You can’t miss Matthew Day Jackson’s GLITS Rainbow Lounge with its mind-blowing rainbow-colored serpentine frame! Created in collaboration with design brand Made by Choice, the lounge chair features a custom painted plywood technique that’s unique and appreciated. The GLITS Rainbow Lounge is the newest addition to the Kolho family, a series of tables and chairs formed using right angles and curves galore. Jackson found his inspiration for the collection in the Apollo moon landing and a small Finnish town, named Kohlo.

The GLITS Rainbow Lounge pairs its unique bent rainbow plywood with custom Formica laminate that Jackson developed himself in Kolho, Finland. The artist is intrigued by rainbow iconography, choosing to make it a part of the lounge chair in support of the TGBLQIA+ community.

Net proceeds from the first 20 GLITS Rainbow Lounges sold will be donated to the nonprofit GLITS. The organization creates holistic solutions to the health and housing crises faced by TGBLQIA+ individuals in New York City, across the United States, and around the world through harm reduction, human rights principles, and economic and social justice. Ten percent of net proceeds from sales thereafter will also be donated to GLITS.

To learn more about the GLITS Rainbow Lounge, visit madebychoice.com.

Photography by Kyle Knodell.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

It barely warrants mentioning that upgrading the kitchen often ranks high on every homeowner’s wishlist. In reality, when the day arrives, the task is often daunting and stressful. That’s because everyone wants to make the right choices – picking the best appliances to fit our everyday needs today, and also hopefully for many years to come. It can be a lot of pressure when you’re weighing options about buying big ticket items such as a new range, refrigerator, multi-cooker, or other large kitchen appliance. You’re essentially committing to a long-term relationship with those specifications and features attached to your eventual choices. Like we said, stressful.

Luxury kitchen appliance maker Signature Kitchen Suite wants to change the narrative with the announcement of ThinQ UP, an additional set of features expanding LG ThinQ powered appliances to evolve according to users’ lifestyles, all easily downloadable from the LG ThinQ app.

So, how does ThinQ UP future-proof the kitchen? It all starts with ThinQ, a platform which provides a simple way to monitor, control, care, and customize, allowing for easy upgrades and enhancements over the span of the appliance’s lifetime. This means as time passes, you won’t have to replace your entire appliance to gain access to new features as they emerge.

An important byproduct of this platform’s upgradability is a more sustainable life cycle. With ThinQ UP, the brand is prioritizing reducing waste by minimizing the need for complete appliance replacements and establishing a more environmentally-friendly approach to appliance ownership, extending ownership and, in turn, reducing electronic waste.

But it’s not just about future upgrades. ThinQ-paired appliances are designed to serve your needs in purposeful ways within the kitchen in a myriad of ways today, boasting extensive connectivity and smart capabilities, and integrating seamlessly with a greater smart home ecosystem. The ThinQ platform is designed around the ability to control and monitor compatible appliances from anywhere using a smartphone, or with voice commands using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. You haven’t experienced “the future is now” convenience until you’ve commanded your dishwasher to start from another room.

The ThinQ ecosystem extends into nearly every part of the home, including the living room, office, and even the laundry room, thanks to its integration throughout Signature Kitchen Suite and LG’s product lines.

Imagine being able to check whether you left the refrigerator door open while at the grocery store, see if the dishwasher is finished running, or be notified when it’s time for your water filter to be replaced. For those who enjoy wine regularly, picture storing and keeping inventory of your favorite vintages within a connected wine cellar with its very own label scanner. Over time it can not only learn what you like to drink, but can even recommend new wines, like a personalized digital sommelier.

The SKS oven and range hood can be connected to automatically turn on, adjusting ventilation settings to keep the interior air clear and smells to a minimum.

You can also use the ThinQ app to keep track of your groceries. The Signature Kitchen Suite refrigerator not only keeps food fresh, but the ThinQ app can suggest recipes based on what ingredients you have using ThinQ Recipe. LG’s Scan to Cook feature can supplement over 10,000 one-click shoppable recipes.

