Following on from last years “Kids Only” collection, Richard Lampert was/were back at Cologne 2012 with a collection of new outdoor furniture

And just as “Kids Only” clearly wasn’t. So too can “Living Outdoor” clearly also be used for “Living Indoor”

Which is important if you live north of Alicante and can’t guarantee your summer will be in any way summary.

Featuring four new products from three of the company’s roster of young design talents, the new collection can be seen as an extension of Lampert’s existing garden and balcony furniture range that includes, for example, the table & bench set Ludwig, the side table Flip or the outdoor version of Herbert Hirche’s monumental Lounge Chair.

Following on from last years Pit Stop beanbag for the “Kids Only” collection, Eindhoven Design Academy graduate Bertjan Pot has developed the chair Tie-Break, a chair made from tennis netting.

An admittedly unconventional material but one chosen specifically because it is weather resistant and so allows the chair to be left outside in all weathers.

Now you know us, we don’t dig furniture made from “everyday items” Tie-break however uses tennis netting material as its base rather than simply re-interpreting how one can use a tennis net.

It’s an important difference. And a wonderful example of how designers have to think when choosing materials for projects. Its not all “Form follows function”.

Cologne native and long-time member of the Richard Lampert team, Eric Degenhardt has created a new folding table, Hook. A delightful balcony table that folds to a sort of flat frying pan form that can be hung up on simple screw.

A further long-term Lampert collaborator Alexander Seifried has created two products for the “Living Outdoor” collection. A sun lounger/day bed by the name Dish’s Island and – and for us the highlight of the collection -  the folding chair MASH. When we first saw MASH we initially thought of a tennis line judge’s chair from back in the day. So way back in the day when tennis racquets were still strung with pig gut.

But the real story behind the chair was revealed in our conversation with Richard Lampert…..

(smow)blog: Garden Furniture. We’re assuming that means things are going so well you are planning kicking back and spending the coming summer lounging in your garden…..

Richard Lampert: Exactly! And as every year I expect that we will very soon be enjoying spring sunshine!

(smow)blog: Optimistic. But we’ll give you that! For the”Living Outdoor” collection you’ve recruited some familiar faces…

Richard Lampert: Yes. We have Alexander Seifried who has developed two pieces, a sun lounger and then a folding chair that is a re-make of an old army folding chair that we found amongst some junk and have re-worked and updated. And we’ve called it MASH after the film and TV series.

(smow) blog: So you were cleaning out the cellar, found it and thought….?

Richard Lampert: …fantastic piece, wonderful chair we’ve got to do something with that!

In addition from Bertjam Pot we have a chair crafted out of tennis netting combined with safety belt material from the automotive industry. And we’re still working with a young Swiss architect on a new table with matching chairs. It wasn’t possible to get that ready in time for Cologne so we’ll introduce that in Milan.

(smow)blog: And how strict was the brief this year. Did you say, for example, to Bertjan Pot that you wanted a chair….

Richard Lampert: No this time it was all very free, we said we wanted “garden furniture” and obviously that doesn’t offer so many possibilities as “kids furniture”. I can make a table, a bench, a sunshade, chair, lounger…. then there is not that much more.

(smow)blog: For the second year in succession your launching your new collection here in Cologne rather than in Milan as most other producers choose to. Why?

Richard Lampert:  Here I have 100 sqm in Milan I only get 50. In Milan I can’t show so much and don’t have the space to create such a presentation as we have here. And then there is the simple fact that Germany is my most important market, and where we make the majority of our turnover and so for me it makes sense to launch our new collection here in Cologne.

Stak by Patrick Frey gets some experts attention.

In addition to his Kids Only Collection, Richard Lampert presented two new products in Milan: Stijl by Alexander Seifried and Stak by Patrick Frey.

Just as developing a kid’s range was long a wish of Richard Lampert, so too was the rehabilitation of the much-maligned kitchen corner bench, once so popular in alpine homes.

