click > enlarge
Few designers manage to navigate with such conviction between design, art and craft, between social conscience and mass market, between sustainability and aesthetic value. Stephen Burks has a unique voice.
above> Dala | Dedon | 2012 | Inspired by improvised seating in the developing world, Dala is Stephen’s first collaboration with woven outdoor furniture manufacturer Dedon. Dala means “to make” in Senegalese and “to take” in Tagalog, the language of the Philippines, where Stephen spent over a week collaborating with artisans there to perfect the collection. In addition to the innovative use of an expanded aluminum structure, each Dala is woven with a 75 percent recycled polyethylene and Tetra-Pak extruded Dedon fiber.
Play | Kvadrat Hallingdal 65 Commission | 2012 | 7 Renowned Curators, 32 Talented Designers, 1 Iconic Textile. Selected by US curator Jeffrey Bernett and exhibited at the Jil Sander showroom during the 2012 Salone del Mobile as part of Kvadrat’s Hallingdal 65 anniversary exhibition, Stephen’s project was quite simply a textile display system called Play. Play is free-standing. Play is human scale. Play is portable. Play is effortless. Play hides things. Play absorbs sound. Play defines space. Play is colorful.
above> Panier Collection | Chevalier Edition | 2012 | Inspired by the spiral pattern of hand woven baskets, the Panier carpets for Parisian brand Chevalier Edition, are organic islands of hand-knotted color for the home.
above> Roping | Dedar | After perusing the beautifully delicate and graphically arresting collection of Dedar Milano, in collaboration with Dedar creative director, Raffaele Fabrizio, Stephen came to the conclusion that what all textiles have in common is “A Thread!” or many threads in composition with each other. Using the thread as a fundamental element or starting point for the exploration of Dedar Roping, Stephen quickly began looking for a more structurally analogous material from which to construct something 3-dimensional. For Dedar Roping, Stephen would explore ropes ability to become supportive in section, exposing all of its many loose threads in relation to the sophisticated variety of trimmings offered by Dedar Milano.
above/below> inside out | swarovski crystal lighting collection | 2011 | Chandeliers and sconces using crystals in a functional rather than a decorative manner. The basic primary shapes are lit from the inside with LEDs creating a prismatic effect of refracted light.
