‘summertime collection’ by nika zupanc on show at spazio rosanna orlandi during milan design week 2012 image © designboom

the ‘summertime’ collection by slovenian designer nika zupanc, takes on classic furniture pieces – a lamp, a chair and a table – and re-interprets their generic nature by enhancing them with familiar but unexpected details…

presented during milan design week 2012 at spazio rossana orlandi, the objects are stripped down to their purist form, whereby their utilitarian value is only further highlighted through the simplicity of the materials used to construct them.

nika zupanc: summertime ‘summertime chair and table’ image © designboom

tubular metal provides the framework of the foldable ‘summertime chair’. the copper-hued support is paired with a black, satin-like upholstery emblazoned with an embroidered iconic summer visual, an anchor, stirring up images of the seaside and other novel connotations related to warmer weather.

nika zupanc: summertime the ‘summertime chair’ is emblazoned with an iconic summer visual, an anchor image © designboomthe ‘summertime table’ is designed as a surface of purification and temptation. it takes on the challenges of a sleek coffee table, but features toy-like winding mechanisms which hint at the potential of switching perspectives. on one side, it is an impromptu blackboard, perfect for jotting down emotional bits and bops, while on the other, there is a full length vanity mirror.

nika zupanc: summertime ‘summertime table’ transforms into a blackboard or full length vanity mirror (folded ‘summertime chair’ in the foreground) image © designboom

nika zupanc: summertime ‘bubble lamps’ image © designboom

produced in collaboration with the italian glass company vistosi, the ‘bubble lamps’ blow-up the proportions of murano glass. executed in the form of large pink balls, this series of lights implies the role of an invader in the mise-en-scène of lord byron’s venice. taking venetian street lamps as their poetic starting point, their perfectly shaped large spherical appearance giving off a smokey haze of light.

nika zupanc: summertime profile of the ‘summertime chair’ folded and open photo by dragan arrigler nika zupanc: summertime the chair in its folded state photo by dragan arrigler

nika zupanc: summertime the ‘summertime tablet features toy-like winding mechanisms which hint at the potential of changing the object’s use photo by dragan arrigler

nika zupanc: summertime ‘summertime chair and table’ photo by dragan arrigler