Tight-Knit Clique: Furniture Meets Electric Appliances

The collection, by CLIQUE Editions – a collaboration between designers Claudio Larcher, Filippo Protasoni and Simone Simonelli and design companies Odone Marmi and Lilea Design– brings the very different worlds of furniture design and electrical appliances together in a series of objects, including a bookcase with an integrated marble bluetooth speaker and a marble ultrasonic humidifier.

The project, which aired at Milan Design Week 2014, aims to bring furniture design into the 21st century. 'Each product has an electric heart,' say the designers, who describe their range as 'linked to brand new daily gestures' as well as to devices such as smartphones and tablets. Round sofa Refill features palm-sized holding bays that can wirelessly recharge smartphones, while mini-kitchen K combines an induction hob with a tablet dock.

CLIQUE Editions’ collection is a great example of the artistic technology we profiled in our Fem Tech design direction. For other collisions between technology and unexpected fields, read our Fashion Tech market report.