And who hasn’t been stumped about what to make for dinner? ThinQ’s LG Original Series recipe collection solves meal time indecision with a digital cookbook of delectable dishes developed by SKS’ own Executive Chef Nick Ritchie to add to your cooking repertoire. Learning a new recipe can be daunting, so each recipe is accompanied with a how-to video to stream to your mobile device and help along the way, from preparation to plating your restaurant-quality meal at home.

If you have a Signature Kitchen Suite oven, there is even less guesswork involved while cooking – the appliances actively adjust settings according to the recipe and ingredients, ensuring perfect results every time. With ThinQ appliances, it’s like having your own personal assistant in the kitchen, guiding you through culinary adventures, continually adapting to what, when, and how you like to cook.

These are all real world features available today, thanks to ThinQ. Each feature has been thoughtfully conceived to take out the guesswork and give you peace of mind… even when you’re away from home. It’s all made possible by ThinQ’s connectivity technology, weaving Signature Kitchen Suite appliances and other compatible devices into a fully connected ecosystem, where appliances collaborate into a seamless user experience.

Wine connoisseurs will appreciate the option to scan wine labels to keep track of their collection within the connected wine cellar from the ThinQ app. And to help find new favorites, the app also offers aggregated ratings and reviews, and can even recommend new wines based upon user preferences and searches.

More features alone do not define a luxury experience, something Signature Kitchen Suite emphasizes through its curated and accessible simplicity. Instead of fumbling through a confusing nested menu system, this new generation of appliances allows users to easily adjust settings, receive notifications, and even diagnose and troubleshoot issues remotely in a manner we’re already used to navigating daily.

Via ThinQ Care Alerts, ThinQ connected appliances can provide informative data about performance and efficiency with Usage Reports, troubleshoot problems with Smart Diagnosis and Trusted Advice features, and even summon expert help via an integrated Concierge Service – all to your mobile device.

Overall, Signature Kitchen Suite attracts plenty of attention with its combination of luxurious design and category leading features. But what you may come to appreciate most with the brand’s ThinQ technology powered appliances is the seamless convenience and connectivity they add to the overall smart home environment. With remote control and monitoring capabilities used in harmony with other ThinQ smart home devices, Signature Kitchen Suite has designed a solution for keeping up with rapid advancements in technology, ensuring your smart home remains intelligently aware of your personal preferences and needs for years to come. To learn more about Signature Kitchen Suite’s products with ThinQ technology and to see how they can fit into your lifestyle, visit www.signaturekitchensuite.com.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Assa Ashuach of London-based Assa Studio Limited may not be a household name, but the designer has been at the forefront of additive manufacturing 3D printing since the early 2000s, invited by the likes of Nike, Samsung, and IDEO for his innovative approach with novel materials and utilization of pioneering fabrication methods. His latest project – the Evolve Footwear Collection – is characteristic of Ashuach’s embrace of the speculative, this time leading at the forefoot of footwear.

A “biometric evolutionary” gel midsole shoe embedded with network of 3D-printed sensors, the various prototype iterations of the Evolve look less like typical athletic footwear and more like something grown from a petri dish (or perhaps even a form inspired by this transparent-domed denizen of the deep).

The matrix of sensors are positioned to collect step-by-step biofeedback, not only to improve the wearer’s own fit, but also to inform and shape future iterations as the shoe’s namesake communicates.

The fabric uppers of one version of the Evolve also includes color-changing particles integrated into a conductive fabric upper.

The shoe itself is made from thousands of gel particles manufactured by Sratasy, a multi-density polymer engineered to tailor cushioning to the gait and weight of its wearer. It’s also an ideal material for embedding with sensors to gather specific data.

