important for you?

MW: When I was growing up in Manchester, the music scene was such an important part of defining who I was as a person. I listened to the Stone Roses, New Order, The Happy Mondays, The Smiths and more. Such great musicians hail from Manchester, so this location for The Brits feels very fitting. Manchester has contributed so much to the music we all listen to. My style, my identity, work ethic and general outlook on life have all come from my formative years in Manchester.

W*: What makes the city special for you?

MW: It’s really developed for the better over the past few years. Earlier this year, I took my partner, sister, daughter and my Mum to see Billie Eilish at the Co-op Live, incidentally where The Brits is being held next year. We had the best night! I think the people make the city. It’s perhaps a cliché, but it’s also true that the people there are so warm, friendly, kind and funny. A Mancunian will have your back – [they are] down to earth, resilient and just good people to be around. I'm really proud of the trophy I’ve designed and I can’t wait to be back in Manchester to reveal it as it couldn’t be more fitting. It’s a great milestone moment for me as a person and for my career.

What’s now referred to as Miami Art Week has grown around Art Basel Miami Beach –the vast contemporary art fair held at the Miami Beach Convention Center since 2002 – and its sister exhibition, Design Miami, which launched in 2005 and is now a highlight of the collectible design calendar. This showcase of avant-garde work was co-founded by developer and collector Craig Robins and designer Ambra Medda, and has since taken place annually and concurrently with the art fair.

Over the years, more fairs and events have joined the fray, including Untitled Art, which occupies a huge tent erected on the beach; NADA; and Art Miami and Context, all of which take place across Biscayne Bay in Downtown Miami. Add to that a wide array of independent shows, museum exhibitions, brand activations, temporary installations, pop-up retail spaces and, of course, countless parties hosted across Miami and Miami Beach.

While the wider Miami Art Week has become increasingly commercial over the past decade, Design Miami remains a thoughtfully curated showcase of high-quality collectible furniture, objects and functional artworks. And although the event does invite brands to participate, these typically involve collaborations with international designers who create installations that range from ethereal to highly technical – and everything in between.

This year, Design Miami is open to ticket-holders from 3–7 December, with an invite-only preview day on 2 December. To mark the culmination of the fair’s milestone 20th anniversary year, renowned American design curator Glenn Adamson is using the theme ‘Make. Believe.’ to look both back and forward at the world of collectible design and guide the direction of the event – which includes a special-projects programme of satellite installations and partner activations.

What is Design Miami?

Design Miami showcases some of the most innovative, artful and avant-garde collectible design by global talents, presented by galleries from the US and around the world. Over 70 exhibitors – including more than 25 debuts – will participate in the 2025 edition, with notable returning galleries including the Future Perfect, Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Friedman Benda, David Gill Gallery, Superhouse and many more.

Alongside the 30 large gallery booths, a series of ‘Curios’ spotlights smaller or emerging galleries and their designers, providing a platform for new talent, while several brand-sponsored installations activate the venue. In recent years, the show has expanded its international remit, with new editions in Seoul (September) and Paris (October).

Where is Design Miami?

Design Miami is located in Miami Beach’s famed South Beach neighbourhood, close to the Art Deco district of architectural gems from the 1920s and 30s, and just a couple of blocks from the beachfront. The event takes place in a large temporary structure set up in Pride Park, right beside the Miami Beach Convention Center in which Art Basel is held, making it easy to hop between the two.

Visitors arriving by car are dropped off at Convention Center Drive and 19th Street, but since traffic is notoriously gnarly during this week – even by Miami standards – consider arriving on foot from the nearby hotels on Collins Avenue.

Top things to see during Design Miami 2025

Gargantua Thumb by Katie Stout

For its 10th annual design commission, the Miami Design District has tapped artist Katie Stout to create a playful public artwork that visitors can interact with – and, in this case, sit on. Her series of large-scale sculptural benches, named Gargantua Thumb, will be installed throughout the pedestrian alleys that criss-cross the popular retail destination. The fantastical pieces began as miniature clay animals that Stout hand-sculpted with intentional irregularities, before they were digitally scanned, enlarged and milled from durable outdoor-ready materials. The benches will remain on view through spring 2026.

Perfume Transformation by Clive Christian Perfume and Crosby Studios

Designer Harry Nuriev’s Crosby Studios is partnering with fragrance house Clive Christian Perfume to create an immersive, monochromatic installation that interprets scent as a spatial experience. Visitors will be invited into the sensory environment to imagine what a scent might look like, free from literal association, with the journey beginning in a miniature cinema. The installation is intended to offer a first glimpse into the brand’s new creative direction ahead of its global flagship opening in London.

Design Miami 2.0 curated by Glenn Adamson

To mark the fair’s 20th edition, curator Glenn Adamson has selected eight ‘compelling voices in design’ to present works that align with his theme, ‘Make. Believe.’ Each designer will unveil a capsule collection that showcases their imaginative practices and underlines the continued importance of experimentation in contemporary design. Highlights include Steven Young Lee’s surreal ceramic forms; Stephen Burks Man Made’s translation of Kuba textiles into wooden works; and Jack Craig’s ‘moulded carpet’ sculptures.

Fonderia Fendi by Conie Vallese

Argentine designer Conie Vallese is celebrating fashion house Fendi’s 100th anniversary with a show exploring ‘feminine strength’ through Italian craft. Her collaborations with five ateliers specialising in bronze, ceramic, glass, carpet and leather have resulted in one-of-a-kind Fendi pieces in a Roman palette of rosy bronze, and shades of the brand’s signature sorbetto yellow and pale blue. The designs will be presented in a reinterpretation of a Roman saletto, or living room, alongside a limited-edition Fendi Peekaboo bag designed by Vallese.

Memories of the Future by Achille Salvagni Atelier

Amongst this year’s Design Miami debuts is Achille Salvagni Atelier, a collectible design gallery and studio with locations in Rome, London and New York. Its 'Memories of the Future' installation will pair Italian midcentury works by masters such as Gio Ponti and Renzo Zavanella with contrasting contemporary pieces by designer Achille Salvagni. Housed within a futuristic setting formed by metallic walls and a deep orange carpet, highlights include a 1951 cabinet marking the first collaboration between Ponti and Piero Fornasetti, as well as a sculptural Zavanella armchair.

Inside Teatro della Cometa

The theatre was originally designed in 1958 by architect Tomaso Buzzi and Countess Anna Laetitia ‘Mimì’ Pecci Blunt. Now the theatre has lifted the curtain on its new visual identity by Studio Sonnoli, reflecting its diverse offering and contemporary approach to musical performance.

For the interiors, Tudisco worked alongside Poltrona Frau’s Custom Interiors branch, specialising in designing and producing custom seating specifically for shared spaces such as auditoriums, performance venues and hospitality establishments.

Wanting to reclaim the building’s original beauty and functionality, Poltrona Frau worked on a solution that was inspired by its own ‘TLT’ model (a seating plan originally designed for historic theatre settings), which was expertly tweaked to accommodate the theatre's distinct layout.

Across the stalls and two balconies, three different seat heights were implemented, positioned in a way to give every viewer optimal sightlines. Each armchair was designed to match the building’s original 1950s interiors, while the inclination of the seats and backrests were set to enhance visibility and performance.

The chairs were upholstered in lavishly rich red Rubelli fabrics, injecting elegance and old-world opulence.

‘It is a privilege for us to contribute to the restoration of Teatro della Cometa,’ says Nicola Coropulis, CEO of Poltrona Frau. ‘Through our Custom Interiors Business Unit, we collaborate on some of the world’s most distinguished auditoriums and theatres, yet contributing to the rebirth of such a historic Roman landmark holds a truly special significance. This project reflects Poltrona Frau’s ability to unite craftsmanship and technical innovation, bringing new life, value, and beauty to a symbolic place of Italian culture.’

‘When you're out there at sunset it's like a colour dome — it's just this rainbow of colours from east to west,’ he says.

Franklin channelled all that vibrancy into a recent body of work created with Kohler’s MakerSpace artist residency program. Specifically, he made ceramic fish — hundreds and hundreds of them — which now hang in mesmerising arrays in Kohler showrooms and even the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

A funny thing happened when Franklin was developing glazes for his next school of sturgeon, walleye and trout: he helped invent Kohler’s newest finish, Pearlized.

It all started when one of the workers in the Kohler factory decided to stick some pieces of ceramic into a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) machine, a multi-million-dollar device that’s usually used to put metallic finishes on faucet parts. The piece came out as gleaming as bullion. Franklin wondered, could they do the same for his fish?

After a period of trial and error, Franklin and the Kohler team managed to create a hypnotic pearlescent coating which exuded a rainbow-like gleam not unlike the artist’s treasured vistas of Puget Sound. ‘It captures both the iridescence of a fish, but also the water at sunset,’ he says.

The company liked the experiment so much that a cluster of Franklin’s shimmering fish became the centrepiece of Kohler’s booth at Salone del Mobile last year (according to Franklin, CEO David Kohler even kept a ceramic fish on his desk). ‘People were so excited about it,' Franklin remembers. 'I think the reaction showed that, wow, there is something here.'

Pearlized will make its official debut at Design Miami this December as part of a special installation designed by Harry Nuriev of Crosby Studios at the fair. The centrepiece of the installation will be a limited-edition Derring Carillon sink in the Pearlized finish. With its iridescent coating, the sink appears like a gleaming abalone shell, something straight from a mermaid's dream house.

While Kohler doesn’t have plans to expand Pearlized into other products just yet, the debut hints at more innovations to come and the company’s ongoing commitment to artist collaborations, one that was especially valuable to Franklin:

‘It was incredible to have carte blanche to play in the factory like that,’ he said.

Pearlized will be on view to the public at Design Miami from 3-7 December.

Set within the former location of George Nelson’s studio on Park Avenue South (a location that has served as the company's public space since the 1940s), the showroom embodies MillerKnoll's mission to preserve its design legacy while connecting its audience with contemporary creativity through innovative design conversations.

'This space underscores the company’s commitment to using design as a catalyst for human connection,' reads a note introducing the reimagined showroom, and the inaugural exhibition reflects this vision.

For the gallery's debut, the company chose a project originally presented at Triennale Milano in 2024: Walking Sticks and Canes is an exhibition curated by Japanese designer Keiji Takeuchi, who invited designers to create a walking stick that answered the question: 'How can we change a stigma into a purposeful product that makes you want to go outside and walk with your friends again?’ 

Takeuchi asked 19 designers to reinterpret the walking stick, 'not as a tool but as a gesture of movement and connection.' The group includes Herman Miller collaborators Jasper Morrison and Cecilie Manz alongside international designers such as Julie Richoz and Marialaura Irvine.

'Our role is to open doors to design experiences that aren’t always accessible,' says Kelsey Keith, Creative Director at MillerKnoll. 'Bringing Walking Sticks & Canes to New York connects people to these designers’ work and draws a line from very big questions to detailed, tactile answers. We’re also rethinking our showrooms as spaces where design becomes a living, evolving practice: something to experience.'

This focus on design for living is all the more poignant as it sits within MillerKnoll's creative ecosystem. Set over 11 floors and more than 77,000 square feet, this is the first space in the United States to combine contract showrooms and retail stores from Knoll and Herman Miller, as well as brands from the group that include, Muuto, Maharam and Hay.

MillerKnoll, 251 Park Ave S, New York, NY 10010

'The relentlessness of our phones, the digital noise, the pace that we are expected to maintain at every hour of the day – I think all of that makes analogue experiences feel like a breath of fresh air. '

'In the digital age,' she points out, 'you no longer need to use paper for everyday things, you choose paper, when the situation asks for it, and so you must think about that choice and use the right paper.'

For Cooper-Wright, that means sustainably made notebook and diary pages that are a joy to write on. As Mark+Fold reaches its tenth anniversary, that instinct feels well founded. To celebrate, the brand has opened its first-ever pop-up shop on London’s Brick Lane.

The Shoreditch space marks a decade of the brand’s steady rise. Since 2015, Mark+Fold has carved out a place among discerning stationery lovers for its considered design, meticulous production values, and a belief in the simple, grounding act of putting ideas on paper. The pop-up will showcase the full new collection – including the 2026 diary range – alongside the brand’s core products.

And that's not all. A programme of talks brings long-time collaborators into the fold. Writer Huma Qureshi, who drafted her memoir in a Mark+Fold notebook, will discuss process and the ritual of choosing ‘the right’ notebook. Patrick Grant, fashion designer and Great British Sewing Bee judge, joins Cooper-Wright to explore craftsmanship, sustainability, and their shared ethos of honest, local production. Textile artist Margo Selby will launch a new edition of Mark+Fold notebooks featuring her Shuttle II design, bringing her bold geometric language to the brand’s signature minimal, tactile format.

In addition to the main collection, the anniversary will spotlight a rare series of ‘Editions of 10’ – small-batch, hand-bound books produced in collaboration with Wyvern Bindery in Hackney. These continue Mark+Fold’s longstanding tradition of championing skilled makers, from bookbinders to marblers, and sit within the brand’s ongoing commitment to preserving endangered crafts.

The 2026 diary, developed with Swiss-German typographic designer Catherine Nippe, also takes centre stage. Clean, flexible and understated, it’s available in a special linen-bound edition with a debossed foil ‘26’ and cotton ribbon – a nod to the brand’s obsession with detail and longevity.

For Cooper-Wright, the pop-up is a chance to gather the community that has grown around a shared love of paper, precision, and the power of a crisp blank page.

The Mark + Fold pop up is open to the public from 12 to 25 November 2025 at 228 Brick Lane, London E2 7EE

Presented through six modular ‘officescapes’, the project reinterprets the logic, structure and psychology of work using the USM Haller system – the celebrated modular furniture first developed in 1961 by Paul Schärer and Fritz Haller.

Conceived shortly after May’s move to New York last year, the project draws on the city’s density, energy and intellectual charge, and most pointedly on the building in which it was developed: 161 Water Street, home to May’s own studio. Once the AIG headquarters, the Emery Roth & Sons-designed tower was built in 1982 , amid the high-gloss, high-ambition corporate boom of the era. This historical backdrop set the tone for May’s investigation into how spatial design can reflect, support and evolve with today’s working patterns.

'The needs of modern work are fluid, constantly redefined by technology, geography, and personality, ' explains May, who is known for his sleek and minimalist aesthetic. 'Using the adaptability of the USM Haller system, my approach was to create environments that are not prescriptive – spaces that can adapt to the evolving patterns of creative and intellectual life. Each officescape is designed to encourage clarity of thought, calm, and self-definition – qualities that, to me, define the new architecture of work.’

The six 'officescapes' each embody a specific archetype of working intelligence: the 'Collector' is curiosity and research, the 'Strategist' speaks to structure, the 'Editor' represents precision, the 'Maker' – experimentation, the 'Archivist' – order, while the 'Observer' is an exploration of contemplation. Designed between eight and 12 linear feet, each is a fully functional workspace intended to function independently or as part of a connected spatial network.

Photographed within WSA’s glass-fronted third floor, the 'officescapes' use the building’s neutral architecture as context and subject. The project marks the beginning of an ongoing, global study by May and USM into typologies of work, with future iterations planned in response to different cultures and cities.

One configuration, 'The Collector', will be on view at Basic.Space NYC – an invite-only event run by social commerce platform Basic.Space in downtown Manhattan – until 16 November 2025.

What began as a modest artist exchange has evolved into a community of more than 400 contributors spanning 40 countries, united by colour, process and a commitment to slow, human-centred communication.

The 100th issue, titled Risottopia, marks the project’s most ambitious edition yet. Instead of focusing on a single city or theme, Marcella has invited three of the most influential figures in modern design – Nathalie Du Pasquier, Peter Shire and Barbara Stauffacher Solomon – to contribute new artworks. These are designers who have profoundly shaped Marcella’s own practice, and whose impact stretches across movements, decades and continents. The result is a vivid visual conversation between Memphis, Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Glasgow: a utopian meeting place conjured through ink, shape and pattern.

For subscribers, Rottopia arrives as a limited-edition pack of hand-printed postcards, mailed exclusively throughout November. As ever, the process is defiantly analogue. 'Every month we print, fold and ship the work by hand,' says Marcella. 'It’s labour-intensive, but it’s an act of love – a reminder that design can still travel slowly, beautifully, and surprise.'

Alongside the anniversary edition, Risotto is planning a public retrospective for 2026 and will launch a digital Riso Club Atlas, mapping the project’s global reach and the hundreds of artworks produced so far. Together, these initiatives underscore the studio’s dedication to sustaining a print culture that values tactility, imperfection and exchange.

At a moment when digital images circulate effortlessly, Riso Club’s commitment to ink, postage stamps and physical connection feels almost radical. Its 100th issue is not only a celebration of print, but a reminder that correspondence – something shared, held and kept –will always have the power to move people.

Non-members have until 30th November to secure their pack at risottostudio.com

What do you do when you own one of the Hudson Valley’s oldest houses and want to modernise it without losing its historic soul? For artist Michele Lobo, owner of Hyphen House, the answer was to turn to family: she commissioned her daughter’s design practice, NoNo Studio, co-founded by Susannah Stopford and Alejandra Murillo.

The house dates back to the 1700s, and was built for the Dutch Van Messler family on their then-flower farm. Originally divided into three separate apartments, the home has been transformed into a single, flowing residence. Its name, Hyphen House, reflects the reconnection of fragmented spaces, where the thick stone walls and inherited structural quirks required careful choreography. ‘The process was a high-stakes game of chess,’ say Stopford and Murillo.

