It sounds like a fairytale: Two people who have known each other for a long time and like living together and sharing thoughts and ideas. Together, the two designers Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay make up the “Raw-Edges” design studio in London. Yael Mer is fascinated by the transformation of two-dimensional materials into spatial, functional forms, while Shay Alkalay is interested in how things move, how they function and respond. Together, they look for objects which the world has never seen before.

This approach leads to the creation of surprisingly witty and useful objects. For example, the small console table “Pivot” fits wonderfully in narrow hallways and is perfect for the hectic morning rush. “Pivot” allows you to organize and quickly grab everyday objects, such as pens, keys and shoe buffers. It offers diverse possibilities and can even find a corner in small bathrooms, for example, or those who love sewing can store the tools of their trade in it.

By contrast, “Volume” is a collection of chairs which plays with dimensions, folds paper into forms and raises the object from a doll’s house scale to human proportions. For without the comparison, the seats could just as well be hand-sized folded artworks. “Volume” seats are filled with expanded polyurethane foam and the resulting furniture is thus light and yet compact and stable.

Raw-Edges realized its current project at the invitation of the Phillips de Pury auction house and the Adventure Ecology initiative, which invited international artists and designers to transform the rubbish produced by the auction house into houses for birds, bats and bees and in so doing, to upgrade it. The unique handmade houses will be auctioned off on June 27, 2008 in London. Profits will go to the Sculpt the Future Foundation, an organization promoting environmental conservation.

www.raw-edges.com