Francesc Rifé and Kendo Mobiliario: an electric collaboration

The designer creates collections for the firm, among them the original Cort table with a sliced-off edge.

Well-known Spanish designer Francesc Rifé has wowed us once again with his confections dreamt up recently for Valencia-based firm Kendo Mobiliario, the standout piece being Cort, an original, highly practical side table.

Cort is a collection of side tables with an unusual, partly circular top sliced off on one side to create a straight line. This allows the tables to abut a wall, while offering the advantages of a table with a round top. The pieces can also be joined together by placing their straight edges next to each other. The collection is suited for both the domestic and contract markets. This year, Rifé has created other designs for Kendo Mobiliario: the Nuc collection of wooden coffee tables, the practical Mir mirror-cum-shelf and warm-looking, solid beech console called Step.

Rifé established his design studio in 1994 in Barcelona. His projects range from industrial design to interior design for commercial and residential spaces, while his design philosophy is based on spatial order and geometric proportion. He has won various design prizes and undertaken work for such firms as Koo International, Inclass and Viccarbe, for lighting brands Marset and Estiluz, rugs for Now Carpets (including his Mou and Maki collections) and bathroom designs for such companies as Inbani, for which he designed the Vase collection, among others.

Founded in 2000, Kendo Mobiliario is firmly committed to creating high-quality products, designer pieces and a strong identity, to being competitive and to producing environmentally friendly design. Its designs — including consoles, coffee tables and desks — are destined for the domestic and contract markets, and are exported to such countries as France, the UK, Belgium, Germany, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Australia, Russia, Denmark and the US.