Orange 22 launched their Botanist series benches / tables several years ago, carving really precise intricate floral patterns inside bent aluminum surfaces, and in turn, carving out a really interesting niche for their company. Next weekend, at ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair, NYC), they will be unveiling a new series within this collection designed by some of the world’s most renowned designers aimed to benefit their chosen foundations and charities. Here’s a sneak peek.

 Epigram series, Milton Glaser (to benefit the International Rescue Committee)

Pixel Burst series, Yves Behar (to benefit the Surfrider Foundation)

Flight series, Margo Chase (to benefit the Sierra Club)

Unlock the Cure series, Kahi Lee (to benefit the Cancer Research Institute)

Orikami series, Karim Rashid (to benefit the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS [DIFFA])

Albero Series, Joe Ricchio & Kara Larsen (to benefit the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS [DIFFA])

 

Now your goldfish can swim around in an endless infinity of utter confusion inside what could be perceived as a piece of sculptural modern art. The Infinity Aquarium by BCXSY was designed with the intention of suspending the concepts of time and space through creating a repetitive geometrical environment, founded on the same principles as the looping hallways of insane asylums.

I’m still scratching my head trying to decide if this is as genius as it sounds? Or is it just plain evil? What do you think?

The WING Lounge Chair from Lyx takes the defining elements of the classic wing lounge chair concept, pays homage to Eames’ molded plywood lounger, kicks it up to 88 m.p.h and zips off into the future. Lyx has pretty much “KILLED IT”, as they say these days with the first and only chair to ever be certified by The Space Foundation. (It also uses the largest single piece of bendwood ever used in a chair, but that’s technical talk.) Using visco elastic foam (you know, memory foam, that stuff Nasa invented to give those screaming infommercial evangelists something to scream about), Lyx has developed a lounging recliner that is “the closest you can get to weightlessness.”

The “Design Your Own” era has presented some really innovative alternatives to the standard out-of-the box solutions we’ve become so comfortable with. Dekast, by Michel Doyer Furniture Designs, is one of the most exciting things we’ve seen in modular storage, since perhaps BluDot. Each panel can be custom “retro”-fitted with your choice of Kvadrat textiles (a name that has remained synonymous with the most iconic mid-century and retro-modern classic furniture for almost half a decade).

 

Anyone who has read this blog is probably aware of my deep affinity for all things mod and modular. What you may not know about is my deep affinity for Japanese food. I can’t help but smile at the very sight of Mealbox, an idea that takes the concept of traditional Japanese dining and adds a completely unique twist, by allowing you to assemble or disassemble this dining set, literally like you would a puzzle, and stow it in a convenient little storage unit.

The Sphere Hanging Lamp, by Belgian designer Alain Monnens, is as versatile as it is awesome-looking and can be configured in, well, you guessed it, Six Different Ways, therefore making it our find of the week. The Sphere Hanging Lamp can be used as a table lamp, a floor lamp, a single pendant, a triple pendant, a seven-armed hanging chandelier, or as a wall lamp / sconce.