Elegant Interiors

FURNITURE DESIGN
Yael Mer & Shay Alkalay, are
the founder of Yael Mer & Shay
Alkalay Raw Edges Design
Studio. After graduating from
the Royal College of Art in
2007, they set up a design
studio where their
imaginations could take flight
- furniture, installations, and
products began to develop
with a strong accent on
playfulness and childlike
wonder. Yael and Shay met in Jerusalem and moved to London
to study at the RCA. Under the guidance of their tutors Daniel
Charney and Rober Feo, they began to experiment with creating
new typologies, by thinking how everyday surroundings might
be enriched by the products we use and the objects we own.
In a show curated by Martino Gamper, held just after graduating,
Yael and Shay presented Stack and Volume, which helped to
establish the foundation of the studio.
Quirky Objet d’art
Playfulness and creativity are the sole players in Yael
Mer & Shay Alkalay Raw Edges’ designs. Each piece
is the epitome of artistry and is a labyrinth of
materials. Imagination gives way to expression and
definition of furniture metamorphs into the fine piece
of art.
Kenny
Inspired by the shape of a toothpaste tube, ‘Kenny’ is formed by a simple rectangular strip
of Kvadrat fabric turned into a curvaceous shape. It celebrates simplicity and triggers the
idea that odd looking, unfamiliar shapes still achieve functionality.
Endgrain Collection
The collection is an elaboration of the Endgrain technique. The idea behind ‘Endgrain’ is to
harness the grain of the wood in order to carry dye right the way through sections of
timber. Blocks dyed in different pigments are then glued together with the grains facing
vertically to create three-dimensional patterns - then shaped with a Computer Numerically
Controlled (CNC) machine. ‘Endgrain’ is therefore, a process that starts very crafty and ends
quite industrial.
Coiling Collection
‘Coiling’ is a collection of interior objects made out of 100% Woollen felt and silicon. Each
object is made by wrapping long strips of felt around wooden structures and coating one
side in silicon, which soaks into the fibres to form a rigid object.
Pivot
‘Pivot’ is the result of an exploration of movement and gravity based on the mechanism of
traditional sewing boxes and tool boxes. The piece is a wall cabinet built on tall legs with
two drawers that hinge rather than slide making it possible to open both drawers at the
same time.
50 Architecture Update October 2015