Brooklyn Designs
Brooklyn Designs has always been an unassuming warm-up to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which starts next Saturday in Manhattan.
Now in its fifth year, Brooklyn Designs has gained steady momentum as a showcase for the borough’s grassroots design community. But with the media spotlight now focused on all things Brooklyn, including its homegrown design scene, the show threatens to outgrow its carefully cultivated indie image. It opened Friday with 64 exhibitors (up 26 percent from last year), spread among three venues in the DUMBO neighborhood.
As the show has grown, so too has the sense of a recognizable Brooklyn style of clean-lined woods and sustainable materials. “Brooklyn work tends to be a little raw,” said Andrew Thornton of Argington, which added organic linens and a bunk bed (below) to their line of children’s furniture. “People out here aren’t so concerned with making things ‘pretty.’ They have a little more courage about what they do.”
Corey Springer of Wüd Furniture, which introduced a wenge console topped with resin-encased lead (below), said Brooklyn's defining trait is independence. “Everybody’s doing their own thing without any predisposition," he said. “Everybody’s designing from the gut.”
Lisa Albin of Iglooplay, a collection of children’s furniture with playful organic forms (shown below), said she defined Brooklyn style as “an honesty of materials.” “There may be a mix of high and low,” she added, “but it’s never showroomy.”
Now in its fifth year, Brooklyn Designs has gained steady momentum as a showcase for the borough’s grassroots design community. But with the media spotlight now focused on all things Brooklyn, including its homegrown design scene, the show threatens to outgrow its carefully cultivated indie image. It opened Friday with 64 exhibitors (up 26 percent from last year), spread among three venues in the DUMBO neighborhood.
As the show has grown, so too has the sense of a recognizable Brooklyn style of clean-lined woods and sustainable materials. “Brooklyn work tends to be a little raw,” said Andrew Thornton of Argington, which added organic linens and a bunk bed (below) to their line of children’s furniture. “People out here aren’t so concerned with making things ‘pretty.’ They have a little more courage about what they do.”
Corey Springer of Wüd Furniture, which introduced a wenge console topped with resin-encased lead (below), said Brooklyn's defining trait is independence. “Everybody’s doing their own thing without any predisposition," he said. “Everybody’s designing from the gut.”
Lisa Albin of Iglooplay, a collection of children’s furniture with playful organic forms (shown below), said she defined Brooklyn style as “an honesty of materials.” “There may be a mix of high and low,” she added, “but it’s never showroomy.”
Posted by: Michael Cannell on May 12, 07 at 11:45 AM PDT
