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.

I think I might have found my perfect Christmas Tree. Even though I’m quite fond of “real” trees with real needles that start to fall off right after Christmas Eve or even before I think this Cardboard Christmas Tree by A4Adesign would be a perfect addition to my flat. Well, my boyfriend’s flat to be correct – no way to kill this tree and he has enough space for a whole forrest, too!

When we were in London this autumn I saw the Cardboard Playhouse at the Conran Shop. I even forced the IPhone-owning boyfriend to take a picture of the house and tree (oh, the tree that comes with real red cardboard-apples) but never investigated what company is behind this great product. Thanks to Justine of upon a fold I now finally managed to find the company – and all their other products and designs made of honeycomb cardboard. Now I only need to stop by at the A4Adesign showroom in Milan next time, solve some transport issues and get that credit card glowing!

Fine Papery Geometrical Structures obscuring the feeling for space in the Exhibition Nendo: Thin Black Lines currently in the Saatchi Gallery, London. Thanks to boyfriend for taking the picture!

People among Nendo’s Thin Black Lines. (This photograph by Haarala Hamilton Photography).

I was in London the other week for some inspirational input, design and art viewing and mostly window shopping. No need to tell you that London still is one of my favourite cities (if only rents weren’t that high…). One of the paperwise most interesting design bureaux I discovered are Nendo, presented by Phillips de Pury at the Saatchi Gallery. Showing very straight and simplified furniture design pieces that are united by the theme of outlines, the space of the exhibition room itself was divided by the black, cubic structures shown on my pictures. I’m not completly sure what those stuctures are made out of but it looked (no touching this time) a lot like a specially coated paper and since Nendo has been working with paper before this wouldn’t suprise me.

Cabagge Chairs by Nendo and installation view in the Friedman Benda Gallery in New York featuring forty of cabbage chairs in 2009

Originally the Cabagge Chairs were made out waste paper from the pleated fabric industry of Issaye Mijake. The new modells are made out of a non-woven textile to retain the light pleated feeling that characterized earlier versions while increasing their durability as furniture. Of course I love the older version even more even though I’m deeply interested in non-woven textiles since they are a very strong link between “textile” and “paper”. But if you look at the initial construction process of the Cabbage Chairs it’s just really cool:

Nendo inititially designed the cabbage chair for the XXIst Cetury Man exhibition curated by Issey Miyake in 2008. Miyake wanted furniture out of the pleated paper that is produced in mass amounts during the process of making pleated fabric and usually abandoned as an unwanted by-product. One of the intitial ideas was too ship the chair as one compact roll for the user to cut open and peel back at home since the production process was so simple.

blown-fabric by Nendo

Since non-woven fabric fabric are already a topic here and some of their qualities are a lot like paper (matted fibres!) it seems a good idea to point out one other project by Nendo:
blown-fabric. Made out of a specialized long-fibre non-woven polyester that can be manipulated into different forms through hot press forming technology it’s possibly to manipulate each shape during it’s creation that is a lot like glass-blowing. The structure of standard chochin consists of thin strips of bamboo wrapped around a wood frame and strengthened with vertical stitching. Japanese mulberry paper pasted over the frame completes the lamps, and gives them their characteristic glow. The use of a hig-tech material instead of the traditional paper gives new possibilities to the design and the creation process – and nevertheless these lamps still remind me a lot of paper (yes, they were on shop in London, too) and of the Japanese paper balloons that I’m admittedly very fond of… if you ever need help blowing up your personal blow-fabric lamp just give me a call!

Stjernestunder’s Homepage: Paperphine section

During the last two months PaperPhine has kept me very busy and a lot of emails have been “flying” from and to Copenhagen. It all started when Helle, who is behind Stjernestunder asked me earlier this spring if I was interested in her becoming my wholsale agent for the Nordic countries. And of course I was interested!

Part of the PaperPhine Wholesale Collection represented by Stjernestunder

Together Helle and I chose a collection of my Paper Yarn Jewelry that she will represent as my wholesale agent in all the Nordic countries. And then we had to work on the pictures, site layout, contract, samples, etc. – so we both spent days and nights in front of our laptops and worktables.
Helle will also represent my collection at this autumn’s formland trade fair in Herning (Jutland), 20. – 23. August 2010. You’ll find both Helle’s products and my Paper Yarn Jewelry at D3216.

Stjernestunder’s Folded Paper Stars

Helle and her family team behind Stjernestunder fold stars, hearts, baskets, prisms, freestyles and cones in many variations of paper, plastics and fabrics. I like especially their small paper stars guirlandes in subtle hues (oh, and they will look perfect in my boyfriend’s appartement this Christmas. Hopefully they’ll fit in so perfectly that he’ll not even notice them so his “manly” dislike of all kinds of decoration doesn’t boil up…).

… the card I would love to get for Valentine’s Day (unfortunately I had to point it out to the potential card giver… so it’s not really that romantic anymore).

And I’ll get myself a whole stack of these once an “Apple-version” is available:

All cards by PaperWheel