Ashuach imagines the Evolve or its eventual successors to be equipped to inform its wearer of changes in weight, foot strike, or other indicators communicated by the weight distribution during movement or at a standstill, creating a “dialogue between the physical and virtual” – a category of wearables that is surely guaranteed to evolve into a mainstream option for athletes and the public alike.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

If you’ve ever appreciated modern art, architecture, and unique design, Villa Papillon is for you! Designed by WORKac for an art collector in Batroun, Lebanon, the angular Villa Papillon has surprises around every corner, from it’s geometric green roof and triangular pool to its open courtyard and colorful interior. The layout has the main living space and primary bedroom facing the water, while the family room, dining room, and kitchen open out to the courtyard. The floor above houses the children’s bedrooms which look out over the living room. No matter the space you’re in, there are enviable views of the Mediterranean.

From the top, louvered steel and aluminum trellises extend from the geometric green roof sections over parts of the courtyard to offer shade during warmer months while allowing sun through during the winter. The triangular nature of the roof planes shows up throughout the overall design of the structure, patio, pool, and landscape.

The entire span of the back of the house features sliding glass doors that open the spaces up to the beach and water.

The triangular pool, resting within the wooded deck, is lined Bisazza glass mosaic tile and surrounded with Carrara marble.

Internal walls running perpendicular to the water help organize the spaces while creating places to showcase the owner’s extensive art collection.

Separating the living room and dining room is a dramatic accent wall clad in azul macaubas quartzite looking like art all on it’s own.

In the living room, WORKac designed a custom wood wall unit with curvy cutouts painted red.

Leading to the upper floor is a custom epoxy-resin painted steel staircase with lacquered wood walls in a sunny yellow hue.

The kitchen boasts gold-leaf fluted glass fronted cabinets by Toncelli paired with a complementary onyx copper marble on the backsplash and island.

Photography by Miguel de Guzmán + Rocío Romero.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.

Bold patterns and color pairings make the Tomma Bloom x LiLi Tile Collection utterly irresistible. The series is an expansion of Tom Lerental’s Meta Ornament Collection and the newest line in LiLi Tile’s Designer Series. Meta Ornament studied the role of embellishment in design, while the new collection reflects on that thought, acknowledging that ornamentation is meant to delight the viewer and be completely free of function. Both brands are centered around expressive, joyful design, making them the perfect match to bring the Tomma Bloom x LiLi Tile Collection to fruition.

The Tomma Bloom x LiLi Tile Collection includes six fresh patterns – Bubbly, Candy, Chime, Flirt, Preppy, and Zipper – with one color variation for each. But also know that all patterns can be customized and made to order, unlocking endless creative possibilities. Designed using Lerental’s multidisciplinary approach and influenced by early 20th century art, the series radiates energy while stimulating your imagination. The Tomma Bloom x LiLi Tile Collection is perfect for flooring, backsplashes, shower, and even outdoor patios, in both residential and commercial applications.

Candy

The manufacturing of cement tile combines age-old techniques with modern ways to bring you a beautiful offering of playful, bold designs. All of LiLi Tile’s cement tiles are handmade, with each crafted individually. A cookie cutter-like mold is created, then placed in an outer frame and filled with colorful cement before being topped off with Portland cement, sand, and marble powder for strength. Each unique tile is then pressed with 2,000 psi of pressure and placed on a rack to cure for 11 days.

The tile-making process hasn’t changed much since the 1850s, and the production remains energy-free, meaning these cement tiles are environmentally sustainable. They’re also non-flammable and entirely recyclable.

Candy

Candy plays off the classic wrapped confection, ready to be opened and enjoyed.

Bubbly

Bubbly’s bright pattern showcases layers of shapes, including two hearts close to meeting in the middle.

Bubbly

Bubbly

Chime

The Chime pattern interprets a structured, yet free and breezy day.

Chime

Chime

Flirt

The Flirt pattern combines rows of adjoining hearts for a playful spark.

Flirt

Flirt

Preppy

Preppy features green “stems” crossing between adjoining tiles to create a playful, organic look.

Preppy

Preppy

Zipper

Paying homage to its namesake, the Zipper pattern features interlocking bars that can be laid horizontally or vertically.

