plenty Issue 20 Feb/Mar 2008 | Page 57

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Ins and Outs

Photos by © Peter Aaron/Esto (opposite); courtesy of Hazz Gallery shot by Ali Bekman (this page, bottom right)

When it’s cold outside, whimsical, far-from-gloomy
designs like these bring fun and function indoors
Hung in to Dry
Your undies have never looked
so avant-garde: Netherlandsbased designer Monique
Horstmann’s pleasingly bulbous indoor drying rack derives its shape from typical
items of clothing but adds a
modern, graphic appeal to the
traditional clothesline (think
pants, shirts, and underwear
outlines hanging from your
wall). It’s also a stylish alternative to energy-sucking dryers.
The Dry Line is made of waterheated tubes, so just place
clothes on it, and any central
heating system—or better yet,
sunshine—will do the rest.

Rush Party

English artist Felicity Irons’ hand-sewn creations are nothing if not versatile, appearing in upscale stores like Ralph Lauren, in
the Ridely Scott film Gladiator, in exhibits
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York, and at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
Her latest, the Rush Matters mattress,
adds texture and gravitas to the modern
home and can be used on the floor or as
bench seating. Composed of pure bulrush
harvested from the Ouse and Nene rivers
in northern England, the result is raw, unadulterated, and complexly beautiful; much
like nature itself. $650, rushmatters.info

$750 for over 3 feet,
moniquehorstmann.com

Well Lit

Tord Boontje’s lively interpretation of the traditionally stuffy chandelier isn’t just a coveted
design-crowd accessory. Called Come Rain or Come Shine, it’s handmade by members of
Coopa-Roca, a women’s cooperative in Rio de Janeiro’s largest shantytown. Artecnica’s
Design With Conscience program helps build communities of artisans in developing countries,
allowing co-op me mbers to use their homes as workshops. The vibrant, textural chandelier
has a metal core adorned with cascading cotton, organza, and silk flowers, achieving—dare
we say it—humanitarian chic. starting at $450, artecnicainc.com for retailers

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