1. Skip to navigation
  2. Skip to content
  3. Skip to sidebar

Poetry in Wicker

By Jeremy Bloom on Thursday, March 13th, 2008

Image: Poetry in Wicker

Tonecoon lounger. Designed by Bannavis Andrew Sribyatta. Manufactured by PIE.

Summer is coming (not fast enough), and it’s time to start thinking about lounging around in the backyard. The problem is plastic furniture is mostly awful, and wicker furniture is so beyond last year - it’s barely even last century.

But not this wicker. Coming from the manic minds of PIE (Project Import Export), with names like Spoon Lounge, Sushi Daybed and Tonecoon, these organic objects look like they sprung up out of the earth like giant wickery mushrooms.

Bannavis Andrew Sribyatta, the architect-turned-furniture-designer who conceived the line, says he wanted to explore the ultimate concept of living space in relation to the complexity of nature. Take one look at the manic weaves he hand-crafts and you’ll have to agree he reaches that goal. Lots of others are noticing too, from The Cooper-Hewett National Design Museum to the Sundance Channel, whose eco-show, Big Ideas for Small Planet, has a segment on PIE coming up in April.

And they’re comfy, too. The Tonecoon in particular envelops you in an oddly cozy, womblike, space-pod sort of way.

Larger

Some new products from PIE: Spaghetti PE (top-left) and Spoon Lounge PE (bottom-right).

As a bonus, the materials are sustainable as well. Not only does PIE work with the usual rattan, liana, and bamboo, but they’re also weaving the invasive water hyacinth, a notorious waterway-fouling weed. You’ll be pleased to know that its toughness and flexibility make it a strong, long-wearing material for furniture.

“This ain’t yo mamma’s wicker,” says Sribyatta, and we’d have to agree.

Look out for PIE at CA BOOM V this weekend in Santa Monica, California. I’ll be there myself so look out for me as well.

Popularity: 51% [?]

Tags:

More from this author

Jeremy Bloom has been writing about truth, beauty and other such nonsense for more than 20 years. He has worked both in building and design, at places such as Barn Raisers, a not-for-profit construction company, and Lunar Logic, a software development firm. Somewhere in his life, he was also a contractor and carpenter. Believe it or not, his lodging history is as varied as his work experience - after living in New York City, Jerusalem, Toronto, Santa Monica and Portland (as in Oregon), he recently moved to the eco-paradise of Powell River, British Columbia, north of Vancouver. He lives by the ocean with his fiance, Lyra, and their cats Navi and Sylvanus.

1 Comment Add your own

by Hayden Hughes March 13th, 2008

this is super cool - i saw it last year at ICFF in NYC. Even the brochure/pamphlet I walked away with was sweet. on a side note, is it me, or does that adjacent/connected cocktail table feel like an eardrum? just thought i’d mention that.

Share your thoughts...