Harkai Alexa
Alexa Harkai creates digital prints, furniture and objects. She graduated at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest as a product designer, and also studied at Ensci – Les Ateliers in Paris. There she started to build her own brand in the studio of a French artist duo during the Covid. Her works have been shown at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, Bucharest Design Week and other events in Europe. Also, her cotton-silk scarves can be found in several shops in Budapest and at Project Shop Vienna. Her works typically emphasise the inner beauty and potential of objects. It tends to adapt or modify ingrained habits. It draws attention to the hidden qualities and roles of objects and materials, which we can discover in our own unique ways. In design, she looks at how a product can be used in a way that not only fulfils the basic and expected functions when we connect with it, but also speaks about ourselves and the space around us. She looks for answers to all of these through themes such as spirituality, traditions, symbols, culture, or the connections and contrasts between past and present. To achieve all this, the prints and the shapes of the furniture are not obvious at first glance, they rather invite us to reflect and explore.
About the objects
Ikebana hallway table
Ikebana is an object that creates a connection between the user, nature and space, while focusing on exploring possibilities inspired by the art of Japanese floral compositions in a form of a hallway table. The design solutions focus on the essence of the art form: the joy of flower arranging and the idea of striving for the perfect equilibrium. It is up to the user to create and compose the balance between nature and home, functionality and decoration, to keep the furniture and the space alive.
Collar lampshade
Collar lampshade is a symbol of uniqueness in a space. Its design is inspired by Baroque Spanish and Jacobean garments. The structure of the typical medieval ruffled collar is translated into a modern design. Beads and jewels accentuate the collar ruffles and the charm of the wearer. All this transformed into the shape of a modern lampshade, the focus becomes the beauty of the space’s atmosphere.
