Paper Star / Craspedia Flowers by kissa design

I tried to warn you about the studio’s current obsession with paper stars but it’s good to see that you’re still reading our blog!

Some of the paper stars that we love most for their simplicity and geometric form (if it’s possible to say that about stars) are handmade by Kathleen who runs kissa design.

One question that arises – especially when having a look at the gorgeous Craspedia Flowers on top of this article – is if these small sculpture are stars? Kathleen herself calls them “Star Urchins” and explains her point of view “Star Urchins are based on the traditional Polish folk art decoration often called a porcupine ball, a style of ornament making that dates back beyond a hundred years. To me, they look like stars or sea urchins, so I call them Star Urchins, but their spiky form has been likened to seed pods and fireworks, too.”

Kathleen’s mother taught her to make porcupine balls when she was a child and her family has been in the “star business” for half a century – definitely a good tradition to pass on and make a living with! Kathleen also adds that “I have developped some of my own techniques and expanded my ability to work with pretty much all different kinds of papers to produce consistent results”.

The Star Urchins and Star Flowers can be found in Kathleen’s shop kissa design on etsy – and I might add that they’re definitely worth a look (and purchase) not only during Christmas season!

BEST BEFORE’s Collection 02: A GROS LEGUMES (top), PETALE and CABAS (bottom) handmade of recycled paper cord

It made my day when I discovered BEST BEFORE on Justine’s blog upon a fold. Paris based artisans Corinne Muller and Piotr Oleszkowicz concentrate and revive old techniques in their collections and Collection 02 is all about the Korean tradition of making paper cords and knotting and weaving with them.

I wrote about this Korean tradition once before in my blog article about paper artists Aimee Lee here. Aimee did extensive research on the topic in Korea and you can read about her research and see picture of her own work in paper on her website (make sure to check out the videos, they’re amazing).

BEST BEFORE’s collection 02: A making of… and a big roll of paper cord

The designers who had previously made interior objects out of salt and wool/felt explain about their work that “we chose to work with non-perennial, biodegradable materials. Though they are not fleeting, these objects can melt away and disappear” and paper cord made from recycled paper fits perfectly into this concept. With their Collection 02 BEST BEFORE tried to create soft braidings that adjust to the shapes that are put into the baskets and bags. These flexible, oversized “everything baskets” can also be transformed into footstools as well as light fixtures.

BEST BEFORE’s Collection 02: COCON and FOURRE-TOUT

Once again it’s incredible what can be made out of paper and paper cords and strings. Besides the French shop Caravane there are currently no retailers/”Points de vente” listed on the BEST BEFORE website but due to their success the BEST BEFORE bakets and bags are actually sold worldwide so look out for them when you’re shopping for something handmade and beautiful.

The fun-loving deer and the always-hungry crocodile made of Pepastar elements

It’s simple, it’s easy – and it looks like a lot of fun (but we haven’t had a chance to test it yet: Pepastar. And of course it’s made of paper. There are four different Pepastar elements that are all star shaped (what a suprise…!) but have different numbers of tips. The elements can easily be joined together to build different forms, animals or whatever you can think of. The construction can get a bit more tricky (look at these instruction for the fun-loving deer) but with a tiny bit of practice and patience it looks very do-able and fun. Pepastar is definetly a toy/game that the PaperPhine studio would not mind to play with.

CUT light shade by Umlaute Designbureau (designed by Dea Simonsen)

If there is one thing I’m obsessed with (besides chairs and macaroons – and paper, of course) then it’s lamps and lamp shades. Light is one of the most important factors to make a room look and feel good – or to make it feel like a miserable hole.

One of the current favorites is the CUT light shade by Umlaute Designbureau – and yes, it’s made of cardboard. Or rather it’s not actually made of cardboard when you buy it because you purchase the template to cut your very own and personal pendel light shade of any cardboard you have and want to reuse. I can already think of a lot of boxes that I kept for some detail in their design and that would be really wonderful to incorporate into a lampshade (note to the boyfriend: I told you that I was keeping them for a reason!).

POLKAlove by Umlaute Designbureau (designed by Dea Simonsen)

.. and as a side-note: the number of wall stickers and wall decals available is increasing with such a fast rate that it’s actually difficult to keep some sort of overview. But the POLKAlove wall stickers are definitely among my favorites (dear boyfriend, start fearing the worst – your flat has a truly perfect wall for them…).