At the heart of the project was preserving the house’s history while updating it for modern life. ‘The house carried the imprint of its past, which we were eager to preserve and amplify,’ the designers explain.

When Lobo first arrived, the property felt like stepping into a time capsule, steeped in the Van Messlers’ legacy. ‘Flowers covered everything: wallpaper in nearly every room, floral motifs on light switches, lampshades adorned with blooms. It was so charming, but just a little much,’ the designers recall. Some of this remains – the original wallpaper in the southern living room and downstairs powder room, for example – while elsewhere it was reimagined and elevated.

NoNo Studio also retained quirky, memorable details like the original wax melter for candle making, hidden behind a fireplace in the northern living room. ‘That mantle is also one of our favourite features, stripped back to the original wood after many hours of removing flecks of paint,’ Stopford and Murillo add.

Other preserved features include silk-screen wallpaper that even wraps the radiator pipes in the southern living room, a stone wall in the kitchen, a powder room tucked under the stairs, and a ‘wonky little bookcase tucked in and around the stair in the southern living room, filled to the brim with well-thumbed art books’.

Colour and material choices were guided by the home’s history and Lobo’s existing collection of art and objects, likened by the designers to ‘filling in a crossword puzzle’. Furnishings balance heritage and freshness, combining 18th-century antiques with pieces from Lobo’s globally sourced collection. The overarching question was always, ‘what defines the character of this place and what components of that identity can we preserve?’ say Stopford and Murillo.

The renovation had a practical goal: to create a home that could support Lobo’s artistic life. ‘We wanted to transform this disused flower farm into a vibrant and functional compound for a multi-hyphenate creative,’ continue the designers. After decades abroad, Lobo sought a space to settle near family while accommodating her work across multiple mediums and scales. Today, the plot hums with creativity, featuring a sculpture studio in the former flower shop and a barn converted into an art gallery and entertaining space.

The result is a home that is warm, slightly ‘unbuttoned’ and endlessly inspiring – an ‘incubator of creativity’, as Stopford and Murillo describe it. The designers embraced the building’s quirks, like parallel staircases and duplicate living spaces, turning them into opportunities rather than obstacles. ‘Anyone can build something new, but keeping the spirit of something old alive? That’s what we love to do the most.’

The pair was reunited last week in New York as part of a special temporary exhibition staged by the Italian fabric brand Dedar. The company had recently reissued a collection of Albers’ textile designs, and Rudolph's experimental Modulightor residence in Midtown Manhattan (now the Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture) was the perfect venue in which to debut the collection to a US audience.

Both multihyphenates trained in the Bauhaus tradition but continuously challenged its orthodoxy. They pushed past the austerity of 'high' modernism, advocating for a stronger focus on the artistically-expressive and culturally-responsive potential of materials and complex forms.

Dedar’s Weaving Albers collection (first debuted during Milan Design Week this April) comprises a comprehensive range of designs created over 50 years. Albers’ textiles often stemmed from her extensive travels and rediscovery of long-overlooked craft traditions. Take a design like En Route — an abstract representation of the geologic forms you can observe outside an airplane window. Developed in close partnership with the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation, the offering also includes designs like Ancient Writing, a geometric translation of prehistoric Native American texts.

The Modulightor building, Rudolph's final project, reflects a similar mastery of depth and willingness to experiment. The enigmatic building is defined by its intersecting open-structure rectangles, extending from the facade through to a matrix of open-plan interiors. It just so happens that the all-white I-beams used throughout lent themselves well to the hanging of textiles, as conceived by stylist stylist Akari Endo-Gaut.

'My approach for designing this exhibition was deeply rooted in a desire to weave together three worlds: architecture, the designs of Anni Albers, and the fabrics themselves,' Endo-Gaut says. 'The iconic building by Paul Rudolph [functioned] as a loom.'

For 2026, Alcova will return to the design city (after two editions in Varedo, north of Milan) and revisits its former venue of the Baggio Military Hospital as well as Franco Albini's Rationalist Villa Pestarini.

'Together, these two locations form an architectural dialogue between preservation and reinvention,' say Alcova founders, Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima. 'Within this framework, Alcova will once again host a constellation of designers, studios, companies, and institutions: a temporary microcosm of the creative voices shaping design culture today.

Villa Pestarini

Franco Albini's Rationalist gem Villa Pestarini dates back to 1939, when the architect was just 33 years old. The restrained geometry of the villa's architecture once again serves as a domestic background to the Alcova displays (after two years within the modernist environs of Villa Borsani).

Featuring a white rectangular structure, glass-brick facades and floodlit spaces, the villa has been preserved over the years by its owners who have honoured Albini's vision.

'The house remains an almost miraculous testimony to Albini’s unique balance of discipline and poetry, and one of the most authentic expressions of recurring themes in his work,' reads a note accompanying the announcement. Among the house's feature are an effortless marble staircase, sliding room partitions and original custom-made furnishings that contribute to a combination of 'discipline and poetry.'

Baggio Military Hospital

Visitors to Alcova 2022 may remember the Centro Ospedaliero Militare di Baggio, a former military hospital whose abandoned spaces perfectly embody the design event's radical approach to the city's architecture mixed with innovative design concepts.

For this new edition, Alcova welcomes its guests to new and unseen spaces within the complex, including a church and historic archive, offering a multilayered experience to those visiting the exhibition. 'Over time, the complex has continued to evolve, poetically weaving the built and natural landscapes together into an ever-changing ecosystem that blurs the boundary between natural and man-made,' says a note introducing the building.

‘Villa Giulia’ features a captivating mix of furniture and accessories designed by Sultana and painted by Ruspoli. The collection includes side tables, a coffee table, guéridon tables, a series of mirrors, and several box designs crafted from oak and vellum with bronze detailing. Each piece draws inspiration from the elegance of the Mediterranean and the refined geometry of modernist villa interiors. The pair were particularly influenced by the work of French artist, writer and filmmaker Jean Cocteau – notably his decoration of Villa Santo Sospir on the French Riviera – as well as Pablo Picasso’s murals at the Château de Castille in Provence and Henri Matisse’s drawings on the walls of his studio near Nice.

Each object in the collection features graceful, fluid inlaid drawings of Ruspoli’s distinctive silhouettes of young men and androgynous figures, inspired by Ancient Greece and Rome. The artist’s work merges the classical fresco traditions with minimalist, gestural line work to evoke timeless human and mythological forms. In ‘Villa Giulia’, these inlays appear in a palette of Greco-Roman-inspired hues – azure blue, turquoise and oxblood. ‘For this collaboration, I have inspired myself from the collection of Etruscan engraved mirrors of the archeological museum of Villa Giulia in Rome, interpreting them with a modern twist,’ says Ruspoli.

As for Sultana, he ‘[wanted] to create a collection that really encapsulated that sense of magic that Roberto captured for [him] at Hotel La Palma’. ‘His drawings are so timeless, with an innate sense of romance and whimsy that I so love,' says the designer. 'I wanted to create a capsule collection of furniture and accessories that meant that everyone could have a little piece of Mediterranean magic in their homes, wherever they are in the world.’

The best places to shop for second hand furniture online

1stDibs

One of the largest global marketplaces connecting collectors, designers and dealers with rare pieces, 1stDibs offers everything from mid-century modern furniture to designer decor and museum-quality antiques. The platform places a strong focus on provenance, partnering with galleries and experts to ensure authenticity, making it the go-to destination for investment-grade design rather than casual resale.

Chairish

Shoppers can browse everything from Hollywood Regency dressers and mid-century sideboards to art prints, mirrors, rugs and lighting on this curated resale marketplace. Chairish caters to both design professionals and design-loving consumers, positioning resale as a sustainable and stylish alternative to new production.

Etsy

Always a reliable resource for, well, almost anything, Etsy connects independent makers, collectors and vintage sellers with buyers worldwide. Among its vast inventory of decor, art, furniture, textiles and more, you can find everything from retro lamps to handmade ceramics – a marketplace that blends creative craftsmanship with accessible vintage resale.

Pamono

This Berlin-based platform Pamono specialises in vintage and contemporary design furniture, lighting and art, with a catalogue spanning iconic 20th-century designers, studios and decor. It’s a veritable treasure trove for quality-curated classics like Eames chairs, Murano glass lamps, Bauhaus-inspired desks and Scandinavian teak tables.

Curiouz

A contemporary resale platform for pre-owned design furniture, Curiouz offers listings of modern classics – think Knoll tables, Vitra chairs and sculptural lighting. Its clean, meticulous curation makes it a favourite among professionals and design aficionados alike, bridging sustainability and design through pre-loved furniture.

LOT

LOT positions itself as a modern resale gallery, offering design enthusiasts crafted and heritage furniture and objects. Its inventory includes mid-century seating, collectible ceramics, minimalist lighting and contemporary art, bridging design, sustainability and storytelling.

2nd Home

UK-based 2nd Home connects quality-conscious consumers with pre-owned pieces from the likes of Flos, Knoll, Carl Hansen and much more. Expect premium, designer furniture, lighting and accessories ranging from sofas and dining sets to floor lamps and statement décor.

Whoppah

This Dutch resale marketplace for pre-owned designer furniture, art and décor handles logistics, quality check and delivery, making it easy to trade contemporary European design at accessible prices. At Whoppah expect to find high-end interior icons like Ligne Roset sofas, Moooi lighting and Vitra chairs.

Vinterior

Vinterior is a UK marketplace connecting independent furniture dealers and vintage sellers with buyers on the hunt for the antique, retro and everything in between – with all pieces being fully authenticated and quality-checked. The platform focuses on extending the life of furniture through resale, helping consumers furnish their homes uniquely and sustainably.

Selency

France-based online marketplace Selency’s selection spans farmhouse tables, rattan chairs, mid-century storage and more – championing a cosy, character-filled home while promoting conscious consumption. Every vintage and second-hand item is hand-verified and sourced from private sellers or small boutiques.

Cherry Cargo

Cherry Cargo is a resale platform for high-end, second-hand modern classics. It specialises in design-led furniture and accessories, from sculptural seating and minimalist storage to artistic lighting and unique décor pieces.

IntOndo

This Italian vintage furniture marketplace connects European dealers and private sellers with global buyers. IntOndo's catalogue includes mid-century seating, art deco dressers, brass lighting, decorative glassware and much more, with an emphasis on Italian and continental design.

MCF Select

You’ll find design-forward pieces such as Italian sofas, marble tables, brass lighting and statement art at MCF Select – an online destination that serves design-discerning customers with a pre-owned luxury selection. With an emphasis on timeless design and craftsmanship as well as sustainability, it is a platform for collectors and homeowners alike.

AptDeco

This US-based marketplace simplifies the buying and selling of pre-owned furniture with secure payment, pickup and delivery. AptDeco users can shop for pieces from brands like Pottery Barn, Herman Miller and Article, spanning sofas, office chairs, tables, beds and decor, making good design sustainable and attainable.

Ordinarily, oríkì is a Yoruba word meaning ‘praise poetry’, a form of oral literature used to celebrate, honour, and invoke the essence of a person, a place, a lineage, or even a deity. In Nifemi’s world, it is a merging of industrial design with cultural memory. His ‘Oríkì’ series of designs explores the intersections of material and identity. Comprising three parts or ‘acts’ – ‘Friction Ridge’; ‘Tales by Moonlight’; and ‘Whispers of a Trail’, each of which has been the subject of previous exhibitions as the series has evolved – draws on bronze, aluminium, and copper to reflect on Africa’s histories of making and transformation. Each material serves a purpose: bronze recalls the legacy of West African metalwork, aluminium speaks to Lagos’ informal economies of repair and reinvention, and copper captures the elemental forces of exchange and transformation.

Wallpaper* sat with Nifemi to discuss ‘Material Affirmations – Oríkì Acts I–III’, which unites the whole series of works, and the city of Lagos as his muse.

Nifemi Marcus-Bello on ‘Oríkì Acts I–III’

Wallpaper*: This is your first solo exhibition in Lagos; how do you feel about that?

Nifemi Marcus-Bello: It feels both grounding and expansive. Lagos is not just where I live and work, it’s the city and place that inspired this body of work. The conditions and histories of Africa are my greatest sources of inspiration: the solutions that are found, the histories that are hidden, the ingenuity and resilience that define everyday life. There’s an elegant, elemental beauty in that perseverance. The spirit of Lagos, its ability to adapt, create, and endure run through every piece in the series. Showing the beauty and sophistication within that reality is what this work is really about. And seeing how my family, friends, and local audience respond to it is nourishing and inspiring.

W*: Remind us how the whole ‘Oríkì’ series started and where you’ve presented its various acts?

NM: The series began in 2023 as a way to explore material, identity, and the unseen networks that shape how things are made. ‘Act I – Friction Ridge’ focused on repetition, touch, and the relationship between the maker and the surface of the object. ‘Act II – Tales by Moonlight’, presented at Design Miami 2023, looked outward – tracing stories of production and adaptation through Lagos’ informal industries, especially the auto-part casters who repair and reimagine what global systems discard. ‘Act III — Whispers of a Trail’, which opened this year at Marta in Los Angeles, turns its attention to copper, a single elemental material through which I’ve been examining the politics of extraction, refinement, and transformation. Across the three acts, the series maps an evolving conversation about material life; how design, craft, and survival are deeply intertwined across the continent.

I’ve always been drawn to the everyday objects that define how we live and move through the world. Beyond ‘Oríkì’, some of the other works I’m recognised for include the ‘LM Stool’ (2018), which came from working directly with a Lagos factory that produced metal casings for generators – we reimagined what could be made from that same sheet metal using subtraction rather than addition. The ‘Selah Lamp’ (2019) extended that thinking, designed to be quiet and adaptable – a single folded piece that could be a lamp, stool, or shelf.

All of this connects to my ongoing research platform, Africa – A Designer’s Utopia, which looks at the informal networks of production across the continent – how people design and build through necessity, with intelligence and ingenuity. That world of improvised systems and resilient solutions continues to be my biggest inspiration.

W*: Is the Lagos exhibition a continuation of your presentation at Marta, Los Angeles?

NM: Yes, but it’s also a return. The presentation in Los Angeles closed the ‘Oríkì’ trilogy, but this exhibition brings those ideas back to the place that first inspired them. The Lagos show doesn’t repeat what was shown at Marta; instead, it recontextualises it. It’s a way of seeing how those same ideas, about extraction, transformation, and the poetry of material, live and breathe within the environment that shaped them, and in conversation with one another.

W*: What made you want to use praise poetry as the idea behind this series?

NM: Oríkì is both praise and poetry, a way of naming that carries memory, lineage, and identity. The idea of it is so close to the heart of design. An oríkì is not just about describing someone or something, but invoking their essence. That felt very close to how I think about making: as an act of remembrance and affirmation. Each work in the series is its own kind of oríkì – a way of honouring the hands, histories, and materials that define our world.

W* You worked with bronze, aluminium, and copper – why those materials in particular?

NM: Each of these materials carries a different layer of meaning and history, and each is found here on the continent, and too often extracted and exported. Bronze connects to longstanding casting traditions across West Africa; it’s a material of memory and legacy. Aluminium speaks to the present, to the improvisational industries of Lagos where it’s constantly melted, reformed, and repurposed. And copper, which became the focus of ‘Act III’, is elemental; it embodies conductivity, transformation, and exchange.

W*: There’s a clear nod to the Benin bronzes and metal traditions across West Africa. How do those histories show up in your work?

NM: Those histories are part of the foundation of how I think about making. The Benin bronzes, and other metal traditions across West Africa, represent an advanced understanding of material, symbolism, and narrative; they were never just decorative – they were records of power, spirituality, and community. I’m interested in continuing that dialogue, not by recreating those forms, but by exploring how those same ideas of casting, storytelling, and transformation live in the present. In Lagos, metalwork is still everywhere, but now it exists in scrapyards, auto workshops, and foundries. My work tries to bridge those worlds. To show that the same spirit of invention and cultural memory persists, just in different forms.

W*: You mentioned that some of the aluminium pieces came from Lagos’ auto industry. How do you see the link between industry and craft in what you do?

NM: In Lagos, the line between industry and craft is very thin, sometimes it doesn’t exist at all. The same foundries that cast engine parts are often the ones helping me make these works. There’s a deep, intuitive understanding of material and process in those spaces, even if it isn’t formalised as ‘design’. For me, that’s where the most interesting ideas come from; the overlap between improvisation and precision, between survival and creation. Industry and craft here aren’t opposites; they’re part of one continuous system of making, shaped by necessity, resourcefulness, and care.

W*: The accompanying monograph features voices including Eames Demetrios and Glenn Adamson. How did those conversations shape how you see the project now?

NM: Those dialogues helped position this work, and African design more broadly, within the global context of design history. Eames and Glenn both brought perspectives that situate making in Lagos as part of a much larger lineage of design thinking, not outside of it. Their reflections underscored that the processes, materials, and problem-solving happening here are just as vital to the evolution of global design as what’s documented in Western institutions. That acknowledgment matters; it reframes African design not as peripheral or emerging, but as foundational, continuously innovating and redefining what design can be.

W*: This show covers ‘Acts I–III’; do you think there’ll be more acts to come or is this the full story for now?

NM: Honestly, I don’t know. The ‘Oríkì’ series feels complete in its current form, but the questions it raised, about material, place, and identity, are still very alive for me. I think of these acts less as an ending and more as a foundation. The work continues to evolve through new contexts, new collaborations, new materials. So while this chapter might be closed, the ideas will keep unfolding in different ways.

