In its distinctive minimalist style, engaging curvilinear articulations and pillowy volumes characterize Japanese design studio Nendo’s new collection of furniture and indoor design objects for lifestyle brand ZENS.
Giving the appearance of cairns or the rock-stacking demarkations found along wilderness trails and elsewhere, the Stone collection features a series of stackable ceramic tea and coffee sets with round stone-like lids. The series also includes square and long plates featuring stone-shaped resting indentions, Nendo writes.
These stones may also function as small pots and can be used by pouring sauces inside. For the round plates, the stone is sunken into the central part, sauces may accumulate further emphasizing the stone and resulting in an independent appearance.
Dezeen writes the tea set includes an iron kettle and a teapot for Chinese tea, each with a soft perforated silicone lid that doubles as a tea strainer.
Meanwhile, display system Chirp features a unique modular arrangement of ceramic vessels on a tree-like stand Nendo explains the image of birds sitting on a power line influenced the design, Nendo writes.
The number of vases can be increased to hold more flowers and reduced when there are fewer flowers. Depending on what is on display, the vases can be added or reduced accordingly. Accessories, such as necklaces, or keys can be hung on the stands. Additionally, vases and containers can be used on the desk to keep some small items, pens or clips.
Picto is a four-piece furniture collection composed of of a table, stool, small shelf and storage container drawing inspiration from the Chinese pictogram.
Hieroglyphics such as Chinese pictogram and Kanji represent the meaning of a character by using corresponding “radical”, like “氵(Sanzui)” that represents things related to water or liquid, or “艹 (Kusakanmuri)” that represents things related to plants.
For the four pieces, cohesion was achieved through a unifying triangle pedestal.
“Similar to a Kanji, where one word is a combination of multiple meanings; by arranging three-dimensional shapes in different ways, we can form a variety of furniture pieces.” -Nendo.
ZENS is a high quality tableware design and manufacturing brand and was established in 2009. ZENS’s designers are collective of creative minds from Japan, China and Italy who are passionate to bring oriental lifestyle to the world with simple, innovative and modern concepts.
Photographs by: Akihiro Yoshida
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