Silver Furniture Design · 2021
Obon Tables
- A' Design Award 2021 Silver Winner in Furniture Design
- Awarded April 15, 2021
- CLIENT: Moooi
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 22,011
- Verification code 9B7AD58E84 · Verify this award
About Obon Tables
Obon is a collection of three coffee tables made of ceramic with a glazed top. The collection is inspired by terracotta, an ancient and irregular material. Each table is handmade, so every piece is unique. The three sizes include one rectangular table and two square tables, offering different solutions for interior projects. The shapes are soft and slightly irregular, and the body surface is smooth. The thick base is filled with raw material during production to increase stability. The glazed top is easy to clean and resists stains.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Obon is a collection of three tables designed for Moooi. The collection is inspired by an ancient, earthy, irregular material: terra-cotta. The Obon Table is handmade and therefore each piece is unique. It is made of ceramic with a glazed top.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Material: Ceramics, glazed top
thickness table top: 6 cm
shape: Rectangular, square (high and low)
Rectangular dimensions: width:92 cm - height:28 cm - depth:44 cm
Square Low dimensions: width:61 cm - height:28 cm - depth:61 cm
Square High dimensions: width:47 cm - height:37 cm - depth:46 cm - Tags
- table, ceramic, handmade, terracotta, craftmanship, simonebonanni, moooi
- Production Technology
- The tables’ design is the result of a patient process of combining shapes and volumes. Their graphical purity blends into the structure of ceramics creating a unique mix of new and antique. The choice of terracotta came naturally with the drawings and outlines of the tables. From the beginning, the idea was to introduce a series of objects which appeared to be handmade and that could create a natural and gently imperfect tone. I wanted to make the object look beautiful for its spontaneity and genuineness, not for its complexity.
- Design Challenge
- The search for the right finish and the technical development of such large volumes in a material that is difficult to control represented a real challenge in terms of serial production and probably contained a good dose of innovation even for an experienced professional like Luigi. The problem was not only producing a perfect Obon Table, it was more about replicating them with the same quality, refining the technique day after day.
- Project Duration
- The Obon tables were exhibited in Salone del Mobile in April 2018. The project started 6 months prior to that in a little town in the region of Veneto, called Nove which is very famous for its ceramic.
- Operation Flow
- The Obon tables are small versatile coffee tables which can live in many different environments and interior design projects due to their very simple and soft silhouettes. The thick base is filled during the production process with raw material to give it a higher stability and the top surface has a glazed finish to make it easy to clean and to preserve its genuine beauty forever.
- Research
- We went through many samples of the material and tested more than twenty finishes both glazed, for the top, and natural for the edge and the base. Together with Luigi Bertapelle, an expert ceramicist in Veneto (Italy), we experimented with a new process of antiquing the surface of the terracotta. We worked on its tactile aspect with the inclusion of various thicknesses of chamotte, aiming to generate a perfect mix between the present and the past. It was fundamental to enclose such a graphically "educated" product in a special surface!
- Inspiration
- The tables are inspired by an ancient, earthy, irregular material: terra-cotta. With its origins lost in the mists of time, terracotta is at the base of millenary archaeological finds all over the world. These precious discoveries are evidence of our timeless creativity and desire to leave a sign, admire and ritualize
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Brand Moooi, Obon, 2018