Blacksheep was on our radar this year, and it’s obvious why. Their design for Whyte and Brown‘s restaurant in London, UK, provides guests with great spaces to enjoy free range chicken and craft beer.
Holy moly, 2013 is coming to an end! It’s been a great year and we are looking forward to what 2014 holds in store. We’ve been reflecting on the year from a design perspective and thought we would share Hatch’s favourite design firms in 2013. We have narrowed it down to our top five (in no particular order); firms that continuously WOW us with their creativity, ingenuity and careful attention to detail.
Nendo
Anyone who follows our posts has noticed that Nendo‘s name comes up frequently. The Tokyo based firm does a little bit of everything, and everything they do, they do well. We love their approach to design, in their own words, “Giving people a small “!” moment.” (we recommend you click the link and continue to read, it’s design concept poetry). From retail interior design, to conceptual exhibits, to furniture and product design, Nendo does create that “!” moment in all of their projects.
Camper NYC
Nendo‘s concept for Camper‘s small-scale shops was applied to a couple of their larger locations in 2013. Pictured above is the New York City retail store.
Nendo‘s “shoes that walk freely through the air” concept adds a bit of whimsy to the Camper stores.
Spicebox
The “!” factor is obvious in Spicebox’s Tokyo office designed by Nendo.
The walls appear to peel back in the office design for Spicebox by Nendo.
Cutlery for Luckywood
Nendo not only designs commercial interiors, they also do product design. How cool and unique is this cutlery for Luckywood?
Studio O+A
Studio O+A is an interior design firm out of San Francisco. They have been repeatedly catching our eye with their creative and fun spaces. They are living up to their mission statement which states, “Our designs embrace the idea of mixing work with play, play with innovation and innovation with advancement”. This ideal is also evident in their own corporate culture; check out their “A Day in a Life: Twenty-four hours at O+A” video… it’ll make you want to work there too.
The Giant Pixel Corporation
Studio O+A designed The Giant Pixel Corporation‘s new office in San Francisco. We really dig the pixelated screens.
The Giant Pixel Corporation requested a “casual urban look in keeping with its neighborhood”; Studio O+A delivered.
Zazzle Office
The similarities in corporate ideals made Zazzle a perfect fit client for Studio O+A.
A variety of space were provided in Studio O+A‘s design for Zazzle‘s office.
Studio O+A exhibits their talent for combining a variety of materials in interesting ways.
Blacksheep
Blacksheep, based in London, UK, stays true to their name. We think their unique and sometimes a little whacky (in a very good way!), approach to interior design is refreshing. Of their clients they state, “We welcome clients and teams who have a genuine desire to stand out from their industry and be inspired with breakthrough and original thinking”. That is something we can get behind. Their focus is hospitality interior design and they have a really great range of projects.
Jamie’s Trattoria
We love the wallcoverings and graphics Blacksheep incorporated into Jamie’s Trattoria in Richmond.
The shabby-chic eclectic style of Jamie’s Trattoria was definitely a trend in 2013; Blacksheep pulled it off seamlessly. Designing a space like this is not an easy task.
Qbic Hotels
Blacksheep‘s design for Qbic Hotels in London is pretty rad, we would like to stay here.
The colourful washrooms in the Qbic Hotels rooms add to the fun experience.
Blacksheep‘s design of the communal kitchen area allows for Qbic Hotels to host local chefs for regular curry nights.
We did mention whacky… Blacksheep did a great job of adding character throughout the Qbic Hotels space to reflect the neighbouring community and provide a welcoming and interesting home away from home.
How’s that for eye candy?! The projects featured above are just a taste of what these three firms have done. We will definitely be keeping our eyes on them and their future projects. Tune in for our next post in a couple of weeks for two more of Hatch’s favourite design firms in 2013.