Hunn Wai from Singapore and Francesca Lanzavecchia from Italy have garnered attention and accolades across major design platforms in recent years, such as the Triennale Design Museum in Milan and IMM Cologne. They are represented in galleries in New York, Los Angeles and Rome, and have worked with international brands like Nodus Carpets, BOSA and Cappellini.

The Accordion console is colourful when viewed from one side, and all precious wood when viewed from the other

Now the pair is set to make waves again, this time for their very first collaboration with a Singaporean furniture retailer – Journey East. Adding significance to the project is the fact that this is also the first time that Journey East has set about to produce its own designs.

Hamburger side tables offer storage space and are available in three designs – round, oval and pentagon

Anita Sam, Managing Director of Journey East says, “We have always been curating products and furniture, and so for [our] 20th year, we saw the opportunity and need to step out and produce our own collection. We looked to work with designers who have a romantic view on design, who have created work with beautiful narratives embedded, and the informed sensibilities to drive and craft our evolution. Essentially, to create what we term Journey East 2.0 and transforming our DNA of 20 years into new formats. We’re thrilled to say we have found that perfect match in Lanzavecchia + Wai.”

Pong is a dining table with hidden compartments to store all the equipment you need for a game of Ping Pong

Hunn Wai explains that the concept for PLAYplay came from studying the Journey East brand and understanding “where they wanted to move towards.” From their research, the duo determined that the new market that the company was looking to appeal to – young couples and families – was “more confident, more fearless” in the type of design decisions they were making for their homes.

Ping benches come with castor wheels

He adds that PLAYplay is a “relook into Southeast Asian design” and is also in response to the “Scandinavian and Industrial movement… coming out on the market.”

The Bazaar work desk is inspired by foodstalls in night markets

The collection is primarily made of Indonesian mahogany, which is a highly valued timber in Southeast Asia. The designs are contemporary with retro influences; they draw their inspiration from Journey East’s 20-year heritage of vintage furniture curation, while also adding a good dose of modern sensibilities and fun into the equation. Each product is conceptualised to respond to the design, proportions and functions of the Southeast Asian modern home, and are multifunctional and full of character, with colours drawn from Asia.

Lanzavecchia + Wai
lanzavecchia-wai.com

PLAYplay
sayplayplay.com

Journey East
journeyeast.com