Tactile Baltics: Presenting an eclectic mix of compelling product launches and designs from the Baltic Countries
Aap Piho; Annike Laigo; Oliver Kanniste; Siim Simmermann and Raili Keiv
From 18 September–3 October 2021, Tactile Baltics will take up residence at Dray Walk Gallery, a hip event space in the Truman Brewery in London’s East End. Both a part of London Design Festival 2021 and a free-standing exhibition, Tactile Baltics will offer an insight to an eclectic mix of compelling designs from the three Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
The Tactile Baltics exhibition is organised and curated by NID, the Latvian Design Centre, and the Lithuanian Design Forum. This exhibition will present eighteen contemporary design projects by established and up-and-coming designers, six from each Baltic country. Within the Dray Walk Gallery show, Tactile Baltics will also host a series of eighteen limited edition collectible design works as part of Adorno London 2021. Adorno is a digital gallery for the best of collectible design and craft from around the globe. Under the theme of ‘Designing Futures’, Adorno London will present its collectible designs from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in three immersive virtual country environments.
As the name suggests, Tactile Baltics will emphasise the tactile quality of design originating from the Baltic region, where a deep connection to nature endures. Engaging the senses, Baltic design is rooted in traditional craft—with Tactile Baltics, the exhibition demonstrates the important influence of nature and craft on contemporary design. Visitors can expect to find a diverse collection of design pieces that represent Baltic design tradition, craftsmanship, and innovation, including: furniture, lighting, textiles, jewellery, and objets d’art. With a focus on tactility, Tactile Baltics aims to engage the senses, where visitors can feel the environment around them and embrace the best in contemporary Baltic design.
New product launches at Tactile Baltics
Saarepera & Mae was launched in 2012 in Tallinn, Estonia, and is a creative lighting venture. A partnership between artist Mari Saarepera and engineer Tauri Mae, the duo have a particular focus on modernist, high-end ‘light sculptures’. For London Design Festival, they have produced a special edition of their ‘Ambiguo type-05’ lamp. An elegant chandelier-like fixture, the lamp’s movable structure contributes to its ambiguous form. Saarepera & Mae created the Ambiguo collection of lighting objects to explore the ways in which light, shapes, and shadows affect perceptions of symmetry and asymmetry.
Tallinn-based ceramicist Raili Keiv studied ceramics and product design at the Estonian Academy of Arts. In her work, Raili is particularly interested in the possibilities offered by porcelain and its perfectibility. Even though she is keen to test the boundaries of porcelain, Raili maintains a focus on the functional aspects of those objects she creates. Her ‘Viiv’ teapot is inspired by the traditional roly-poly Jonnipunn doll, with a focus on calmness in movement.
Aap Piho of Studio Aap is an Estonian designer based in Tallinn. He has created ‘Spatial Structures’, a low table made using locally sourced birch wood and lacquer. Painted wood is one of Aap’s latest passions—it is a medium rooted in traditional craft as well as contemporary design. Aap describes ‘Spatial Structures’ as a ‘pragmatic sculpture . . . an idea of a section of space as structure [and] a continuation of something in the eyes of the next viewer.’
Oliver Kanniste studied product design at the Estonian Academy of Arts. His ‘Hidden Form’ side table is made from Lasnamäe limestone, a building material traditionally used in Northern Estonia. Limestone, an organic, sedimentary rock, is formed in layers. Oliver has continued these layers in his design, giving shape and body to the weighty ‘Hidden Form’ side table.
RIGA ChAIR was established in 1999 in Riga, Latvia, and is a leading seating manufacturer in the country. At Tactile Baltics, RIGA ChAIR will present ‘Knitted Island’ and ‘Nest on a Stick’. ‘Knitted Island’ is a free-form sofa designed with cylindrical back supports that represent tree trunks with various bark textures. ‘Nest on a Stick’ is a reclining chair made from solid oak and upholstered in natural leather with a nubuck finish. These two pieces of furniture are part of ENTER FOREST, a trademark initiative created in 2019 to reflect the forest as one of humanity’s most important assets: a place to seek rejuvenation, inspiration, and peace.
Latvian designer Ieva Kalēja created ‘The Muses’ lamps using gypsum, a soft mineral consisting of hydrated calcium sulphate. Gypsum is an entirely natural and sustainable material available in Latvia. Ieva’s lamps have a spontaneous quality, their sculptural forms capturing the relationships between dragonflies or other flying insects when they land on a stone fragment. As a curious addition, the lamps have a DIY element and can be painted in different colours.
Manten Devriendt and Liene Jākobsone of Latvian architecture studio Sampling, have created ‘Hatch’. A cabinet inspired by architecture and the aesthetics of raw building materials, ‘Hatch’ is made using a fluorescent yellow powder-coated steel. As a design concept, ‘Hatch’ is a visual collage of shapes, textures, and patterns.
Based in Vilnius, Lithuania, Martynas Kazimierėnas has worked as an object designer for twenty years. Martynas is especially curious about the practicality of objects. Influenced by themes of nature, he will sometimes find unconventional methods of production. Martynas has designed a new lamp using metal, with an outer layer that resembles a cardboard shipping box. With this design, the lamp itself is the packaging and once delivered, a practical lampshade.
