New York • ICFF

Typically following Milan’s supersize furniture fair, the launches at N.Y.C.’s smaller International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) can echo the Italians. This year’s more eclectic mix of furnishings and materials, however, was more likely to be touted as green.  - David Sokol

The style council
The San Francisco–based Council, launched in 2007 invites various talents to submit designs for consideration and chooses its collection from the resulting entries. For its second year, Council plucked concepts from Cédric Ragot, whose Stabil nesting tables feature a powder-coated-steel tabletop cantilevered seemingly precariously from a string-thin, asymmetrical base. The One & Co–designed Periodic Table, a block of reclaimed fir beams sprayed in pure silver, is a first-ever technique that required a year of research to produce. Council, San Francisco. www.councildesign.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #220]

Wily wires
Marking a push into the residential market, Herman Miller unveiled its Lifework Portfolio of furniture designed for home offices. The introduction includes Airia, by Rhode Island–based designers Ayako Takase and Cutter Hutton of Kaiju Studio.

The mixed-material desk features insightful details, such as a walnut lip that is curved where the forearms rest on the tabletop, and three covelike channels — as sensual as they are inconspicuous — for wire management. Herman Miller, Zeeland, Mich. www.hermanmiller.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #221]

Tree people
Wallpaper manufacturer Graham & Brown invited students from London’s Central St. Martins to contribute designs for a new series printed in water-based ink on paper from managed timber sources, and shipped in compostable corn-based packaging. Of 22 proposals, the company chose to produce five Eco-Wallpaper designs, featuring patterns of birds, futuristic cars, tropical flora, concentric circles, and birdcages. Graham & Brown, Blackburn, United Kingdom. www.grahambrown.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #222]

Ready for takeoff
The wavy steel modules of Ondine, designed by Michaël Bihain and architect Cédric Callewaert, appear like abstracted birds on the verge of flight. Connect three of these components instead to produce a circular bench whose undulations support sitters of different heights. Michaël Bihain, Brussels. www.bihain.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #226]

Wet-suited
The layered, looping forms of Son of a Bench impart this sturdy perch with a fast, Blade Runner look. Clad in rubber, the futuristic style is multifunctional, too. Besides using the bench in outdoor settings or in lobbies regularly exposed to the elements, Son’s multiple slots are perfectly sized for standing up wet umbrellas. Blu Dot, Minneapolis. www.bludot.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #227]

Crystal drawers
When the push-touch doors of Brave Space Design’s Planar Storage pieces are closed, they resemble walls of crystalline facets — although the series is fabricated of bamboo, recycled MDF, and FSC-certified maple. Brave Space Design, Brooklyn. www.bravespacedesign.com

[Reader Service: September 2008 #228]

Drafty delicacy
By cutting and folding nonwoven cellulose into a variety of delicately geometric shapes, husband-and-wife designers Nir and Ada Simhon transform a two-dimensional sheet into a dynamic three-dimensional animated surface that wafts in the wake of passersby or shimmers in the breeze. ONON Surface, Guivataim, Israel. www.ononsurface.com

Second skin
Pritzker Prize–winning architect Jean Nouvel is the brains behind Skin, a seating collection named for its construction of star-incised leather suspended from a metal frame. The design is inspired by Nouvel’s Museè du Quay Branly in Paris. Molteni & C, Giussano, Italy. www.molteni.it

History al fresco
Richard Schultz Design strips bare the traditional wingback chair, and transforms it into the backyard-ready Wing Chair. The seat references its predecessor’s shape in perforated and folded aluminum. And with their broad backs placed into a circular or rectangular grouping, Wing Chairs provide users with a sense of enclosure. Richard Schultz, Palm, Penn. www.richardschultz.com

Made in the shade
The plastic laminate strips that comprise the canopy of the Ensombra umbrella rotate around a central axis, allowing patio dwellers to move the slats to control the amount of incoming sunshine. Gandia Blasco, Valencia, Spain. www.gandiablasco.com