EW Spanish Design Arrives In the US

Furniture World Magazine

Rob Forbes, founder and chief design officer of Design Within Reach (DWR), announced today that the San Francisco-based company will introduce important new furniture and accessories created by Spain's most celebrated industrial and furniture designers and architects, to the American market in April 2001. Reflecting the unique combination of technical exactitude, playful form, and exuberant color that has distinguished Spanish design globally since Antoni Gaudi fashioned architectural miracles in Barcelona in the late 19th century, the work of such award-winning contemporary designers as Jorge Pensi, Nani Marquina, Jesus Gasca, Josep Mora, Jordi Domenech, Joan Casa i Ortinez, and Massana & Tremoleda will be made widely available to consumers in the United States, many for the first time. By autumn 2001, DWR will offer over 50 products by 16 Spanish designers through its catalog and Web site (www.dwr.com), and in its San Francisco Studio at 455 Jackson Street. Many of these products will be offered exclusively through Design Within Reach in the U.S. In celebration of this initiative, dubbed Spanish Design Within Reach, DWR will host a series of special events in San Francisco on March 21 and 22. Among the highlights will be a public panel discussion, co-hosted by DWR and the California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC), and introduced by critic Aaron Betsky, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art curator of architecture, design, and digital projects. Visual presentations will be made by three of Spain's most acclaimed design talents: architect and industrial designer Jorge Pensi, founder of the Grupo Berenguer design collaborative; graphic artist and designer Javier Mariscal, whose Cobi mascot for the 1992 Olympic Games achieved a global following; and design impresario Fernando Amat, owner of Vincon, Spain's foremost design gallery and retail emporium, known internationally as a destination for connoisseurs. Joining Pensi, Mariscal, and Amat will be noted textile designer Nani Marquina, and representatives of prominent Spanish design manufacturers Stua, Mobles 114, Perobell, Punt Mobles, and Indecasa. Spanish Design Within Reach will also showcase an array of exemplary Spanish design objects in a two-week exhibition on view at the DWR Studio in San Francisco from March 19 to March 30. "From the outset, Design Within Reach has been a spirited advocate of Spanish design," said Wayne Badovinus, chief executive officer of DWR. "We believe the level of creativity, energy, and enterprise among Spanish designers and manufacturers qualifies Spain as a `hotbed' of design rivaling Italy, which is a more universally recognized design center. Our first DWR catalog featured Jorge Pensi's Centaur Chair, an ingenious, award-winning design that had never been offered in this country. With Spanish Design Within Reach, we are affirming both our commitment to fostering American appreciation for the extraordinary offerings of the Iberian Peninsula and our intention to make design education an integral part of our business." In anticipation of the Spanish Design Within Reach initiative, DWR has offered select Spanish design icons, from Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo's monumental 1907 Fortuny Lamp and Jorge Pensi's Gimlet Swivel Stool (a colorful example of seating that has been embraced as one of the company's most successful items for sale), to Nani Marquina's color-saturated Tonos, Cuadros, and Alambre Rugs, and Massana & Tremoleda's charming stainless steel Way-Finding Plaques for professional and corporate interiors. Beginning April, DWR will add to these items a broad range of furniture ideal for private and public interiors. Jesus Gasca's Deneb Table, Gas Sidechair, and Globus Chair, and Josep Mora's Egoa Chairs will be among the products from manufacturer Stua, whose work is characterized by technical sophistication, purity of materials, and a minimalist aesthetic. Jordi Domenech's Marina benches and chairs, and Massana & Tremoleda's Kiosk Magazine Table -- products from Mobles 114 -- are examples of pure, highly functional design for commercial spaces. Punt Mobles wood chairs, tables and accessories, which will debut later this year, bring an unmistakably baroque air to the Modern aesthetic. According to Rob Forbes, modern Spanish design has been slow to arrive on American shores for reasons more closely associated with politics than aesthetics: "Until the death of dictator General Francisco Franco in the mid-1970s, Spanish law dictated a ban against the import of furniture and furnishings from other nations," he explained. "During his years in power and some years of adjustment afterward, architects and designers improvised, creating within Spain everything required to meet their needs and those of clients and the public. Out of this necessity came a flourishing national scene that ultimately produced the wonderful and truly distinctive work we see now. There is nothing quaint or regional about Spanish design; like the painting of modern Spanish masters Miro and Picasso, it is daring and full of very sophisticated wit, but it is also joyful and accessible work. The color, form, and craftsmanship of these objects make them ideal for the truly broad cross-section of customers Design Within Reach serves." About Design Within Reach: With corporate offices in Oakland, California, a Web site (www.dwr.com), a catalog and a Studio open to the public in downtown San Francisco, Design Within Reach is among the nation's foremost resources for new and classic modern design. The company was founded in 1999 to provide easy access to, and rapid shipping of, well-designed furniture, lighting, and accessories that are otherwise found primarily in designer showrooms open only to the trade. The company's core strategy is to develop and stock products from the world's leading designers, and make those items available to customers within one to two weeks -- a delivery schedule that ambushes the lengthy 4- to 6-month waiting period accepted as standard for the furniture industry. Design Within Reach serves businesses, design professionals, and the public alike. Featured designers include such legendary figures as Charles and Ray Eames, Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, and Mies van der Rohe, as well as contemporary stars Philippe Starck, Karim Rashid, and Jasper Morrison, among others. Led by veterans of both the retail and contract furniture industries, Design Within Reach seeks to upgrade the character and quality of public and private spaces in the United States through good design. Members of the public interested in attending Spanish Design Within Reach events may contact the DWR Studio, 455 Jackson Street, San Francisco, 94111, telephone 415-837-3940 or visit the Web site at www.dwr.com/spanishevent. DWR Studio is open to the public Monday through Friday, from 9am to 5pm.