We know people who are of the opinion that there is no need to rehabilitate the unparalleled genius that is the corner seat bench. Why have your kitchen chairs standing in the way in the middle of the kitchen when you can have them as a part of the table? Why?

But we’re not everyone.

Deliberately reserved, Stijl is technically not a corner bench unit, but rather is a table bench combination that can supplied as a “normal” table/bench or as a “in our opinion much better” made to measure corner unit.

Constructed from spruce Stijl simply looks like it belong in a kitchen. Which is the whole idea.

Similarly deliberately uncomplicated is Stak by Patrick Frey .

A modular bent steel storage system that can be endlessly extended Stak is available in one depth, two heights and two widths and the individual units simply slot into one another thus allowing tool free construction.

There is in all honesty not much more to say, other than for us it is a sensible extension of the Richard Lampert collection which, apart from the Egon Eiermann shelving, has always lacked storage and shelving.

Stijl by Alexander Seifried for Richard Lampert, shown here with the Prater chair by Marco Dessi

Stak by Patrick Frey for Richard Lampert

Lets get the tricky one out the way first. The Top 5 Tables from the smow design spring. In no particular order.

Liesmichl by Nils Holger Moormann for Moormann

Liesmichl by Nils Holger Moormann for Moormann.
If there’s one thing Moormann excel at it’s producing book friendly furniture. From the outrageous Bookinist over the classically overtoned Bookstabler and onto the book-friendly desk Kant, the Allgauer always seem to have readers at the forefront of their thoughts. And Liesmichl is no exception; space for books your going to read, a place to safely lay the book you are reading when you need/want a break, and a place for your drink and snacks. And if your not convinced check out Nils Holger Moorman on (smow)tube. Liesmichl. Top Table.

Tints by Jason Miller

Tints by Jason Miller.
As we were young scallywags causing mayhem and heartbreak wherever we got the chance, sweeties shone in a wonderfully opaque way. It may have been the memory of those care-free days that first drew our eye to Jason Millers Tints. Or it may have been the gorgeous way the legs fit into the frame, the optic caused by the wood/glass combination. Or it may have been Jake’s glasses. Regardless, however, of “why” we are glad we were drawn to Tints. Beautifully crafted, familiar and inviting in their styling and fresh in their design Tints are truly a table range that can and will provide pleasure in a number of setting. Tints. Top Table.

Flip by Alexander Seifried for Richard Lampert

Flip by Alexander Seifried for Richard Lampert.
If you were to hold us, upside down, over the edge of our balcony by our ankles, we would probably admit that Flip table standing in the corner of our balcony is just a few bits of metal welded together.
But then so is a 1954 Corvette Convertible, Blue Flame Six
With it’s wonderfully timeless elegance, smooth action and universal functionality Flip is a wonderful table for all who have limited space, know how to enjoy the space and don’t want to compromise when it comes to high-quality furniture. Flip. Top Table.

Adenike by Bao-Nghi Droste

Adenike by Bao-Nghi Droste
Admittedly less of a table, and more of an independent work station, Adenike nevertheless makes it into our Top Five Tables. Beautifully crafted, functional, practical and aesthetically charming Adenike is a product that truly achieves the aim the designer set themselves. And despite it’s intended function as a meeting point, we know that if we had one here in our Lower-East Plagwitz Village office we would spend a good deal reading the paper on it, sleeping on it and using it as a refuge from the daily chores. Adenike. Top Table.

ETR by Charles and Ray Eames from Vitra

ETR – Elliptical Table Rod Base by Charles and Ray Eames from Vitra
As if proof were needed that only new design can be good. In Milan we saw the Eamse’s ETR for the first time “live”, as it were, and were truly blown away by it. There is something about the height of the table – or possibly the height to length ratio – that gives the ETR a regency that few other pieces of furniture can ever hope to reach. Laissez fe surf-styling combined with Bauhaus bent steel elegance. Gorgeous. ETR. Top Table.

And a special mention goes to Table Fights. Hasta La Vista