Now open for bid on auction platform Catawiki is a collection of contemporary design objects curated by FRAME’s director and editor in chief Robert Thiemann. The 80 lots were selected with sustainability in mind.
Amid a landscape of climate emergency, designers are looking to lessen the environmental impact of their work. New approaches to waste – both tech- and craft-driven – see once-disregarded industry byproducts, organic debris, plastics and more transform into versatile resources that bring the possibility of the net-zero economy one step closer. Biofabricated and regenerative materials are also entering the interior design and furniture scene, helping us build an even more sustainable future.
These industry developments were the starting point of FRAME’s collaboration with auction platform Catawiki, which auctions over 65,000 hard-to-find objects across multiple categories – from fashion and jewellery to classic cars and vintage furniture – each week. Guided by the platform’s design experts, Thiemann curated a collection of 80 contemporary, consciously crafted design objects with a focus on sustainable material innovation. Now is your moment to join us on the path toward future design, with a piece that embodies the values driving the industry forward today. It's a chance to get a component part of what we like to call The Next Space – interiors that reflect impact-driven design suited for our modern world.
Here we share some of the top lots. The auction closes on 14 May. Don't let the gavel bang on your favourites without you!
Fan chair by Tobia Zambotti
Citing the fact that 79 per cent of plastic waste around the world is either not recyclable or recycled at all, designer Tobia Zambotti set out to repurpose material from an exciting location: the KR Reykjavík football stadium. The colourful Fan Chair collection – comprising a chair (pictured in cover) and bar stool – gives new, 1980s-inspired life to plastic seats from the venue.
Estimated at: €450-550
Sea Level Rise chair by Tobia Zambotti
Tobia Zambotti’s Sea Level Rise Chair is a statement chair calling attention to rising sea levels. The discarded kid lifebuoy that features in the chair is a reference to the planet’s struggle to stay afloat and survive. In addition, the bright orange colour of the lifebuoy emphasizes the urgency of the situation. By celebrating the creative reuse of discarded products or trash, Zambotti intends to feed the imagination of the global design community and promote sustainability.
Estimated at: €1.000-1.200
Table 18 by Enzo Schoenaers
Made exclusively from 18 mm recycled pine (wood) slats, Enzo Schoenaers’ Table 18 contains no screws, nails or other fasteners, thanks to its smart use of wood joints. Part of the Recup G collection, in which each piece consists only of slats of identical thickness (as indicated in the product’s name), Table 18 is finished with white oil to preserve the variety in colour that is inherent to the use of recycled wood.
Estimated at: €2,500-2,800
Desert Chair by Antonio Barone
A decomposable armchair consisting of a recycled HDPE frame and a suspended seat made of reversible (two-tone) recycled PL fabric suitable for outdoor use, Antonio Barone’s Desert Chair features cushions made of a recycled polyurethane agglomerate. It’s the first iteration of the designer’s Plug&Play system, a scalable and flexible structure capable of generating several elements with the least number of components and operations.
Estimated at: €2,500-3,000
Buoy lamps by Lucas Zito
3D-printed with plastic produced from corn starch, the Buoy of DAE graduate Lucas Zito are ultra-lightweight, showing that it is possible to create large objects while using as little material as possible. When Zito encounters issues during the production, like mid-print power shortages causing elements to turn out differently than they were designed originally, he crafts new models that are completely unique thanks to the unpredictable nature of their conception.
Estimated at: €450-550
Copytopia cabinet by Pierre Castignola
With Copytopia, Pierre Castignola questions the benefits of the patent as part of the intellectual property system using one of the most recognizable, constantly remade objects of our time, the plastic garden armchair. Copytopia combines many different patented copies of the plastic garden chair into a final object. The cabinet is the first piece from Castignola where he incorporates the use of colour while stepping out of the common armchair as an outcome. The materials come from various dumpyards or secondhand shops.
Estimated at: €2,700-3,000
VE by Me tapestry by Sandra Keja Planken
Sandra Keja Planken creates her tapestries by using eucalyptus, bamboo yarn, deadstock and recycled clothing. The pieces of VE by Me are inspired by and based on the colours and textures of Dutch painter Vermeer.
Estimated at: €1,300-1,500
Star Portrait wall tapestry by Simone Post
Made from 100 per cent wax-printed cotton textile rejects by Dutch manufacturer Vlisco, Simone Post’s Every Star wall tapestry is one-of-a-kind and handmade. Her focus is on bold and unexpected usages of materials, striving to preserve crafts and promoting sustainability.
Estimated at: €450-550
Discover all of the lots on Catawiki now.
