Dezeen Magazine

Safety Vase by Hannah Niskanen-Benady

Safety Vase by Hannah Niskanen-Benady

Kingston University graduate Hannah Niskanen-Benady presented this series of side tables that incorporate knitted containers at graduate show New Designers in London over the weekend.

Safety Vase by Hannah Niskanen-Benady

Niskanen-Benady designed the hallway or bedside tables for stashing small items like keys, coins and jewellery.

Safety Vase by Hannah Niskanen-Benady

A hole in the walnut surface of each Safety Vase table holds the cashmere and merino wool vases, hanging below the table top.

Safety Vase by Hannah Niskanen-Benady

New Designers Part 2 took place from 6 to 9 July.

See more stories about this year's graduate shows »

Here's some more information from Hannah Niskanen-Benady:


Hallway and Bedside Tables, Cashmere and merino hand knit framed by a solid walnut top and hand turned legs.

 

Experimenting with hard and soft materials and textures has been the muse for the Safety Vase series. The Safety Vase series empathises with wood and wool's emotional and physical qualities to create a safe hideaway for one's treasures. Knit holds connotations of safety, warmth and softness. Wood is a traditional furniture material that represents strength and longevity. The Safety Vase series explores and celebrates these qualities. It questions current furniture typologies and asks whether the emotional warmth of knit can be introduced to the hard world of wooden furniture.

A safe hideaway for those treasures that have a tendency to be misplaced has been created. The vase like form invites the user to touch and feel the softness of the wool whilst playfully hiding objects away, this furniture series is about experiencing the knit. It poses the question of why cant the first thing you touch when you wake up in the morning or come in from work be soft and comforting.

The knit is framed and contrasted by the hardness of the wood, both the minimal legs and the table top create a frame around the vase without distracting from it.