Echos, a collection of hand turned and carved furniture from the Alps

A limited line of artistically hand turned and carved wood furniture called “Echos” are produced by Swiss design company Pour les Alpes. The collection which is comprised of Neugierde, Ehrfurcht and Sehnsucht was designed by Tina Stieger and Annina Gaehwiler with the help of very talented local artisans. The first piece (an ideal bedroom furniture), Neugierde which translates as curiosity is a very distinctive storage table with a 680mm x 935mm x 350mm dimension. The piece is made from hand-split spruce shingles taken from Appenzell and has a luminous red interior. The shingles are made using their local technique for roofing. The over-all design of Neugierde has its own representation. The breathtaking variety of the Swiss Alps is symbolized by the wooded layers of Neugierde. The narrow gaps in between the layers give way to a vague glimpse into its interior and the red shade of the furniture’s cavern is an imagery of the alpine glow. Ehrfurcht which means reverence is a piece made from ebony. It is designed with a jagged opening that divulges an interior of hand carved and crafted Swiss pine. The inspiration for its design comes from the erratic nature of the Alps. Making it even more artful is the fracture that draws one’s attention to what’s inside the object and the color contrast of the dark surface and the raw inner part. It is 680mm wide, 810mm high and 350mm deep. Sehnsucht or desire is a storage stand made from chestnut. It has an epoxy resin coating and comes with drawers that are decorated with hand woven lace inserted in a fiberglass panel. The lace which is finished in 200 hours goes down on one of the legs. It is placed on a semi see-through glass fiber structure. This unfamiliar pattern is enthused by the Alps glaciers. Shades of blue and grey are subtly combined with light white color. Sehnsucht has a 680 mm x 1000 mm x 350 mm dimension. It is observable that the collection is inspired with the alpine atmosphere. Clearly it is an accolade to the Swiss Alps. This reflects the designers’ curiosity, desire and theme admiration as indicated by the names of these hand carved furniture. The products come with rich culture since it is manufactured from the efforts of native manual workers like carvers, lace makers and shingle makers who know the daily life in the Alps. They were able to channel their familiar memories and experiences through their creation and at the same time leave space for people’s own interpretation. Making exceptional hand turned furniture with creativity, originality and individuality serves as the focus of Pour les Alpes which is about modern product design and artisan craftwork. The designers said that creating products that are integrated with traditional crafts inspired from the Swiss alpine culture acts as the team’s vision. Coming with creations that have identifiable cultural identity is of great deal to them. They believe that the call for individual products is of importance especially in a period of global mass production.