Zipper

Zipper

To learn more about the Tomma Bloom x LiLi Tile Collection, visit lilitile.com.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

Gantri, the 3D-printed on-demand lighting brand, welcomes the summer season with a quartet of whimsically imagined lamps for their third edition of the Independent Creator Release. (See first edition here) The playfully vibrant 2023 Summer collection glows with optimism inspired by the colors of summer and the season’s sociable warm evenings, represented by five new lights designed by four emerging, international designers.

Field Trip Table Light by Joey Zeledón: A portable task light incorporating a sleek caddy in its base to transform any corner of the home into a space for learning. Zeledón designed the light in response to the difficulties many encountered during the pandemic in attempting to establish a working space in any available corner of their homes. The empathetic spirit of the design should be no surprise considering the designer is also the author of Touchy/Feely, a book about emotional ergonomics.

Field Trip Table Light is available in three vibrant colorways: Sunrise (yellow), Sage (green), and Blossom (pink). It retails for $248.

Figra Table and Wall Lights by Simon Schmitz: Figra presents a juxtaposition of forms, a sculptural balance act between a cylindrical shade intersecting with a sizable block base. The unconventional geometry lends both a visual heft and a literal stable base.

The Figra Table Light (top) and Figra Wall Light (bottom) are both available in three colorways: Fog (light gray), Canyon (burnt red), and Midnight (deep blue); the Wall Light retails for $248 and Table Light retails for $198.

Macaron Table Light by Romulo Temigue: Taking its form from that most beloved of Parisian treats, Brazilian designer Romulo Temigue’s Macaron looks every bit its tasty namesake. The sandwiched 360º diffuser glows with an ambient luminescence that we imagine would work its glowing best set upon a side table or bedside as the last light you turn off before inviting sleep.

Macaron Table Light is available in three colorways Sunset (yellow), Forest (dark green), and Stone (light gray). It retails for $248.

Squish Table Light by BEBOP: Just as it may take a village to raise a child, so too did the collective talents of designers spanning Seoul and San Francisco come together to develop the softly tactile reinterpretation of the light as an amorphous silhouette – a primordial oversized light bulb imagined to glow warmly in a corner of a nightstand or small apartment home office.

Squish Table Light is available in one classic colorway, Sand (white), and retails for $198.

Gantri Founder & CEO, Ian Yang describes the whimsical collection as lights imagined to illuminate spirits as effectively as the spaces in which they’ll eventually come to occupy. “These designs [are] about brightening lives, sparking conversations, and encouraging a more thoughtful way of living.”

For more on the Summer 2023 Independent Creator Release collection, head to gantri.com.

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Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

It’s easy to sit back and wait for the right technology to come along to help us help the planet – but maybe we should stop waiting and move forward regardless. How we construct and transform buildings today has an enormous impact on people and communities, as well as the ecosystems that will sustain us tomorrow. The holistic indoor climates created in the process can also play a crucial role in our day-to-day wellness.

Welcome to Living Places Copenhagen, a conceptual living environment that demonstrates how we can improve peoples’ lives – indoor and out – by making better building choices. Located in Jernbanebyen, and brought to life by VELUX, in partnership with EFFEKT, Artelia, and Enemærke & Petersen, Living Places aptly displays how to build sustainably and rethink current processes, while also challenging the industry to speed up innovations and the implementation of responsible, sustainable building solutions.

CLT House Photo: Adam Mørk

You might be thinking, “This all sounds great, but what proof do they have?” Well, Living Places has Denmark’s lowest CO2 footprint and a first-class indoor climate, proving that we don’t have to wait for future technology to make better decisions for ourselves and the environment right now. With this experimental mindset at the forefront, the brand partners carefully considered each material, design, and building technique to reduce the environmental impact and improve human health. It all begins with five principles: Healthy, Shared, Simple, Adaptive, and Scalable.

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

The exhibition mapped emissions projections against the typical Danish house and built the first Living Places project, an exhibition that includes seven prototypes – five open pavilions and two finished full-scale houses – sharing their take on healthy, sustainable homes. Each prototype has its own program that’s been curated to show how we live in homes, in communities, and the role of buildings within the larger picture. By analyzing all stages of the building’s life cycle and understanding the implication of every single design choice, Living Places achieved three times lower carbon footprint emissions and a first-class indoor climate with existing technology.

