Market

Karen D. Singh, Craig Kellogg, and Elizabeth Wine -- Interior Design, 4/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Bio Dynamics

Former fashion stylist and art director Pamela Sunday is now expressing her muse through clay rather than stilettos. Her latest efforts, purely decorative nature-inspired pieces with a contemporary edge, appear to have stepped out from under the microscope—taking cues from biologist Ernst Haeckel's plant and animal illustrations and classifications: Note the surfaces' bumps, pods, and spikes. The stonewear Cellular Sphere brings to mind old models from Bio 101, while Granuloid looks like something from a public-health poster about cold germs. Blastoid, Burst, and Sprocket would look equally at home on the sea floor or in a space cartoon. And Atom could be. . .well, you know. Why don't we remember science class being this much fun? 457 DeGraw Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217; 646-643-4101; pamelasunday.com. circle 306

Treats From Paola Navone

Despite the name and the silhouettes, Paola Navone's Gingerbread collection for Lando is anything but cookie-cutter. Pieces hark back to the trim found on old-time Caribbean houses—boiled down to its geometric essence. The effect is somewhat like that of a stencil or stamp.

Reminiscent of a dollhouse chair, GB512 is solid oak sand blasted and wax-finished, with parchment-colored leather stretched over the backrest. The stately wide GB553 armchair, fit for a story book king, is constructed of the same materials but also offers a cushion upholstered in a choice of luxe fabrics. The GB401 side table, which might seem at first glance like a cardboard prop from a school play, actually combines an oak top and a frame of high-gloss molded steel.

In a similarly whimsical vein, the Gingerbread collection's ceramic vases include the bottom-heavy GB904, the curvaceous GB906, the potbellied GB907, and the amphora-shape GB908. All are offered in gold, white, and silver finishes. 22 Via Nosellare, 36028 Rossano Veneto (Vicenza), Italy; 39-0424-848231; landosrl.com. circle 307

King of the Forest

Grand in scale, austere in demeanor, the bowls of Lars Zech venture beyond the realm of the vessel. This artist, woodsman, and gardener is rooted in the natural world that inspires him: His atelier—a year-round campsite devoid of house and heating but equipped with power and water—sits at the edge of Germany's Black Forest. Like Michelangelo liberating figures from marble, Zech discovers his bowl shapes inside the trunks of trees cut down due to disease, age, or weather damage. Some of them are 300 years old, and he sees giving the trees new life in bowl form as a way of reviving the strength, energy, and majesty that they once possessed.

Zech's largest piece, made from a single block of oak and measuring 51 inches in diameter by 31 inches high, represents a natural progression from the oversize orbs he previously sculpted. The average bowl is 30 inches across, made from bleached ash, beech, elm, or oak. Besides the bowls, the artist creates wall sculptures and furniture, such as oak stools with an oil-treated fire finish that makes them weather-resistant. 4 Obere Strasse, Suite 1, 71263 Weil der Stadt, Germany; 49-7033-691-806; larszech.de. circle 308

Foscarini

A counterbalanced, flexible arm lends poise to Marc Sadler's Twiggy floor lamp. Each black, white, yellow, or red fixture takes three 100-watt bulbs—casting light directly down as well as upward through the shade's transparent plastic lid. 27 Via Delle Industrie, 30020 Marcon (Veneto), Italy; 39-041-595-3811; foscarini.com. circle 309

Nanimarquina

Brilliant innovator Nani Marquina is at it again, this time bringing nature imagery indoors. The wool felt strips of her hand-loomed Seagrass rug reinterpret shag as the tendrils of an underwater landscape. Available in Rojos, a red mingled with green, or Verdes, an earthy green. 10 Carrer Església, 3rd Floor, 08024 Barcelona, Spain; 34-93-237-6465; nanimarquina.com. circle 310

Flou

Pinuccio Borgonovo's Book sofa bed deftly transforms from clever seating into a smart place to sleep. The frame is iron, the backrest hot-foam polyurethane. Choose a rigid orthopedic or folding Memoform double mattress. 642 Rue de Courcelle, Suite 101, Montreal, Quebec H4C 3C5, Canada; 888-356-8233; flou.it. circle 312

Fritz Hansen

Racy Space Lounge comes courtesy of Jehs + Laub, the firm that's taken charge of ramping up Mercedes-Benz showrooms worldwide. The chair's thin injection-molded nylon shell—offered in shiny black, shiny white, or matte silver—carries four foam pads upholstered in fabric or leather. 22 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10013; 212-219-3226; fritzhansen.com. circle 311

BKM

The trio of Katharina Bruckner, Herbert Klamminger, and Stefan Moritsch designed Falb, a painted wooden chair that sidesteps with its rear leg, providing a spot to hang personal effects. The 40-inch-tall piece is available only in small quantities at one time. 42/1/6 Diefenbachgasse, 1150 Vienna, Austria; 43-1-895-25-58; bkm-format.com. circle 313

