LYNKO is a series of wooden-hinged powder-coated metal frames, with a selection of accessories that turn them into storage systems for bedroom, kitchen or bathroom. Developed in response to a more transient population, they are designed to be customised and then folded up and brought with you as you move from home to home.
As the economic climate makes it harder for young people to get onto the property ladder and the internet makes it easier to work from anywhere a new generation are embracing a more nomadic lifestyle.
Years of accumulating furniture only to discard it when her circumstances changed left Natalia searching for a portable and yet high quality furniture solution that could integrate into any interior, discouraging her previous throwaway habits and exploring her generation’s changing ideas about home.
“My own itinerant family life led me to create the LYNKO system,” she explains. “After years of living in a multitude of environments from a big country house in a rural village to a small flat in London – and even at one point five of us living in a shipping container – I was buying furniture knowing I would dispose of it. With the continuous upheaval in my life, I started to question exactly what I needed and I decided that I needed to create something light, flexible and easily tailored to accompany us on our adventures. Its basic structure allows me to take it with me in every move and adapt it to whatever needs I have in different spaces.”
Inspired by Marie’s book, the premise of which is that we should let go of anything that doesn’t bring us joy, Natalia began to challenge what we really need to live comfortably. Following Marie’s advice to display and enjoy the possessions we decide to keep, the LYNKO system offers users the chance to design their own space with the objects that “bring them joy”.
“I read about a gentleman in Sweden who only owned twenty objects,” says Natalia. “Our belongings should bring us joy and the system I have created allows users to show off their most treasured items. That way they can remember what they have, stop buying things twice and use their objects more efficiently. I want people to treat the system as a dwelling, like a snail carrying its shell from place to place.”
A far cry from the temporary furniture many of us bought as students, high quality accessories such as cork boards, mirrors, hooks, hangers, trays, shelves, and leather and fabric pockets, offer users the chance to customise the system for their own needs. Metal frames in varying sizes are held together by cherry or oak hinges, creating configurations that range from a valet stand or vanity area to a compact office space. “I chose metal tubes for the frames because of their lightness and stability for keeping straight lines, and the wood for its rich quality and contrast with the metal,” Natalia told Design Geek. Additional frames can be added to suit the needs of a growing family, and the whole system folds flat into a handy carry case when it’s time to move on. The system has been designed to last a lifetime, following the user to any destination.
Natalia Geci will be launching LYNKO, including a new range for children in pastel colours, at the London Design Fair 22–25th September 2016. Currently self-producing, her main aim will be to find a manufacturer.
