London design duo, Tatjana von Stein and Gayle Noonan aka Sella Concept, are renowned for their dynamic approach to design with a passion for strong narratives and thought-provoking environments. This year, they decided to direct their attention to a new project, one which couples both a personal message and a gap in the market they identified when working on a variety of past residential projects.
Hoping to reach a new customer base for the studio, the ‘Ladies Pond’ collection consists of three stools – ‘Bathers 1,2 and 3’ – inspired by the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath, one of London’s outdoor gems. Representing individual ‘bathers, the three stools are handmade from tulip wood before being finished with a stone composite, a lengthy process which takes three days to perfect for each piece. In a variety of heights, each stool has a distinct silhouette and, in collaboration with textile studio Tibor, is topped with a bouclé upholstered seat pad.
Co-Founders and wives, Tatjana von Stein and Gayle Noonan with the new collection at the Kenwood … [+] Ladies Pond on Hampstead Heath.Sella Concept
The designs were launched last month at Decorex, where the duo took part in creating an installation at the fair, and the studio is hoping this is just the beginning of a new venture for them. Over the vast array of projects they have undertaken, bespoke pieces have been the norm, but now they are excited to bring beautiful creations such as these to a wider audience.
“We will venture further into furniture design while keeping integrity as to why we do it every time and thinking about whether we can achieve it in the most sustainable way.” says von Stein, “It is a wonderful way for us to explore form and material outside of brand and site specific projects and working with a wider audience at heart allows us to explore different themes and processes.”
When discussing the inspiration behind the collection, they explain how the Ladies’ Pond is a hidden treasure in the middle of a huge city where women, regardless of shape or size, can truly feel free. Through the shapely, curvaceous forms of the stools themselves, they are hoping to impart a wider and meaningful message. “With the Ladies Pond stools we want to inspire a sense of pride, comfort and sensuality and continue an important conversation that has been going for a few years now about the joy and freedom that can be found in celebrating your body.”
Von Stein continues, “In this instance, thinking about the ponds and the sense of community they engender, really informed the process, form and material of the final stools.” Simultaneously, the duo, wives and co-founders, were also responding to an issue they had come across themselves. “We realised there was a gap in the market for a unique and stylish bar stool,” states Noonan, “an item that we’ve struggled to find for our own projects.”