‘Material Affirmations: Oríkì Acts I–III’ is on view at Tiwani Contemporary until 10 January 2026

13 Elsie Femi Pearse Street
Victoria Island
Lagos

Until now, collectible design has been an outsider at Salone del Mobile, quite literally: dotted everywhere in the city around Fuorisalone, it rarely entered the fair itself. For its 64th edition, Salone del Mobile embraces one-off designs with a new platform curated by Annalisa Rosso, Editorial Director and Cultural Events Advisor of Salone del Mobile, and designed by Formafantasma.

'We have worked to build a new design, cultural and commercial ecosystem that constitutes a concrete and valuable opportunity for both exhibitors and visitors, generating new connections and market opportunities,' says Rosso. 'Salone Raritas builds open channels of communication between realities that until very recently seemed far apart, allowing many of them a chance to meet for the first time.'

Salone Raritas aims at bridging the gap between highly-skilled creative production and the contemporary design market. The exhibition space will feature limited edition and collectible design, unique pieces, antiques and fine craftsmanship. It will cement Salone del Mobile's mission to be 'not just a commercial platform but also as a cultural infrastructure: a place where rarity ceases to be an exception and becomes a shared design language.'

Adds Salone president, Maria Porro: 'Salone Raritas was born of an awareness that is also a responsibility, which is to read the evolution of the international market and provide a response consistent with the identity of the Salone del Mobile.Milano.'

Salone Raritas: exhibition design by Formafantasma

Through Formafantasma's exhibition design, Salone Raritas is set to become a large 'architectural lantern': designers Simone Farresin and Andrea Trimarchi imagined a space that 'puts light and rhythm at the service of the pieces. The modular, respectful design allows each gallery to express its own identity while maintaining a choral narrative, designed for both visitor memorability and for market effectiveness.'

Salone Raritas will be part of Salone del Mobile 2026, from 21-26 April at Pavilions 9-11. Fiera Milano, Rho

Fresh from a recent commission to redesign the Italian ambassador’s residence in London, Vinson is well-versed in the creative needs of a diplomatic delegation. His shell was a five-storey listed building, facing Buckingham Palace on one side (it had originally been built as a police station for Queen Victoria), which he chose to adorn in a rich colour palette and art from some of Italy’s most relevant creative moments.

Guests entering Casa Italia are instantly in the thrall of a sophisticated curation that chronicles a rich visual history. ‘Italian lobbies are generally fabulous, so we needed to create something equally fitting,’ says Vinson, who enlisted design studio Formafantasma to create an impactful floor motif for the entrance. Studio founders Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin worked with mosaic specialist Fantini Mosaici on a design inspired by the floors in Luigi Caccia Dominioni’s Teatro Filodrammatici in Milan. Created with stones exclusively available in Italy, the mosaic embodies the spirit of midcentury Italian design while responding to the space and its use. ‘To design it, we imagined the flow from the entrance into the building, creating an infographic of the movements within the room,’ says Farresin.

Vinson’s vision for a grand entrance also included a pair of lifts, a collaboration between Martino Gamper and surface specialist Abet Laminati. Contrasting with the rationalist-style travertine trim from Marsotto and Formafantasma’s ‘Superwire’ pendants, Gamper’s burst of geometric shapes in a palette of blues and yellows both frames the lifts and leads guests inside.

‘I wanted the design to act like a host: to greet visitors, to invite them in, and to carry them gently from one area to the next,’ says Gamper. ‘The geometric compositions are not just decorative; they create a sense of flow and orientation, turning what might be a mere transitional space into a moment of visual pleasure and curiosity.’

The project was supported by art patrons Sian and Matthew Westerman, Valeria Napoleone, Nicoletta Fiorucci and Nathan Clements-Gillespie. ‘Their belief in experimentation creates the space for projects like this to exist,' shares Gamper. 'Nathan, with his curatorial insight, helped shape how the work fits into the larger context of the space and the visitor experience. It’s a collaboration built on trust and shared curiosity, and that makes all the difference.’

Opening this month, Casa Italia will house the Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Cultural Institute, and will include offices for the ambassador and his deputy, as well as workspaces for the economic and political delegation, and administrative and financial offices. Every interior element was painstakingly curated by Vinson, who worked closely with Italian cultural archives, institutions and foundations to put together an art collection that deftly depicts Italy’s artistic landscape, both historical and contemporary.

He also collaborated with manufacturing specialists such as Saporiti, who not only supported Vinson with some of the building’s furnishings, but also helped create architectural uniformity throughout, with rooms entirely clad in panels by Piero Lissoni for Alpi. Listone Giordano supplied the Michele De Lucchi-designed hardwood flooring for a bespoke stage for the main hall.

All the interiors are defined by a style language that blends a classic warmth with a contemporary utilitarian sensibility, as well as a bold and eclectic use of colour and art. The waiting room, a preamble to a library named after Italian 20th-century writer Eugenio Montale, features Vincent Van Duysen’s ‘Augusto’ sofa for Molteni & C and LSM’s ‘Andromeda’ table for UniFor, with a pair of Controluce sculptures by Pietro Consagra. ‘As Pietro Consagra’s heir, I am delighted to be part of an initiative that enhances a historic site with examples of modern and contemporary creativity, conveying a fascinating example of cultural diplomacy,’ says Gabriella Di Milia, who is also president of the artist’s archive.

A pair of sliding doors, designed by Franco Mirenzi and Vittorio Parigi for Citterio, separate this space from the adjoining library, which is fitted out with Dante Bonuccelli’s modular ‘Libreria CF’ bookcase for UniFor, a slim system that complements the room’s visual richness.

‘Supporting Italy and the institutional spaces that represent it around the world is a source of great pride for us: it is an opportunity to express Italian quality and design in some prestigious international contexts,’ says UniFor CEO Carlo Molteni. The space’s multilayered effect is conveyed by some intricately crafted Murano chandeliers, a 1960s Giuseppe Capogrossi tapestry, and furniture that includes chairs by Gio Ponti and Michael Anastassiades for Molteni & C.

Among the public locations within the building is also a small exhibition space, defined by a muted colour scheme. Sliding doors by Rimadesio divide the room, which will serve as a function space and gallery, making its debut in November with an exhibition of works by JMW Turner painted during his travels around Italy.

The work of avant-garde 1960s artist Paolo Scheggi defines the main hall, a room dedicated to talks and press conferences. Art historian Ilaria Bignotti, curator of the Scheggi Archive, explains the pieces in the space. ‘Made with coloured cardboard modules, appropriately folded and cut to form enchanting and dynamic patterns, the Inter-ena-cubi, created between 1967-1969 by Paolo Scheggi, are arranged in the environment as elements of plastic integration to architecture and design.’

The upper floors serve as workspaces for the embassy’s staff, and are characterised by a bold chromatic narrative. Each area is defined by a variation of a single shade, with palettes of red, yellow and green used for desks and cabinets by UniFor, as well as on the walls.

For the offices of the ambassador and his deputy, Vinson imagined two inviting spaces (one in blue, the other in red), with minimalist leather-clad desks by Lella and Massimo Vignelli, Mario Bellini chairs, Gianfranco Frattini ‘Kyoto’ tables and Luigi Caccia Dominioni lamps.

Among Vinson’s most compelling additions to the space is a commission of Italian artist Gianpaolo Pagni, whose work is often created using old scholastic textbooks to reflect what he calls a ‘collective cultural archaeology’. When Vinson and Pagni first met, the artist was working on a series of pieces using a textbook from his school days. ‘These pages bear traces of scribbles and notes; they are underlined in pencil or highlighter, all traces of the time spent studying,’ says Pagni. ‘It’s a curious feeling to find yourself standing before these pages 30 years later, painting on them and leaving another layer of memory.’ Vinson connected Pagni with textile company Rubelli, who recreated the textbook’s pages in canvas, on which the artist painted his motifs.

This quadriptych now hangs in the office meeting room, accompanied by a series of Etruscan sculptures on loan from Rome’s National Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia (more Etruscan objects can be found elsewhere in the space, including in the waiting room).

But perhaps the most symbolic of the project is the Antony Gormley sculpture in the ambassador’s office, representing an aptly harmonious bridge between the British and Italian cultural landscape. ‘I credit the ambassador for his keen desire to have a showcase of Italian-made excellence merged with British creativity,’ says Vinson.

‘The great joy of having a new, purpose-designed building is that we had the opportunity to curate our spaces in direct alignment with our mission as the nexus for artists of African descent, locally, nationally, and internationally,’ says Golden. ‘This meant that we were able to make our mission visible wherever possible, including in our furnishings.’

To achieve this, the museum turned to designers working at the intersection of furniture, craft and cultural expression: Ini Archibong, Charles O Job, Stephen Burks, Mac Collins, Michael Puryear, Peter Mabeo, Marcus Samuelsson, and Sefako Ketosugbo and Tolu Odunfa Dragonë of Brooklyn-based studio Sefako Tolu. Their work now anchors communal spaces across the museum.

‘These incredible designers exist within, and have contributed to, an expansive definition of art – Black art, in particular – that includes furniture design,’ says Golden.

There is much to take in. An ‘Assemblage’ chair by Charles O Job greets visitors in the fifth-floor reception, while Ini Archibong’s ‘Iquo’ chair appears in both the café and the rooftop terrace designed by Harlem-based landscape architects Studio Zewde. In the trustees’ lounge, a chair by Michael Puryear sits alongside three works by Sefako Tolu. Peter Mabeo’s ‘Kalahari’ credenza anchors the conference centre, while Stephen Burks contributes chairs for both the lecture hall stage and the reading room.

The placement of each work reflects deliberate curatorial choices, shaping how people move through and gather within the museum. ‘All of the spaces in our building were designed with the public in mind,’ Golden says. ‘Areas like the stoop and the reading room were created intentionally for communal gatherings, leisure, reflection and conversation. These furnishings complete these spaces in various ways, in many cases inviting our visitors to rest or spend time with the museum and the artworks on view. They also signal that art extends beyond traditional expressions and materials.’ In practice, this translates into spaces designed to welcome people to sit, talk and spend time together. The museum is now not just a place to see exhibitions, but also a civic space where Harlem’s community can convene, converse or soak in a quiet moment of peace.

The Studio Museum has always served as a multifaceted platform for African artists, and this project now extends this ethos into design. ‘Since our inception, the museum has remained committed to artists from the African continent, whether they live on the continent or in the diaspora,’ notes Golden. ‘So it made sense that the decision-making around our furniture would remain within this institutional framework. Uplifting designers who are immersed in African and African diasporic traditions makes it possible for us to continue engaging in the ideas, conversations and influences that emerge from the continent, whether of past, present or future.’

This commitment is legible in each object. Mabeo’s Gaborone-based studio works with local artisans to realise furniture embedded in Botswanan culture, while Archibong’s practice draws from his Nigerian heritage, and Collins’ ‘Iklwa’ stool references the Zulu spear from which it takes its name.

If there is a through-line across these works, it is that they serve both form and function. They are made to be used, sat upon, leaned against or gathered around. Yet they also carry meaning and ancestral memory. For Golden, this is precisely the point: the Studio Museum has always sought to broaden definitions of art while, at the same time, presenting works that are grounded in lived experience.

The new furniture ensures that the museum’s history and mission are woven into its fabric. The furnishings are not secondary to the art on the walls – they are part of the same continuum. They connect the institution’s mission to its architecture, and its architecture to the daily lives of those who, from the grind of the Harlem streets, will now integrate it into their daily routines.

‘These furnishings invite visitors to rest or spend time with the museum,’ Golden says. In a city where cultural spaces can feel transitory, where visitors are often rushed along or kept at arm’s length, the Studio Museum’s new interiors suggest another model. Here, design is not just something to look at – it’s something to live with.

144 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027

As the name hints, Bardware was born out of Bard founders Hugo Macdonald and James Stevens’ love of hardware stores. 'There’s something heroically human about them,' reflects Macdonald. 'They have an underlying optimism that suggests we can still just about make, fix, build and repair our habitats – some of us, anyway.'

What particularly enamours the pair is that hardware shops are all about craft as a mindset, more than a fetishized practice – a message that Bard is keen to convey. 'This was the kernel of our idea for Bardware: let’s celebrate craft with the robust joy of a hardware shop. We wanted to celebrate craft’s capacity to result in useful things for domestic endeavour that are compelling for their sensory engagement.'

The show features works by 20 craftspeople, designers and artists from across Scotland, who Macdonald and Stevens asked to create objects that awaken and enliven the senses through daily use in the home – a brief they describe as a bit 'Frankenstein'.

The results, all displayed to be picked up and touched, are enchanting: James Rigler has cast bronze-glazed ceramic 'Greek Knobs' from an original ceiling rose by Glaswegian architectural theorist Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson; Juli Bolaños-Durman has created architectural toilet-roll holders made from salvaged wood and glass; Oliver Spendley has made bowls from polished shards of mountain rock; and All About Willow has hand-turned cherry porridge spurtles.

Elsewhere there are pocket knives made from whisky-barrel hoops by Clement Knives; baskets woven from sea plastic washed up on Shetland’s beaches by Eve Eunson; a coven of devotional ceramic characters in different glazes by Viv Lee; leather-wrapped boulder doorstops by Jess White; bent aluminium candelabra by David Taylor; and cosy alpaca hot-water bottle covers by Araminta Campbell. 'People really brought themselves, their skills and the extremities of their ideas to our doors,' enthuses Macdonald.

The showcase marks three years since Bard first opened its doors at Customs Lane in Leith and began selling craft in its own unique way – one that feels fun, engaging and meaningful. 'Humour, or at least mild irreverence with a bit of wit, is a good way of waking people up to craft – taking it out of the museum and into life, off the plinth,' says Macdonald. 'Craft is expensive, but it’s worth it when you take a moment to understand its value. Our greater societal ill is that everything else is so cheap.'

Since opening, Macdonald and Stevens report having seen a genuine and significant rise in people celebrating craft – buying it, using it and asking questions about practitioners, materials and skills.

'Craft is a life force – it adds whoomph to our human experience and makes us feel connected across time and culture,' reflects Macdonald. 'Maybe we’re finally waking up to the fact that craft is not regressive, or a counterbalance to the optimism and efficiency of design and technology – it runs very much in parallel and is powerful when it is interwoven.'

Here, we present Wallpaper’s gift guide for the design-minded individual: a considered edit of beautiful objects that marry form and function with effortless ease. Skip the chaos of tinsel-clad shop floors and instead scroll serenely through our curation, a selection guaranteed to charm even the most discerning (or humbug) recipient.

After a little something? Browse our perfect stocking fillers.

The Wallpaper* gift guide for design lovers

Some Kind of Practice presents ‘When Does a Threshold Become a Courtyard?’

How does a city known for hosting the world’s tallest building reconnect with its roots, often hidden behind glass and steel in a growing metropolis? At the Design District, palm fronds enclose a courtyard built on concrete blocks, while corrugated metal sheets form an open roof structure that lets in light and air. This is the winning proposal for the 2025 Urban Commissions theme of Courtyard. ‘When Does a Threshold Become a Courtyard?’, was conceived by the UAE-based design and research studio Some Kind of Practice, founded by Omar Darwish and co-led with Abdulla Abbas.

'Our fieldwork focused on places that have so far remained untouched by development; in the mountains, along the coast, and in the desert,' says Darwish. 'We wanted to recreate the regionally important courtyard space using off-the-shelf and natural materials, combined with traditional techniques such as the stacking systems we observed in the desert,' Abbas adds.

Ile Griot pop-up library by Bootleg Griot

In Dubai, the native Ghaf tree cannot be felled; its deep roots draw down for nourishment, and it’s common to see structures built around it. Likewise, the city’s expanding creative scene is digging deep to lay a solid foundation that makes space for both local and international talent to take root and grow. Bootleg Griot is one such organisation.

The pop-up library focused on housing African literature holds a collection of over 3,000 books all sourced from the UAE. ‘West African culture’s concept of the griot was essentially a human library,’ explains Fawaz Abdulazeez, co-founder of Bootleg Griot. ‘They say when a griot dies a library burns down.’

Their Ile Griot (Griot’s home) installation is set up as a space the griot would have lived and invited people to visit, and so they invite visitors to enter this home as they hold storytelling sessions, talks and screenings.

Tanween Design Programme

Organisations such as Tashkeel are enriching the design scene with their professional development offerings. Members and students are encouraged to experiment while gaining practical knowledge to develop and grow their business and skills.

At Downtown Design graduates of Tashkeel’s Tanween Design Programme explored the creative potential of local materials typically dismissed or underutilised. For instance, the Al Nawa Collection made from date pit and glue by artist and poet Nasser Alghawi features a chandelier and display table. Both made from date pits and wood dust. By transforming discarded materials into design objects, Alghawi presents an ode to Emirati generosity and resilience.

Clock & Cloud studio’s ‘Loodo’ table takes a more playful, yet practical approach. The piece features legs made from a desert sand based bio-composite crystal glass and with henna, turmeric and charcoal also feature. Reem Shawkat explains It’s incredible that construction companies pay to discard sand. ‘The material is often overlooked, even though we have it in abundance,’ Alefiyah Ustad says. The duo met during the Tanween course.

Emerging designers

Athath Fellowship participant Adnan Arif’s translates modularity with ‘Sil’, a totem-leg inspired table that allows for more elements to be in the future. 'I often feel furniture is too static, so I wanted to make it more accessible through personalisation and the use of different shades that allow it to look richer.'

Dubai’s position as a regional hub inspired One Third Studio’s Wasl shelving system, presented at The UAE Designer Exhibition. The design integrates circular platforms inlaid with intricate Dubai Khoo marquetry, blending modern form with traditional craftsmanship.

