Hungarian designer Kata Monus has incorporated the textile designer philosophy in designing furniture. The designer has made the textile an integral part of the object. The object has acquired the characteristics that places it among the artistically hand-made, limited edition furniture pieces.
What we received from the designer, Kata Monu:
“For my graduation project I have decided to design an experimental piece of furniture, a storage object which is going to be produced with a textile designer’s philosophy. In this object soft material meets a different quality one, and this way it departs from the usual schemes of furniture design and makes the textile an integral part of the object far beyond practical application.
As a textile designer student I have decided to apply a kind of reverse designing method, contrary to the common ways of designing. Due to the experimental nature of the object, I have focused on the contact of different quality materials and attempted an experiment with them. I have endeavored to keep a certain openness in which allows the material to have an impact on both shape and function.
The completed object does not put an emphasis on bare functionality. In clothes design there is a clear division between “haute couture” (high quality and spectacular but not particularly functional clothes) and “prêt-à-porter” (clothes designed for everyday use), a similar difference also appears in contemporary furniture designing. My object resembles features which place it among artistically handcrafted, limited edition and design-oriented pieces of furniture.
It consists of two pieces of body, made of ash, and a circle-knitted textile structure connecting them. The extension of the textile part can be conveniently adjusted by moving the wooden elements against one another, by separating or just piecing them together.
My object is a piece of an experiment. “Gesture furniture” might be a proper label for it, since it is a materialization of my thoughts and feelings in an object which stands between design and fine art. The designing process can also be conceived as searching for and finally finding a way. I also consider the further development of this conception possible, and in the future I would be pleased to be involved in the realization of furniture of similar philosophy.”
