Collaboration Nation
Three brands known for innovation and style forge new design partnerships.
FLORENSE X ASCARI
Florense calls itself a Brazilian company with Italian heritage, so it makes perfect sense that they would join forces with Helio Ascari, scion of the Ascari Formula 1 racing family. Ascari created Ascari Bicycles in 2011, and is known for his handcrafted, luxurious bicycles.
Ascari says, “When my wife and I bought a house in Bedford NY, Florense was my first choice for the remodeling of our kitchen. Visiting their showroom in Manhattan, I couldn’t stop thinking about the endless possibilities how this could be a great opportunity to explore my creativity, and design a selection of items.”
Ascari’s leather wrapping technique complements Florense’s elegant, organic style in a line of seven pieces, including coffee and side tables, coat racks, and chairs. The pieces will be offered in limited edition versions, and will come in two exotic wood options.
Florense combines sustainable principles with state-of-the-art craftsmanship to incorporate and translate those materials into beautiful furniture and cabinetry.
COSENTINO X PATTERNITY
Designed by London-based pattern experts and designers, PATTERNITY, in collaboration with Cosentino’s Design Team, the Liquid Dekton collection offers three new innovative colors. Anna Murray and Grace Winteringham of PATTERNITY (at right), created a state-of-the-art, innovative trio of patterns inspired by liquid, and touching on the future of global trends.
True to the PATTERNITY ethos, the collection’s concept centers around the beauty of nature, environmental awareness, and celebrating sustainable design practice. Colors in the collection are Liquid Sky, Liquid Shell, and Liquid Embers, making tangible the power of liquid, and offering a chance to integrate swirling, rippling, and fluid ideas into everyday spaces. Liquid Sky (below right), is a marbled, cloud-like pattern with a white base and flowing gray veins. Liquid Shell (below left), celebrates what lies below the ocean’s surface, and is reminiscent of the subtle ebb and flow of the tide.
ABOUTWATER X PAIK SUN KIM AND MICHAEL ANASTASSIADES
Aboutwater, a collaborative brand founded by Boffi and Fantini in 2010, has a history of collaborating with cutting-edge designers to produce architectural, beautiful fixtures. In 2017, the brand launched AK/25, designed by Paik Sun Kim (above left), and AA/27 designed by Michael Anastassiades (above right) in 2018. Other designers who have worked with Aboutwater include Piero Lissoni and Naoto Fukasawa, who designed the first collections, AF/21 and AL/23 respectively.
Anastassiades’s collection features a harmonious design in a range from tub fillers to faucets and showers. Kim’s designs are available in sleek matte black, and stand out for their unique innovation and Asian aesthetic.