CLT House Photo: Adam Mørk

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

Did you know that we spend 90% of our time indoors? How our homes are built can affect our physical and mental health on every level. Aside from creating a better living environment for our planet, Living Places is simultaneously forging a path towards a future-oriented society that enhances living conditions for people through an emphasis on Daylight, Thermal Environment, Indoor Air Quality, Acoustics, and Outdoor Connection. By rethinking the way we build, we can potentially have a big impact on the construction industry as a whole.

CLT House Photo: Adam Mørk

CLT House Photo: Adam Mørk

Starting from the ground up, each building component has been optimized for the best price, indoor climate, and carbon footprint, with special focus given to the elements of the building where significant CO2 savings can be achieved. The concept has already received third party verification from AAU BUILD to have a 3x lower CO2 footprint than an average Danish single-family house at 3.8 kg CO2 eq/m2/year.

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

Diagrams show that if Denmark were to build all single-family homes, row houses, and double houses – like Living Places – approximately one million tons of CO2 could be saved every year. It would mark a significant contribution to the country’s climate goals that commit to cutting emissions by 70% by 2030. In order to achieve this goal, the building sector needs to reduce CO2 emissions by 5.8 million tons – Living Places would reduce emissions from the industry by 17% on its own. The project has a pioneering commitment to become Lifetime Carbon Neutral by 2041, taking responsibility for both past and future carbon emissions. So, think bigger. What would be the result if this experiment were put into action worldwide?

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

The Compass Model

The foundation for Living Places is the Compass Model, a free tool created by EFFEKT Architects and VELUX that offers a simple, holistic framework for the planning, ideation, and design of sustainable buildings. The strategic tool outlines seven drivers to help guide the development and building process: Affordable, Local, Flexible, Quality, Environment, Community, and Health. Ultimately, the Compass Model provides collaborators across sectors a framework to follow and building principles to create homes that holistically benefit people and the planet. It can also highlight areas where research is needed, provide an overview of decision implications, and reflect influential design drivers throughout the process.

The Compass Model helps navigate the complex, multifaceted process by assisting designers in making informed, strategic decisions through three incremental steps. First, each new project begins with an evaluation of the ‘Strategic Drivers’ that are most pertinent and can ensure the greatest positive impact. Second, project teams then use 24 ‘Design Drivers’ as input for the concept development based on the brief and needs of the project. Lastly, a set of ‘Performance Drivers’ provides targeted solutions and strategies for the more advanced stages of design.

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

Living Places also includes the vision and knowledge needed to meet the holistic requirements – biodiversity, local culture, and location – of an Active House. An Active House is evaluated using the three main principles of comfort, energy, and environment. Performance is then measured using the Active House Radar, revealing the level of ambition of each main criteria and its sub-parameters. For a building to be considered an Active House, the level of ambition can be quantified into four levels, where one is the highest level, and four is the lowest and should be equal to or higher than four. Living Places includes all nine parameters of Active House and recommends nearly the best level for each.

Timberframe House Photo: Adam Mørk

CLT House Photo: Adam Mørk

With the building industry accounting for 34% of global energy consumption and 37% of CO2 emissions, the time for action is now. Homes built using the Living Places principles can be constructed at Danish market cost price, whether as single-family homes, row houses, or multifamily units. The next big step will be building the first full-scale Living Places community outside of Copenhagen in 2024/2025.

Living Places Copenhagen is now open and ready to be explored. Visit the exhibition in Jernbanebyen and experience it for yourself! Explore more at buildforlife.velux.com.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

We’ve already shared the Best of NeoCon winners with you, but we also wanted to put a few of our other favorites from NeoCon 2023 on your radar. Certain trends – privacy booths, acoustic walls, and the crossover between indoor and outdoor furniture – continue to gain strength, while others are newer to the industry. Small lockers had a large presence, geared toward offices without assigned desks, or those whose employees work remotely part of the time. There was also a plethora of curves throughout, including chairs, modular bench seating, lighting, and even space dividers. NeoCon 2023 was filled with so much fantastic commercial design! We’ve narrowed down the long list to ten brands and products that were real standouts.

