By Jeanne Tan / 21-09-2012

The London Design Festival celebrated the coming of autumn with new work from Tord Boontje. The playful new self-produced collection entitled Squirrel's Electro Garden Party was presented in Boontje's studio/shop in East London which opened earlier this spring.

The collection comprises a Lightweight collection of luminaires, Cherry Pip jewellery pieces fashioned from Swarovski crystals and cherry pips from Boontje's aunt's garden, and a special collaboration with London-based Canadian shoe designer Tracey Neuls.

Made from bamboo frames, Tyvek (industrial textile), LED lights and bound together with copper wire and elements, Lightweight was borne from Boontje's desire to make functional lighting. Customers can choose themselves how they would like to stabilize the light by stacking a heavy weight into the wire basket at the base, whether it be a pile or bricks, stones or shells. A standing screenprinted version with autumn motifs brings to mind Japanese paper lights while the suspended lightbox version can be adjusted by moving the weight back and forth. "With these lights, I really wanted to mix the ecological aspect with high tech LEDs and with the low tech and hand made details. By making these products in my own studio, I can be more creative with my processes and I'm going back to where I started where I was self producing after my graduation," Boontje explains.

Boontje's collaboration with Tracey Neuls began in 2010 when Neuls used a printed fabric designed by Boontje in a special edition shoe. This time, their collaboration resulted in three new shoe designs that continue the autumnal motifs. A pattern of squirrels, oak leaves and acorns is laser engraved into beige leather while laser-cut oak leaves form playful details in the other designs. All products from the new collection are available for sale in the Tord Boontje shop and online.

tordboontje.com

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