Product designer and founder of Design And Nourhan Rahhal is a skilled woodworker. Her Millefeuille collection features a tall lamp she made using layers of terracotta and ash wood stacked on top of each other. For her table made using the same materials she explains, “I haven’t used fixings here, and have connected the elements using mortise and tenant joints which offer stability and beauty.”

The Morphcode Collection by Syrian designer Ahmad Kattan are as functional as they are sculptural, the stools or side tables are made of simple geometric shapes rotated on a 45-degree angle. Made using a CNC machine, the solid yellow pine pieces 'demonstrate that wood can still work in humid environments,' Kattan explains.

Hardik Gandhi’s Around Collection considers multigeneration scaling his boucle chairs for adults and children, while his Avora planter, made from aluminium is designed for both indoor and outdoor use with a powder-coated colour finish allowing for personalisation.

Jagdish Sutar, a Milan NABA graduate, presented Objects of Legacy, which triggers memories of Rajasthan where all the pieces have been made. “These are the things I saw while growing up,” he says of the ‘Family Daybed’ made from teak, the oversized furniture reimagines the Indian ‘Charpoy daybed’ while encouraging people to gather close together.

Dubai's Downtown Design District: d3 Awards and more

A first for this year’s edition at the Design District is the d3 Awards, which champions emerging talent from the MENA region. Ohireme Uanzekin took home the prize for his Abora project that responds to the rapid urban development that has affected the natural terrain with the reintroduction of natural formations like trails and adaptive structures to create a living terrain shaped by soil, sediment and settlement.

Meanwhile, established Italian brands like Venini revisited archival design with an elaborate ceiling installation, and Foglie D’oro showcased masterful wood craftsmanship and the poetic simplicity of the Andrea Bonini-designed Sahrai booth.

Also at Downtown Design, Doodle and the Gang’s collaboration with rug company Hands and their ‘Postcards’ collection is a playful tribute to the collective memories of the Egyptian sibling design duo’s Asmaa and Mentalla Said’s heritage and travels. Pieces like ‘Twirl’ take inspiration from the Sufi costume worn by the spinning Al Tannoura dancers of Cairo and ‘Bonjuseh’ celebrates the iconic regional drink Bonjus. ‘These are not just our memories, a lot of these icons are recognisable throughout the region like the Aroosa Tea,’ Mentalla says. ‘We wanted the memory to use this project to create a storytelling of the regional memory that could trigger a nostalgic sense of comfort.’

Badih Ghanem Architecture and Design is also asking visitors to look back and ‘Remember Love?’. The French-Lebanese architect exhibits five pieces made from polished steel that recall family celebrations in the form of a ubiquitous chair that would always be dragged out for festivities. The vases, inspired by the Beirut Port Silos that scattered wheat throughout the city after the explosion of 2022 or the cinder blocks that represent the numerous unfinished post war homes. 'It’s about taking the time to live with what happened to us, we are scarred and live with it.' The mirror is made from one piece that folds on itself to create a frame, it initially appears distorted and as you move closer things appear clearer, a bit like our memories.'

As the event proceeds, Dubai Design Week director Natasha Carella is noticing that risks pay off. The design for the forum space used for the talks was conceived by Lebanese architect and designer Roula Salamoun and it has been positively disruptive. 'We wanted to flip things completely this year and Roula really committed to that,' Carella explains.

'You see the renders but before the event you don’t realise how the audience will react and interact with the space. Initially speakers like Tom Dixon sat down, but at the next talk Marcel Wanders walked around the space. There was also a lady who took off her shoes and sat comfortably to listen to a few talks and that’s exactly how we want the space to function.'

To celebrate his legacy, Molteni & C has launched a new collection of objects that honours Ponti’s small-scale work, and the way he was able to blend irony and history into his pieces.

Molteni&C unveils Gio Ponti Objects

Over the years, Molteni&C’s ongoing partnership with the Gio Ponti Archives has delivered some exquisite Ponti reissues, including armchairs and tables. Taking this collaboration down to a more intimate scale seemed like the next step, explains Francesca Molteni, who works with her family’s company as well as being an independent curator and filmmaker. ‘After more than ten years of collaboration with Ponti’s heirs on the reissue of his furniture, it seemed natural to continue the work of enhancing his design legacy, exploring an extraordinarily evocative part of his oeuvre: objects,’ she says.

The eight-piece collection, faithfully reproduced from the Gio Ponti Archives, features classic Ponti motifs: animals, hands and geometries in stainless steel and wood. These objects are ‘veritable microcosms of his architectural ideas, characterised by a profound artisanal and design value,’ says Molteni. ‘Each object, whether sculptural or functional, reflects the interplay of geometry and spatial reinterpretation that defined his work. These are objects capable of sparking the imagination, evoking memories, and bringing beauty to everyday gestures. They are poetic instruments that reflect Ponti’s belief that even the domestic dimension can become a theatre of fantasy.’

The ‘Gio Ponti Objects’ collection includes an origami-like horse and two doves, masterfully recreated in metal and reflecting Ponti’s ability to shape entire worlds from simple materials. Also made of stainless steel is ‘La Mano’, a hand motif that Ponti used throughout his career in drawings and sculptures. The starting point of its design is a freehand drawing made by the architect, in response to which silversmith Lino Sabattini sculpted an object that recreated the playful six-fingered hand.

‘The hand embodies the mimicry of error, an impossible hand in honour of fantasy, while remaining the symbol of human measure and expression, of concrete intervention and creation,’ says Molteni.

Among the collection’s functional objects are ‘7 Tubi’ (seven tubes) and ‘Pompei’, two stainless steel designs that can be used as vases or candleholders, and the ‘Architettura’ tray, based on the hexagonal module that often served as the starting point for Ponti’s architectural blueprints. It signals his mission to bring architecture into all facets of daily life, and this domestic object calls to mind Milan’s Pirelli skyscraper, one of Ponti’s most memorable and impactful designs.

The collection also veers towards the theatrical with a series of wooden bottle sculptures, originally created as part of a scenography and reproduced in ash and robinia. Completing the set is ‘Bucchero’, an Etruscan-inspired object made using a rare clay-firing technique. ‘The vessel, with its shiny black material, handcrafted using an ancient Etruscan technique, connects the ancient to the modern, representing Ponti’s ability to reinvent the past with a contemporary spirit,’ adds Molteni.

The collection was assembled with the help of Salvatore Licitra, Gio Ponti’s grandson and the keeper of his creative legacy. ‘As you journey through 60 years of Gio Ponti’s creativity, it may happen that the seemingly chaotic, kaleidoscopic wealth of his creative universe suddenly reveals itself as a balanced and clear whole, where every element responds to a single vision,’ he says.

‘It is a vast landscape, which embraces architecture, interiors, façades, materials, decor, colours, fabrics, ceramics, metals, wood, glass. Within this harmonious tableau, [...] we’ll find objects that promote a new way of life, vibrant domestic sentinels, tools to be kept close at hand, ready to set the stage for the theatre of imagination, across space and time. These are objects that are both beautiful and impossible.’

See molteni.it for your nearest store or shop online in the USA at shop.molteni.it

A version of this article appears in the December 2025 Entertaining Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News + from 6 November. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Soaring high above Mumbai’s Versova neighbourhood is a rather special apartment. Although the home is dubbed ‘Gingham Dreams’ by design firm MuseLAB – referencing the chequered pattern – we think that the distinctive gridded decoration of this 3,000 sq ft space feels more like pixels, and that stepping inside is a bit like inhabiting a 1990s arcade game.

Tour a Mumbai apartment with geometric charm

Rigid geometry recurs throughout the space – departing from the organic shapes and fluid lines of contemporary interiors and favouring instead a Tokyo-inspired lattice. The square motif manifests in inventive ways – stretching boldly from floor to ceiling in some places, and appearing fleetingly in others. The grid is ever-present but never monotonous; its form, often associated with confinement and restraint, becomes a symbol of openness and creativity.

A luminous colour palette, veering between neutrals and pastels, amplifies this. Cloudy marbles in coral, pale blue, beige and Lake Placid green flow across floors and surfaces in intricate inlay patterns. Bathed in eastern light from its 25th-floor vantage point overlooking the Arabian Sea, the kitchen shimmers in quartzite and Corian, its marble floors unfolding like a woven tapestry. Occasionally, fluid, amoeba-like shapes interrupt the grid, and stone wainscoting adorned with Sycaro sculptures adds to the home’s crafted narrative.

At the heart of the apartment, a rectilinear living area can host up to a dozen guests. Stone panels and tabletops reminiscent of board games animate the space, while the ceiling and floor motifs mirror one another. In the dining area, a coral table with cruciform legs and a monolithic bench are joined by an installation by Hands and Minds. The kitchen’s veined island extends into a chequered fascia, its backsplash stamped by delicate inlaid grids.

The study and guest bedroom are spaces of calm, with powder-blue ceilings, wood-clad walls and Japanese Shoji screen-inspired lattices. A sculpted owl by Sycaro presides over the library, while terrazzo floors lead out to a terrace populated by granite furniture and a cabana-style daybed – perfect for city-gazing at dusk.

Each bedroom interprets the reticulated design language through a unique mood: the primary suite glows with warm umber tones and a scalloped headboard; the children’s room bursts with apple-green vitality; and the parents’ suite soothes in sepia.

By reimagining precision as warm and playful, MuseLAB transforms an architectural constraint into a poetic framework, creating a space that feels at once futuristic and strangely nostalgic.

The exhibition’s title, chosen by curator Glenn Adamson, refers both to the drug and its etymological meaning, ‘to be outside oneself’. This provides a provocative lens through which to view Wolston’s work, which extends beyond the physical into realms of imagination and expression. The exhibition presents bold, hallucinatory objects that merge Art Nouveau, pre-Columbian symbolism and architectural exuberance.

Unfolding across four catwalks – evoking the theatricality of a fashion show or drag ball – ‘Profile in Ecstasy’ showcases creations ranging from bronze furniture with iridescent patinas to woven rattan sculptures echoing the human body (the body is a major theme in Wolston’s work, as is the natural landscape of Colombia).

Elsewhere: monumental terracotta sculptures carved from solid clay; lightweight aluminum forms cast from foam and anodized in shimmering hues; furniture animated by torch-worked surfaces; and handwoven carpets from Beni, an atelier in Marrakech, featuring warped calla lily motifs. It’s all accompanied by pulsating video works created by Wolston’s husband, filmmaker David Sierra. At the heart of the exhibition stands a luminous fountain depicting pop icon Grace Jones.

Wolston’s postmodern aesthetic results from his fusion of traditional and non-Western craft techniques with contemporary sensibilities – a dialogue he first began at the Kokrobitey Institute in Accra, Ghana, and developed further at the Rhode Island School of Design. A defining moment came in 2010, when Wolston completed a Fulbright fellowship studying pre-Columbian ceramics in Colombia. This experience led him to establish a second studio in Medellín, where he now collaborates with local artisans alongside Sierra.

An institution dedicated to presenting the most compelling art of our time, Dallas Contemporary is an ideal platform for Wolston’s boundary-pushing practice. ‘Profile in Ecstasy’ reflects the museum’s mission to engage audiences with experimental, interdisciplinary art that challenges conventional categories.

‘Profile in Ecstasy’ is on view from 7 November to 1 February 2026 at Dallas Contemporary.

For Orhan Niksic, this has meant breathing new life into Zanat, his family’s century-old woodcarving business.

Based in Konjic, a town 56 miles south-west of Sarajevo, the company preserves the region’s craft heritage while looking to the future. Nestled in dramatic forested mountains, Konjic has a long history of woodcarving, which – thanks to Zanat – achieved Unesco certification in 2017.

As Niksic, a former economist, wisely observes, to save the past, we have to move forward. 'We didn't want to destroy our heritage and start something completely new,' says Niksic, remembering the time ten years ago when he and his brother Adem relaunched the business with a new direction. 'We understood, and I think we were very much attached also to the knowledge and history of the woodcarving craft and were determined to preserve it.'

It was a bold move at a time when many suggested they take a different path. 'Many people advised us otherwise,' he recalls. 'They said if you want to build modern design and furniture, forget about the craft. But for us, this was never an option.' Their vision – to modernise without erasing tradition – has become Zanat’s defining philosophy, and one that continues to guide every decision today.

Now, at just ten years old, Zanat has built a roster of collaborators that would make even the most established design houses green with envy – Michele De Lucchi, StudioIlse, Yves Behar, Naoto Fukasawa, Monica Förster, Sebastian Herkner, Palomba Serafini Associati, Harri Koskinen, Wingårdhs, Jasna Mujkić, Patrick Norguet and Jean-Marie Massaud.

All but two were present in October 2025 for the opening of an exhibition celebrating the ten-year milestone, which launched 12 new pieces showcasing the beauty of the atelier’s handcarving techniques. The anniversary designs – all small-scale accessories and home objects – were unveiled for the first time at the brand’s Sarajevo showroom.

Swedish designer Monica Förster, who designed a set of trays for the occasion, has served as the brand’s creative director since its reinvention ten years ago and has been instrumental in shaping its new direction.

'I have been trying to be a part of moving Zanat towards what I myself am missing in today’s design world – a collaborative sense of community which is about something more than just designing another piece of furniture,' she told Wallpaper*. 'In a world that right now is about defining differences, this project for me is about building bridges and coexistence in a creative way. It is about creating a community that bridges Bosnia’s cultural heritage with the designers’ own heritage, working towards a common cause – exploring a new universe of design and art.'

Zanat’s approach to collaboration is deeply considered. 'They felt they'd discovered a new artistic medium, a way to express something unique,' says Niksic, reflecting on why so many creatives want to work with the brand. 'We don't approach designers just because they're big names – we look for people whose philosophy aligns with ours. I was very fascinated by designers like Ilse Crawford, whose whole focus is the impact of design on human emotions and wellbeing.

'From the very beginning, we’ve imagined design as having a broader social purpose – in our case, helping to preserve the craft.' It’s an approach that has attracted leading names who might otherwise have little reason to work with a small Bosnian brand. 'They see that there is a good team behind Zanat, that we can execute their vision. It’s not only about woodcarving – the joinery, the finishing, every detail has to be at the same level for the product to succeed.'

Other ten-year-anniversary pieces include a set of salt and pepper shakers by Naoto Fukasawa with hand-carved tactile grooves; a small table by Michele De Lucchi; a playful fruit bowl by Wingårdhs; a wine bucket and stand by StudioIlse (a type of object that the studio's head of product design, Oskar Peña, notes is often overlooked); a vase that fuses glass and wood by Sebastian Herkner; and a series of small textured containers by Yves Behar.

All are made using a combination of modern CNC technology and traditional handcarving techniques that are taught and practised at Zanat’s Konjic HQ. When we visit on an October morning, sunlight streams through the windows of the carving room, where a mix of master craftsmen and younger apprentices – both male and female – are earnestly hammering and scraping away at planks of locally harvested ash, cherry, oak and walnut.

Zanat’s commitment to training extends beyond the workshop. The company recently launched a woodcarving academy in partnership with the Academy of Arts in Sarajevo, establishing a formal grading system to develop skills and attract a new generation of craftspeople.

Since its founding, Zanat has trained more than 70 young makers. 'When we started, it was almost exclusively a male profession,' says Niksic. 'Very, very few women throughout the history of the craft have practised. We've opened it to both without discrimination, and we've popularised it.'

At the nearby Konjic showroom, formerly the company’s workshop, craftsman Besim Niksic – Orhan's 89-year-old father – lives above the premises. Here, there is now a museum that proudly celebrates the region’s longstanding connection to woodcarving and offers visitors a chance to learn about Zanat's roots. The museum, opened in 2019, has since been honoured with the European Museum Academy’s premier award and named Best Slavic Museum by the Forum of Slavic Cultures.

In 2023, Zanat opened its first flagship store, Home of Zanat, inside Sarajevo’s National Art Gallery, where the ‘Zanat Ten’ exhibition is being held. Conceived not as a traditional showroom but as a cultural platform, the space connects directly to the gallery’s exhibition hall and regularly hosts events, talks and workshops that celebrate excellence in design, architecture and art. There’s even a small coffee bar, serving a locally roasted Zanat Blend, and plans for a specialist bookshop devoted to the same creative disciplines.

Craft remains at the heart of the brand, but the team is constantly developing new patterns and ideas that keep things fresh and engaging. For Niksic, the pieces presented at the ‘Zanat Ten’ exhibition embody the brand's decade-long journey – one in which the preservation of tradition and the pursuit of innovation remain inseparable.

'Our vision,' he says, 'is to become the world’s best and most innovative woodcarving company – to be the go-to name for handcrafted, sustainable design.' He adds, 'And I hope in doing that we can redefine what luxury means. For us, it's not about being pompous or flashy. It's about how things are made and how long they last.'

Home of Zanat, National Art Gallery
Zelenih beretki 8
Sarajevo 71000
Bosnia & Herzegovina

For the aesthete in your life, these small-but-significant objects will strike exactly the right note. From timeless design classics and quietly brilliant tech to light-hearted, whimsical finds, each selection embodies the art of considered gifting.

Read on to discover small but mighty treasures – and curate the chicest stocking of the season. And, if you are in the market for something more substantial, check out our design-led and fashion-lover gift guides.

If Wallpaper* did stocking fillers...

Now, the innovative brand has partnered with La Marzocco, the esteemed Italian manufacturer of high-end coffee machines (including an espresso machine with Rimowa). This can only mean one thing: expect a precise multifunctional tool crafted to elevate your daily coffee ritual.

