The conscious mix of influences and elements from different cultures is currently a very stable trend, both in fashion and interior design. While long-distance travel and ethnic themes serve as a source of inspiration, their realisation in the latest designs is extremely intellectual and differentiated. In its "NewWave Ethno" series Villeroy & Boch combines subtle ethnic appeal with the sensational stylistic elements of the "NewWave" design.
"NewWave Ethno" is an astounding tableware series. Its extremely clear formal design acquires an additional emotional component from the use of subtle browns, earth tones and natural shades. A graphic pattern has been chosen as the central motif. It is broken by haptic, matt lines which resemble hand-painted white brush strokes. The pattern is structured in such a way that the ethnic character can either be brought out dominantly, or left extremely subtly in the background. If, for example, "NewWave Ethno" is combined with typical accessories from Asia, Africa or the Orient, the tableware's multicultural look is naturally emphasised, whereas a more neutral table presentation underlines the unusual, modern look of the pattern. "NewWave Ethno" is made from fine china and decorated using a lithographic technique. The tableware is safe for use in the dishwasher and microwave oven.
NewWave Caffè Colours of … Africa
"NewWave Caffè Colours of … Africa" patterns take the typical colours, elements and motifs of Africa and render them in a modern, stylish way, rather than ethnically. There are four patterns to choose from, "Amboseli", "Mombasa", "Okavango" and "Nahema". The "Amboseli" pattern illustrates Africa's nature as its central theme, taking inspiration for its structures and surfaces from the exotic animal skins. Typical African crafts are rendered in the "Mombasa" design, which uses patterns borrowed from artistically-crafted textiles. Brightly-coloured Kaftans gave the idea for creating the "Okavango" pattern, whose great variety of colours reflects the African culture. The subject "Man" determines the highly expressive "Nahema" pattern, which is designed as an illustration and shows African women. If desired, all of the novel "NewWave Caffè" patterns can be combined with each other to reveal the diverse facets of Africa, but every pattern has its own special charm when used individually.
African Inspiration
Villeroy & Boch has developed "African Inspiration", its extensive series of accessories and gift articles, as an extension to its new pattern concept "Colours of … Africa" for "NewWave Caffè". In addition, this series lends a real African character to every table and home presentation. The numerous decorative accessories of "African Inspiration" have been derived from naturalist motifs and rendered in a variety of materials. With the exception of the serving tray and deco plate, all of the products are made by hand in Swaziland/Africa.
A charming design with soft contours has been created for the new animal figures and candleholder of glass, and lends the objects an exotically noble appearance. An elephant, hippopotamus and giraffe have been chosen as motifs. The candleholder is available in all three motifs, and the animal figures are supplied in three different sizes. A real highlight is that both the animals and candleholder are made of recycled glass with a high degree of craftsmanship.
The "African Inspiration" series offers tapering and square candles made of paraffin wax. They are decorated by manually applying coloured ethnic motifs made of specially hardened wax – a procedure which is reminiscent of the old millefiore glasswork technique. As a result, the candles achieve an extremely high standard of craftsmanship and each candle is unique.
Soapstone sculptures are typical examples of African craftwork. For its "African Inspiration" series Villeroy & Boch has created soapstone animal figures and tealight holders which convey an extremely high degree of African authenticity. The tealight holders are offered in the colours orange, yellow and brown. The hippopotamus and elephant figures are each available in three different designs.