Cavern

A feather in the cap of young designer Carly Margolis, her overscale Navajo wallpaper looks smashing in her own kitchen. The 27-inch-wide silk-screened pattern pairs a sparkling turquoise with browns. 12207 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90025; 310-694-8384; cavernhome.com. circle 314

Gaia & Gino

Karim Rashid was playing with fire—both figuratively and literally—when he dreamed up Wikked, a 14-inch-tall column candleholder. To create his signature sculptural shapes, he used 24 percent deluxe Czech crystal. Select clear, black, or red. Decorum, 44 Abdi Ipekçi Caddesi, Suite 4, 34368 Istanbul, Turkey; 90-212-234-4472; gaiaandgino.com. circle 315

Glas Italia

Piero Lissoni puts the fun into Funghetti, his mushrooming series of small-scale tables. The three versions have tops of tempered glass, in lacquered or satin-opaque finishes, and clear bases of molded borosilicate glass. Diameters range from 11 to 17 inches. Imoderni, 210 71st Street, Suite 307, Miami Beach, FL 33141; 877-455-6350; imoderni.com. circle 316

Martínez Otero

Do the Twist. Part of the MO collection by London-based Pearson Lloyd Design, this fashion-forward take on occasional tables is a group of sinuous shapes in a walnut, wengé, or ebony finish or a range of colored gloss or matte lacquers. The five sizes are available between 12 and 16 inches tall. 97 Avenida de Pontevedra, 36689 Pontevedra, Spain; 34-98-657-0197; martinezotero.com. circle 317

The Tin Man

Cradle to cradle is a term that might well have been invented specifically for Foster + Partners's ergonomically sensible 20-06. Aluminum directly out of the recycling bin yielded 80 percent of the material used to make this chair. And there's no reason not to put it right back into that bin—following a life span estimated at 150 years.

That spectacular longevity comes, in part, from strong hand-welded seams, just one hallmark of Emeco's renowned 77-step manufacturing process. Add to that the chair's stackability (up to 15 high) and the environmental savings of an ultra-slim tempered frame that uses 15 percent less aluminum than the company's classic Navy chair.

Norman Foster's matching table and stool will be available at the end of May. The earth—and your great-great-great-great-grandchildren—will thank you. 805 Elm Avenue, Hanover, PA 17331; 717-637-5951; emeco.net. circle 318

SCIC Cucine d'Italia

The generously proportioned System 30 is for cooks looking for broad surfaces and ample storage. Below the counter, configure the 1-inch-thick panels as pivot doors or coplanar sliders. Above, glossy black lacquer can be decorated using the company's Techno Digital system. 135 Via Cremonese, Suite A, 43010 Viarolo (Parma), Italy; 39-05-216655; scic.it. circle 320

Luzifer Lamps

Flexibility is a virtue, not least in the design of decorative lighting. The Link pendant fixture's serpentine stacks of wood veneer are available from 9 to 22 inches high. Choose between two diameters, too: 17 inches and 27 inches. 41 Calle Pio XI, 46017 Valencia, Spain; 34-96-317-0559; luziferlamps.com. circle 319

Tom Dixon

Recalling ancient water vessels balanced on the head, the distinctive shapes in the Beat Light pendant collection are hand-hammered by Indian master craftsmen. The fixtures' glowing golden interiors serve as a contrast to the patinated black exteriors. 4 Northington Street, London WC1N 2JG, U.K.; 44-207-400-0500; tomdixon.net. circle 321

Bonacina Pierantino

Chylium side chairs debuted in 1959, but the reissues manage to feel very now. (An armchair version is actually all new.) A frame of brushed stainless steel supports the earthy rattan shell, which cradles a trim cushion upholstered in a colorful synthetic or black or brown leather. 20 Via San Andrea, Suite A, 22040 Lurago d'Erba (Como), Italy; 39-031-699225; bonacinapierantonio.com. circle 322

Kartell

With Toobe, Memphis movement alum Ferruccio Laviani delivers both the long and the short of it. The floor lamp becomes a table version with the substitution of a substantially shorter piece of shatterproof clear acrylic tubing. 39 Greene Street, New York, NY 10013; 212-966-6665; kartell.com. circle 323

B. Lux Company

Leave it to this company to perfect the circle. Jorge Pensi's Ronda features frosted polyamide top and bottom diffusers encircled by wooden shades in either a natural oak or a wengé finish. A 32-watt fluorescent bulb powers pendant, table, and floor versions alike. Global Lighting, 50 South Buckhout Street, Irvington, NY 10533; 914-591-4095; globallighting.net. circle 324

Christopher Farr

Alongside limited-edition collaborations with creative bigwigs, from Andrée Putman and John Pawson to Gary Hume, trained painter Christopher Farr has become a rug-design celebrity in his own right. His Triad in hand-spun, hand-dyed wool measures 8 by 10 feet. 748 North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90069; 310-967-0064; christopherfarr.com. circle 325