The Victorinox x La Marzocco Barista Tool

The Victorinox x La Marzocco Barista Tool is made exclusively for use with La Marzocco machines, for professional baristas, or for at-home coffee aficionados. Throughout La Marzocco’s 90-year history, design has been a way to express Italian coffee culture with precision, just as Victorinox channels Swiss engineering into handy, functional tools.

As with traditional Swiss army knives, the tool includes blades in various sizes, screwdrivers, a corkscrew, a can opener, tweezers and a toothpick, among other ‘essentials’. It also features specialty barista additions, including a steam wand nozzle remover and a coffee spatula.

‘This collaboration is a tribute to the art of coffee and the spirit of expertise,’ says Veronika Elsener, chief marketing officer at Victorinox. ‘Working with La Marzocco has allowed us to merge two worlds – Swiss engineering and Italian coffee culture – into this one-of-a-kind creation.’

It is designed to accommodate most La Marzocco machine functions, from tightening steam wands to measuring coffee grounds. This unification of both established brands treats coffee as a craft.

‘This project reflects the essence of what we stand for at La Marzocco: a deep respect for tradition and a drive to innovate,’ adds Andrea Cobianchi, brand manager at La Marzocco. ‘Collaborating with Victorinox has been a celebration of shared values and mutual admiration. The Barista Tool is more than a product – it’s a symbol of our passion for coffee and craftsmanship.’

Best new lamps for winter 2025

‘KD28’ by Joe Colombo, for Kartell

‘Hoop’ by John Tree, for Vaarnii

‘Rumee’ portable lamp by Gabriel Tan, for Louis Poulsen

‘Fire’ by Grau

‘Press’ table light by Tom Dixon

‘Cilia’ table lamp by David Pompa

'I wanted something really pretty, very functional and extremely well made – and I couldn’t find that trifecta,' she recalls. The brand’s debut companion set, Emma, made with solid brass fittings and hand-blended natural bristles, quickly caught the attention of design-led retailers such as The Conran Shop and Skandium, establishing Eldvarm as the go-to name for contemporary and considered fireside objects.

Ten years on, and Varre has teamed with French designer Guillaume Delvigne to create a new, more minimalist series called Fumi which responds to a shifting landscape. With more people choosing compact stoves and fireplace inserts over traditional open hearths, the demand has grown for smaller, streamlined tools that don’t compromise on detail.

Working from his Paris studio, Delvigne saw the project as a chance to rethink the typology. A streamlined shovel and a brush developed organically into a full companion set, with the designer bringing his signature mix of precision and warmth – a design language honed during his time at the studios of George Sowden and Marc Newson and collaborations with Hermès, Ligne Roset, and Karakter.

Constructed from thin sheets of powder-coated steel joined by solid wood (ash or walnut) and visible brass screws, the design eliminates welding to simplify production without sacrificing quality. 'For me, the screws are a strength,' Delvigne adds. 'If something breaks over the years, you can replace a part. It’s not a throwaway object.'

The beauty of Fumi is that it has a sculptural presence in the room. 'The V-shaped silhouette came from Japanese brushes,' he explains. 'We wanted something very fluid, drawn in one continuous line. It’s not brutal – and the wood brings a little warmth.'

The handle loops into a hanging hook, while rounded wooden details soften the clean geometry and make it easier to clean. 'Guillaume manages to do what is so hard – minimal but not simplistic design,' notes Varre. 'It feels intentional and thoughtful.'

The matching Fumi Log Holder continues this language with its clean, folded-steel structure. Finished in subdued tones of off-white, dark charcoal and rust brown, both pieces sit comfortably within Eldvarm’s restrained palette of natural materials and muted colours. 'They feel natural and familiar, like iron when it’s rusted,' notes Delvigne of the palette.

Behind the deceptively simple forms lies a network of specialist makers. The brand’s brushes are still produced by a fourth-generation brush-maker outside Nantes, while the steel and woodwork are carried out by a family-run workshop in Poland. Every component is sourced directly, assembled and quality-checked by Eldvarm’s small team – a slow, deliberately hands-on approach that ensures longevity over volume. 'I’d rather take my time and get the right product,' says Varre.

For Varre, the appeal of the fireside goes beyond design. 'I'm a little bit obsessed with the topic,' she says. 'For the entire history of human race, meeting by the fire has been a way to build strong social connections – a place to tell stories, to connect and feel we belong.' Fumi extends that idea into contemporary life – an object that frames an ancient ritual with a new, modern vocabulary.

The Fumi Companion set retails for 355 € / £325 / US$ 525 while the log holder is 355 € / £325 / US$ 575

eldvarm.com

The first, at the usual location at Livespot Entertarium, which has been home to the festival for the past six years and has carried the familiar hum of innovation and community, where designers, makers, and collectors converged under one creative roof. The second, held at the newly opened Nahous cultural hub at the Federal Palace, introduced a fresh rhythm to this experience. It housed the regular designer exhibit and innovation space where countless designers showcase their work for the season. But together, the dual venues reflected the expanding scope of Nigerian design, one that goes beyond the present and confidently stretches to the future.

This year, the festival also witnessed the largest of crowds, expanding the conversation about the growing nature of the design space and also placing Lagos it as one of the design week fairs to watch globally.

Like previous editions, the design exhibition was riveting and full of discovery. Each installation carried its own pulse, revealing how Nigerian and African designers continue to expand the language of form, texture, and material. From conceptual furniture and lighting to textile reinterpretations and architectural experiments, here are what stood out during this year’s festival.

Lisa Folawiyo’s The Archive Reimagined

It was great to witness prominent Nigerian fashion designer Lisa Folawiyo extend her mastery of print and pattern beyond the runway with a bespoke carpet that brings her iconic textile language into the world of interiors. ‘The Archive Reimagined’ translates the playfulness and vibrancy of her fashion into form and function, showing how motifs once worn can now be lived with. The piece feels alive in its composition, the geometry and texture is also not left out of the conversation. The color palette is enigmatic yet bold, commanding attention in the exhibition space and inviting viewers to step closer. But this is also a way for Folawiyo to show that fashion is not confined to the body but can spill beautifully into the spaces we inhabit and she perfectly rendered so in the archive reimagined.

TY Bello’s The Wind Blows Where It Listed

For more than twenty years, photographer and music icon TY Bello has studied light as if it were scripture, tracing its emotion, and rhythm. In ‘The Wind Blows Where It Listed’, she turns her attention to fabric, using it as a vessel for light’s many moods. The design unfolds like meditations making the ordinary seem like a sculptural sacred tent.

Confidence Onyema’s Uzo Collection

Presenting the ‘Uzo Collection’ which means “path.” Confidence Onyema looks to movement, connection, and reflection through a series of sculptural furniture pieces. At the center of the collection is ‘Meander’, a coffee table shaped like a winding path lined by tree-like forms. It represents the journey through life. Another piece, ‘To Hold’, is a side table inspired by the form of a key and keyhole. She calls it her tool of stillness and about the moment of pause before transition, ‘Npanaka’ is from a previous collection inspired by lamp light. A Candle holder and sconces she explores to illustrate how sunlight marks time and creates rhythm. “When the sun moves, it tells time through shadow,” she says. “I wanted to explore that relationship between light, time, and location.”

Ronke Ladipo’s From Ashes

Ronke Ladipo presented one of the fair’s most striking installations, a conceptual furniture crafted in the form of oversized cigarettes, the chair, side table, and storage box transforming familiar symbols of consumption and decay into objects of reflection. The chair’s stacked cylindrical backrest resembles a pack of cigarettes in various stages of burn, crisp white at the base fading into darkened ash at the top, while metallic gold accents mimic foil wraps. The table and storage unit extend the metaphor, each piece sculpted to resemble a smoldering cigarette, complete with ashen textures and the bold text from Ashes design

Juliet Olaipekun’s the Fossil Collection

Juliet Olaipekun is another fashion designer who stunned festival attendees. With the ‘Fossil Collection’, the multidisciplinary artist and founder of ILE ILE blurred the line between heritage and modernity. She drew from Yoruba cosmology and natural materials, crafting sculptural furniture that is both ancient and alive. One of the exhibits in her booth was titled ‘skeletor’ and is a very sculptural chair shaped like the cerebral of a creature with many legs and with a curve with the seemingness of a crescent moon. But this is also Olanipekun's conscious way of describing the home as a living organism, one that carries stories, spirits, and the quiet strength of those who came before. It’s contemporary African design with a pulse, deeply personal yet universally resonant.

Joan Eric-Udorie's Bantu

Bantu is a collectible stool that transforms ebonised wood into a sculptural study of balance, rhythm, and flow. Joan Eric-Udorie wanted to draw inspiration from African vernacular architecture and the intricate geometry of cornrow braids, translating these patterns into organic, fluid forms. Rather than replicate tradition, she distills its essence, reinterpreting woven and carved motifs as continuous curves that feel almost alive. The deep, warm tones of the wood create a sense of both tension and harmony, while the stool’s seemingly weightless silhouette hovers between function and art.

Yasir Hakeem Popoola’s Ite Akinkanju (Table of the Brave)

Popoola’s ‘Table of the Brave’ embodies Yoruba wisdom and sustainable intent. Crafted with a sense of balance akin to the proverb of the three-legged stool, it reflects harmony as strength. Guided by BYMARP’s ethos of thoughtful material use, the design honors bravery not as defiance, but as care for craft, for culture, and for what endures.

Abiola Diana Makinde’s Ijoko Ore, Model 02

Dedicated to sisterhood, the ‘Ijoko Ore’ refers to the quiet intimacy, strength, and tenderness that bind women together. The piece blends industrial design principles with artistic expression to form a sculptural yet functional object that can serve as a seat, a center table, or simply a statement piece that anchors a space. Beyond its physical form, the work extends Makinde’s ongoing exploration of kinship and shared rituals. Drawing on motifs found in hairstyling patterns, fabric design, and communal gathering, it reflects on the vulnerability and connection that come from sitting together in conversation.

The mirror is more than just a reflective surface, though. It is one of the more symbolically loaded objects that we use in daily life. From Narcissus and Snow White to the Candyman, we are raised to beware the tempting, darker powers that lurk behind our reflection. Mirrors are supernatural portals to other dimensions with dangerous consequences. In some folklore, if a baby happened upon its reflection, it would grow up to have a stutter, and if a woman looked into a mirror just after giving birth, she would see her child on its deathbed.

These sound like patriarchal ruses, designed for fear and control. Yet still today, it is not unknown for people to cover a mirror in the presence of a dying person, lest their soul get trapped within it. An afterlife spent in Ettore Sottsass’ ‘Gli Specchi di Dioniso’ for Glas Italia might be a pretty, pleasant purgatory. Why do we crave our reflections so?

Is it only a desire to see ourselves as others see us, to adjust ourselves as we’d like to be seen, and to check we don’t have anything in our teeth? In this regard, mirrors are our friends – that breed of blunt, empathetically challenged confidante who delivers only truths. Herein lies the only real magic of the mirror: it does not lie. It lays our faces, wrinkles, moods and emotions bare for us to contemplate and, if we have strength, to reflect more deeply upon. We see change, tiredness, decay, good skin days and bad haircuts. We show up for ourselves in a mirror. And while that might sound cute, consider the fright you get when your phone camera catches you unawares.

Have you ever spoken to your reflection and told it that you love it, warts and all? Look into your eyes, not around the eyes, and give it a go. The gods won’t smite you for your vanity, we’re fairly sure. It’s no replacement for therapy, but a little self-love direct to the soul is a nice way to spend a moment in the bathroom. And, over time, we may begin to slough-off the inherited mistruths of millennia that to look at and love oneself is something of which we should be ashamed. Remember to check over your shoulder for vampires first.

The Alhambra in Spain was an architectural marvel of its time – breathtaking in its intricacy and imagination. This home in Austin, Texas, envisions itself as a modern microcosm of that spirit: a personal haven dedicated to progress, culture and beauty.

Its owners, Jamie and Dr Steven Dell, are passionate about the natural sciences, horticulture and art. Dr Dell is an ophthalmologist, medical device inventor and author; while Jamie is a former nurse turned horticulturalist. Together, they have created an eclectic, eccentric ‘cabinet of curiosities’ filled with minerals, botanicals and art objects collected over time.

Over the course of three years Paul Lamb Architects, landscape Studio John Sharp and interior designer Christina Simon Studio reimagined the property from the ground up. Originally built in 2002 in a ‘Texan Tuscan’ style, the home’s dated stonework and heavy detailing have been rebalanced to invite more light, air and flow. New additions – an airy porch, latticed outdoor rooms and red-brick floors – paired with salmon-hued walls, russet accents and blackened timber ceilings, evoke the old-world elegance of the Mediterranean that the owners so admired.

Christina Simon’s interiors are layered with earthy fabrics, tactile finishes and vintage finds that convey authenticity and soul. Modernist icons by Carlo Scarpa, Bruno Mathsson and Charlotte Perriand coexist with artisanal and custom pieces: copper outdoor lighting by Isaac Maxwell, Karl Springer parchment pedestals and a Palm pendant by Blue Green Works. The home’s art collection deepens the sense of cultivated curiosity, featuring works by Anish Kapoor (Shadow II), Chuck Close (Phil), James Rosenquist and Robert Rauschenberg, among others.

As with the Alhambra and its lush, perfumed gardens, outdoor areas are every bit as important as the indoor at the Austin home. Studio John Sharp crafted an environment that celebrates Texas’s native ecology while elevating it into art: latticed towers that support climbing plants and a Gaudí-inspired water sculpture are connected by algae-green pathways. Notably, there's a perforated brick 'Moontower,' where Jamie can observe the stars. Limestone pools, fire pits and shaded dining and lounging areas create a sense of sanctuary; even the chicken coop is treated as a work of design.

This space transcends conventional notions of luxury – this is an immersive, poetic environment where art, science and nature converge.

'We always do a concept with every project – a little narrative and story – that helps us get focused,' Sass, founder of Propsect Refuge, a Twin Cities design studio and gallery, explains. 'And when we first met the client, she had such a powerful presence, like a goddess of war or something, and I really wanted to capture that.'

The apartment in question was located on the tenth floor of a residential tower in Minneapolis's historic Mill District, a redeveloped industrial neighborhood once considered the flour milling capital of the world. For her design, Sass homed in on Brigid's mythological attributes. 'Looking at this goddess’ areas of expertise, from blacksmithing and wisdom, to poetry and fire, we reinterpreted each one in a different space,' the designer says.

The storytelling starts as soon as you step inside. The foyer presents as a moody, dramatic space that 'really taps into the blacksmithing energy' with elements like a table with a cast-bronze base shaped like a tree trunk and dark cork wallpaper, 'which has an almost burned, iron-forged feeling to it,' the designer says. The client’s own artwork – a large-scale 1965 painting of a stove by Robert Meadows – further underscores the fiery theme.

Further inside, the open-concept kitchen and dining room serves as an airy contrast. 'We wanted the kitchen to feel more healing, peaceful and kind of quiet,' Sass says about the pale grey cabinetry and chosen accessories, which include custom pendant lights by Cym Warkov Ceramics and iron counters stools by Mexican studio Casamidy.

The 'voice' of the space, per Sass, comes from the dining area, which features a large oil painting of three men gathered around a table, with hints of green throughout, that was found by the client at an overseas auction. 'It’s those same green undertones that we wanted to bring into the furniture, like with the mid-century, green lacquered sideboard and the frames of Poltrona Frau chairs,' the designer explains.

Windows in the adjoining great room offer panoramic views of Minneapolis, from Gold Medal Park to the Guthrie Theater, and of the riverfront with its gloriously rehabilitated historic mills.

'The design for this space really started around the vintage Hermès leather and metal coffee table, which is a rather demure little piece,' says Sass. 'It had a masculine energy, so we had to bring in some colour around it, and the cobalt blue orb lamp by Victoria Morris was the chef’s kiss on the whole thing.'

Nearby, the formal sitting room evokes a sense of fire while avoiding the use of red – one of the client’s least favourite colours. 'Here we selected a lot of golden tones – sort of ember-like,' Sass says.

Further fueling the flames, she selected a vintage coffee table that was 'literally burned' and refinished, and gold-patterned window treatments. Look closely and you'll spy more mythological themes, like ironwork (in the form of a lounge chair by St. Paul, Minnesota furniture designer Jonathan Muecke and acid-wash brass knobs from Hepburn Hardware) as well as animals. 'One of Brigid’s areas was protection, and she watched over cattle – so that was a fun little [nod],' Sass shares about the vintage leather bull footstool by Dimitri Omersa.

For the primary bedroom, Sass created a more restful environment, one she describes as 'poetic.' Soft, feminine curves in a velvet Soho Home bed; an ivory-coloured rug; burl wood nightstands; and rich turmeric wall colour provide the homeowners with a haiku-worthy escape. In the infant son’s nursery, Sass tied the entire mythology concept together with a zodiac-themed wallpaper from Rebel Walls. 'Its honestly pretty great for a hardworking, down-to-earth room like this,' she says.

Finding the connection between myth and modern design was a welcome exploration for Sass who, admittedly, enjoys setting a stage for creative journeys with her clients. 'This project is about imagining what it would mean for a home to have a patron goddess – one who watches over, protects and brings vitality to its inhabitants,' she says. 'And Brigid’s influence felt like the perfect guide for this home’s design.'

The name Bugonia signifies an ancient Greek belief that explains the birth of bees from dead cows, and it is the title chosen by Lanthimos for this psychological thriller that deals with modern climate anxiety, conspiracy and paranoia.

Long-term Lanthimos collaborator, Athens-based graphic designer Vasilis Marmatakis, has worked with the director since his 2009 debut with Dogtooth, crafting memorable designs for movies including The Lobster and Poor Things, and he was once again tasked with creating the posters and graphics for this latest film.

