Cétoine is a sleek bent-metal stool that takes its cue from the iridescent insect.
Since its inception 15 years ago, Pure Talents at IMM Cologne has provided a major arena for manufacturers and journalists to scout fresh-out-of-design-school talent from across Europe. This year, one product by a trio of designers stood out for its beguiling effect: a stool with faceted surfaces washed in iridescent hues. At a furniture fair where bold colours are everywhere, Cétoine glinted and shifted with eye-catching allure. As one moved around it, it successfully mimicked the natural camouflage of its namesake.
Alejandra Perini, from Colombia, met Gonzalo Sánchez de Lollano while at ECAL. Along with Sanchez’s partner, Raúl Arribas (de Lollano and Arribas lead Kiwi Bravo studio in Barcelona), they discovered a shared interest in nature’s psychedelic patterns, a fascination that emerged after a chance meeting with a “bizarre old lady” who owned a collection of insects. They zeroed in on the common rose chafer beetle, which lives among rose bushes and sports an impressively vibrant thorax, as well as elytra that morph from bronze and copper to violet, blue and green. The trio challenged themselves to transpose that exoskeleton onto a 3D object, resulting in a bent-metal stool with a sleek coating of car paint. The project is currently available made to order.
This story was taken from the May 2018 issue of Azure. Buy a copy of the issue here, or subscribe here.