ISOLE

Two designers from different cultures virtually co-created the modularv Isole via a process of exchanging ideas inspired by Japanese poetry. Oki Sato, founder of the Tokyo-based design studio Nendo, and Luca Nichetto, Italian founder of Stockholm based Nichetto Studio, instantly felt a kindred creative spirit when initially they met over coffee in Tokyo. Defying the geographical distance between them, Nendo and Nichetto subsequently found a new way to collaborate long distance applying the concept behind Tanka, a traditional genre of Japanese poetry, where one person starts the poem and the other person completes it.

“I was thinking of soft, organic forms like pebbles, stones, drops of water, islands,” explains Sato. “But I had no idea how they could connect and become furniture. I did a sketch, took a photo with my iPhone and sent it to Luca.” “I am from Venice so I know about islands,” says Nichetto. “When I saw the first sketch I realized that these islands needed bridges. So I designed the armature as a bridge to connect the islands into individual seats, and each seat into a modular sofa.”

The outcome is Isole, Italian for islands. A truly unique sofa concept enabling a variety of combinations and configurations, including versions with and without an “island” arm cushion. Variations include a discrete round, square or rectangular side table that integrates beautifully with the overall aesthetics. The impression? Soft, inviting and endearing.

“Typically, modular sofas tend to be square, stiff and driven by functionality first,” says &tradition CEO Martin Kornbek Hansen. “With the Isole, Nendo & Nichetto have brought beauty, balance and a sense of poetry to a design that feels cosy and friendly even before you sit in it. What’s more, the concept itself is very much aligned with our Danish appreciation of nature, alluding to pebbles and the ocean. In a simple, organic shape with subtle details and superb craftsmanship.”

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