Bugonia posters: multilayered storytelling

Before working on a poster design, Marmatakis explores a movie's universe, from the script to the costumes to the aesthetics, going on set and then retreating to develop the ideas. 'I work to visually to reflect the film,' he told Wallpaper*. 'And design different to reflect different aspects of the story.'

For Bugonia, each poster has a multilayered approach, offering glimpses into the story while reflecting on a specific element. One design focused on Plemons' character's trauma and grief, one takes a more futuristic view, another hones in on Stone's kidnap. Clues are dotted throughout the poster series, from bees' wings to an almost sci-fi vision of planet Earth.

The series' most popular poster famously features Stone's head shaved, her face covered by layers of substances dripping on the surface. 'The idea is that you don't know if she's in desperation or if she's in awe,' says Marmatakis. 'And the layers represent nature, the world, and the body: you have blood and honey, and they are falling onto her; it's as if humanity and nature are attacking her.'

The Bugonia typeface: Churchward Roundsquare

The posters and the film are anchored by a visually arresting typeface: Marmatakis worked with Samoan graphic designer Joseph Churchward's Churchward Roundsquare. A fan of Churchward's typographic work since he discovered it during a research projectin The Netherlands, he found the 2002 design in the archives of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and asked the family for permission to digitize it.

'It has this sense of being futuristic, monumental, DIY and threatening, but at the same time it feels very brutalist: it has all the elements that I wanted,' he says. In the titles, the Churchward type is exaggerated, appearing on just a few letters and contrasting with the classic, quiet elegance of the Garamond italics, which enhances its visual power, making it more unsettling.

Even though he was working with a digitized typeface, Marmatakis used a completely analogue method. Each title was first printed, then brushed with water and then scanned back: the effect is slightly smudged, removing the sharpness of the type and adding to the visually jarring effect.

This method of working also echoed some of the movie's themes. 'I just wanted to show more like that kind of DIY approach, how it connected to conspiracy theories and a "print out myself at home" element.'

Reflecting on his role of a graphic designer working on movies, he enjoys creating work that frames the experience of a film, creating elements that welcome viewers and let them go at the end. 'I think film typography is a really interesting space to work in,' he adds. To make the most of these two moments, Marmatakis used the Churchward type in different ways at the beginning and at the end of the film.

For the movie's opening titles, the font appears on a single letter in each frame, like a small singularity that adds a sense of curiosity to the intro. At the end, however, the full strangeness of its brutalist forms is revealed, as the full cast and crew credits appear as a sequence, the bold, geometric letters raining down on the screen for a truly unsettling effect.

This is one of the most exciting spaces for Marmatakis to experiment: '[As a viewer], at the beginning you arrive and you're open to a two-hour experience, and at the end, just when the experience finishes, there is this in-between time – in those few minutes you can do a lot of interesting things with typography.'

The appeal that made chrome and other metals such as stainless steel so coveted decades ago remains relevant today. They are ‘modern’-looking, but also durable, corrosion-resistant and easy to clean – qualities that make them perfectly suited to a dining environment. The pieces below bring a chic, industrial edge to crockery, drinkware and serveware – gleaming accents that contrast beautifully with matte ceramics and warm wood.

By now, the German luggage manufacturer has got us used to the many interpretations of its cases, with designs conceived for transporting beauty essentials, champagne and even a trumpet and violin. But the grooved aluminium surfaces have also taken a life on their own, most recently cladding an espresso maker by La Marzocco.

The latest interpretation of the popular suitcases sees Rimowa and Robbe & Berking collaborating on a piece that combines German engineering and craftsmanship with a whole lot of fun. The case is made by Rimowa in its German factory in the brand's traditional aluminium, while the silver-plated cocktail accessories, designed with a nod to the grooves of the case, are crafted by Robbe & Berking.

The bar kit includes a Cobbler Shaker whose design has been conceived to be compact and easily transportable, two tumblers and a jigger as well as two coasters, two silver straws, and a bar spoon

The Case itself features all the elements that usually define Rimowa's Classic Collection, from the leather handles to the TSA-approved locks. In addition, this piece is also characterised by a bespoke interior that features slots for each element of the bar accessory kit to ensure the kit arrives smoothly for

The Rimowa x Robbe & Berking Cocktail Case, €4750, is available from 30 October 2025 from rimowa stores worldwide and rimowa.com

1925: the birth of Art Deco

The idea for the 1925 fair actually came in 1911 as a way to bring France back as a leader in design. 'For centuries, France has imposed its taste on the world,' Société des Artistes Décorateurs president René Guilleré wrote in 1915. 'Today, we no longer know that we have the glory of talent of our ancestors.' At the same time, the Bauhaus and De Stijl movements were developing; France needed to stamp its own mark.

At this time, many European countries had been ravaged by WWI. France had done well from the war comparatively, and its being an empire meant that materials could be sourced from its colonies, like ivory (which Eugénie O’Kin used frequently, including a vase that was at the fair and is in the exhibition), and woods; a commode by Maurice Dufrène in the exhibition that was also first presented at the fair uses black ebony and okoume.

While the Bauhaus thought about applicable new ways of living, Art Deco aimed to make a properly social art, one that moved with the progress of industry, and not being purely ornamental. Such were the goals of the Union des Artistes Modernes, headed by architect and designer Robert Mallet-Stevens, which split from the Société des Artistes Décorateurs after it refused to give a salon space to young decorators that included Mallet-Stevens himself as well as Pierre Chareau.

The influences of Art Deco spread throughout France. New habitations built in France due to the Cornudet law enacted in 1919 (which set out urban planning guidelines) used bas-reliefs and brick-laying as decorative accents. In the US, industrial production made it popular in households, and designers from Brazil, Japan and Sweden all adapted it for their own national identity.

During this time, there were also major developments in transport. Because of military innovations, people were now able to travel by ship, and tourism as we know it now was born; commercial airlines (albeit in much smaller planes and on shorter journeys) began; car production proliferated.

Some of these were depicted as motifs on Art Deco objects, but one of the largest symbols of the movement was the renovation of the Orient Express train, which originally ran from Paris to Istanbul. After its suspension during WWI, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits approached leading Art Deco designers René Lalique, Suzanne Lalique-Haviland and René Prou to help.

Art Deco: on view in Paris

Among the exhibition's standout features are reproductions of old Orient Express carriages that demonstrate the richness of its decoration. The carriages feature added marquetry made with precious wood (mahogany, violet wood, rosewood, ebony), glass panels, and geometric motifs.

There are sections dedicated to designers Eileen Gray and Jean-Michel Frank, as well as Pierre Chareau’s imagined office-library for the French ambassador that was made for the Société des Arts Décorators’ pavilion at the fair.

Part of the display includes furniture owned by the fashion designer Jacques Doucet, whose estate sale in 1972 was attended by Hélène Rochas, Andy Warhol, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, and is what brought Art Deco back into vogue. With the movement being the theme of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs’ first ever summer ball, and that of the next Matter & Shape fair, held in February 2026, Art Deco is back on the forefront.

1925-2025. One Hundred Years of Art Deco is on view until 26 April 2026
usée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 Rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris

'What felt unresolved had more to do with form than substance,' she reflects. 'The tension between structure and play, colour and restraint remains, but now it’s applied at a smaller, more intimate scale.' The project extends that exploration into a site of experiment and transformation, where intuition meets technique and materials find their voice

The Lab, by Marta de la Rica

The Lab exists within her studio, moving to its own tempo and allowing ideas to evolve through collaboration and material study. 'Each collection becomes an in-depth exchange with an artisan or artist,' she notes. 'It lets us create pieces that can belong to our interiors while standing alone as singular works.'

Within The Lab, making serves as a method of research, an open system where gesture tests what drawing can only suggest. Dialogue with material and craftsman reshapes each idea in real time. 'Rigour and risk are perfect words for it,' de la Rica affirms. 'The balance lies in staying open to change while keeping a sense of direction. You have to allow evolution without losing focus.'

For de la Rica, material is more than medium; it becomes participant. 'The material speaks,' she adds. 'Its texture, weight or resistance can suggest a gesture we hadn’t imagined. You have to listen; that dialogue often leads to unexpected results.'

Dubbed Of Marble & Metal, the Lab's inaugural collection features a temperamental materiality: marble patient and composed, metal restless and quick to react. Their interaction becomes a kind of alchemy, a negotiation between calm and impulse.

Feeling, too, is treated as something tangible. De la Rica considers emotion capable of form, able to inhabit a polished surface or the glow of reflected light. 'Emotion can live within an object,' she observes. 'In a texture that invites touch or a form that quietly makes you smile.'

Elsewhere, playfulness offsets precision. A lamp shaped as a hand holding a torch, a table poised on bronze paws – gestures that temper discipline with wit. 'I’m quite organised, sometimes even controlling,' she admits, 'but The Lab is where I let go. It’s where I can play, and enjoy it.'

The Lazy Susan Dining Table, inspired by family meals, lets sharing take shape through motion, as objects pass and return with convivial rhythm. As its marble top revolves, plates and bottles slide between hands, extending conversation through touch and timing. Around that motion, The Lab’s ethos stays in flux, responsive to change and sustained by collaboration.

Of Marble and Metal collection is available from martadelarica.es from 1 November 2025

Originally purchased in 2021 for $3.35 million, the 22-foot-wide townhouse underwent an extensive renovation led by designer Billy Cotton (who was part of Wallpaper's USA 300 in 2023 and recently collaborated with Soane Britain) and architect Ben Bischoff of MADE. The result is a striking blend of traditional English charm and unapologetically eccentric maximalism.

Upon entry, guests are greeted by a living room wrapped in intricate Zuber wallpaper and anchored by a grand fireplace. Glass doors open onto a garden complete with a sauna and cold plunge, while crown mouldings, bespoke lighting and layered textures flow into the Plain English kitchen, outfitted with an Officine Gullo range, Ann Sacks tiles and a custom banquette.

The primary suite occupies an entire floor, swathed in more Zuber prints and Pierre Frey carpeting, with a cosy seating area, fireplace and walk-in closets. The upper level offers two guest rooms, a skylit lounge and a home office; below, the garden level hosts another guest suite, powder room and family room.

The couple gave Architectural Digest a tour of their home back in 2023, during which Harbour comments on Allen’s ‘bold, silly, fun, eccentric’ taste, as well as expressing exasperation at her wilder choices – tiger-stripe carpets, double-sided olive suede sofas, chandeliers suspended over clashing patterns. Cotton confirmed to AD that Allen was the creative driving force behind the home, saying, ‘Every time I tried to make it calmer, she kept pushing for more’.

This is the very property that the singer references in 'West End Girl's' title song, saying: ‘So we went ahead and we bought it / Found ourselves a good mortgage / Billy Cotton got sorted / All the furniture ordered / I could never afford this / You were pushing it forward / Made me feel a bit awkward.’

The home’s asking price – which is more than double what the couple paid – speaks to both the surging Brooklyn market and the meticulous renovation. Yet for many fans, its worth will lie less in square footage than in the symbolism – of love, art and heartbreak.

Its curved, compact form has a padded – dare we say 'cauliflower-like' – surface made using a 3D quilting technique. To enhance the cocooning effect, it's upholstered in a woolly, tactile blend of virgin wool, alpaca, and cotton and features an optional matching pillow that hugs the body. Perched on a concealed swivel base, this is a seat, Moooi and Williams tell us, designed for those that seek quiet refuge from the world.

'The 'Introvert' chair is more than just a place to lounge, it’s a whole mood,' Williams explains. 'In a world that rarely slows down, we often crave a place of respite, and this chair is just that. Its soft fabric and gentle curves create a sanctuary that offers complete comfort and calm, reminding me of the power that art and design have not only in shaping our spaces, but in transforming how we feel within them.'

Earlier this year, the star revealed how, despite his extrovert reputation, he can feel frightened by social interaction and panic when a stranger approaches him. The 'Introvert' chair reflects that lived experience: a desire to withdraw without disappearing.

'Robbie’s creativity transcends mediums,' comments Marcel Wanders, Moooi’s founder and artistic director. 'With the 'Introvert' chair, he channels that vision into a design of remarkable clarity – sculptural, daring, and deeply personal.'

The pairing makes sense. Moooi has always embraced a certain theatricality – from a lamp in the form of a life-size horse to Maarten Baas’ charred 'Smoke' chair – yet here, Williams has arrived at something unexpectedly restrained. 'Introvert' may be one of the brand’s quieter pieces, although it’s worth noting that quiet is relative when it comes to Moooi.

Williams’ first step into furniture follows his exploration of ceramics with 1882 Ltd and the development of his practice as a visual artist. Like his music, this creative chapter is both bold and vulnerable, circling themes of anxiety, shame, ego, humour and healing. Since 2023, his artworks have taken centre stage at the Moco Museum in Amsterdam, Barcelona and London, where his third solo exhibition, Radical Honesty, unveiled the chair to the public.

What we really love here is the way these soft, tactile pieces are paired with sleek, sometimes industrial materials. In the bedroom, an angular, bespoke four-poster bed in stainless steel is draped with Nordic Knots’ all-wool Grand Burnt Red fabric and sateen bedding, its hard edges softened by the layers of textile. In the living room, a glass coffee table and glossy black side table offset the walnut-brown teddy velvet upholstery and butter-yellow drapes. Antiques are deftly layered with contemporary design – sleek glass lamps by Swedish designer Simon Skinner are dotted throughout, while a 1920s desk by Giuseppe Pagano and Gino Levi Montalcini (courtesy of Béton Brut) steals the show in the living room.

The design is the work of Nordic Knots Studio, the brand’s newly launched interior design arm, and a masterclass in brand immersion. ‘For us, design has always been about creating a feeling,’ reflects chief creative director Liza Laserow Berglund, who co-founded the brand alongside her husband, CEO Fabian Berglund. ‘With the Mount Street pied-à-terre, we wanted people to step into that feeling, not just see it. A place that feels calm and personal. Every element has been considered to evoke a sense of what 'home' means to us – layered, harmonious, and lived in with intention.’

The brand confirms that the Mayfair address is only temporary – a six-month residency that runs until March 2026 – long enough to test the waters in a city that has long enchanted the founders.

‘London has always been a city we return to for inspiration,’ says Berglund. ‘It’s a place we’ve walked, lived, and loved. It felt natural to bring our world here. This residency is the first time we’re able to create a home-like space with our fabrics in the city – a space where the pieces can live, not just be seen, and where people can experience them in person.’

Nordic Knots is at 130 Mount Street, London, W1K 3NY until 20 March 2026

Originally presented at Stockholm Design Week 2022, the series of objects (which, according to design director Chris Martin feature ‘the rules plus some magic’) included everyday essentials with a playful aesthetic twist.

Available from Arket are now popular items such as Massproduction's Buffer Bookend, the Universal Door Wedge and the Silo Wine Rack in specially-developed colourways, plus a wool blanket made by Swedish mill Klippan featuring a pattern referencing Massproductions’ first chair design, and a tote bag.

'We share a lot of the same values when it comes to design: at Arket, our focus is very much to create products that are the perfect version of themselves, and I strongly feel that we share that with Massproductions where every object has a great attention to detail and function,' says Ella Soccorsi, Head of Design and Creative at Arket.

Available on arket.com and in selected stores from 30 October 2025, the collection encapsulates Arket's spirit of durable, well-made design, and brings cult label Massproductions to a bigger audience.

The three products chosen from the company's range represent 'smaller, often overlooked objects that we believe deserve some extra attention,' say Massproduction founders Magnus Elebäck and Chris Martin, who define this collaboration as 'truly symbiotic'. Quality and attention to detail have been at the heart of the brand since its inception, alongside a playful attitude to designing objects that gently subvert the rules of domestic design.

The collection's materiality also encapsulates both brands' diverse approach to objects: steel for the bookends (inspired by a railway buffer), rubber for the doorstopper ('something I never knew I needed until I saw it in our first creative meeting,' says Soccorsi), wood for the wine rack (its modular design is bound to fit any space and grow with your wine collection), and wool for the blanket. The objects come in Massproductions' distinctive illustrated packaging with illustrations that bring the object to life.

‘It was an easy “yes” when Arket invited us to collaborate: we are not only admirers and customers, but also neighbours on the island of Södermalm in central Stockholm,' add Elebäck and Martin. 'That made the project easier to manage, but probably also meant that we have similar values in terms of culture, design, and outlook on what a product should embody.'

Charlene Prempeh, founder of A Vibe Called Tech, says that Future Classics has two goals. One is to encourage people to use their hands at a time when everything seems to be digitised. The other is to make design available to all. 'I think for a long time it's felt quite elitist. And it's such an important part of our culture. I want people to feel like it's something accessible, and the process of making helps to achieve that.'

The plan is to expand the project beyond Europe, with different local designers and a range of objects and materials. Ultimately, says Lewis Gilbert, creative director of A Vibe Called Tech, 'We want people to see these items in people's homes and go, 'where did you get that?' And when they need an extra mirror, or an extra lamp, they're like – I can actually make my own.'

The Future Classics mirror workshop

When choosing designers for each Future Classics object, the duo look for talents that share their community-based ethos. The project launched earlier this year in London with a lamp by Andu Masebo. In Paris, the test group would be making a 'T-Mirror' by Franco-Swiss designer Julie Richoz, who was on hand to help them out.

'We set out to create an object that is forgiving and doesn't need millimetric precision,' Richoz explains. Materials and tools had to be simple and readily available. 'These constraints led us to explore a certain aesthetic, a kind of radicality, which took us to this very graphic silhouette.'

