Sight Unseen has always been a go-to resource for what’s cool in the design world right now, and starting today, they’re gathering all their under-the-radar finds in one place at 1stdibs. Because the online magazine hasn’t been able to host their annual Offsite show in person for the past two years, they decided to highlight 16 independent designers’ new work, from round-footed upholstered chairs to a sculptural moon-shaped coat rack, online instead.
“This launch is a way for us to provide a different platform for a lot of designers who have been without one for more than a year now,” says Sight Unseen cofounder Jill Singer. “Maybe it’s because everyone has been in their own private world for so long, but these pieces feel outside of trend—in a good way. Each one really feels like a manifestation of the designers’ true self, as people spent so much time with their own thoughts this year! ”
For example, Zaven’s Tube chairs, made from the paper pulp of old magazines and cardboard tubes, are a tribute to the brand’s married co-founders, who spent their time in quarantine stuck at home with their children and looking around for materials they could use to build a new piece of furniture for their living room.
And speaking of magazines, designer Bari Zipenstein of BZippy made her first-ever rack for holding reading materials as part of this collection. It also happens to be one of Singer’s favorites: “I haven’t liked a magazine rack this much since Giotto Steppino’s stepped plastic one for Kartell, and that was designed in 1971!”