From our collaborative souvenir pop-up to the epic Mercer Street Block Party, Lee Broom's stately chandelier, Apparatus' thrilling Red Room and more
Transportive NYCxDESIGN 2024 Highlights
From our collaborative souvenir pop-up to the epic Mercer Street Block Party, Lee Broom’s stately chandelier, Apparatus’ thrilling Red Room and more
Each year, the international design community steps into New York City’s frenetic spotlight and audiences arrive in droves to experience the immense creativity on display. This week-long activation is known as NYCxDesign, a diverse constellation of events that addresses the artistry of design. From the more than 450 designers and design brands at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) within the sprawling Javits Center to the 54 lamps of the illuminating fifth Head Hi Lamp Show, NYCxDesign stretches across the city and asks eager attendees to trek from exhibition to installation. And this year, perhaps more so than any other, was more than worth it. The following six highlights paint a picture of why it continues to be a success.
NYCxDesignxSouvenir
On the first floor of Hudson Yards, the NYCxDesignxSouvenir activation addresses the very concept of keepsakes and souvenirs—which tend to be cheap or poorly made rather than genuine reflections of a travel experience. Organized in collaboration with COOL HUNTING, and curated by Boym Partners (who also designed the space), the exhibition dives into the potential of new technologies and materials, and presents limited-edition, NYC-souvenir-like objects by artists and designers like Joe Doucet, Elan Cole, Scott Henderson, Constantin Boym and Roy Nachum. The exhibition space also houses the Emerging Designers Residency, and provides a platform for four designers working on site.
In Common With’s Quarters
In Tribeca, pioneering lighting design studio In Common With—founded by Nick Ozemba and Felicia Hung—has unveiled an immersive and meticulously designed gallery, boutique, wine bar and event venue named Quarters. The brand transformed more than 8,000 square feet with various installations that represent rooms in a home. An undeniable warmth, desirability and grandeur weaves all of the spaces together. And in addition to their own releases, In Common With has displayed their collaborative lighting projects with designers Sophie Lou Jacobsen, Danny Kaplan and Simone Bodmer-Turner.
The Socialite Family and Christiane Lemieux’s Lemieux et Cie
Beloved French editorial platform The Socialite Family made their US debut this design week—not only introducing their compelling storytelling capabilities but also pieces from their own eponymous design label, which has already amassed a devout following throughout Europe. This exquisite New York City exhibition was born from an editorial they released on international interior designer Christiane Lemieux, which led to a partnership with the designer’s own Lemieux et Cie label. Throughout Lemieux‘s brightly lit SoHo loft, art and design pieces from both brands harmonized.
“Everything we release is designed in-house. Our co-founder Constance Gennari does the creative direction,” Stéphanie Florant, the head of B2B development for The Socialite Family, shared with COOL HUNTING. “Everything is made in Europe—Italy and France for most pieces.” On site, The Socialite Family presented their Rotondo modular sofa in an alluring leopard print, as well as their acclaimed, flower-shaped Gioia lamp.
Lee Broom
In his Tribeca penthouse and showroom longtime COOL HUNTING favorite Lee Broom revealed his new Alchemist collection, which includes four eye-catching new lighting styles: Mythos, Solstice, Gemini and King. “The whole collection is inspired by Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist.’ I’ve read it a number of times and every time I get a new sense of perspective,” Broom tells us. “I wanted to base the collection around that book, as well as other stories from mythology, folklore and fables that I think resonate now more than ever.” A sense of the mythic infuses the shapes of all four ranges. The centerpiece is King, a chandelier of overwhelming beauty that marries a brutalist sculptural component with a medieval aesthetic referential to a crown. It took 18 months to develop, and links laser-cut aluminum leaves that have been folded and brushed by hand. The illumination is hidden, lending a fire-like shadow glow.
“There’s also the more literal translation of an alchemist: someone who turns base metal into gold,” Broom continues. “That’s what we do as designers and artists. We turn nothing into something of beauty, presence and purpose. I have always designed from an emotional place. It is so important now for people to have things in their home that bring them a sense of joy or a sense of peace. How can you bring that into a product if you haven’t designed it from a sense of emotion?”
Apparatus
Awash in crimson hues, beloved boutique lighting brand Apparatus‘s expansive New York City showroom has transformed into an exhibition aptly entitled the Red Room. Within, Apparatus has unveiled their CYLINDER : SYSTEM, an extension (or evolution) of their geometric CYLINDER modular collection. Perhaps no experience during NYCxDesign established as enveloping an environment or as strong a narrative. Apparatus even presented an emotionally expressive bronze statue of Phaethon, the son of Helios, who was struck down by Zeus with a bolt of lightning.
Orior
This year’s most unifying and celebratory event was spearheaded by Orior, the furniture and design brand lauded for the skill of the craftspeople in their Irish workshops. Orior chose to highlight their new Eli Chair, based on a classic form from the brand’s design archive (initially imagined by Orior co-founder Brian McGuigan); it has been revitalized thanks to an infusion of upgrades, from thoughtful hand-stitched details to an enhanced curvaceousness to the arm. To celebrate the Eli Chair, as well as the Umber table and Walker desk, Orior hosted a block party on Mercer Street that saw the design world turn up and participate.