“What art does — maybe what it does most completely — is tell us, make us feel that what we think we know, we don’t. There are whole worlds around us that we’ve never glimpsed.” Greil Marcus — Thursday March 6th — —

I love listening. It is one of the only spaces where you can be still and moved at the same time. — Nayyirah Waheed — Thursday March 6th — —

The idea is to die young as late as possible. — Ashley Montagu — Thursday March 6th — —

Keepsakes

Cologne-based agency Bel Epok has again joined forces with LITOLFF, taking on full design, development and realization responsibilities for a new beautiful homewares line. The collaborative effort was released to the public at 2014 MAISON &OBJETS, where the range of products named Keepsakes was received very positively. Keepsakes is a line of products that was designed for: “the safekeeping of life’s precious objects.” The Cabinet of Wonders, a flexible, functional furniture accessory to suit individual needs is the key piece in the collection. The Cabinet is a elegant wooden box in the style of simple jewel caskets of various sizes can be arranged and decorated as desired to form a personalized sculptural storage unit. Some of the boxes are partially covered with a fine paper, a touch which underscores the use of unorthodox materials and  craftsmanship. Details which are a key in the holistic design and branding approach of Bel Epok. The collection also features extraordinary bowls made of a striking pairing of bisque porcelain and handwoven wicker.

The porcelain body of the bowl is matte hand polished bisque on the outside, inside clear glazed; the rim features hand-punched holes through which strips of Light American Willow rod are expertly wound. From the splitting of the willow rod to the final weaving, the entire wicker-making process is done entirely by hand in a traditional German basket-weaving workshop, one of the very last of its kind. The time-intensive nature of this ancient fine wicker weaving craft has virtually been forced into extinction in Germany, making these bowls not only truly unique keepsakes, but making them somewhat of German cultural heritage as well.

Bel Epok is an agency focussing on refined interdisciplinary design services for the luxury, fashion and design industries. The LITOLFF brand is defined by excellence in design, materials and craftsmanship, making the partnership with Bel Epok a well-fitting match. Bel Epok took on a broad field of responsibilities in the creation of the Keepsakes, from product design, materials and manufacturing sourcing, to marketing and multi-channel communications. Making the project a signature work of Bel Epok always centering on the product, in which they strive for coherence and harmony.

For more information see here and here.