We were in Dubai
It is a photograph of the DUE booth at the fairs in Dubai. It covers 15 m2. Small is beautiful! The DUE emblem was "wine barrel furniture". It was clear, although DUE makes furniture of old wood as well.
The walls are covered with graphics of DUE realisations, and a DUE designer's pastels are on the left side.
The DUE booth was visited by about 150 people, including 100 natural persons, in particular residents of Dubai. About 50 guests were representatives of various companies, most often interior design companies. So the fair statistics were good. DUE's pre-Dubai target was 100 guests.
DUE premiered its realisations at the main international fairs. As with every premiere, it felt a bit stressful, since collections and design concepts were subject to rating. Who can rate a furniture collection reliably? Certainly, interior designers' verdicts may be conclusive. After all, not hairdressers' and cooks' verdicts – it is obvious. Nevertheless, contemporary hairdressers and cooks are somewhat designers in their fields.
Interior designers' verdict was unanimously positive. None of them was against. They stressed the courage and originality of material and form. Realisations' carpentry technique was faultless which was not left unnoticed. Product uniqueness is an important feature, especially if this originality is constructive. Such features were raised by guests of the DUE exhibition. They did not spare praise.
Let us introduce the realisations presented at the INDEX Fairs 2017.
MANHATTAN Model.
An ambitious design of a coffee table, basically – of a table. It has two glass tops incorporated into a wooden structure which simulates modern urban developments. Evident influences of constructivism and cubism can be seen. The structure of the table is basically a modernist sculpture of heavy, strong form. Wooden elements are made of old wood which comes from a Ukrainian cottage from the first half of the 20th century. Its texture clearly reflects the age of the wood used. Glass tops are 15 millimetres thick. The design is also a perfect combination of different origins of the materials used. The table as such is intended for up to four sitting persons, but it can be rescaled as desired. It is part of a wider collection of coffee tables in the form of naturalistic quasi-sculptures with a glass top on them.
TULIP Model.
This coffee table is basically a constructivist sculpture which simulates a tulip flower. The design makes skilful use of curvatures of wine barrel staves. The asymmetry of the coffee table's base elements has a naturalistic dimension. The structure is topped with 10 millimetre-thick round glass. This sophisticated design can decorate any living room, office, porch, wine cellar. It is part of a wider collection of coffee tables in the form of naturalistic quasi-sculptures with a glass top on them. The coffee table can be rescaled and the flower structure – multiplied.
DIE KORKENMASCHINE Model.
This is a spectacular piece of furniture made entirely of elements coming from two barrels. Its foot is made of a double lid, while its leg – of thin staves. Both come from a 225-litre barrel. Its top is double. The bottom one is made of a 500-litre barrel lid, while the upper one – of tempered glass (1 cm thick). Both tops are separated by two crossed staves and an acrylic cover. Its glass pane is mounted on four brass discs. Wine corks are placed inside. You can put more than 500 wine corks inside this large space between the tops.
YOKO Model.
This bench is designed for two people and made of a French oak barrel, which was used to store Piedmontese Barolo. It has two comfortable seats. This piece of furniture may be the pride of both a garden and a tasteful interior, for example a wine cellar. Its form resembles a shelf, although only superficially. However, it may serve as a rack for a few bottles of wine. The project is characterised by a constructive dynamics, perfectly combining the vintage style with modernism. You can also observe Japanese reminiscences. This piece of furniture discreetly conceals its real nature – a bench for two, thus providing it with an enigmatic aura. In short, it gives the project the soul. It bears some characteristics of a constructivist sculpture whose simplest elements, in this case barrel elements, affect every viewer through tensions arising from relations between them.
BOLD Model.
An armchair made of a 10-year-old barrel with a capacity of 225 litres. The barrel was used to store wine from Eger, Hungary. The structure was made entirely of oak staves. The seat is constructed on the basis of two frames joined by seat and backrest staves. The frames are a combination of a front leg, an armrest, a seat frame, as well as a back leg and a backrest. The structure is specially reinforced, thus the armchair is very durable. The staves bear the shades of red wine. Thanks to appropriate treatment, the structure is dark red and brown.
FUSION II Model.
An armchair made of a 225-litre Hungarian barrel, which was used to store wine produced based on Pinot Noir, Merlot, Kekfrankos. This resulted in different colour shades of staves used for construction. The project made exclusively of barrel elements.