Following the success of the Indre lighting collection for Australian lighting company Rakumba, the Indre Sconce allows the same light character of the pendant versions to remain the focus. A simple suspension point allows capacity for a driver to be housed within, whilst providing space for the lighting units to be hung below. As with the pendant lights, the Indre Sconce can extend with up to five lighting units suspended below. Produced by Rakumba and available worldwide.
Invited by Bergen based studio, gallery and boutique Kiosken to be their artist in residence during September 2023, my time was focused on a hands-on process of gathering the textures and patterns of local stone finishes from the streets surrounding Kiosken. Hand-printed paper provided a myriad of colourful backdrops to these textures and patterns, brought to life through frottage in pastel. A collection of samples was produced alongside a series of six artworks that have combined these textures with motifs of tradition stone mining - providing a small insight into the physical, manual labour that went in to mining and processing the stone that makes up Bergen’s city center.
Set against a textural backdrop of white curtains and flowing ochre floor, Nikolai Kotlarczyk’s presentation as part of Salone Satellite demonstrates the diversity within his body of work. Strong, graphic pieces with a focus on materiality and form are shown together alongside production pieces for brands such as Rakumba, SP01 and Portego.
Kotlarczyk’s ability to weave story telling and form combine through a selection of works inspired by nature and architecture, travels and daily observations. The Royce armchair for SP01, and the prototype Big Foot floor lamp take inspiration from his homeland in the tropical forests of Australia, while his Hội An armchair, Trattoria side table and Indre lighting collection for Rakumba each reference experiences from travels and his adopted home in Copenhagen.
Shown as a preview for the first time, the new Rivelo collection of side tables and benches for Italian editor Portego features strong architectural forms, highlighting Alpi’s classic veneers as its own material through tight curves and large surface planes.
Big Foot Floor Lamp
The Big Foot floor lamp takes inspiration from rural myths of an over-sized, hairy humanoid known in eastern parts of Australia as a Yowie, otherwise called Big Foot or Yeti throughout the world. Several sightings in Kotlarczyk’s childhood home in northern NSW of a larger-than-life creature, with hair hanging to the ground has been graphically interpreted through a the bold floor lamp covered in Raf Simmons Mo-hair for Kvadrat. The simple, bold form plays with materiality and expectations within the typology of a floor lamp - shifting an often cold object of glass and steel into something you want to touch and feel.
Trattoria Side Table
This leather clad side table is an ode to the bustling eateries of Italy. The flowing red and white table cloths that adorn the timber tables has been re-contextualised and uplifted through a natural leather table cover, with water formed corners that provide the simple form with an expressive spirit. Sitting atop a thick oak frame, this archetypal side table exudes a sense of understated character through a richness in material.
Hội An Armchair
Inspired by family time spent within the coastal villages surrounding the Vietnamese city of Hội An, the armchair of the same name shares the feeling of the indoor / outdoor lifestyle of this beautiful seaside location. Flagline rope references the homemade fishing nets dotted along the river edge, while the turned up seating back nods slightly to the forms of the local pagodas. Lights and welcoming, the Hội An armchair combines an expressive form with comfort and natural materials.
For all press images, text and information, please click HERE.
Solid but light, thanks to the cantilever design and the natural flexibility of wood. The edges, highlighted by a clean cut and crossed by fluid colors, express all the liveliness of an unexpected and surprising shape.
Rivelo side table and bench designed for Italian editor Portego and available in a selection of veneers from Alpi Woods.
An ode to the historic architecture of Copenhagen. Taking its cues from the suspended catenary streetlights and cobbled stone streets of designer Nikolai Kotlarczyk’s home city, Indre departs from the purely pared-back and minimal. Drawing on nostalgia and decoration, the collection delivers beauty through its delicately rendered double-wall glass capsules that gently cradle floating internal light. Individual capsules are connected by the graceful lines of a catenary-inspired interlinking rod system anchored with stone or timber detailing.
Indre’s extensive modularity allows the series to adapt to all scenarios – refined singular pendants and table lamps, elegant linear compositions for reception, dining or bar settings, and grand multi-tiered chandeliers bringing drama and prestige to large voids.
