A jury presided over by Konstantin Grcic (whom I spotted at the Vitra booth yesterday), selected its 11 honourees from more than 350 entries by emerging Balkan designers. Hailing from countries including Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria, the designers converged on Salone Satellite to show off their winning works.
Here are our favourite five:
1. Reading Marker by Ranka Radovic
The marker divides the shelf into three sections: read, reading and unread. Triangular-shaped dividers act as bookmarks for the novels and magazines that are currently being read.
2. Coil-Rubber by Maja Mesic
This customizable carpet is made up of seven spiral-shaped pieces that feature square and circle cutouts. Duplicating the spirals allows the owner to increase the carpet’s size.
3. Catapult Swing by Mijana Nikolic
This bent plywood swing is as appropriate on a porch as it is in a home office. Really. The supports can be adjusted for different heights by the steel joists that connect it to the ceiling.
4. Traffic Jam by Vukasin Vukobratovic
This coat hanger does double duty. Use it as intended – to hang your belongings, or place it strategically. The interchangeable signage can help direct traffic at home to keep hallways clear.
5. Tisch by Jelene Pancevac
This simple wood table is neither big enough to host a dinner nor small enough to use as a side table, but it can be used as both thanks to a clever feature – the legs can be removed without any additional elements or joints.