Jan 13, 2012

Accent On Design Accepts Four New Companies Into A+: The Young Designers’ Platform

Four design studios – all less than a year old – have been invited to participate in the “A+: The Young Designers’ Platform” showcase within Accent on Design® at the winter 2012 New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®). These emerging designers will travel to New York, from Europe, Canada and the United States, to introduce new and innovative products, including housewares, furnishings, lighting and jewelry.

“For most of these young designers, NYIGF will mark their debut in the wholesale market,” said Dorothy Belshaw, GLM senior vice president and NYIGF director. “Their brand new, strikingly innovative concepts enrich the modern, design-driven collections showcased throughout Accent on Design.”

A+ Participant Profiles

Hongchao Wang & Peng you, Benwu Studio
Established in June 2011, Benwu Studio is an independent design studio based in both London,England, and Columbus, Ohio. Founders Hongchao Wang and Peng You are undergraduate students at CCAD (Columbus College of Art & Design) and CSM (Central St Martin’s), respectively. The team designs home accessories inspired by fashion, architectural elements and Zen philosophy, with a focus on materials, traditional techniques and crafts. The studio’s signature products include the “Sunmao” three-legged stool incorporating ancient Chinese design techniques; the “Mapo” tofu knife made of bamboo to prevent giving a metallic flavor to food; and the “Giggle” wool felt reusable tote bag. www.benwustudio.com

David Litzler, Gambrel Workshop
A lighting designer and maker, David Litzler is the founder of Seattle-based Gambrel Workshop. Litzler studied architecture at the University of Oklahoma , then spent a decade in Seattle providing custom residential design. Merging his formal education with a familiarity with shop tools and equipment, Litzler opened his designer/maker studio in July 2011.

The Gambrel Workshop will introduce its inaugural product, the Helen Lamp, handmade from 16 gauge mild steel which is folded, welded and powder coated in a selection of five colors. www.gambrelworkshop.com

Sarah Brousseau, Cleo Poirier-Muszynski, and Marie-Christine Rondeau, PANOPLIE
PANOPLIE was founded in April 2011 in Montreal, Québec, when three Université de Montréal students – Sarah Brousseau, Cleo Poirier Muszynski and Marie-Christine Rondeau – teamed up for a design project as part of their Bachelors in Industrial Design. Following the development of a product, they launched their business soon thereafter.

PANOPLIE will introduce its first product, “Gluk,” a wine glass coaster and identifier. The product, offered as a multi-colored set, provides multiple solutions when attached to the bottom of a wine glass. Each color identifies to whom the glass belongs, and it is made of supple ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), which protects furniture from damage and eliminates the need for a coaster.www.bonjourgluk.com

Ruti Stopnitzki, MEANING
A winner of the Willem Sandberg Award for design excellence, Ruti Stopnitzki is an accomplished creative director, designer and design lecturer. A graduate of the Bazalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem , Stopnitzki spent two years learning advanced fabrication techniques, which enhanced her graphic design and jewelry expertise.

In March 2011, Stopnitzki launched MEANING from her home in Amsterdam . The first collection is a jewelry line featuring “typography-based design,” which translates two-dimensional drawings and typography into wearable three-dimensional miniature sculptures with bold and expressive silhouettes. Each piece is produced with Selective Laser Sintering, a fabrication technique using a high-power laser to fuse tiny particles of nylon powder. www.meaningstore.com

A+ applicants are selected by the Accent on Design Selection Committee, whose members for Winter 2012 include: David Alhadeff of The Future Perfect; Ilene Shaw of Shaw + Co! Productions; Kathy Thornton-Bias of MoMA; Laura Young of Areaware; Miguel Calvo of Calvo.co; and Wilma Wabnitz of Wabnitz Editions.

“A+: The Young Designers’ Platform” at Accent on Design runs Sunday, January 29, through Thursday, February 2, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. For more than 25 years, Accent on Design has been the industry’s leading source of design-driven gift, home and lifestyle merchandise. Its dynamic, juried collection of contemporary and innovative products is presented semi-annually as a division of the New York International Gift Fair®.

NYIGF is the nation’s premier gift, home and lifestyle marketplace, with 2,800+ exhibiting companies featuring an extraordinary breadth and depth of design-driven home fashion products and complementary giftware. The winter market takes place Saturday, January 28, through Thursday, February 2, 2012, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 92 and 94. Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 80 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nyigf.com.