Industrial Felt Bowl

Well, it's really designed to be a "valet", that useful object designed for men with pockets full of stuff that needs a place to go at the end of the day.  Placed on a dresser or bureau, it's the best landing spot for change, keys and a wallet.  This was a commission for a client who gave me completely free reign and just asked that I design something for her art-minded grandfather. 

I should have included my raggedy thumbnail for scale, but you'll probably get the idea. 

This use of the two materials here is loosely inspired by the sculpture of Anish Kapoor.  I love the play on matte against reflective in his work and I was after the feeling of the lushness he finds in his concave surfaces.  The wool striped material is re-purposed of course, but the industrial felt is new.

Who on earth knows where I could get pre-used industrial felt without finding myself lost for hours on the internet, tangled in a devious web of chinese wholesalers and resources for industriual materials exchange?  I do not, as it turns out, have 4 pallets of a semi-conductor lubricating grease to trade for a bolt of toxic assembly line felt.  Okay, so I think it's obvious that I've already tried looking.

I digress.

I think that these two materials work really well together and I am headed upstairs now to the labratory to see what else happens with it.