Eight bewitching contemporary designs

As autumn has blown in, we've been counting down the days until Halloween. What's not to love about imaginative costumes, candy binges, and spooky movie marathons? And while the dark and mysterious mood is in the air, we've been making a list of designs that we think best capture that spellbinding spirit. See if you agree with our selection.

 

Light & Leaves Pendant Lamps by MIYUCA

Nothing screams, “Autumn is here!” quite like jumping into a pile of crisp, colorful fallen leaves. Italian design studio MIYUCA  has translated that classic childhood experience into the eco-conscious Recycled Nature lighting collection. Each Light & Leaves Pendant is handcrafted in Italy using dried leaves and organic resin, a new material that's an alternative to plastic. The effect is hauntingly beautiful and sets the perfect atmosphere for warming next to a fire on chilly evenings. 

 

Serpentine Collection by Simone Crestani

The Serpentine Collection by Italian glass artist Simone Crestani will have you and your friends chanting, “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and caldron bubble,” at your next cocktail soirée. These bewitching martini glasses, decanters, and ashtrays look like they're up to no good but will surely have fun along the way. Crestini’s Tentacles and Ganja wine glasses are also fantastically imaginative—ready for whatever strange journey you can dream up.

 

Bleeding Soul Mirror by Richard Yasmine

When asked to explain the inspiration behind his ominous Bleeding Soul Mirror,  Beirut-based designer Richard Yasmine  says simply, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” A cautionary tale, it seems, warning you to take a look at yourself before casting the evil eye toward others. While this piece is undeniably macabre, it is in fact quite functional. The bleeding stakes double as coat hangers!

 

Ossido Stagno Sculpture by Gianni Veneziano

Originally created for the solo exhibition Off Vase held at the Triennale Design Museum, Ossido Stagno is the crowning jewel of the ten-piece glass collection Ossidi designed by award-winning Italian architect Gianni Veneziano. Handmade by a master Murano glassblower, this conceptual object features a cloche-like outer glass in the form of a transparent skull encasing a blood-red chalice. The symbolic implications are many. With Ossido Stagno, every day is Día de Muerto. 

 

High Tea Pot from Studio Wieki Somers

The High Tea Pot by Rotterdam-based Studio Wieki Somersis a bonafide, 21st-century design classic. And it also an intriguing object of wonder modeled on the skull of a wild boar. Originally created for a project called Deliciously Decadent, this bone-china pot was inspired by the abundance and decadence on display in 17th-century still life paintings. Just to add an extra layer of provocation, it's accompanied by its very own muskrat fur tea cozy. The perfect go-to when things go bump in the night and you need a spot of tea to get some perspective.

 

Answers Oracular by Gareth Mason

Wildly inventive and intensely expressive, Answers Oracular is the work of British ceramics genius Gareth Mason, a part of a blistered and scorched collection commission by Jason Jacques Gallery in New York. Mason explains his talent for evoking strong feelings from the viewer in a decidedly poetic way: “Now and then, we’ll come across an artwork that disturbs us, that interrupts our sensibilities. We have to be alive to those moments.” Indeed, this raw and enchanting vessel reminds us of the thin veil separating things seen and unseen.

 

Gridded Line Relief Pendant from Thaddeus Wolfe

“I’m trying to create something that achieves the visual complexity and beauty you find in nature,” says rising-star American glass artist Thaddeus Wolfe about his sophisticate-yet-edgy glass designs. As one who regularly employs assembly processes, you might say Wolfe is a sort of Dr. Frankenstein of glass, with a body of work that bears an air of the contemporary Gothic. His Gridded Line Relief Pendant evokes decaying, collapsing surfaces and imagined structures. The soft glow emanating from behind the grid of constraint echoes T.S. Eliot’s famous lines, “This is the way the world ends; Not with a bang but a whimper.”

 

Gioconda Graphic Print by Adrian Purgał for Galaeria Factory

This obscured figure—created by young Polish artist Adrian Purgał —is awash in autumnal colors and emits the melancholy vibes of a lost soul. Created using a mix of computer graphics and analog techniques, this Gioconda graphic print is a limited edition that'll tingle your spine for Halloween and beyond.

 

 *All images courtesy of the designers and artists

 

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    Rachel Miller

    Rachel is a California native whose passion for travel has led her on some pretty crazy adventures around the world. After living in Korea for three years, she decided on a whim to move to Germany. While she still has a wandering soul, Berlin has captured her heart, and she's decided to make this multicultural hub her permanent home. Most of her free time is spent playing beach volleyball, exploring the city's many arty scenes, and hunting down Berlin's best craft beer.