A Glass Coffee Table that Demonstrates Talent and Craftsmanship

In this week's interview with 2021 SBID Awards Winner Lalique, UK Managing Director, Frederick Fischer explores the effort and craftsmanship that goes into creating their products, and dives into the company's values and work processes.

How important is it to enter the SBID Awards and receive industry recognition for your work?

It is very important and an honour for us to achieve recognition from our esteemed industry peers in such a beautiful and enjoyable setting at such a well organised event. Aside from the obvious accolade for which we are extremely grateful – particularly to everyone who took the time to vote, it assures our design teams and hugely talented craftsmen and women in our factory in Alsace that what they are producing and creating is the very best. It also of course helps when we are speaking to clients and customers from across the world to say a piece has been celebrated in this way.

What do you think made this particular design an award winner?

The Cactus coffee table is a reimagined classic design first created in 1951. It is a beautiful, timeless and strong design that embodies the creative genius and unique expertise of our design masters.

In order to participate in the creation of the Cactus table, our craftsmen and women must have received the distinction of Best Craftsmen of France. Successfully bringing together talent, timing and temperature, six dedicated glass masters combine an exceptional mastery of modern technique. It takes around 10 weeks to create the piece and craft the legs alone.

What was the inspiration behind reimagining a classic Lalique design to create the Cactus Coffee Table?

Across all our collections, the original designs of Rene Lalique are an inspiration. We work with our heritage and know how – from the archives but also with our creative teams in Paris led by creative director Marc Larminaux to create pieces that will work with interiors today. We were asked by clients many times if we could create a coffee table to suit contemporary and traditional interiors and the Cactus design sits perfectly within this.

The Lalique factory will soon celebrate 100 years. To what do you attribute the brand’s long-standing success, and how does this translate into the products you design?  

The Lalique name is synonymous with craft, luxury and savoir faire and the French art of living well which is evident in all our pillars – hospitality, art, interior design, decorative items, jewellery and perfumes.

It takes around seven years to qualify as a glass maker in the factory and it is an extraordinary skilled and precise craft. It is a gift to be able to work so cleverly and skilfully with your hands.

Lalique CEO and Chairman, Mr Silvio Denz is also a visionary and we have collaborated and worked with some of the most celebrated artists, architects and designers as well as like-minded luxury brands such as Damien Hirst, Sir Elton John, Zaha Hadid, Mario Botta, The Macallan and Singapore Airlines to name a few.

Now that you’ve won an SBID Award, what are the next steps? Is there anything new you are excited to be working on?

It is a very exciting time to be at Lalique as our world expands and grows.

We have some very exciting collaborations coming up and we also recently opened a new gourmet restaurant and the first Lalique boutique in Scotland at The Glenturret – Scotland’s oldest working distillery which is also home to the finest whiskey bar in the world – designed and created by Lalique.

What advice can you give to young designers starting out in the design industry?

Work hard, be resilient, travel and explore as much as possible and be kind and polite. The design industry is a small world.

It’s a world of opportunity for young designers now as the barriers between art/interiors/fashion and design merge and we have some very talented creatives – good luck!

Questions answered by Frederick Fischer, UK MD, Lalique.

Silestone® by Cosentino, the world’s leading hybrid mineral surface for architecture and design, is launching its second series worldwide under its new corporate image. The new Silestone® emblem and character has given rise to the Ethereal collection, which also comes with a major campaign featuring entrepreneur and international fashion icon, Cindy Crawford.

Ethereal by Silestone® represents a quantum leap in terms of design, innovation and sustainability, in line with the transition that the Silestone® brand name is undergoing externally and internally with the development of the cutting-edge HybriQ® technology. This evolution of Silestone® leads to a series of patterns over a white canvas designed to become a best-seller in interior design, and which are the main reason for the title of Cindy Crawford’s campaign with Silestone® Ethereal, ‘Metamorphosis’.

This marble-inspired collection consists of four colours, namely Ethereal Dusk, Ethereal Haze, Ethereal Glow, and Ethereal Noctis, which recreate the dream-like beauty of the sky. The designs offer a deep, fine veining on a white foundation.

