Sinotique

I bought an apartment in the city's first LEED "Platinum" residential building, and wanted to furnish it in the same spirit as the building: showing that "green" and good design are not mutually exclusive. I found Jan online and was immediately interested in his use of recycled Chinese sleeping mats. Not only is the material recycled, but bamboo is a very sustainable wood, and thus a major theme of both the building and the apartment. After visiting 70John, I realized that Jan combined this unique recycled material with a high degree of craftsmanship and ambitious design. I first bought a console table, already made, from the floor at 70John. When it became clear that we needed a custom round table and semi-circular sideboards, together with some occasional tables, I decided to commission these from Jan, again using the bamboo mats are a major element. He worked closely with my architect…I decided to incorporate glass pieces into both the furniture and decoration. Jan's collaborator, Kanik Chung, was able to implement in a ceiling fixture my idea of recreating the spirit of watching, from underwater looking up, the pattern of rain drops on the surface of a pond. He did other pieces suggesting movement, capturing the dynamism of air bubbles frozen in clear glass. It was a seamless and, ultimately very successful, collaboration.