Evelina Kudabaitė is a product designer based in Vilnius, Lithuania. In her work, Evelina views an object through its materiality and the concept of transformation. With a keen awareness of an object’s function, she then combines it with an emotional and poetic dimension. Evelina has designed a stoneware light object that is the result of a dialogue with a ceramic artist. The lamp’s rhythmic, monumental construction is a reflection of the pursuit of perfection. At the same time, the light highlights the work of the artisan, embracing the beauty and texture of the unplanned.
Artis Nīmanis for an&angel
Exhibitors at Tactile Baltics
Alongside new product launches, Tactile Baltics will showcase a diverse range of exciting exhibitors and compelling designs from each of the Baltic countries.
Estonia
‘Dig Where You Stand’ is an exploratory furniture/object collection, including a mirror, stool, and platter, made using limestone and created by students from the Product Design Department at Estonian Academy of Arts; a project by Studio Aine is re-evaluating the value of local industrial waste, including possible material qualities; a lounge chair designed by Lauri Visnapuu has a form influenced by one of Danish designer Hans J Wegner’s most iconic designs; and the wavy ‘3D Stripe’ rug designed by Annike Laigo has a soft, minimalist pattern.
‘LightsUp’ is a series of lamps and candleholders designed by Kateriin Rikken, that are made using upcycled laboratory glassware, wood, and copper; ‘Resting Sail’ is a durable rug designed by Kärt Ojavee, that combines ancient and contemporary materials; ‘Aladdin’s Lamp’ by Kadi Hektor is a porcelain artwork inspired by oriental mysticism and Art Nouveau; and ‘Floor Plan’ is a Tibetan wool and silk rug designed by Johanna Ulfsak to represent an exact copy of the ground-floor plan of Buckingham Palace.
Latvia
Ieva Kalēja designed ‘Snow Tale’ for new design brand DeTales—a series of unconventional holders made with leftover materials used in the making of bathtubs, ‘Snow Tale’ is inspired by the snow on mountain tops; ‘Cube Deco’ is a novel collection of glass bowls created by Artis Nīmanis for an&angel; by using clay combined with coffee grounds, Ilze Kanlbērziņa-Praz has designed ‘Coffee Grounds’, a sustainable coffee cupping set that offers a more nuanced coffee ritual; and ARS TELA is a company making individually designed, handwoven art textiles—by combining contemporary Latvian textile design with historic Latvian traditions, every ARS TELA item embodies the love of many Latvian women through the ages.
Artis Nīmanis has created ‘H20’, an artistic glass object that draws inspiration from Claude Monet’s impressionist paintings of water—by arranging double-glazing with an integrated LED, H20’s depth can be optically increased; ‘Bride lamp’ is a graceful, feminine lamp designed by Ieva Kalēja for Mammalampa, with a braided ‘dress’ handmade from paper; ‘Curved bench’ is a functional and sculptural design by Janis Straupe, where the curve creates cushioning when sitting down; and the love seat ‘GHOST-W’ by Jānis Rauza of MINT Furniture is an expressive modern-day version of an 18th century design—two people sit facing opposite directions, in a way that can facilitate intimate conversation or a feeling of distance.
Lithuania
‘Waves’ is a ceramic collection designed by Vita Vaitiekūnaitė, made using a unique Lithuanian ceramic technique, where hot ceramics are soaked in bread leaven; ‘Reloaded’ is a sustainable, alternative stone jewellery collection designed by Ieva Laskevičiūtė; ‘Girl Power’, created by Justina Semčenkaitė, is a humorous and expressive clothing collection and manifesto inspired by the influence of beauty standards and mass media; ‘Plise’ is an illusionary concrete-like ceiling lamp designed by Simonas Tarvydas; ‘Amber lollipop’ is a new way to enjoy crickets as an alternative food source, designed by Elena Lašaitė; and the ‘EMKO Chaos’ rug, designed by Audronė Drungilaitė, has a hand-tufted confetti-like pattern reminiscent of the mess made on the floor at a party.
Audronė Drungilaitė for EMKO
Vytautas Gečas will present ‘Romance gravity’, a pink console that forms part of a bigger romance and gravity collection—drawing inspiration from the elaborately ornamental 18th century rococo style, Vytautas explores the way in which historical decor correlates with contemporary materials such as glass fibre and aluminium; 'Lutetia’ and ‘Juno’ rugs are part of the ‘Ignorance is Bliss’ design project by Agnė Kučerenkaitė that repurposes industrial waste, food waste, and secondary materials; ‘Sports at Home’ is a conceptual carpet collection designed by Severija Inčirauskaitė-Kriaunevičienė and made using deconstructed teen sports equipment combined with a hand-knitting technique—the sports equipment was collected by Severija’s son and friends during the period of quarantine; and the ‘Récamier Daybed’ by Mantas Lesauskas combines sheepskin, a by-product of the meat industry, and patinated aluminium, as a way of inspiring individuals to rethink their being and the impermanence of life.
Baltic Design Exhibition
18 September - 3 October 2021
London Design Festival
Opening hours:
Mon - Fri 10 am - 6.30 pm; Sat - Sun 10 am - 5 pm
Free Entry
Dray Walk Gallery, Dray Walk, off Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL
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Banner Image: Ieva Kalēja for Mammalampa, Oliver Kanniste, Vita Vaitiekūnaitė Image Credit: Holger Kilumets