Design

Clay is the New Marble

Words Micha van Dinther & Magnus Wittbjer 

Following on from the seasonal nature of fashion trends, the world of interior design has also embraced the concept of transience. Materials, shapes, colours and textures are replaced by new ones, at a pace not dissimilar to the clothing industry and its ever-changing collections. What was ”in” this spring is now ”out” and feels a little dated.

            For us fashion-conscious Swedes, the phenomenon gives us an excuse to get rid of all these gleaming white marble objects that fill our homes (and between you and me, they do indeed feel sooo 2013). This also happens to be the year when terracotta reemerged at the Stockholm Furniture Fair as the new, hot it-material.

For 2015, the industry is convinced that terracotta will take over our lives and the brownish-red clay will make its way into our homes in the form of candle sticks, lamp shades and even air conditioners.

The latter is a smart, environmentally and politically correct device called Cold Pot, conceived by French native and San Francisco-based designer Thibault Faverie. The porous material absorbs water from the inside and is released through evaporation, forming a cooling mist in the process.

Swedish brand Cult Design has launched *Grow Green* – a compact ”garden” for all us urban dwellers with a secret dream of country life. If nothing else, Grow Green is a pleasant replacement for those hideous little plastic pots containing herbs that you get at your local supermarket. Other great examples of the use of terracotta in design are the Globo candle sticks by Kähler, the Material Pendant by Nevvvorks, the Pourer Pot collection by Menu and the Drawn From Clay plates from Makkum.

Much can be said about terracotta (which roughly translates into ”cooked dirt”), its aesthetic and its rustic personality, and whether you like it or not, the material is very versatile and has been put to an enormous number of uses since the dawn of time.

We like the historic connection, flexible use and its intrinsic properties that can turn ancient usefulness into decorative and practical modern objects for the modern home.