the bangkok-based designer compares his luxe designs to birds
“I see accessories as birds in the room,” Alexander Lamont explains. The British-born, Bangkok-based designer has made a name for himself creating and evolving the forms of other species that occupy high-design spaces — think cabinets made of a kaleidoscope of straw marquetry and low-slung polished brass tables. And now, he has turned his eye for fine materials (and even finer aesthetics) to what he considers those “light, energetic, and characterful” decorative objects under his eponymous furniture line.
The resulting Editions Collection is a breath of fresh air in an age when homes are so often stocked with cheap tchotchkes and anonymous, mass-produced accessories.“There is a cacophony of wood veneer, resin, aluminium, ugly glass, enamel, and ceramic out there,” Lamont laughs, explaining that “vessels of all sorts were the earliest accessory humans made — [they] were functional items, but so often decorated with amazing detail.” Pieces like the curvaceous scallop bowls — carved to look like natural shells and finished with a patina applied by fire over the course of six days — and the deceptively simple Gold Spring vessels — which masterfully combine horsetail hair, natural lacquer, and luminous pure gold leaf — allow him to work his way back toward that history.
And with that painstaking attention to detail, of course, comes ultrafine materials — think cast brass that practically throws light off its mottled surface; chunky, tactile rock crystal (which Lamont refers to as “frozen earth”); and delicate lacewood. “The birds are from different places, with all sorts of plumage,” he says in reference to the multitude of different textures, shapes, and personalities he’s given each object in the line, “and they have flown together to sit on my beach.”
A beach is a fitting metaphor for the type of environment Lamont intends his pieces to occupy: homes that are warm, inviting, and not too precious. Pieces like the Cove Boxes are designed to be touched; their folded brass lids and finger-joined boxes of solid walnut beg closer inspection with eyes and fingers. Slick black lacquer steamer boxes and shagreen-covered Cloister vessels are meant to be used—and are strong enough for daily life. It’s an approach that, of course, breeds more appreciation for what he loves most. “So many of us look at a screen all day, and how can we connect with anything? We have to go out and shop! Buy from stores where you can connect with and understand the materials — and with other people.”
