“Laik actually means to play, Laikingland is built around the notion of encouraging playfulness. Complimentary to this, our work represents our interest in narrative, humour and craftsmanship. Our hope is that creating designs around these themes will encourage everyday playfulness in the lives of our customers.”
party popppers – popping machine
Laikingland is a creative collaboration, based in both the UK and The Netherlands, whose intention is to design and manufacture beautifully crafted kinetic objects that engage, and evoke a sense of play and nostalgia.
Miniature collapsing chairs, robots hiding in transparent jewellery boxes, a story telling time-piece, tea cups full of mechanical storms and a machine that goes off with a bang are just some of the incredible exhibits produced through Laikingland’s Creative Collaborations.
Following the success of their 2009 debut at London Design week, Laikingland will present 5 new beautifully crafted kinetic objects at Ventura Lambrate, Milan during the Salone del Mobile
The Creative Collaborations exhibition consists of:
Miniature Lazy Chair by Fresh West is a 1:6 scale version of their classic exhibition crowd pleaser, the collapsible Lazy Chair. A push of the lever and the Lazy Chair collapses, it slowly returns to its standing position under the force of a torsion spring.
The “New Jewellery Box” by Atelier Ted Noten has a golden robot that protects and presents a single beautiful ring. In typical Atelier Ted Noten style, the jewellery box is a transparent casting that jokingly hides its contents.
Story Time by Atelier NL is a wonderful wall mounted time-piece created to question our perceptions of time. First shown as part of their graduation project at the Design Academy Eindhoven in 2006, Atelier NL and Laikingland will develop Story Time into a collectable range where invited authors can tell their stories.
Storm in a Tea Cup by John Lumbus is a timeless automata design, initially produced using second-hand bone china tea cups. Contemporary Dutch and English versions of “Storm in a Tea Cup” have been developed in collaboration with Laikingland and ceramics specialists, Royal Delft and The New English.
The Party-Popper Machine by Martin Smith continues his theme of devices of celebration for Laikingland. In homage to the humble plastic party toy and to follow his interest in loud bangs, Smith has developed a nonsense machine that elaborately assists you in the firing of party poppers.
In addition, the original Laikingland product range will also be making its Milan debut:
Applause Machines by Martin Smith are kinetic objects that enthusiastically clap at the simple push of a button. They are a beautiful and original way to say “Well Done”, “Congratulations” or quite simply “Thank You.”
Magnet Mobiles by Ivan Black consist of lightweight rotating forms that spiral around magnet and ball bearing mechanisms. The near frictionless mechanisms allow the Magnet Mobiles to be activated with a simple light blow.
Fingers by Nik Ramage are an eternally tapping mechanical copy of the artist’s own hand. At the flick of a switch the resin cast fingers drum rhythmically, until switched off.