Designed for Rakumba
The Royce armchair takes flight this month, in a fresh collaboration with Australian designer Nikolai Kotlarczyk. A sculptural and compact armchair suited to both residential and commercial interiors, Royce joins SP01’s elegant collection of character driven designs.
Available with and without headrest, Royce is a detail driven design featuring contrast piping which punctuates the wing shaped backrest and an externally mounted tubular steel frame which can be selected in a highlight finish. When seen together the two versions of the Royce chair creates a lyrical dialogue, offering a sense of rise and fall in a room.
The original avian inspiration behind the design animates the new piece, giving it a sense of character. The simple geometric line is reduced to a bird-like silhouette that appears ready for take-off. The design is an assemblage of curves, from the sinuous frame to the arc of the wing shaped shell and the tight radius of the headrest, ensuring there is not a hard line in sight.
Copenhagen based designer Nikolai Kotlarczyk has completed his studio’s first interior design project - the 150 sqm head office and exhibition space of art producer Paper Collective. Set across two frontages on the historic Studiestræde in Copenhagen’s city center, this new space does away with the brands former retail outlet, instead focusing on an ever-changing exhibition space and a multi-faceted office space for their growing team. With corona shifting focus towards their online marketplace, Paper Collective wanted to instead create a space for events, to promote new collections and to better highlight the artists they work with across a range of industries - from architecture to fashion,photography to illustration.
With a starting block of an almost industrial, white gallery space, the interiors have been softened through the use of oak furniture, warm rugs and textural drapes throughout – the colour tones for the rippled drapes inspired by the nearby Our Ladies Church. Spaces transition from open working environments, to more intimate breakout spaces, a stand-alone exhibition space and a communal lunchroom. Throughout all spaces, a sense of home has been maintained, linking Paper Collective’s catalogue of works for both the home and commercial environments. In keeping with the international flavour of the brand, as well as their Scandinavian roots, a clean palette of materials such as warm oak and cloud like lighting, has been mixed with rich terrazzo, soft marble and vibrant drapery.
Throughout the interior Kotlarczyk has emphasised the capabilities of Paper Collective’s own product range. Both street facing spaces feature custom stainless steel hanging displays that allows Paper Collective to constantly change their selection of artworks on show, whilst the open office environments and lunchroom feature their large acoustic products to help create a pleasant working and social environment. Large custom artworks are also featured throughout alongside Paper Collective’s standard collection of artworks.
The Scena Mirrors are the first in a series of designs for Italian editor Portego. Inspired by the architecture of Andrea Palladio, the series references his use of perspective and unique point of view within his spaces. Produced in Murano from carved glass, both the front and the rear of mirror is cut and carved to produce an illusion of perspective within the piece.
A large ritualistic function of the Catholic church is that of confession and reflection. Using these rituals to alter ones habits or personas, these spaces are often viewed as a site of renewal or cleansing.
The Barocche series mixes the reference of architectural layouts from catholic churches in Lisbona, Pari, and Turino respectively, with the concept of masking ones identity. These almost alien faces emerge from the columns and domes of their physical environments, questioning ones own reflection within them.
Solid brass sheet with oxidized patterns.
First shown as part of Greenhouse at the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2017. For all press material, CLICK HERE.
Prototype. 2020.
Architecturally inspired, the Rose series of coffee tables cleverly utilise transparency and geometry to create modern designs that evoke a subtle sense of nostalgia and opulence. The series takes inspiration from my travels to Italy and the magnificent stained glass windows of many baroque churches throughout the country. Made up of simple circular voids, the rose windows were used by architects as a visual mandala to bring symmetry and balance to the space.
Photography from Pete Daly
The Elemento series of solid glass mirrors follow on from the Scena range for Portego. Taking motifs and elements from their bigger brothers, the Elemento series are all handmade in Murano. Each piece is carved by hand and then silvered just as traditional methods in glass mirror making.
Graphic Grain Console
Limited Edition of 8
Polished & Oxidized Brass
Linoleum Oil Stained Ash.
A console: simple in form, that utilises colour and pattern to accentuate the natural qualities of each material. Each brass panel and ash section reacts differently to the applied surface treatments , expressing its own unique composition.