What Glass, Stone and Nettles Have in Common

What makes a design a classic? Perhaps it is not its form alone. After all, even the best idea ultimately has to become something we can see, touch and use. What may be decisive is the moment when idea, material and the knowledge of how to work with it come together.

At ClassiCon, this interplay can be traced across almost a century of design history: from the chrome-plated tubular steel and glass of the 1920s to mouth-blown glass and contemporary materials and techniques.

Hardly any other brand combines design history and the present so naturally. Icons of the 20th century stand alongside designs by contemporary designers, and perhaps alongside the classics of tomorrow. What connects them are good ideas, exceptional materials and the ambition to create things that last.

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In 1927, Eileen Gray designed the Adjustable Table E 1027 for her legendary house E 1027 Maison en bord de mer on the Côte d’Azur, which she designed for herself and her then partner, architect and editor Jean Badovici. E stands for Eileen, 10 for Jean (J is the tenth letter of the alphabet), 2 for Badovici and 7 for Gray.

Chrome-plated tubular steel, a circular glass top, height-adjustable and radically clear in its design. Almost a century later, the table still feels remarkably contemporary.

In 2012, Sebastian Herkner literally turned a familiar hierarchy of materials upside down for ClassiCon: instead of metal supporting glass, glass supports metal. With the Bell Side Table, he created a strong contender for a future classic.

The bell-shaped base is traditionally mouth-blown. Small bubbles, streaks and variations in the thickness of the glass remain visible, making each table unique. Above it sits the heavy metal tabletop. Fragile and solid, transparent and weighty, individually handcrafted and formally precise.

With the new Bell Dining Table, Herkner has taken the idea one step further, changing the very material that made Bell so distinctive: the glass base becomes marble.

The bell shape remains, but transparency gives way to mass, and lightness to an almost architectural presence. Once again, the natural veining of the stone makes each piece unique. Perhaps that, too, is part of good design: an idea strong enough to evolve.

At the very beginning of such a story is the Soft Stone sofa by Gabriel Tan, one of the latest additions to the ClassiCon collection.

Inspired by massive stone blocks in Porto’s Parque da Cidade, Tan reverses their sculptural character: stone becomes soft. Eleven asymmetrical upholstered modules can be arranged into ever-changing landscapes that transform depending on the space and perspective.

In our view, Soft Stone certainly has the potential to become a classic. Whether it actually will, of course, only time can tell. Eileen Gray’s Adjustable Table E 1027 has long since passed this test after almost a hundred years, while Soft Stone is only just beginning its journey.

Eileen Gray designed not only furniture and architecture, but also rugs. ClassiCon has reissued several of her historic designs, including La Lune, De Stijl and L’Art Noir. They are produced in collaboration with the brand M2Rugs.

Founded in Hamburg by Marcel Müller in 2021, the label does not see rugs as merely decorative accessories. A rug is “art and design to use”. Unlike a picture, it can, and should, be walked on, lain on and touched. M2Rugs describes them as “islands of tranquility” that can also make strong, colourful statements within a space.

For M2Rugs, Sebastian Herkner developed the TRAILS, VIEWS and SUSTAINETTLE collections.

For TRAILS, intuitive hatchings on paper are transformed into a tactile landscape through varying pile heights and materials such as mohair, Tibetan highland wool, silk and nettle, responding to light and touch. With VIEWS, a high proportion of silk changes the appearance of the surface depending on the light and viewing angle.

With SUSTAINETTLE, the material itself becomes the protagonist.

The collection is made entirely from fibres of the Himalayan nettle. The plant grows wild in the forests of Nepal and requires neither specially cultivated farmland nor additional irrigation. A plant that few would probably associate with high-quality interiors is transformed into a surprisingly sensual material.

Herkner focuses on texture, with the pattern created solely through different pile heights. Depending on the viewing angle and the incidence of light, the reliefs emerge or recede.

Eileen Gray transforms tubular steel and glass into a table that has lost none of its distinctive character after almost a hundred years. Sebastian Herkner places a heavy tabletop on mouth-blown glass and translates hand-drawn sketches into Himalayan nettle. Gabriel Tan transforms stone into a soft sofa landscape.

Good design sometimes begins precisely where a material is allowed to do something other than what is expected of it. So there is certainly no shortage of material for future classics.

And at Der Neue Beckmann, we are only too happy to make use of it. We not only have classics and future classics at hand, but also take great pleasure in combining materials in our interior projects: wood and stone, glass and fabric, smooth and rough, quiet and bold. Because it is often these unexpected encounters that give a space its very own character.

Of course, the best way to experience this is to see, feel and try it for yourself.
Come and visit us, we look forward to welcoming you and discovering your spaces.

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