{"id":2229,"date":"2025-10-02T09:00:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laurenhwhite.com\/?p=2229"},"modified":"2025-10-06T10:55:00","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T10:55:00","slug":"theres-still-a-lot-we-dont-know-about-rattan-say-designers-finding-new-uses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laurenhwhite.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/02\/theres-still-a-lot-we-dont-know-about-rattan-say-designers-finding-new-uses\/","title":{"rendered":"“There's still a lot we don't know about rattan” say designers finding new uses"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rotella<\/div>\n

There’s more to rattan<\/a> than wicker. Designers are finding new ways of shaping the vine material into furniture<\/a> with a lower carbon footprint than metal or plastic alternatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rattan is most commonly associated with wicker, a classic weaving technique that has been used around the world for centuries, primarily for making baskets, mats and rustic-style furniture.<\/p>\n

Now, designers are discovering the broader potential of this fast-growing climbing plant.<\/p>\n

\"Making
Rattan’s woody stems resemble bamboo, but are easier to bend and shape<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rattan fibres are stronger than most other materials used in wicker, such as willow or seagrass. But unlike bamboo, which is too rigid to bend into tight curvatures, rattan’s woody stems are highly pliable.<\/p>\n

This means it can be knotted, bent or curved into a wide range of intricate or free-flowing sculptural forms.<\/p>\n

“There’s still a lot that we don’t know about rattan,” said designer Alvin Tjitrowirjo, founder of Indonesian furniture brand AlvinT<\/a>, who has been exploring the possibilities of the material for over 15 years.<\/p>\n

\"Rotella
Pietro Franceschini used rattan to create his Rotella furniture. Photo by Indra Wiras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“There are about 600 species of rattan, and only 50 are being used industrially,” he explained.<\/p>\n

“There are so many new possibilities. I see that as a challenge \u2013 it makes me excited to try and develop them.”<\/p>\n

Tjitrowirjo was among a number of designers exhibiting rattan pieces at the recent edition of Jia Curated<\/a>, an annual design and craft festival in Bali.<\/p>\n

The most innovative example came from Italian designer Pietro Franceschini<\/a>, who collaborated with Indonesian manufacturer CVP<\/a> on a series of one-off pieces inspired by liquorice wheels.<\/p>\n

\"Rotella
The Rotella pieces are made by bending rattan stems in sequence, creating continuous surfaces. Photo by Indra Wiras<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Franceschini’s Rotella series includes a chair, a bench and various tables that all explore a similar layering technique, with curved rattan rods placed in sequence to create continuous surfaces.<\/p>\n

“The idea was to use rattan with a different approach,” the designer told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“If you treat rattan like liquorice, offsetting these pipes multiple times, you can create different surfaces,” he said, highlighting the increased strength of the material in this arrangement.<\/p>\n

\"Pietro
Franceschini collaborated with Indonesian company CVP. Photo by Priska Joanne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The cool thing about using rattan this way is that it can potentially translate into many different functions,” he suggested.<\/p>\n

Franceschini’s first experiments with rattan resulted in the petal-shaped Luma series, but Rotella saw him push the material even further. He referenced the Nastro chair, created in 1964 by Italian designer Joe Colombo, as a key reference.<\/p>\n

\"Making
Franceschini’s first rattan collection, Luma, used a more traditional wicker technique<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Italian is one of only a handful of European designers who have experimented with alternative rattan applications in recent history.<\/p>\n

Others include Spanish designer Jaime Hayon<\/a>, who launched his Frame collection<\/a> with outdoor brand Expormim<\/a> in 2014, and American designer Chris Wolston<\/a>, who has been pushing the limits of wicker since 2018.<\/p>\n