Ineke Hans

Cappellini introduced many a sublime piece at the Milan furniture fair. My favorite was the Neo Country chair, designed by the Dutch designer Ineke Hans. Here she is, sitting in it:

The proportions of the chair are generous. It has a solid feel to it. Hans's goal was just to create "simple, beautiful wooden furniture," she said. "And I'm a bit of a country girl myself, very down to earth." The chair reflects that, but without being boring about it. For example, Hans gave the chair a lovely detail: The surface is sandblasted to create a wood-grain pattern, in turn creating a wood-grain-upon-wood grand effect. You can see it better in this photo:

At first glance, the chair looks handmade, but the decorative process is very "hi-tech," said Hans.

She also introduced a line called "Fracture," which consists of a chair, stools of varying heights, and a coat rack. Each piece is made from polyester bandages—the kind used to make casts for broken limbs.

Keep in mind that each piece is made almost entirely of bandages. That is, Hans didn't simply take a chair and cover it. There's no internal frame of any sort. At the center of each piece are just polystyrene (Styrofoam) pellets, which are non-structural.

Her intention, she told me, was to see if it was possible to make furniture out of more than just wood, metal, and plastic.