Silestone® Ethereal Collection

Ethereal Dusk showcases an urban look in which the blueish tone of its veining brings a modern and avant-garde touch to the space. It symbolises a unique, unforgettable and personal sunrise, in which peace, solemnity and tranquillity are seen on the horizon in the last moments of darkness.

Ethereal Haze includes a dynamic range of grey tones to emit plenty of personality. This colour conveys both calm and character thanks to an interplay of gradients which blend into pure neutrality. Ethereal Haze takes us to an imaginary world where the wind moves the clouds over the mountains, creating an optical illusion of tranquillity and fluffiness.

Ethereal Glow is simply pure, classic elegance. Its golden and grey veining merges with a tinged white foundation, running through the entire design and bringing an accent of colour to every corner. It is inspired by the sunset and its igneous colours and glow, a vision from which you cannot look away. It is an evolution of our internationally acclaimed Silestone® Eternal Calacatta Gold colour.

Ethereal Noctis is synonymous with sophistication. The tinged white foundation is broken up with short grey and black veins, providing contrast, depth, simplicity and modernity. It is inspired by the darkness after sunset, making us feel life with a strange halo of unreality.

Silestone® Ethereal & HybriQ+®

Silestone® Ethereal is the result of HybriQ+®, the exclusive and pioneering technology developed for Silestone® by Cosentino. HybriQ+®, launched in 2020, is a qualitative leap in the evolution of Silestone® brand. It is a new production process characterised by the company’s commitment to the environment, the circular economy and sustainable management. With HybriQ+®, in addition to Cosentino’s environmental milestones, such as the use of 99% recycled water and 100% renewable electric energy in the production process, at least 20% of recycled raw materials are used in the manufacture of Silestone®.

Furthermore, HybriQ+® technology stands out for its new formulation in the composition of Silestone®, where the presence of crystalline silica is significantly reduced. Instead, a new hybrid formulation of mineral raw materials with equal or better performance than quartz and materials of a recycled origin is used. With this new composition, Silestone® benefits from the same mechanical and technical features and an appearance that enhance its beauty, but with a sustainable focus and new design possibilities including improved depth and translucency.

If you’d like to feature your product news here, get in touch to find out more. 

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.

This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features an unconventional lighting design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Light.iQ.

Shin Kong Place South (SKP-S) in Beijing has opened its doors on December 2019, and it promises to change the way luxury retail is perceived. Gentle Monster and SKP wanted to engage all our human senses (by hearing, smelling, seeing, and touching) once we enter this department store. All luxury brands embraced this unusual concept and created innovative interiors.

The lighting departed from the traditional forms of shopping illuminations too. Dark and moody corridors were introduced instead of flat and evenly lit ones. The result is an immersive experience full of art installations combined with interactive displays to keep customers on their toes even when they are circulating between shops.

As a contrast to the hectic outside world, consumers are looking for valuable me-time to relax body, mind, and soul. At home, the bathroom is often a vital place for finding a moment of peace.

Providing the right products to meet customers’ high demands and helping them to create their own personal retreats is key, with awareness around wellness and health at an all-time high. In response to the growing health and wellness trend, GROHE, a leading global brand for complete bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, is extending its premium product portfolio with the reinvented GROHE Allure line and the new GROHE Rainshower Aqua Body sprays for an enhanced shower experience. No matter if you are designing a spa landscape for a resort or a private bathroom, GROHE offers the freedom to tailor the space to your customers' needs.

Progressive designs and carefully chosen materials, finishes, and colours, combined with high-end technology, will stand out in any bathroom project.

"These exclusive new products are especially dedicated to architects and designers who want to transform their clients' bathrooms into a holistic wellness oasis at home that becomes a perfect hideaway to recharge body, mind, and soul. GROHE Allure is defined by a progressive design that allows full design coordination, creating unique bathroom experiences. These memorable, unique spaces will stand out in any project. In addition, a palette of carefully curated colours and finishes enables architects and designers to add a personal touch," says Patrick Speck, Leader, LIXIL Global Design, EMENA.