And so on a rainy Thursday morning, a couple dozen people sat at tables in an industrial workspace in northern Paris, each supplied with two pieces of wood and a small selection of paints. The first step was to select the colour mix for the mirror frame, which turned out to be an enormous source of anxiety for people who think often about design but don't necessarily make it. Pastels? Mondrian? Light? Dark? An hour later, most had taken the leap (though a few were spotted regretfully painting over their bright shades with basic black).

Once the paint dried, drills and screws were handed out, to attach the boards in a T shape. The wood frame – pre-pierced with holes – was then ingeniously attached to mirrored glass with a cord (another colour choice!) that also served as a loop for hanging.

A digital toolkit for making the T-Mirror (along with each new Future Classics object) is available to download for free via WeTransfer. Richoz notes that her instructions are more of a 'protocol' than a plan, and can be adapted to whatever is around once you've understood the system.

'I think we have a different relationship with our environment when we make it ourselves. That's how things were before industrialisation,' she says. 'I love that Future Classics bridges that spirit with the possibilities of modern technology: open source, knowledge sharing, and inviting a large number of people to take part.'

Significantly expanded since its first edition in 2024, this second edition has doubled in size and features an exciting roster of eight curated exhibitions, installations, open studios, panel talks and workshops.

Staged across Beirut at some of the city’s most historically significant and architecturally unique monuments and buildings – from the ancient Roman Baths to the derelict brutalist tower of Burj El Murr – the program delves into themes of legacy, revival and continuity, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the onset of the Lebanese Civil War, alongside the many hardships since.

'We’re learning how to break barriers and create dialogue across all corners of the creative community; from makers to artisans, designers, architects, singers, and beyond,' founder Mariana Wehbe tells Wallpaper*. 'Projects like this don’t have to fit into one category; they grow organically and become a part of the city, as they are a way of giving back to it. A true culmination of all the different parts of Beirut.'

The event has a bit of everything, from showcases of heritage crafts and site-specific creations by award-winning Lebanese designers, to exhibitions dedicated to showcasing the work of university students and emerging designers. We Design Beirut attempts to offer a complete experience of the country’s creative ecosystem, celebrating the many facets that make Lebanon the vibrant melting pot it’s known to be.

Best of We Design Beirut 2025

‘Design ‘In’ Conflict’ at Burj El Murr

For the first time ever, the public will be allowed into the derelict shell of Burj El Murr, an unfinished skyscraper intended as a symbol of progress in the 1970s, which would have been the tallest skyscraper in the Middle East at the time, had it been completed. When the Civil War broke out in 1975 the project was abandoned and the tower became a deadly sniper nest until 1990. Burj El Murr has since stood as a looming relic in heart of the city and a symbol of Lebanon’s unresolved past.

Now, an exhibition curated and organized by Archifeed founders Teymour Khoury and Yasmina Mahmoud, in collaboration with Tarek Mahmoud and Youssef Bassil, will bring new life to the building. ‘Design ‘In’ Conflict’ will act as a showcase for Lebanese student talent from nine Lebanese universities, exploring how conflict shapes space and form, especially in a country where conflict and rupture are commonplace, forcing people to coexist with and adapt around it.

‘Totems of the Present and the Absent’ at Villa Audi

Curated by award-winning designer Gregory Gatserelia, this exhibition of over 50 leading Lebanese designers takes over Villa Audi, a restored 20^th-century Ottoman villa, now housing a stunning collection of Roman mosaics. The show is partly a tribute to the former SMO Gallery - founded by Gatserelia in Beirut in 2011 - which acted as a launchpad for emerging designers, until it closed down. The main focus of the show, however, is a thematic exploration where each designer was tasked with creating a ‘totem’ for the city, as they interpret it.

Khaled Mouzanar’s ‘18:07 — When Gravity Was No More’ is one of the first things you see when entering the villa, drawing the eye upwards to a chaos of suspended music sheets, books, a piano, furniture and door frames. The installation replicates the famous Lebanese composer’s room when the 2020 port blast ripped through the city, in a haunting work that seems to suspend time.

Standout totems include Tara Jane Tabet’s ‘Evocative Reminder,’ an illuminated architectural structure made from upcycled cement bricks, clay and natural wax. The piece is an ode to the many architectural remnants left by war, destruction and time that stand vigil in the cityscape. The wax and clay – warm, natural elements – are used to patch up the structure in an attempt at healing.

Lebanese artist Dia Mrad’s ‘Shift’ takes the form of a sculptural object that functions as a power supply indicator within a Lebanese home. Through a sequence of light signals, it displays which electricity source is currently in use—government grid, private generator, solar power, or none. It acts as a commentary on what is usually hidden or improvised, but essential to Beirut’s context.

‘The Promise’ by Lebanese designer Ramy Boutros - a basalt pyramid with benches on the edges that invite visitors to pause, with a three-meter suspended steel ring floating above like a portal – is another showstopper.

‘Métiers d’Art’ and ‘Threads of Life’ at the Abroyan Factory

The Abroyan Factory, a former industrial textile factory from the 1940s that now serves as a nightlife and exhibition space, will host two shows this year dedicated to preserving and updating heritage crafts.

‘Threads of Life’ is all about textile traditions reimagined through contemporary interventions by eight creatives, looking beyond the fragility of fabric and highlighting the enduring resilience of the craft. Must-see installations here include ‘Hanging by a Thread’ by Lebanon’s Sarah’s Bag, a stunning display of handcrafted bridal trousseaus – a vanishing art of beautiful lace, linens, tablecloths and clothing, created over months for a new bride by her female family members. The installation collects yards and yards of heritage pieces from around the country and gives them new life.

‘Supperclub’ by Lebanese fashion designer Hassan Idriss takes embroidery to another level. A quirky take on ‘The Last Supper,’ he has created an interactive installation that invites touch and exploration, with a table laid out with an embroidered feast - ice cubes, fried fish and fresh artichokes all rendered in fabric and thread. Under the table, depictions of the seven sins can be found. The work was crafted by 12 artisans, taking 2,305 hours to complete.

In another hall, ‘Métiers d’Art’ presents collaborations between traditional artisans and contemporary designers, experimenting with ways to push technique, material and form, with live craft demonstrations. Mariagroup and Rattan Hun have joined forces to craft a modular installation of woven rattan seating, which forms a makeshift theatre. A bamboo and rattan 23-meter screen allows the space to screen documentaries during the event. It’s a conservation piece that showcases the versatility of rattan, beyond traditional baskets and stools.

‘Of Water and Stone’ at the Roman Baths

Taking over Beirut’s Roman Baths archaeological site, built back in the 1^st century AD, this show is all about marble. Curated by Nour Osseiran and produced by marble manufacturers Stones by Rania Malli, this exhibition tasked 21 designers with creating stone installations inspired by the site’s themes of healing, rituals, water and Beirut’s layered history.

Favourites include New York-based Palestinian designer Ahmad Abouzanat’s ‘Infinite Bonds,’ a work comprised of hand-sized stone blocks echoing Lebanese soap, softened over time by water. The sculptural installation – anchored by three marble ‘soap towers’ that reference resilience, memory, and time - reflects on community, ritual, and enduring human connection, as each unique block is meant to be taken and dispersed across homes and cities, remaining linked by substance and origin. An online portal allows recipients to register their soap block and see where on the map others have travelled to.

Samir Hakim’s ‘Boon’ table is a playful exploration of Roman cleaning traditions, as they didn’t use soap, but oils and exfoliating tools. Hakim imagines the bubble that would appear if they had used soap, crafting several onyx spheres that cluster like foam, bisected in places to create flat tops.

Other standout installations include Lebanese designer Jeffrey Meawad’s ‘Stillae,’ a sculptural marble bench and smaller seat, inspired by the timeless interplay between water and stone at the Roman Baths. Named after the Latin word for ‘water droplets’ the two seats are carved from Dover green marble, and echo the gentle geometry of oversized droplets — smooth, rounded, and quietly monumental – inviting people to gather, reset and converse like they would have in the baths of old.

‘Union – A Journey of Light’ at Immeuble de l’Union

Curated by architect Karim Nader and Atelier 33, this showcase spotlights this modernist landmark from the 1950s, which has stood as witness to the city's changing social and economic tides. Soon to be renovated by Karim Nader, this event allows the public to see the ruined building as it is, before its transformation. The exhibitions unfolds as a series of light art installations around the building, with an illuminated ‘story’ on each floor created by a designer or artist, guiding visitors through the building.

Notable installations include Egyptian artist Moataz Nasr’s ‘Petro Beads,’ an oversized rosary made from a string of orange-glowing gas canisters, perforated with delicate patterns and lit from within, and Italy’s Christian Pellizzari’s ‘Cyclamen’ – a large glass light sculpture of Lebanon’s national flower that bridges traditional glass craft with contemporary forms.

Japanese creative collective Spread presented ‘Much Peace, Love and Joy,’ a spatial installation exploring the emotional resonance of colour through a net installation, with hand-torn paper shapes float freely in space, contrasting against the dark, ruined concrete walls. The vibrant piece added a spark of life to abandoned space.

Peake finds every product by travelling: tapestries by Gujarat weavers, Oaxacan clay objects, and glass plates inspired by the slow flow of fog through Osaka. For her latest collection, she travelled to Morocco, where she discovered sustainably harvested prickly pear oil, ancient Tadelakt pottery, and naturally dyed Moroccan rugs that seem to have soaked up the shifting amber light of the desert.

With her unique business model based on empathy, Peake has an origin story that bears repetition. Raised by a single mom in a small Alberta town, she grew up in financial straits. One day, someone pushed an envelope of cash under the door. The envelopes arrived, year after year, paying rent, furnishing Christmases and birthday parties.

'This envelope was everything when there was nothing,' Peake said during a 2015 TEDxVancouver talk. It became a model for how she wanted to live her life. Even after, in fairytale fashion, marrying the guitarist for Nickelback, Peake made sure that hers remained a story about the virtuous loop of a pay-it-forward world view, in which people are privileged over products, success is savoured by giving to others, and the thank-you loop remains in perpetual motion.

An interview with Obakki founder, Treana Peake

Wallpaper*: What experience enabled you to create Obakki?

Treana Peake: I studied psychiatry with a focus on rehabilitation services. But I really took my education from the field, spending the past 35 years working in conflict zones, receiving hands-on training from the UN and various others in the development sector. My first trip was to Cameroon when I was 17 years old.

W*: Obakki was originally a fashion label, can you tell me more about that?

TP: Yes. Obakki exhibited all over the world, selling in department stores, but from the start, fashion was never just about clothes for me. We used it as a platform for creating change and despite the extreme differences between fashion and development, we were successful. In Bidi Bidi, one of the world’s largest refugee resettlement areas, I met women who told me, ‘These hands are made for growing rice, not for receiving bags of rice.’ That moment changed everything for me. I handed them paint and paper and asked them to tell their stories visually. We printed their designs on textiles, sold them globally, and reinvested 100 per cent of the profits back into their community. This funded agricultural farms, tailor shops, soap-making collectives, and clean water projects. It was the beginning of merging fashion with impact.

At the same time, I spent years drilling wells in South Sudan and other countries. After each well, I’d gather the villagers and ask, ‘How do we create long-term economic security?’ Women would bring forward pots, textiles, or handmade pieces, items they had been creating for generations. That’s when I realised that creativity and craft could be a bridge to sustainability. My philanthropic work and my creative outlet merged naturally. Today, we work with artisans in more than 19 countries.

W*: Why did you leave the fashion industry?

TP: Even with all our efforts – local manufacturing, natural fibers, reuse of materials – the fashion system itself just isn’t built for sustainability. The entire supply chain is misaligned: buying calendars, fabric production schedules, and marketing timelines rarely sync up. You’re often forced to overproduce fabrics or overcommit without confirmed orders.

Then there are the realities of big retail such as buyback policies, penalties, and products that never even make it onto the sales floor. It became clear that even as one of the 'sustainable' brands, we were operating inside a system that fundamentally wasn’t. I needed to take all that creative energy and put it into something more transparent, lasting, and ethical.

W*: Where did you find Obakki's first collection?

TP: Our first collection came from Mali. I travelled deep into the north, crossing rivers on small boats to meet artisans creating indigo-dyed textiles, mud cloth, wooden bowls, and pottery. Those pieces became the start of everything. They sold out quickly, but more importantly, they set the tone for how we would work: through relationships, respect, and preservation of heritage techniques.

W*: When you were a child, your family experienced a repeated act of generosity in a time of need. What did that anonymous kindness mean to you then?

TP: Every year, someone would slip an unmarked envelope of money under our door to help my family get through the year. We never knew who it came from. I used to lie awake wondering what kind of person would do something like that without ever expecting anything in return.

That experience made me believe in the quiet goodness of people, and it became the foundation of the Obakki Foundation. I could never close that thank-you loop and I’ve spent my life trying to pay it forward. Now, when someone says to me, 'How can I ever repay you?' I get to say, 'You don’t have to. Just pass it on.'

W*: How do you form partnerships and bring a product to market?

TP: It always begins with trust. I spend time in each community, learning their process, understanding their challenges, and identifying how we can build on their existing strengths. We enter every relationship with a long-term vision.

In rural regions, or in communities where our foundation is also active, we first focus on ensuring there’s a strong local market in place. This step is essential so that artisans are not dependent solely on us as an international buyer. After many years of development work, I’ve seen firsthand the harm that can occur when external influence disrupts local economies. Sustainability only exists when our involvement holds the same weight as local demand.

Once a healthy market balance is established, we begin purchasing their work and reinvesting profits back into the community through our foundation. This support takes many forms – clean water access, livelihood initiatives, education, healthcare - always defined in collaboration with the artisans and their villages.

W*: Do you have any favourite Obakki products?

TP: My favourite pieces aren’t necessarily about the design itself but about the story and the person behind them. When you understand that there’s a person behind the object – sometimes a woman who’s walked miles up a mountain to gather clay, then spent weeks moulding and firing it in her outdoor kiln – you begin to view things differently. And when you fill your home with these small memories, your space starts to feel global, layered, and alive with meaning and authenticity.

W*: You must see suffering and hardship during your travels. Where do you find hope?

TP: Hope is something I see in people every day. I’ve spent much of my life in the field, travelling to some of the most remote places on earth – from refugee camps to small rural villages that take days to reach – and what I always find is connection, love, understanding, curiosity. For me, hope lives in those human connections. Sometimes I need to turn off the noise and simply be present with others.

His latest collection, ‘Haku’, takes this artistry to new heights. On display at Tokyo Midtown Design Live until 5 November 2025, ‘Haku’ is composed of dozens of fine, delicate silk threads, each cast in subtle shades using natural plant-based dyes, a process undertaken by Suzuka Sakashita. This choice embodies Sakashita’s approach of reinterpreting Japanese traditions – here, the ancient art of plant dyeing, historically employed in kimono making.

Each colour within the collection carries a narrative tied to the places and relationships involved in sourcing the dyes: the blue comes from Kusagi berries harvested in Kyoto, the grey from shirakashi (Japanese white oak) branches, and the pink from akane (madder root). Beyond rooting the collection in Japanese heritage, these elements underscore the environmental benefits of plant-based dyes, which often make use of materials that would otherwise be discarded and minimise ecological impact.

In ‘Haku’, the light emanates from ultra-fine LEDs delicately woven within the silk threads, delivering the contemporary touch characteristic of Sakashita’s work. The fixtures, meanwhile, are crafted from hand-polished stainless steel, providing a sleek, industrial contrast to the fragility of the silk.

Sakashita’s work is marked by a poetic minimalism that caught our eye back in 2018 with the Suki collection, which reinterpreted Isamu Noguchi’s classic ‘Akari’ lamps through suspended geometric forms crafted from tengujō-washi paper and wire frames, casting intricate, shifting shadows. In ‘Haku’, as in his other collections, Sakashita invites us to experience the beauty of tradition reimagined through a modern lens. His pieces tell stories – of nature, culture and craftsmanship – reminding us that the boundary between object and artwork is wonderfully porous.

The Milan-born designer encapsulated so many of the qualities that defined the era. He was resourceful, inventive, playful, but above all curious about the possibilities of the future. He spent his career finding new uses for ordinary things and transforming them into icons, blurring the boundary between play and function, and proving that utility needn’t be dull. Awarded the Compasso d’Oro nine times, he also shaped generations of designers through teaching, emphasising curiosity and the power of stripping away the unnecessary.

Achille Castiglioni’s early life and education

Achille Castiglioni was born in Milan in 1918, the youngest of three brothers in a family steeped in the arts. His father, Giannino, was a sculptor and goldsmith, while his mother, Livia, encouraged creativity in the home. The Castiglioni household provided fertile ground for invention, and Achille grew up in a world where drawing, making, and experimenting were part of daily life.

After completing classical studies, he enrolled in architecture at the Politecnico di Milano, graduating in 1944. His studies were interrupted by wartime service, but even as a student, he was fascinated by ordinary objects. He collected simple, everyday things not as curiosities but as examples of clever problem-solving. This habit of recontextualising the everyday would remain central throughout his career.

The Castiglioni brothers: Achille, Livio and Pier Giacomo

In 1944, Achille joined his elder brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo in their Milan studio. The trio’s early projects were pragmatic: exhibition stands for trade fairs, interiors for public buildings, and product designs for manufacturers eager to reach a newly modernising Italian public. Livio was more technical, Pier Giacomo more methodical, and Achille more playful. Together, they developed a style that was functional, unpretentious, often humorous, and always guided by common sense.

