The Swedish WHATSWHAT Collective, founded by John Astbury, Bengt Brummer, and Karin Wallenbeck in 2010, creates pieces around encouraging user interaction. We love: This Greta lampshade in green features a drawstring that allows you to change the direction of the light.

Pull Lamp by Whatswhat Collective, $429

Camberwell Collective A group of exciting young product designers who graduated from Camberwell College in 2012, the collective will showcase a variety of chairs, leather goods, and products that all evolved from their 3D-design course. Above is part of the Hasbeens collection by Zoe Tynan-Campbell, a set of hand-turned and hand-colored wooden figures. “I think I’m really sentimental,” she says. “I hope I’m creating objects that trigger that in other people.”

Olivia: Tappan Collective Another power-woman run site in the style of, is an online platform that brings up-and-coming artists’ original works and exclusive limited edition prints under $200 for the budding art collector.

The Kreten candelabra and side table demonstrate Souda’s focus on exploring new fabrication processes. In this case, stretched fabric is used as a mold for fiberglass-reinforced concrete.

“We all feel responsibility to each other. We know that if we’re going to be doing this a year from now, we need to work hard.”—Shaun Kasperbauer, Souda

Austin architect J.C. Schmeil converted his family's 1935 bungalow into a spacious modern family home on a modest budget and with tons of ingenuity. A dormer on the south side of the house contains two bedrooms. One of the bedrooms features a reading loft carved out of the attic space above the dining room. The intersection of the gabled roof and the shed dormers allowed us to wrap large windows around each corner, taking advantage of the "borrowed landscape"—treetop views that root the house to its site.

The MudGirls Collective (circa 2005) on Jen Gobby's living roof. Photo courtesy of Jen Gobby.

Log Bowls by Loyal Loot Collective “We’ve carried these from day one. Made by an Edmonton-based collective, they become more perfect, shinier and glossier over time. They’re a consistent big seller. They’re a little less functional, but people keep responding.” -- Julie Nicholson

Bookmark your reading materials by perching them on the detachable birch resting pole.

Brooklyn-based design trio Egg Collective has been on our radar for some time now, and the studio continues to impress. The Ritter chest is made from lacquered wood, features a stone top, and bronze detailing.

Segment Collective 4, by Frederick Lynch

Rather than using traditional plaster molds that form identical replicas of a design, Kawa bowls are made by individually slip-casting reusable leather molds to create one-of-a-kind imprints on the porcelain.

Further down the road is this creative fence in front of Oyler Wu Collective’s home office.

Five young Chicago creatives prove why “five brains are better than one” as they work together to maximize their design potential as independent freelancers through studio Quite Strong.

A bookshelf in Quite Strong’s studio holds a tongue-in-cheek motivational motto.

Tanaka works at the ceramic station in the trio’s Bushwick studio.

The collaborative’s printed projects include letterpressed collateral for a local leather company, a MoxieCon program, and illustrations used by CB2 for a set of plates.

"Three minds and a pad of paper" is how Ellis says Egg Collective begins to design an object. "There's a lot of sketching, drawing, and re-drawing. From the initial brainstorm we then break off into our individual roles: Hillary is the face of Egg calling subcontractors and keeping us moving forward, Stephanie is the head of production and fabrication, and I am head of creative development." The Oscar table ($12,000) shown here is made from two of Egg's signature materials: travertine and brass. It also comes in a nickel– or copper-plated base and custom materials for the top are available. At Egg's ICFF booth, the table had a stunning breccia marble surface.

The Bradford table plays to the theme of individual pieces that can be grouped as a whole. Prices range from $610 for the triangular wood-topped table to $1,290 for the stone hexagon; the bases are blackened steel.

Sunbeam Vintage, a Los Angeles furniture collective based in the neighborhood of Highland Park, displays both their vintage finds and their exclusive line of coffee tables.

"In general, we're inspired by things that are well-crafted and beautiful," says Ellis. "That could be an Art Nouveau cabinet, a Shaker chair, a building by Peter Zumthor, an image of a quarry, a sculpture by Donald Judd, or the pattern on a quilt. We are always looking and absorbing."

This brass credenza ($7,600) is one of the collective's first pieces. The warm metal has seen a surge in popularity, especially this year as designers experimented with ways to make modern design feel fresh. "We looked at a lot of modernism and a lot of postmodernism during our education. Our teachers armed us with the ability to design clean, simple, functional objects and we still intend to do so; however, like previous generations of designers, we are beginning to find our own voice for our own time," says Ellis.

The cabinet opens to reveal a bar station. For teetotalers—or those lacking closet space—there's also an armoire version of the cabinet. For more information, visit Egg Collective's website.

The all-female, Brooklyn-based Egg Collective was awarded Best New Booth.

The 12-sided Haynes mirror ($2,800) slips into solid brass or nickel-plated brass brackets. "Many of our designs are made with materials that will patina over time," says Ellis. "For example we intentionally don't laquer our brass pieces so that they will age as they are used. We think this speaks to the lifespan of our objects."

"We think that there are many styles appropriate for this current moment in time, not just ours. But, like many other designers, we are currently very interested in exploring how contemporary design can still feel warm, feel like it was made—not manufactured—and feel like something that is worth keeping," says Ellis.

"We want to make contemporary heirlooms because we believe that if an object is well designed, is warm, and is beautiful it will be cherished," says Ellis. The Margot chandelier ($11,300) has a solid brass armature and blown-glass shades made by a craftsman in Queens.

The Hawley side table ($1,850) has a hexagonal solid brass top and a base made from pietra cardosa marble. Use solo or group a fleet together to form a honeycomb-like coffee table.

The original arch and wall framing was retained between the dining room and the kitchen, while the kitchen has been expanded to encompass the former dining room. A three-by-nine foot quartz-topped island anchors the space and is the heart of the home; windows set below custom cabinets on the north wall provide light and ventilation. Photo by Whit Preston.

An architectural designer and an artist harnessed the collective power of their design firm to remake a dilapidated mid-century gem into a hillside perch for their family.

Estonian design collective Kodasema launched this 269-square-foot micro-home, which can be built in less than a day.

In the kids' bathroom upstairs, you can again see how J.C. Schmiel wrapped large windows around each corner of the house in a space created by the intersection of a gabled roof and the shed dormers. Photo by Whit Preston.