Luxury and sophistication for the bathroom with the reinvention of GROHE Allure

The popular GROHE Allure tap line has been updated. The design statement captivates with its minimalist and extraordinarily slim design – now even more appealing due to its refined aesthetic. By combining state-of-the-art water technology with German craftsmanship, the tap offers a distinctive highlight. Thanks to distinct haptic feedback, the precision control of the three-hole basin mixer offers a unique tactile experience and improves interaction.

The new GROHE Allure offers designers and architects the opportunity to create a perfectly harmonious bathroom experience according to their customers’ personal tastes. The versatile range also encompasses floor-mounted taps and waterfall spouts for the bathtub, which allow for a holistic, coordinated design. For tasteful accents in the bathroom, the Allure line offers a choice of different colours and finishes: Chrome, Brushed Cool Sunrise, Brushed Warm Sunset, and Hard Graphite – all perfectly coordinated with GROHE Allure Accessories.

A soothing shower experience for the home spa

With the Rainshower Aqua Body sprays GROHE launches a showering highlight which upgrades the daily routine with a pulsating water massage. Control is intuitive via a pop-up design: when the water is activated, the body sprays pop out of the cover plate, allowing users to switch between the Rain and Active Jet spray easily by simply turning them. When the water is turned off, the body sprays pull back and blend into the shower surround
completely, resulting in a slim, minimalist design for optimised space in the shower.

Full freedom of choice is guaranteed with round and square designs, available in different GROHE Colours to match any bathroom style. Additionally, the new body sprays enable eco-conscious water usage thanks to water-saving GROHE EcoJoy technology. GROHE Rainshower Aqua Body sprays make it easy to successfully combine responsible consumption with a luxurious showering experience.

If you’d like to feature your product news here, get in touch to find out more. 

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.

Click here to discover the last year's SBID Awards winners!

To enter, visit sbidawards.com for more information.

This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a standout kitchen design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Roundhouse.

This standout kitchen offers a serious amount of space with doors to the back terrace and a woodburner for winter comfort. Complete with an island that features polished concrete worktops, an underside in patinated corrugated iron and splashback in Lilac Milas marble, the textures used are purposefully varied and wonderfully original. With reused and recycled elements from the original barn, this is a space designed to be seen and used for all occasions.

Kohler, leading global brand, features eight additions to its smart home portfolio at CES 2022, focusing on enhancing wellbeing and making it easier for people to find peace of mind.

PerfectFill smart bathing technology is a smart drain, digital/app controller and bath filler. PerfectFill draws a bath to a preferred temperature and desired depth with a simple voice command or through the KOHLER Konnect app, reducing time spent monitoring the bath as it fills. Previously demonstrated as concept technology, PerfectFill will be available for purchase in May 2022.

Anthem Valves and Controls – digital valves can operate multiple outlets, integrate into the KOHLER Konnect app, can be paired with voice assistants, and offer the unique functionality of independent temperature and flow control in each outlet. Paired with the immersive sprays of the Statement showerheads, hand showers, rain heads and body sprays, Anthem upgrades the shower through innovative technology and engineering.

Purist Suspend – ceiling-mounted kitchen faucet featuring a remote puck that manages activation, temperature and volume, and a fully adjustable hose with 180-degree rotation.

Touchless Residential Bathroom Faucet – New category for Kohler, these faucets function with a simple wave of the hand, offer temperature control and operate by battery, offering an easy tech upgrade.

Kohler Power Reserve – a modular home energy storage system that pairs with solar power systems to provide homeowners with access to solar energy regardless of the weather, time of day or status of the grid.

Robern IQ Digital Lock Box – a smart lock box that offers a compact way to securely protect valuables, medication and personal items. Digital Lock Box is equipped with a touchpad panel as well as an app to set and protect your password and ensure that your items are secured.

Additional featured products coming to market in 2022 include Stillness Bath, a multi-sensory bathing experience inspired by Japanese forest bathing, and H2Wise powered by Phyn, smart water monitors designed to detect leaks and track household water usage.