Seen above, Andreu World’s sustainable commercial furniture always makes a statement, with plenty of beautiful seating included. I love the extra high back and sheer presence the ergonomic Capri Executive chairs hold around a conference table.

BuzziSpace continues to expand its collection of acoustic lighting. For this year’s show, the brand nested a few of its BuzziTubes concentrically on a wall, rather than suspending them from the ceiling! A statement, sculpture, and lighting all in one.

Scandinavian Spaces

Scandinavian Spaces does curvaceous commercial furniture so well. At NeoCon, they set up a cafe of sorts with tables, chairs, and benches in one of my own personal favorite color combinations – pink and red. It’s so easy to sit and stay a while with these pieces.

Darran

Darran makes the crossover between commercial and residential furniture look easy. The rocking version of the brand’s Dove Seating feels designed equally well for a waiting room or a living room, and I really love the way they mix and match materials.

molo

Made from paper, textile, and wood, molo’s softwall and softblock were spread throughout one of the show’s floors, creating nooks for attendees to grab a bite in privacy or decompress for a moment. Flexible and stretchable, the possibilities are all but endless.

Falcon

Falcon’s showroom had a lot of unexpected pieces, including an outdoor dining booth, but the brand’s Sedera seating collection caught my eye. The versatile seating series includes everything from side chairs to (stackable!) counter stools, all available in a rainbow of colors and combinations.

TURF

TURF prizes the creative installations of its products as much as the lightweight panels themselves. This year, the showroom included several areas with acoustic panels mounted to the ceiling, like Reed, seen here. The brand also introduced a felt product that resembles real wood – until you touch it. (I couldn’t tell from even 3-inches away!)

NaughtOne

The sleek aesthetic of NaughtOne’s wood Riley pull up table is what drew me into the brand’s showroom. I immediately began thinking of all the different ways this beauty could be used when paired with benches, sofas, and chairs.

Highower

Hightower’s showroom continues to impress, year after year. I loved all of the new pieces, but the FourAll® Lounge really grabbed my attention in a room full of people. Add high back chairs to the developing trends 2023 list!

Schiavello

Schiavello’s Hedge Seating created a lot of talk at The Mart, and it’s abundantly clear why. The bench’s undulating foam form accommodates every type of body and – let’s be honest – it looks like it could be in a modern design museum.

Photography by Kelly Beall.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

Le Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris in the springtime is something to behold. The tree-lined gardens brim with Parisians seemingly doing nothing and everything all at once. Amongst throngs of children gleefully frolicking and influencers posing and promenading, countless coteries of sunbathers, readers, artists, students, and seniors spill out into every slice of the park to enjoy a relaxed outlook of life, many seated comfortably for just an hour or two from green powder coated aluminum chairs licensing such laconic leisure.

The Senat chair made by French outdoor furniture brand Fermob in 1923 seems to be everywhere you look: in intimate pairs, lined along footpaths seemingly awaiting a parade, darkened into silhouettes underneath trees, arranged in circles of impromptu outdoor classrooms. The chairs are there for everyone to use; people regularly move the heavy iron metal seats across the park as needed and desired, positioned for face-to-face socializing or angled for privacy, for sitting, or used as a lounge with two bridging across from one another. The Senat Chair, now the Luxembourg Side Chair, is beloved for their comfortable slat backrest and seat, ergonomic enough for a few hours of hunched reading, slouched resting, or to simply observe life pass by in whatever position most natural to its occupant… a seat la vie that was later reinterpreted by Frederic Sofia into the similar but slighter weight aluminum-built Luxembourg Collection.

