Salone del Mobile this year was truly a year of refinement. Designers across the globe flocked to one of the world’s most highly regarded design capitals, Milan, Italy, for what is certainly the world’s largest annual design fair. Exhibiting for the third time in Milan, was Australian design brand SP01, and its stand this year contrasted the feel of an underground bar with the relaxed vibe of an outdoor garden, both offering a palette of rich colours and materials
The new release designs by Tim Rundle and Tom Fereday focussed on adding further finesse and variations to strong, pre-existing collections.
Drawing on the success of SP01’s Jeanette outdoor chair designed by Tom Fereday in 2016 for the Australian-born, Italian-made brand’s first collection, the new pieces includes a lounge chair, sofa and coffee table to complete what is now the Jeanette family, along with a further versatile coffee table named Louie.
SP01 Jeanette Collection. Armchair, Stool, Lounge Sofa and Tables
Like the original Jeanette chair, the outdoor lounge is sculpted from wire with soft cushions for a textural contrast, however the lounge chair and sofa’s low seat and high back, elude to the fact that one may simply sink in, finding themselves wrapped in the chair’s comfort.
SP01 also tapped into one of the popular materials that emerged from this year’s fair – terracotta which features on both the Jeanette and Louie coffee tables.
The Jeanette’s machine grooves on the top adds interest aesthetically but also functions as clever water drainage.
Moving from outdoors to indoors, Tim Rundle has likewise added new pieces to his collection of indoor furniture, including a two new dining chair designs and a stool.
SP01 Michelle Table Mirror
The Michelle dining chair, available with a high or low back or as a stool, draws from the iconic figure of Tim’s 2017 Michelle table and wall mirrors for SP01. Viewed by the designer as an exercise in clean architectural geometry, the Michelle chairs are here to offer a simple yet impactful interior statement.
Subtler still, the Caristo dining chair is a stackable dining chair of minimal form and a lightness of presence. The crushed tube-form bracket that characterises the back of the backrest takes inspiration from the Caristo lounge chair, from where the design originates. Likewise, the comfort of the lounge is transported to the dining chair.
SP01 Caristo Chairs
It shows great constraint and self-control when designers resist the urge to design from the ground up where there is an opportunity to refine or develop their existing portfolio. Matt Lorrain and the creative team at SP01 have shown that discipline in design can be far more artistic than one might initially expect.
