José Manuel Ferrero. Designs inspired by pleats

José Manuel Ferrero, who founded Design Atelier estudi{H}ac, is a creative and eclectic Spanish designer. He calls himself a “gentleman designer” and blends Mediterranean culture with London style – something he picked up during a long stay in England.

For VICAL DESIGN, Ferrero has created a huge family of objects inspired by pleated fabrics, the texture of which he’s transferred onto different materials, including wood, metal, and stone.

“For me, design is always linked to a concept and a story. So, by studying the company’s products and comparing them with my atelier experience, I created a very personalized line inspired by pleated fabrics.”

José Manuel Ferrero

PLISSÈ: 1 COLLECTION, 4 LINES

Ferrero’s idea was to create an entire collection of handcrafted products with textures inspired by pleated fabrics – plissé in French. This led to the development of a complex graphic weaving system for designing modular pieces suitable for many domestic situations.

Each piece in the range began life as a scale prototype and was later constructed full size. The collection comprises four lines for a total of over thirty different pieces.

PLISSÉ RATTAN

Based on the use of natural fibers, this delicate craft technique has been used to surprising effect in this range of seating (sofas, armchairs, and chairs), tables, pendant lamps, and a system of modular screens with interwoven fibers.

PLISSÉ WOOD

Natural wood has been used as the medium for these overlapping carved geometries on different scales. The result is an intriguing selection of furniture and tables.

Inspired by the typical folds of pleated fabrics, the craftspeople who worked alongside Ferrero created the “folds” of wood that adorn the supporting structures of this selection of armchairs and seats.

The pleated wood effect has created a variety of textures, applied to both furniture items as well as a range of shelves and containers.

The same geometric pattern was also used to create a collection of independent and modular lamps.

PLISSÉ METAL

Seen in its most essential form, a pleated fabric is a series of sawtooth lines. In Plissé Metal, this pattern has been applied to various flowerpots (crafted of metal and concrete) as well as the chair that, since it embodies the conceptual universe created by the collection, has become an icon, representing the whole project.

By stripping the image of a pleated fabric down to its barest essentials, the designer has developed a simple geometric design that can be applied to metals. The result is a series of chairs with unique backrests made of pleated metal.

PLISSÉ STONE

This range comprises a series of large flowerpots marked by an interplay between the pleated design and the texture of weathered stone. The entire range is fully handcrafted, making each piece a one-off.

The designer has also applied his plissé motif to stone and terracotta, creating unique objects that, again, are entirely handcrafted.