A quiet quartet of Fermob Luxembourg Side Chairs with the Luxembourg Palace and the Grand Bassin in the background. Photo: Gregory Han

Similarly, Fermob has made an urban imprint across the ocean in New York City – specifically inhabiting Bryant Park with great success. Credit Andrew Manshel, who in 1992 spearheaded Bryant Park Restoration Corporation’s effort to revitalize the public space by introducing thousands of Fermob Bistro Classic Chairs into the proverbial wild of New York City’s once most notorious park. Despite their sleight, cross-legged fawn stance and 1889-born French origins, New Yorkers adopted the Bistro chairs and tables as their very own. In turn these cafe-born sets transformed the park’s landscape into an environment of relaxed conviviality from the seedy, illicit spirit that previously inhabited Bryant Park’s every corners.

Left out in similar fashion to their Parisian counterparts for locals and tourists alike to enjoy as they please – unbolted and welcome to be rearranged – the chairs have become symbolic of the social contract between the city and its citizens, one born of trust and offering a respite from the hustle and bustle of the New York minute. And in the process they’ve become synonymous with America’s own love affair with the concept of joie de vivre.

As a longtime fans of the longstanding documentary television series How It’s Made, we were delighted with the invitation to gain access behind Fermob’s factory doors to observe the labors required to manufacture both of the ubiquitous pieces of outdoor furniture of global renown in person.

Photo: Gregory Han

Each Fermob metal chair and table reveal the unique imprint of hand assembly. “We only add new machines when we absolutely need to,” noted our assembly line tour guide as he invited us to watch as red hot metal clamps were bent and secured onto the steel rod framing of the ornate Montmartre chair.

It didn’t hurt this assembly process unfolds in the bucolic countryside of France, where the brand’s iconic emblem of French life along with a wider breadth of outdoor furnishing are all manufactured/assembled by a seasoned team of 260 employees and 80 temporary workers (40% of Fermob’s workforce is notably composed of women, many empowered to work on the assembly line due to the lightweight construction of machined steel and even lighter aluminum furniture).

Photo: Gregory Han

Our small group of journalists followed various pieces of steel and aluminum as they made their way across the factory floor to be stretched, bent, melted, smoothed, attached, assembled, and eventually painted one of twenty-two nature-inspired hues. While large industrial machines occupied certain sections of Fermob’s operations, a human touch was always there to interject and leave its imprint, most noticeably across the company’s larger aluminum and steel outdoor chairs and tables.

Assembly line of unpainted Fermob Studie chairs waiting to be painted. Designed by Tristan Lohner, the 100% aluminum Studie would go onto win the Red Dot: Best of the Best in 2022. Photo: Gregory Han

Because Fermob’s painting process uses dry particle paint, excess overspray is easily cleaned by air alone to be reused.

Painting – a process that could be fully automated by robotic means – is assigned a painter to ensure sections easily missed/overlooked by machines are fully covered before eventually sending their way to be baked into a durable, vibrant protective finish.

Fermob’s success amongst New Yorkers and other Francophiles has emboldened the brand to make a concerted push to increase brand awareness amongst American urban and suburban dwellers seeking to bring a little of the romanticism associated with the Parisian lifestyle.

Photo: Gregory Han

A great of Fermob’s current efforts are dedicated to expanding into outdoor lighting, with an emphasis in rechargeable LED light lanterns. The brand’s New York showroom is their first retail outreach to see, touch, and sit upon their catalog of outdoor furnishings.

Fermob Chief Operating Officer Baptiste Reybier speaking at the company’s annual design talks advocating the importance of public placemaking before introducing former director of the Bryant Park Restoration Corporation, Andrew Manshel. Photo: Gregory Han

Manshel went onto write a book documenting his efforts in public placemaking. In his Learning from Bryant Park: Revitalizing Cities, Towns, and Public Spaces the urban optimist cites the success of Bryan Park to the “triumph of small ideas,” a point he would go onto emphasize necessary today and tomorrow, as it was over three decades ago. And what is a chair but a minor triumph against fatigue from the comforts of a slightly reclined position.

All photos provided by Fermob except where credited.

Gregory Han is the Managing Editor of Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.