Douglas Coupland’s novel «Generation X» influenced me as a designer even before studying architecture. Not surprising really, he trained as a designer, and accidentally began as a writer, when postcards that he sent to a friend were seen by a magazine publisher.
“Hockey night in Canada” is reminiscent of hockey puck, and the kind of graphic design used for for the television show “Hockey Night in Canada”, a show that Coupland probably grew up with. The stand reminds me of a television tower, a very fifties or sixties look. This table’s roots are in Vancouver which is contemporary with a certain outdoorsieness, a play on archery and fifties pop culture.
The die cut laminates for the tabletop were expensive to manufacture, so it’s production was discontinued although I believe that there is interest in producing it again. As it’s no longer produced it’s probably greatly desired amongst the target fetished, Lambretta driving, original Fred Perry wearing Mods, or have they all become hipsters?
VIA
This pair of side tables was designed by Jean Brand for atelier Janus around 1970 and are now sitting in the window of Galerie de la Marque, 2 rue des Saints-Pères. I think their next stop should be in a contemporary interior where these two would add richness and depth. I’m not sure whether I could say “add lightness” too because these tables, that are made of white resin chips frozen in a transparent resin, are extremely heavy. Style-wise it’s a very clever balance, managing to stay slick and modern yet have texture and randomness.
The little white chunk inclusions seem to float in space, magically hovering in a matrix. The technique used to achieve this effect is called “fractal”, which was not as over used a word in the early seventies as it is now. (I actually find the term quite charming in a sort of techno, retro, Star Trecky way). The fact that these irregular chunks are quite sizable, and that there are gaps between them, makes you more conscious of a thickness of matter. They gauge the depth in 3D more than if the resin were merely transparent or if the inclusions were minuscule. The construction is very simple, a disk with a hole for the table top which was slotted onto a truncated cone, a leg which you can see, perfectly flush, in the middle of the table top. One thing that I did notice about these guys was that they are real head turners.
