WORDS Gina Dionisio PHOTOS Supplied

Founded in 2015 by Danish design duo Nikolaj Meier and Knut Bendik Humlevik, New Works emerged from a desire to create a range of contemporary, minimalist homeware. With a small yet dedicated team, they have carefully curated a collection of refined yet accessible furniture pieces, lights and accessories that celebrate tradition and innovation.

Rooted in the rich Scandinavian heritage of craftsmanship and materiality, New Works pays homage to time-honoured techniques while pushing the boundaries of contemporary design. The brand embraces the raw beauty of natural materials, allowing their inherent qualities to guide the creative process. Each piece retains a sense of authenticity, ensuring that textures, imperfections, and organic elements remain an integral part of the final design.

The Danish brand is also defined by its fearless approach to experimentation. The brand frequently collaborates with international designers and artists who share its passion for detail, materiality, and sculptural forms. This fusion of Nikolaj and Knut’s own design ethos with diverse global influences results in a collection that continuously redefines the possibilities of form and function.

VISI’s Curated Picks

Select pieces from the New Works collection, including pendant, table and floor lamps, as well as coffee tables, are now available in South Africa, exclusive to the INOVA Concept Store (view the range in-store during Cape Town Furniture Week). Here are 5 of our favourites from the lighting range:

Sphere Adventure Light

With its geometric crescent shape, this portable light lends an air of mystery to its surroundings while offering long-lasting utility through clever features.

Kizu Table Lamp

Balancing bold forms, the Kizu Table Lamp intrigues the eye with its sculptural composition. The lamp was designed by Norwegian designer Lars Tornøe, who has won several awards, including Norwegian Designer of the Year.

Lantern Portable Table Lamp

Inspired by traditional Japanese rice paper lanterns, the Lantern was designed by Anderssen & Voll, whose interest in cultural forms can be seen within the elegant and understated piece.

Nebra Pendant Lamp

Designed by industrial designer Lukas Bazle, the Nebra allows you to sculpt your ambience with a soft, sweeping motion, creating a symphony of lighting moods—from ambient glows to intimate downcast.

Tense Pendant Lamp

As a small soft cloud, the Tense Pendant appears to ‘float’ thanks to its modern construction, consisting of a soft Tyvek diffuser.

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The post A New Take on Scandi Design appeared first on Visi.

WORDS Steve Smith PHOTOS Paris Brummer

With a storied provenance and a trending location, Inova Concept Store is the most recent addition to the Cape Town design scene. A glance through its large street-facing windows on the Mother’s City’s bustling Harrington Street reveals a space stocked with some of the world’s iconic furniture, lighting and accessories brands – we’re talking HAY, Moooi, Arflex, Audo Copenhagen, Arper, Magis, Pedrali, Miniforms and, coming soon, Memphis Milano. You’ll find some local products too – planters from local ceramics meisters Vorster & Braye, and bespoke mirrors by +27.

It’s a smart choice of location – there’s a lot going in Harrington Street these days, with new retail spaces opening up all the way up the road – and it was a smart choice to employ architect Robert Silke to refurb the frontage and interior of what was the kind of nondescript old heritage building that never registered on the eye. It’s thanks to Robert’s heritage sensibilities that the character of the building remains firm while being granted new life as a functioning space in 2023.

Inova Concept Store is the brainchild of Brent Weldon – and yes, that surname and orange semi-circle logo painted on the side of the building will likely jog the memory of some of VISI’s older furniture aficionados. You may recall a store called Innovation back in the 1980s/’90s that was initially in Loop Street, and then at The Foundry in Green Point. Started by Brent’s dad, Innovation was a pioneer in importing high-end, mostly Italian collectable furniture for a discerning clientele. In subsequent years, Brent focused more on supplying large commercial spaces with luxury furniture and lighting, but he’s now also back in the retail space with the Inova Concept Store.

“The ethos of the Inova Concept Store is to promote design in Cape Town, and to really make design accessible,” he says. “The intention is for us to work with local and international brands in order to showcase how well our local brands sit alongside the internationals.” And they’re doing this in a particularly engaging way. Thought and consideration in the way the store has been laid out results in intentional moments everywhere that give you a sense of how the pieces will fit into your home.

“We want people to immerse themselves in the showroom, to touch and feel and be inspired,” says Brent. “We’ve tried not to make it look like an art gallery, with products up on plinths or on walls. We want people to come and kuier. Too many stores become showrooms – we want this to be a lifestyle space.”

As mentioned, there’s more exciting news on the way, with Inova Concept Store being the sole distributors for influential ’80s Italian collective Memphis Group’s designs. “We all know how influential the Memphis Group has been, but a trip to the Salone del Mobile recently really gave me insight into how deeply embedded it is in the DNA of Italian design,” says Brent. “The colour, playfulness and geometric shapes were such big influences on the designs we saw in Milan. We’ve just placed an order
for some items, and in a few months’ time we’ll have a special Memphis launch – it deserves its own airtime.” And you can definitely look out for that in a future issue of VISI. | inovacontracts.co.za

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The post Modern Icons in the Mother City: Inova Concept Store appeared first on Visi.