Stainless Steel Gets a Facelift With Full Blown Metal Designs

Equity Table

The images usually associated with stainless steel tend to be ones related to appliances, hardware, and all things of a cold, industrial nature. Working with a blown version of this metal, British designer Stephen Newby challenges those connotations and aims to give this traditionally clinical alloy a softer, gentler appeal. His work runs the gamut: From architectural elements to public arts projects, Newby transforms stainless steel into an inviting, tactile playground for the senses.

Soft Seat Chair

Pillow Radiator

Newby's Full Blown Metal line redefines one's ideas about what might be expected from this harsh material, with pieces infused with such an airy quality that one could imagine they might just lift off like mylar balloons. Juxtaposing metal's characteristic weight with an anomalous lightness of being, a symbiotic and organic relationship is formed, highlighted in the structural elements of the sculptural design. The metal's reflective surface also conspires to make one question the essential nature of the work, mirroring the surrounding environment while contributing to its malleable and fantastical sense.

Bottom line? Move over, kitchen appliances, stainless steel just got a brand new bag.

Full Blown Screen

pillow planter

Floating Pillows water sculpture

Sourced at the Design Blog and the Biscuit Factory

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