Over the weekend I made two visits to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), leaving me footsore, inspired, and not quite sure where to start my post. Looking through my snaps afterwards, I managed to group some of what I saw into a few broad trends. It’s a good a way to approach this mammoth show as any, so here goes:

Trend: Folded, faceted, crumpled and pleated

I saw this approach most strikingly at Canadian company Molo, who unsurprisingly took away the Editors’ Award for the best booth. Their pleated card and Tyvek dividers, chairs and Cloud Softlights (below) were quite breathtakingly lovely.

I’ve seen Anne Kyyrö Quinn‘s folded felt cushions before, but not entire expanses of acoustic wall (below), providing a sculptural effect not usually associated with a soft material like felt.

A bit more lighthearted was the concertina-like BookLight by Myungseo Kang (below). I like the way that light can be modulated by opening and closing the book.

Trend: Gothic, Victorian, a little bit Dark

Graham & Brown has released an absolutely darling range of wallpapers by fabrics maven Amy Butler, as well as a flocked range that is the polar opposite of such sweetness: Barbara Hulanicki of Biba has put together a collection that’s frighteningly cool, and dark as can be (below).

It was great to come across a bit of Africa and South Africa at the show, and there was plenty at the Amaridian booth (below), where a sophisticated twist on the “dark” of Darkest Africa was in evidence.

Another darkly sophisticated look came from the booth of Roll & Hill, a Brooklyn-based lighting company representing a number of contemporary American designers (below).

Whew, after all that darkness, how about a bit of Jonathan Adler, who wins my personal award for being the only booth to get  the bright blue convention centre carpet to work for him.

Trend: Recycled and Reduced

Glad to say this trend continues to make headway at a big show like this. There were many products who managed to elegantly take into account how materials and processes of production impact on the bigger picture.

Shigeki Fujishiro’s EIFFEL stool (above) is made from recycled cardboard, and has the strength to go for a good while before having to be recycled itself.

The Scraplight from Graypants manages to be such a simple idea, but the beautiful execution of these lights, handmade from discarded corrugated card boxes, really makes them stand out.

My dreadful pic of the Sheet Seat doesn’t do it justice, but this chair, cut from a single sheet of plywood is thrifty on materials, manufacturing and space too.

The ICFF continues until 18 May. I don’t think my feet can stand another tour, but if you’re in town, it’s worth a visit. If you’re not nearby, I’ll be posting more about what I spotted throughout the week.