Just to make this clear from the beginning, we believe MINI have a little too much influence on global design at the moment.
And really aren’t that keen on giving them any more publicity.
The scunner is that occasionally, just occasionally, they support projects that are genuinely very good.
One such is the Melbourne furniture collection by Berlin based, Danish designer Sigurd Larsen.
A project that also somewhat undermines our oft repeated assertion that Berlin based designers aren’t as globally recognised as many believe they are.
How did Simon & Garfunkel put it ,”a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”
On this occasion we’re all ears. And like what were hearing.
The Melbourne collection is a series of tables, benches and a day bed crafted from steel, oak, concrete, leather and copper. Or better put crafted from various combinations of steel, oak, concrete, leather and copper.
With its paired down, faux-industrial chic the collection is formally reminiscent of, for example, the “Landscapes for living in” collection by Muller van Severen, or more recently, the L Series chair by Jan Jacobs that was presented as part of the VOMO presentation from Thomas More University College Mechelen students at DMY Berlin 2013.
The interesting aspect of the Melbourne Collection however is the choice of materials, and that the materials have been specially selected with the intention that the true majesty of the pieces only reveals itself to the owner over time. It is, in effect, a collection for the future, not for the present.
Or to quote Sigurd, “Some things are meant to last. Some materials gain qualities over time. Melbourne is a family of furniture designed with materials that carry exactly these characteristics. The more you use them, the more patina they acquire”
Patina as a connection to the past. Which is of course what patina always is. Just rarely, if ever, is it “built in” to a design concept. Actively applied, as it were, as an extra incentive to retain the acquired object and to pass it on to future generations. You have after all contributed to its current physical appearance.
We haven’t seen the Melbourne Collection in persona yet, generous as the bosses are, flights to Australia to look at a couple of tables would be just a little bit decadent – nor do we belong to that select clique of design journalists who enjoy MINI’s patronage. Which is of course just another clique to which we have no access. However judging from the press photos and knowing what we do about Sigurd and his approach to his work, we see no reason to doubt the quality of the objects.
Or that over time a pleasing patina will develop. A patina that will continue to develop and delight in equal measure for decades to come.
Should anyone be in Melbourne in the coming weeks, the Melbourne Collection by Sigurd Larsen can be viewed at the MINI Paceman Concept Store, 250 Chapel Street, Prahran, Melbourne throughout September 2013.
And for the rest of us, some images courtesy of Sigurd Larsen.
Full details on the Melbourne Collection by Sigurd Larsen, and order information, can be found at http://sigurdlarsen.eu
Melbourne Corner Bench by Sigurd Larsen
Melbourne Daybed by Sigurd Larsen
Melbourne Tables and Melbourne Bench by Sigurd Larsen
Melbourne Tables and Melbourne Benches by Sigurd Larsen
