Taking a “spirited approach” to her work, Amsterdam-based industrial designer Annebet Philips’s portfolio is brimming with playful and unexpected pieces marked by graphic colour combinations and perspective-challenging styles. It’s no surprise, then, that she would be tapped by Seletti, itself known as iconic and irreverent, for an offbeat collection that blurs the line between conceptual and actual. 

A veritable meeting of creative minds, their Cut & Paste collection is a natural fit for the Italian company’s idiosyncratic offerings. Originally conceived as a limited-edition series, the now-permanent family is comprised of 10 objects – a candelabra, a “grandfather” clock, desk and pendant lamps, mirrors, photo frames and shelves – that share a whimsical rough-and-ready aesthetic. 

In a cheeky nod to the design process, the finished pieces intentionally resemble prototypes, a direct result of Philips experimenting with materials usually relegated to that phase of a project – cardboard and tape. The designer used the crisp white heavy-duty paper (100 per cent recycled) to form the body of each item and then outlined them in thick black tape, giving the collection an exaggerated cartoon-like vibe. A transparent epoxy layer enhances their strength and durability.

The benefit of Philips’ chosen material is three-fold – it imbues the pieces with a scrappy yet sophisticated look and a surprising weightlessness (which makes the lamps, mirrors and shelving easy to mount or suspend). Plus, it’s sustainable, something important to both her and Seletti. “The fact that the pieces can be produced in recycled cardboard makes a sort of statement in terms of what we as a company can do together with the designers to address the issue related to sustainability in this business,” notes Stefano Seletti, the brand’s art director.