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09.11.24

Up and Coming

Carsten in der Elst Lets the Materials Lead Him Where He Wants to Go

Raw is the adjective that first comes to mind when looking at the work of German designer Carsten in der Elst. There's his Graywacke Offcut Series, for which in der Elst exclusively uses the jagged "crust" that's discarded when turning sandstone slabs into German sidewalks; his Accession chair, whose seat is formed from a sawn carpet of latex tubes resembling pasta noodles; and his ongoing Aluskin seating series, whose shells are crafted from the cast-off skins salvaged from high-precision aluminum production and whose cushions are foam remnants that puff up, lumpily, like loaves of sandwich bread. His designs feel contemporary and fresh but continue the red thread of predecessors like JB Blunk, Max Lamb, and Kwangho Lee (the former two in der Elst cites as inspiration). Like in der Elst, all of these designers seem to tease form from a material, allowing its inherent properties to lead to the final shape. 
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06.23.26

The Weekly

I Expected to Love My First 3Days of Design in Copenhagen. But I Could Never Have Anticipated What Would Make It So Great.

If you can believe it, this was my first year attending 3DaysofDesign in Copenhagen, and I went to the fair, now in its 10th year, armed with absurdly high expectations. I knew that just existing in Copenhagen in early June — using Lime bikes to cycle around, drinking natural wine, eating smørrebrød — would set a good baseline for fun. But after my experience at Salone, which I wrote about here, I felt increasingly desperate for Copenhagen to mean something. I told people I was going because, as a chronicler of design fair culture, I felt compelled to see one that had become such a word-of-mouth success. But on a personal level, it’s like I needed Copenhagen to prove to me that design fairs were still worth attending. As hesitant as I am to say this — lest everyone frantically start planning their show next year in Denmark, which is simply not the right move for everyone — Copenhagen actually exceeded my expectations.
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