Materials:
Maplewood and amaranth
Dimensions:
Width 90mm
Length 200mm
Height 128mm
Imagery:
Workshop shoot – Alessandro Sorci
Exhibition shoot – Wallpaper Magazine
Posted in

Amaranth

[ 2019 ]

An ancient Korean wedding tradition inspired designer Lars Beller Fjetland to dream up the Amaranth project, a pair of ducks conceived from the eponymous wood by the skilled artisans at Bottega Ghianda. The mythical and stunning mandarin ducks are widely conceived as symbol for life-long partnerships, arising from the believe that they partner for life. The Greek word ‘amarantos’ translates to” immortal and unfading” both suiting characteristics for a project that seeks to celebrate true and everlasting love.

Lars Beller Fjetland explains:

“I have chosen to work with Amaranth, which is a type of wood that is rarely used in the furniture industry. It starts out being bright purple before slowly changing hues as time passes. I see this as a beautiful way of illustrating how relationships mature over time. It is also a type of wood that Piereluigi Ghianda was passionate about, so it just felt like the perfect match to me.” Each Amaranth has a secret compartment inside its body which can be used to hide something precious close to the ducks’ heart.

Bottega Ghianda Lars Beller Fjetland Amaranth 9

Lars on process:

Excerpt from – Wallpaper Magazine, Handmade edition 2019

“The capabilities and the accumulated knowledge shared between Bottega Ghianda and Promemoria is beyond anything I have witnessed; everything is done with incredible attention to detail.’ Visiting the wood workshop for the 1rst time, he adds, ‘was one of these rare occasions when reality exceeds your expectations’. The admiration was mutual. ‘We liked each other at 1rst sight, it was a happy encounter,’ says Sozzi. ‘Lars has an incredible creativity, and a lot of experience with wood, a material he loves as much as I do. At the same time, he is very professional and has a watchmaker’s kind of attention to detail.’ Sozzi immediately warmed to Fjetland’s idea for the ducks, which were developed by the workshop’s craftsmen using traditional techniques.”

Ducks in progress amid an array of tool at the Bottega Ghianda workshop (photo: Alessandro Sorci)

About manufacturer

Bottega Ghianda

“For two centuries Bottega Ghianda has been a true benchmark for artisanal manual skill. Here we patiently work a variety of different species of precious wood. We devise the joints and solutions needed to bring to life pieces of furniture, works of art and perfectly executed small objects abounding with charm. We know how to impart a special softness to wood, giving its surface unique tactile features.

Over time we have perfected the very vocation that sets us apart today: thanks to the manual expertise of our ebanistas, great names from the fields of architecture, design and art entrust their projects to us in the knowledge that the wood will acquire the exact form they imagined.”

excerpt from bottegaghianda.com