MJ Wall by Limpalux

Beautifully designed and made by hand out of paper are these stunning lamps by Limpalux. The German designers Anja Eder and Michael Römer are the responsible duo behind these lamps that are built segment by segment out of Japanese paper in a carefully selected range of colors that makes the lamps glow friendly once they’re switched on. with a background in sculpture these lamps do make a statement in themselves but at the same time they don’t overpower a room – definitely lamps I would love to have in my flat if only there was some space left that would do them justice.

Moonjelly and Corona (detail) by Limpalux
A peek into the Limpalux manufactory in Wuppertal Elberfeld, Germany.

Product photography by PATRICIA EICHERT PHOTOGRAPHY

R.S.V.P in Berlin

Sometimes you enter a shop and you wish you owned nothing so you can start all over again and buy the whole range of goods. R.S.V.P in Berlin is definitely one of these places!
Going there was high on the to-see-list when I visited Berlin last weekend. Simplicity paired with refined designs, old classics like Kaweco fountain-pens and new products by small workshops and paper artist. All those little things you desperately need on your desk (and not the cheap, clumsy ones but the classical, thought-through items), beautiful cards for all occasions, Moleskin-notebooks, Japanese Washi tapes – everything that makes a paperlover’s heart beat faster.

R.S.V.P in Berlin – beautifully reduced store design (2nd picture ©Anja Kroth)

The R.S.V.P Shop is in Berlin Mitte (Mulackstraße 14) – a neighbourhood you have to visit when you are in Berlin. The shop’s interior is tuned-down, even a bit zen-like and a seemingly quiet place you can stay in forever without being attacked by the products on display. I had the chance and pleasure to present PaperPhine’s Paper Yarns to R.S.V.P’s founder Meike Wander – I was thrilled and hopefully you’ll be thrilled, too!

In case you can’t go there in person visit the online store and feel like in Wonderland (only in German, sorry).

Foldbags by Ilvy Jacobs (Photography by Igor Kruter) – part of her graduation project and designed to “give a new view on everyday luxury “

Looking at my latest blog entries I just figured out that I provided a perfect gift-guide in what to put under the Christmas tree for me! So in case you’re the significant other reading this – you had your chances! The paper bags by Dutch designer Ilvy Jacobs are definitely a want-have.

Crunchbags by Ilvy Jacobs

The Foldbags take a new look at the everyday object of the plain, brown paper bag and make a piece to keep rather than a piece to be thrown away – or perhaps even a collector’s piece. The Crunchbags are made of made of cardboard laminated with fabric what makes them more sustainable. Their forms quite obviously derive from sports’ bags and the functional factor is clearly more important than the sculptural approach.

Paper-Taped Bag by Ilvy Jacobs

I’m not completly sure what the idea behind Ilvy Jacobs’ Paper-Taped Bag might be. But playful me loves the crumbling-up of one’s sports’ bag – just imagine a whole locker room full with crumbled-up bags. On the other hand this might also prove to be the weak point of these designs – trying to sell a product that is meant to last for months if not years out of a material that people don’t trust when it comes to sustainability. The Foldbags on the other get it perfectly right and don’t propose anything except making our lives a bit more beautiful.

molo at Superstudio Piu, Milan Design Week 2010

When I read that molo design was exhibiting at the current Milan Design week I began wondering where I had heard that name before. Doing a little research I figured out that the love letter light that my boyfriend likes a lot (and no, usually he’s not the overly romantiv type of person) is by the same Vancouver-based design and production studio.

molo: soft room (project)

molo: cloud soft light

molo: softwall and softblock modular system

molo uses mainly paper and textile material for their products (and there is also always a “textile” version). the “structures” the seating, partititioning and lightning modeles are made of are completely flexible so they can be arranged and stretched at will. And I think that the lights and seating fit just as nicely in my rather small but airy bright flat as in a loft where the playground is even bigger and also suited for the soft walls and especially the soft rooms.

my boyfriend’s favourite: the love letter light by molo

And the really nice thing about all these quite sculptural pieces of furniture (furniture, really??) is that they can be packed into small boxes and are shipped to Europe as well!