CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT,
PREPARING TO SILKSCREEN
AN ELEMENT OF SPACE
POPULAR’S DESIGN; THE
ENAMEL PLATES’ COLOURS
ARE SET IN A FURNACE; PARTS
OF BUREAU SPECTACULAR
AND POINT SUPREME’S SIGNS
WAITING TO BE PAINTEDArchitectural Association graduates Lara Lesmes and
Fredrik Hellberg founded Space Popular in Bangkok
in 2013. Their work combines spaces, product design,
graphics and research, and their multidisciplinary
approach is evident in their Handmade piece. Playing
with the idea of a sign as an anthropomorphic shelf
unit, the duo’s creation is a comment on artificial
intelligence in the home and how it heightens the
connection between human and objects, furniture and
architecture. The three-dimensional piece includes
face-shaped patterns hidden within its design, as well
as a quote in Colophon’s Value Sans Regular font:
‘Love your home and it will love you back’.
Point Supreme, founded in Rotterdam and now
based in Athens, took an entirely different approach
for its sign. With output that encompasses private
houses, public work and exhibition design, the
studio was happy to turn its hand to a smaller-scale
project for Handmade. In their piece, co-directors
Konstantinos Pantazis and Marianna Rentzou reiterate
Charles Eames’ famous advice, ‘Take your pleasure
seriously’. The architects drew inspiration from classicAmerican 1950s signage, matching a tastefully retro
aesthetic to the traditional enamelling technique used
to create the sign. Featuring a selection of Colophon’s
specially drawn fonts and a sun-shaped background
that nods to the light-filled summers of Greece, the
finished sign radiates warmth and optimism.
Bureau Spectacular’s sign, bearing the motto
‘Anywaythewindblows’, draws on the power of
acceptance and relaxation – in keeping with this year’s
Handmade theme of wellness – encouraging the viewer
to take what life throws at them and go with the flow.
Headed by Jimenez Lai and Joanna Grant, the
interdisciplinary studio has a distinctive aesthetic and
an experimental approach, combining architecture
with art, technology and graphic design. The duo’s sign
is ‘a manifestation of the superimposition of positive
and negative space’, say the designers.
At Émaillerie Belge, after the steel base for each sign
is cut, the team blends the perfect enamel mix, which
traditionally consists of three elements: glass frits
(crushed glass particles), pigments and thickeners. The
base colour is sprayed on before the piece is fired in a102 ∑
Making Of...