By the early 1950s, Livio had stepped away to pursue independent work, leaving Achille and Pier Giacomo to forge one of the most important design duos of the century. Their studio on Corso di Porta Nuova became a hive of invention, and when that building was demolished in 1962, they relocated to Piazza Castello 27. That space would remain Castiglioni’s base for the rest of his life and still operates today as a museum dedicated to his work. After Pier Giacomo’s death in 1968, Achille kept the practice alive on his own, continuing to collaborate with Italy’s leading manufacturers while also expanding into teaching.

Repurposing the ordinary

Nothing is more associated with Castiglioni than his gift for finding new life in familiar parts. Following in the footsteps of Marcel Duchamp’s readymade artworks, he and Pier Giacomo began incorporating found objects into their designs.

With ‘Mezzadro’ (1957), a tractor seat is lifted from the farmyard and placed atop a sleek steel stem and wooden footrest, turning a utilitarian fragment into domestic seating. The ‘Sella’ (1957), a stool made from a leather bicycle saddle balanced on a slim stem and weighted base, encourages a kind of half-perch, half-ride, effectively creating a design that prioritises play as much as practicality.

Light as architecture

Castiglioni’s approach to lighting was nothing short of architectural. His most famous lamp, the ‘Arco’ (1962), is essentially a ceiling lamp without a ceiling, its long steel arch cantilevered from a marble block so the light falls gracefully over a dining table or sofa.

Similarly, the ‘Taccia’ (1958), with its glass bowl reflector set askew on a fluted base, casts an atmospheric glow via a blanket of indirect light. For Castiglioni, light wasn’t just illumination, it was a way of shaping space and transforming the feel of a room with a single gesture.

Architecture and urban planning

Although Castiglioni is most celebrated for his industrial design, his career began with architecture and exhibition design. Among his an Pier Giacomo’s best-known architectural works are the Chiesa di San Gabriele Arcangelo in Mater Dei in Milan (1956), a church that balanced modernist lines with an intimate human scale, and the redevelopment of the Palazzo della Permanente (1953), an exhibition space destroyed during the war and later rebuilt as a showcase for contemporary art and design.

Teaching and influence

From 1980 onwards, Castiglioni brought this philosophy into the classroom at the Politecnico di Milano, where he taught industrial design until the early 1990s. He encouraged what he called 'design by subtraction', the art of stripping away everything unnecessary. He once said: 'My method is to take out again and over again, until I will find the main design component: a minimum sign or a minimum shape required by the function. I want to get to say: less than this, I can’t do it.'

Many students carried his influence into their own practices. The architect Patricia Urquiola, among the most prominent, has spoken often of his mentorship, recalling how he taught her to see humour and humanity as essential elements of design. Through teaching, Castiglioni extended his reach beyond objects, shaping generations of designers who continue to carry his philosophy forward.

Fondazione Castiglioni: a designer's legacy

Castiglioni died in 2002, but his Milan studio remains intact as the Fondazione Achille Castiglioni. The atmosphere inside was famously informal and that feeling has been carefully preserved. Drawings are pinned to walls, prototypes lay scattered across workbenches, and objects of all kinds – from toys to tools – fill the shelves.

Visitors can still walk through what is essentially a living archive, witnessing the same curiosity that fuelled his career. It is a fitting tribute to a designer who never stopped asking questions, and who found magic in the most ordinary of things.

Fondazione Achille Castiglioni, Piazza Castello 27, 20121 Milano

Six Achille Castiglioni designs to know (and own)

Quilts helped to put Gee’s Bend, a remote enclave in Alabama’s Black Belt, on the map. These extraordinary textiles, a matrilineal tradition that began during slavery and has continued ever since, are prized around the world for their abstract patchwork and distinctive colours. And among Benders, as folks who hail from the region are known, they’re tangible representations of history, memory and kinship.

On a Saturday afternoon earlier this month hundreds of vibrantly hued and exquisitely patterned quilts were proudly displayed by their makers and the families that cherish them. Pinned on clotheslines and slung over porch railings, they fluttered in the breeze, drawing over 2,000 admirers from around the world for the fourth annual Airing of the Quilts Festival. The festival is an homage to a yearly tradition in Gee’s Bend when quilts would be taken from storage and aired before being used in winter. It is part of a new strategy to build a sustainable, equitable economy around Gee’s Bend quilts and deepen appreciation and understanding of the artistry and tradition they embody.

An artistic tradition rooted in place

‘These quilts have brand recognition,’ says Kim Kelly, the executive director of the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy, an organisation dedicated to preserving the legacy of Gee’s Bend and one of the festival’s organisers. ‘You say “Gee’s Bend”,’ and people know the brand but they don't really know where it is.’ And location, locals and advocates say, is essential to understanding what makes the quilts and their quilters remarkable.

Gee’s Bend quilts have had many lives since women in the region first began making them in the 19th century. Their beginning is rooted in survival and necessity, and is part and parcel with the history of the land. The name Gee’s Bend comes from Joseph Gee, a plantation owner and enslaver who bought 6,000 acres of land in the area in 1816. Gee’s Bend, so-named for a hairpin-turn in the Alabama River, is surrounded by water on three sides, with just one road leading out.

Because of a lack of written records, it’s difficult to say when quilting in the region began, but the oldest known quilter in Gee’s Bend is Dinah Miller, a woman captured in West Africa as a teenager and is believed to have arrived in Alabama in 1860 onboard the Clotilda, a ship that continued to traffic humans after the US banned the international slave trade, in 1805. 'She is patient zero when it comes to many of the renowned quilters and artists of this community,' Kelly says.

After Emancipation, the formerly enslaved people in Gee’s Bend remained as sharecroppers until the 1930s but their living conditions remained difficult. At that time, the region was one of the poorest in the country. Then the US government purchased the former plantation, in 1937, and provided low-interest loans for the families to buy the land as an economic relief lifeline. Ownership enabled Benders to remain during a time when most tenant farmers were displaced. Because of this, family traditions have been able to endure, quilting included, which is now at least in its seventh generation. ‘We’re taught that you have to fend for your family,’ recalls Kelly. ‘You got to learn how to cook, you got to learn how to keep a house, and you got to learn how to quilt.’

The quilts’ patchwork design reflects the circumstances through which they were crafted. With very few resources, Benders made do with what was available to them, stitching together old clothing and cotton into quilts. The families used them for everything: to sleep under, to insulate their houses, as towels, as diapers. When the quilts became threadbare, families removed the worn sections and turned them into mops or burned them to smoke out mosquitoes. Because of this, the oldest surviving examples date from the 1920s.

Each quilter develops their own distinctive visual language – some preferring asymmetrical blocks of colour, improvisational ‘My Way’ designs, or angular patchwork. The patterns tell stories about what they feel or see, which is often objects or elements from the landscape. The quilts have names like Bricklayer, Housetop, and Log Cabin. The Housetop pattern of concentric squares is closely associated with quilters from the region. Today, roofs in Gee’s still reflect the jigsawing of different pieces of metal.

Families pass down similar techniques and quilters often collaborate with one another on designs. As William Arnett, a collector who helped bring Gee’s Bend quilts into major museum collections through a nonprofit called Souls Grown Deep, outlined in his 2006 book Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt, the quilters think of their process much like builders, comparing their assemblage of ‘blocks’ – smaller sections of a quilt that are stitched together to form the whole – to laying planks on a floor. But a step more symbolic than that, he wrote, is ‘the ways in which Gee’s Bend quilts are conceived and built ultimately [becoming] structures that organise identity and affirm human relationships’.

These relationships span time and space, and involve direct experience or intergenerational memory. ‘Whatever we are thinking about or what's going on in our lives, we typically put it into the quilt, sometimes not even knowing it,’ says Loretta Pettway Bennett, a 65-year-old quilter. ‘I tell people, it's in my blood. It's a part of my DNA. And I see it in my granddaughter, even though she’s four years old. When she was three, I started her threading needles.’

Bennett’s latest quilt is a collaborative design with a dozen other descendants of Dinah Miller, the first known named quilter. In honour of their common ancestor, they each stitched blocks out of thrifted clothing, which Bennett then sewed together. Recently, quilter Mary Virginia Pettway, who is also in her sixties, designed a piece that commemorated the lives lost during the Middle Passage, the deadly transatlantic voyage enslaved Africans endured en route to America. Pettway assembled strips and triangles of blue denim, then joined the quilt together with curved running stitches to represent the ocean and its waves; a sole red stripe in the centre symbolises the people who died along the journey. Both quilts, along with many more, appeared in ‘Between History and Memory: Dinah Miller’s Legacy In Gee’s Bend’, an exhibition at the Gee’s Bend Welcome Center curated by Emma Yau of Souls Grown Deep, which is currently working to bring more scholarship to the history of Gee’s Bend as well as its contemporary artists.

An economic lifeline

In 1966, 60 quilters formed a worker cooperative, the Freedom Quilting Bee, to turn their expertise into a living. It was a direct response to the Civil Rights movement. At the time, voter suppression tactics targeted Black residents of the surrounding Wilcox County, who had just gained the right to vote. They faced evictions, mortgage foreclosures, and job loss; a few years prior, the town of Camden, across the river from Gee’s Bend, eliminated ferry service to make it harder for its residents to vote and access services. Local civil rights leaders encouraged the women to sell their work in order to become more economically independent.

The Freedom Quilting Bee produced pieces for department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller and Sears, developing new types of quilts to make their work more marketable, including smaller quilts for baby beds, wall hangings, and tablecloths. At its peak, the collective employed 150 women. ‘Manufacturing brought to the families an amount of wealth they had never envisioned,’ Kelly says. ‘They were able to install plumbing in their homes and buy refrigerators and washing machines. But one of the most important things they were able to do was send their children to college.’

In addition to being lucrative, it was also a socially progressive operation. The Freedom Quilting Bee also offered childcare and its formal structure enabled members to draw Social Security benefits. Their industry thrived until the mid-1980s, when offshoring decimated stateside manufacturing and longtime partners did not renew their contracts. After the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed, Freedom Quilting Bee essentially stopped manufacturing, though it stayed open through 2010.

It is only recently that the quilts have become widely celebrated internationally as works of art. After appearing in exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in the early 2000s, the profile of the quilts exploded. Oprah Winfrey featured the quilters on her show, as did Martha Stewart. They appeared on US postage stamps – the first time work by living artists was featured on them –and began to enter the collections of prominent museums, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the de Young Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Today, the quilts are represented in the collections of 40 museums on three continents. In 2022, they were the subject of an exhibition at Tate Modern, and in 2025, they featured in exhibitions at the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Armory Show in New York.

But the increased recognition and appreciation of Gee’s Bend quilts hasn’t always benefitted the quilters equitably. In the aughts, three quilters sued Arnett, the collector and founder of Souls Grown Deep, alleging they were cheated out of compensation for their quilts and the use of their images; one said she was forced to sign a copyright document she couldn’t read (Arnett died in 2020). In 2008, the suit was dismissed. And copyright and licensing terms aren’t favourable to the quilters – if there’s a formal agreement at all. (Souls Grown Deep has served as an intermediary between quilters and institutions and collectors who wish to buy the quilts, encouraging the quilters to price their work commensurately with the caliber of their artistry.)

‘There have been many times where people come, take the art, and we never hear from them again,’ says Claudia Pettway Charley, a fourth-generation quilter and co-founder of Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders, a new non-profit she, fellow Benders, and their descendants founded to help the community develop more sustainable and equitable business partnerships. Recently this included collaborations with Chloé, the fashion designer Greg Lauren, Dedar and Stephen Burks Manmade (previewed at the 2025 Venice Biennale) and Adidas, which also sponsored the 2025 edition of the Airing of the Quilts.

Meanwhile, most museum collecting to date has focused on older quilts and the artists who appeared on the postage stamps. More recently, non-profits have helped quilters to sell directly to customers through initiatives like Etsy storefronts and at events like the Airing of the Quilts.

However, sales can still be uneven. At the festival, Marlene Bennett Jones, a quilter born in 1947, stitched away on a black, purple, and white piece stretched on a frame made from PVC pipes while surrounded by family, friends, and dozens of quilts swaying in the wind. For Jones, quilting is a source of pride and a passion more so than a viable way to make a living. While some museum-quality quilts can fetch $50,000, those rates are rare. ‘It’s like being a starving artist,’ Jones says. ‘If you wait to sell something, you will starve.’

Recently, various groups involved with Gee’s Bend have rallied around a new strategy to develop an economy around the quilts: cultural tourism. The hope is that more visitors will come to the area to buy quilts, attend workshops and retreats, and gain an understanding of the work that can only be appreciated in person, directly from the culture bearers themselves. ‘We don't want people in the world to think that this place is like some ethereal thing that you can't touch,’ Kelly says. ‘It is alive, it's living. It has always been alive and living for over 200 years.’

Lue Ida McCloud, a 74-year-old quilter who was born in Gee’s Bend, echoes Kelly’s sentiment about how open quilters in the region are. ‘We’re just a group of people, we love what we do, and we try to help whenever we can,’ McCloud says. Her classes have included quilters as far away as London and Greece. 'I just love doing what I do,' she reiterates. ‘Working on a quilt, it takes your mind off everything, off all your problems and all your situations.’

Reintroducing Gee’s Bend

Gee’s Bend is remaking itself into a visitor-friendly destination. It’s aligned with a strategy happening across Alabama, and the Deep South: heritage tourism is becoming a tool for revitalisation and economic development, with initiatives like the Legacy Sites, in Montgomery, and the Africatown Cultural Mile, in Mobile. If the region’s fame from postage stamps and museum exhibitions could help restore ferry service in 2006, after a 40-year shutdown, what else could increased visibility accomplish? The town recently unveiled the Gee’s Bend Heritage Trail with funding from Souls Grown Deep, a self-guided driving tour.

This year, the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy renovated and reopened the original building where the collective manufactured quilts to visitors. It now features a shop, an exhibition, and quilting demonstrations. ‘Many people look at meeting a Gee's Bend Quilter as a bucket-list item,’ Kelly says. ‘I would see ’em driving up and down the road with out-of-state licence plates. I knew what they were looking for, but other than the Quilting Collective, which is up the road and whose hours are kind of haphazard, there was no place to connect to these people.’

And last year, Souls Grown Deep opened a new art gallery in Gee’s Bend to give visitors and locals alike another destination to connect with the history and culture of the region. ‘There's a whole roster of [Gee’s Bend] exhibitions, but so much of that was done outside of this community,’ says Raina Lampkins-Fielder, chief curator at Souls Grown Deep. ‘We wanted to do it here so that people can see the history and the artistry that is continuing. It’s living.’

It’s working. The main event is the Airing of the Quilts. In addition to becoming an open air gallery where visitors can admire and purchase quilts – over 80 quilters offered everything from $20 machine-stitched potholders to hand-sewn full-sized quilts going for tens of thousands of dollars – the festival featured live quilting demonstrations and workshops, live music, and food.

It’s attracting visitors from around the world. On my flight to Alabama, I sat next to a woman from Los Angeles who organised a family reunion in Gee’s Bend in honour of her grandmother, who loved quilting. And at my Airbnb in Selma, I met a group of quilters from North Carolina who turned their desire to see the festival into a road trip.

Quilters of all stripes – the famous ones represented in museums as well as artists who have moved to the area to immerse themselves in the tradition – proudly displayed their handiwork. The home of Mary Lee Bendolph, a quilter who was featured in a Pulitzer-winning Los Angeles Times story and named to this year’s Forbes 50 over 50 list, is on the Gee’s Bend Heritage Trail. For the festival, she and her daughter, Essie Bendolph Pettway, strung up quilts the two had made together. From their perch on Bendolph’s porch, they greeted admirers who hopped off tour shuttles to see their work up close. Bendolph, who is now in her nineties and has dementia, still stitches blocks, but no longer makes full-sized quilts on her own, Pettway explains to me. She’ll combine her blocks with her mother’s to finish a piece. After completing a design, she’ll share it with her mother, who offers creative feedback. After Bendolph said one design needed a little yellow and red, Pettway used those hues for the border.

The festival has also become an important draw for the descendants of Gee’s Bend, lending it the feeling of a family reunion. Tangular Irby, who is Dinah Miller’s great-great-great granddaughter, is one such descendant. At the festival, she read from Pearl and Her Gee’s Bend Quilt, a children's book she wrote, and explained why documenting history to connect with the youngest Benders is important. ‘My biggest regret, having grandmothers that were Gee's Bend being quilters, is I never learned to quilt from them,’ she told the crowd. ‘Why? Because as a child, I didn't know that was special.’

Sustaining the community

As the business of Gee’s Bend grows, whether from tourism or through partnerships, the hope is that the gains can be reinvested directly into the community so that it remains a vibrant place for all generations. Despite international acclaim, the lack of basic infrastructure (Gee’s Bend still doesn’t have services like street lights, sidewalks or a community center) is a reminder of systemic neglect and that cultural heritage, however priceless, doesn’t translate to dollars and cents.

Right now, the Gee’s Bend Welcome Center, which is oriented toward tourism, has served as a makeshift community center, but it has been a tight squeeze. ‘If we have a birthday party at the Welcome Center, then they have to dismantle the museum,’ Charley, the fourth-generation quilter and founder of Sew Gee’s Bend Heritage Builders, says. Additionally, since there is no place for women to drop in and quilt together, the art form has become a solitary activity. She hopes to build a centre with the proceeds that her organisation earns from collaborations.

Keeping Gee’s Bend at the heart of the region’s quilting tradition is central to recent advocacy efforts. ‘It's important for rural communities to see that you don't have to be in a big city to benefit wherever you are in life,’ Charley says.