Salt of the earth: Furniture collection made from sodium crystals

Their experimental debut collection, now on show at the Sight Unseen OFFSITE exhibition at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York, includes a rough and graphic reductionist series of stools and tables made from pink crystallised Himalayan salt, corse beige sand, shiny silica and dark ground coffee.

Contrasting smooth concrete surfaces with raw textured gradients, large cloudy salt crystals are layered with softly pigmented smooth cement. ‘We wanted to explore the shared language of art and furniture in the composition of the pieces and to consider strict geometry versus the organic,’ Mastrangelo tells LS:N Global. Recontextualising commonplace materials and edibles, the pair have created an experimental and abstract collection of furniture that includes a textured table made from varying grain sizes of rich dark coffee. The piece has a subtle marbleised table top made from finer grains to achieve a pattern reminiscent of the delicate veining of marble.

For more recent examples of designers exploring experimental materials, read our Part 1 and Part 2 reports from the Salone Internazionale del Mobile Milan 2014.

LS:N Global will be reporting from ICFF and NYCxDesign, so keep an eye on our Seed and Shows sections.