If you’d like to feature your product news here, get in touch to find out more. 

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.

Concrete LCDA introduce a new Panbeton collection of surface panels, consisting of five new designs, two of which were made in collaboration with Neri & Hu and Jean-Philippe Nuel.

Panbeton Gèn by Neri & Hu

The Chinese character 亘 “gèn” is composed of two lines at the top and bottom, with the character for “sun” nestled in between. The horizontal strokes, one representing the heavens above and the other representing the earth below, allude to the infinite extension of the horizon, embodying the notion of a spatial and temporal continuity. The design for the panel is composed by a series of well-proportioned raised lines that could appear to extend infinitely across a surface, drawing a direct connection between landscape and dwelling, ground and sky.

Panbeton Graphite by Jean-Philippe Nuel

Studio Jean-Philippe Nuel has created a new model of ultra-lightweight, high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete panels for Concrete LCDA, called “Graphite”.

Continuing along the same lines as the Chevrons and Timber panels – the one derived from the imprint of Haussmann wood flooring, and the other influenced by wooden formwork slats – Graphite retains a woody touch, as it draws its inspiration from the graphic designs created by different species of wood as they burn. Because depending on whether you burn Douglas fir, Accoya, oak or pine, the surface of the wood will take on a cracked, flaky texture, long grooves or smooth, tight curves.

In architecture, charred wood is traditionally used in exterior cladding, as it provides natural protection to the wood. This Japanese technique is known as “shou sugi ban”. It involves charring the surface of a board, deep down, until a superficial layer of charcoal forms, which will protect the material from the effects of weather.

“The Graphite panels do more than just use charred wood: they feature a graphic composition which plays with the textures of the different finishes, almost like inlays. This way, the panels take a contemporary, creative approach to reinterpreting a secular tradition.”

The result of this assembly is a concrete panel with a flowing geometric design which can be extended length-wise and height-wise like wallpaper. This cladding will add character and a strong identity to any room it adorns.

Panbeton Lines, Striation & Rugged by Studio LCDA

The Brutalism Collection is adding three new models by Studio LCDA: Panbeton® Striation, Lines and Rugged.

As a new tribute to the Brutalist architectural style, this collection refers to the concrete used in buildings, to the raw material which reveals the traces and texture inherent to its installation.

Studio LCDA utilizes a language based on simple geometric shapes, repetitive modules and linear forms. “We wanted to let the concrete express its fundamental nature and its streamlined and pulled-out variations, making it possible to fully appreciate its minerality and its imperfections.”

If you’d like to feature your product news here, get in touch to find out more. 

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.

This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a luxurious piano design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Edelweiss Pianos.

The SOLIS was hand-built in the UK by Cambridge based piano makers Edelweiss. The SOLIS is the one of a kind design from the ‘Goldfinch’ designer range of self-play pianos. Exclusively created for a California residence this majestic piano symbolises the setting sun across the Nevada desert.

A semi-circular piano has a butterfly lid that is unique to Edelweiss Pianos. The SOLIS seamlessly holds a self-play system and is highly specified with a carbon fibre composite mechanism, a perma-formed soundboard, and a custom produced keyboard with sustainably sourced exotic wood sharps.

This week's instalment of SBID's Product of the Week series features a hardware collection design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Croft.

The Mineral Collection by Croft is a one-of-a-kind, limited edition range for those looking to seamlessly transform and add character to any space. As its name suggests, the overall design concept of the collection is based on natural occurring minerals. The Mineral collections look of purity and intrigue suggests it is a naturally formed product, celebrating the relationship between nature and craftsmanship.

Meticulously hand-crafted using a pattern bonding process, the collection is comprised of Croft’s Elegance door handle with a covered rose, bathroom turn, cabinet knob and handle and an appliance pull. Available in a matt or gloss finish and two striking colours, Tiger's Eye and Jade, each product has its own individual, colour-bearing veins giving a uniqueness to every item. A step away from their usual product range, the Mineral Collection was created by Croft, a British manufacturer based in the heart of England.