ABOVE LEFT, AN EARLY
PROTOTYPE OF THE HUGGING
COLUMN SHOWS SOME OF THE
ELEMENTS THAT GO INTO A
SAVOIR BED, SUCH AS A LAYER
OF PURE LAMBSWOOL AND AN
INTERIOR OF POCKET SPRINGS
ABOVE RIGHT, TUFTING OF
THE COLUMN’S KVADRAT
FABRIC-CLAD OUTER LAYER
TO ENSURE AN EVEN SPREAD
OF FILLING WITHIN
OPPOSITE, MAE ENGELGEER
IN FRONT OF POCKET
SPRINGS AT SAVOIR BEDS’
WORKSHOP IN LONDONallpaper* Handmade projects have a habit of
taking designers and manufacturers outside their
comfort zones and turning creative expectations on
their heads. This was certainly the case when we
asked British manufacturer Savoir Beds to transform
one of its finely crafted beds into a vertical, huggable
installation for our Wellness + Wonder showcase.
‘I was excited by the whole idea,’ says the company’s
managing director Alistair Hughes. ‘The Wellness +
Wonder theme fits perfectly with Savoir’s raison d’être:
providing a beautiful night’s sleep.’ Having debuted in
1905 with bespoke beds for the Savoy Hotel, the brand
produces handmade beds in its London workshop
using natural materials, such as horse hair, cashmere
and lambswool, and traditional techniques, from
hand-teasing (manipulating the curled, loose hair) to
tufting (ensuring an even fill).
To collaborate on the project, we approached
Mae Engelgeer, a Dutch textile designer who has also
embraced product and furniture design. Her recent
work – including a series of rugs for CC-Tapis, tables
and shelves for Baars & Bloemhoff, and wallpapers
for Texturae – comprises a study of curves and simple
geometric shapes, and her concept for our hugging
column is equally well-rounded. The design, ‘a soft,
half moon-shaped shelter’, takes a Savoir Beds mattress
and flips it vertically, curving it at the edges to create
a cocoon; enter for a moment of quiet contemplation,
or hug it from the outside for mental and physical
comfort. It’s the antithesis of a punch bag.‘I studied Savoir Beds to see what makes their bedding
so special,’ says Engelgeer, who then integrated key
facets into her design. The company’s springs and the
traditional lambswool and horse hair elements are
visible on the column’s open sides, which expose the
inner workings of a Savoir creation. Engelgeer also
worked new materials into the installation – a textile
she had developed with Kvadrat, produced in a special
hue for this project, and terrazzo flooring by Aectual.
‘Mae really threw herself into the project, and took
the time to fully understand the skills and processes
used by our craftspeople,’ says Hughes. ‘Her approach
was to incorporate our strengths into the design
while staying true to her vision; she worked wonders in
terms of bringing the tradition of our skills into a very
contemporary piece.’
Although the Savoir team are used to working on
one-off, bespoke creations, Hughes admits they were
‘initially bemused’ at the prospect of creating a vertical
bed of sorts. However, ‘like any group of highly skilled
craftspeople, they love to try new things and push their
skills to the limit’, he says. ‘The number of selfies at the
end showed the pride the team took in the work.’
When it was displayed at Wallpaper* Handmade in
Milan this year, the hugging column proved a strong,
totemic presence. ‘I think this project is really about
wellness first,’ says Engelgeer. ‘To take the time to hug,
to let go of everyday life. When you do that, you get
time to wonder, and that can inspire the best ideas.’ ∂
mae-engelgeer.nl; savoirbeds.co.ukW
150 ∑