We currently live in a world of overarching technology and incessant optimization. Beholden to the digital feedback we receive, technology’s rapid evolution greatly outpaces our understanding of its implications. Bells & Whistles by designer Kiki Goti – a five-piece collection realized in collaboration with the studio and collectible design gallery Toro Manifesto – stands in opposition to this paradigm providing a bountiful sense of tactility and expert use of material on display.
Wavy brushed aluminum, deeply lacquered wood, and sculptural handles all combine to create a cohesive yet quite surprising range. The melding of seemingly disparate elements evokes a sophisticated yet endearing, whimsical feeling that screens cannot provide.
Vintage sensibilities steer this collection in the best direction. The wood used throughout the works retains a deep hue and boasts a high-gloss finish reminiscent of sculptural tables and eye-popping plastics from the seventies.
The taupe upholstery covering the Bells & Whistles Armchair establishes a strong style sense while the yellow tones accentuate the wood’s cherry appearance. This relatively flat fabric is ingenious in its lack of texture, creating dynamic space between the surface of the upholstery, wood body, and flared metal legs.
Equally captivating are the metal elements, which add a playful yet sturdy aspect to the collection.
These metal forms, cast with multiple uses in mind, serve not only as the chair, Cabinet, and Coffee Table legs but also act as a shade for the Table Lamp and Wall Light. The clear cohesion speaks to the collection’s inherent emotional intelligence.
Sculptural handles and tiny metallic accents pepper the collection in correspondence with their larger aluminum counterparts by referencing the established surface finish. On the armchair, they hint at drawers tucked neatly below the seat on each side while the coffee table and cabinet feature them in the most elegant manner as organic gestures inviting touch to the panels.
Here the contrast is much more apparent between a flat front and kinetic component. The plane of the drawers and doors puff out to beyond each furnishing front, as if billowing from the inside out. This move articulates clear design intent – and a joyous moment – when the high gloss wood finish catches light and reflects the surrounding space in a bubbly manner.
The same thoughtfulness is seen in the dimensions where the pronouncement of glossy doors meets the sculptural handles in the boldest of ways. A unique and quite interesting connection, the surrounding light refracts so differently on the metal and wood depending on panel lengths and depths and lengths. The doors create a greater field within which the handles seem to glow whereas each blends into the flow across the skinnier drawers.
While a bit smaller than those featured on the casework, the petite handles on the lighting are nonetheless impactful, adding a hand-rendered feeling to the collar of the wall light or tiny drawers on the table lamp, which – again, as if inflated – bulge out in a quick trick of the eye that must be executed expertly to achieve.
Bells & Whistles is a nod to the ancient tradition of bellmaking and centuries of bellmakers creating resonant, enduring shapes. As more and more brands homogenize, this mini history lesson is a testament to the unique sensibilities of Goti, bringing this time-honored tradition to furniture design.
To learn more about the collaborative effort behind Bells & Whistles by Kiki Goti and Toro Manifesto, visit toro-manifesto.com.
Photography by Alejandro Ramirez Orozco.
