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It’s New York Design Week – formally known as ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) and we’re proud as punch to see Australian design on centre stage in the Big Apple.
One especially exciting standout is this STUNNING new lighting range from Melbourne designer Kate Stokes, for NAU. It’s so, so beautiful.
Entitled ‘Jolly’, the range is a playful yet refined offering, available in a variety of configurations, colours and finishes, including black, eucalyptus, burgundy and satin-polished brass.
Kate is a designer we have long admired. She runs her own small design studio, Coco Flip, in Collingwood – and whilst Melbourne is not short of amazing lighting designers, it must be said that there’s not a lot of women in the field (WHY NOT!? We don’t understand). It’s so awesome to see Kate taking this leap and being recognised on a global level, with the backing of a local distributor, NAU (Cult‘s in-house Australian furniture and lighting range).
‘Cult has been a distributor of our Coco Flip products since I first started the brand in 2010’ says Kate. ‘I’m so thrilled to be part of the NAU collective of designers – there is a wealth of knowledge and experience in the team, and I’m really excited about what they can do for the Jolly range in terms of production and distribution. It’s a luxury to be able to focus on the design without taking on all of the financial risk and manufacturing pressures, and to be part of a larger collection of very sophisticated Australian design.’
NAU founder and director Richard Munao shares Kate’s enthusiasm, noting a shared passion for ‘slow design’: craftsmanship, quality, authenticity and supporting local industry.’ The Jolly collection, he says, is ‘reductive in form and timeless in style – with a sense of playful personality that feels inherently Australian.’
With metal shades spun in brass and aluminium in Lilydale, and hand-blown glass globes by local Melbourne-based glass artist Amanda Dziedzic, the ‘Jolly’ takes Australian design and manufacturing to new heights. The collection includes a single rod pendant, double rod pendant and a compact wall light.
‘I started sketching these little Noddy-like objects and really liked their character – playful but still sophisticated,’ says Kate. ‘Since tooling is expensive, I thought it would make sense to design a versatile unit that could work across a range of lighting options. The same blown glass and spun metal shade is used for a wall light, the double rod pendant and single drop pendant’.
But this isn’t all NAU are launching in New York this week. They’re also debuting is the exquisite SIA chair by Tom Fereday for NAU. This lightweight timber chair with moveable backrest is an impeccably slender piece, shaped from solid natural timber. AND it’s stackable.
For those lucky enough to be in NYC for ICFF later this week, pop by stand #1941 to see this stellar Australian line-up from NAU! You can also meet Kate Stokes, and other NAU designers Adam Goodrum and Adam Cornish from 12.00 to 3.00pm each day, May 20th to 23rd.
This range will be shown in Melbourne at DENFAIR, from June 14th to 16th.
