Who’s afraid of contemporary design? Don’t fear, Clara Krzentowski is here

Ok, so you know a thing or two about art. You’re at every PV, you’ve got all the culture ‘sletters pounding your inbox and still have whole chapters by Honour & Fleming etched on your memory. But what about contemporary design? Hang on, what exactly is design?

Enter Clara Krzentowski, director of Galerie Kreo. Her parents, Clémence and Didier, founded the design gallery in Paris in 1999 and as a child, Clara would help at fairs and spend Saturdays at the gallery with her mother. Following a BA at The Courthold, an MA at Oxford and two years working at Phillips auction house, Clara returned to Kreo as director, London, opening a space on Cork Street, where, until 2022, they held solo exhibitions by contemporary design legends like Marc Newson, Ronan Bouroullec, and Edward Barber & Jay Osgerby.

So how can we tell our Eames from our Aaltos, our PADs from our fads and make sure that reissues don’t become real issues?

Clara, over to you.

Most of the furniture I own is from IKEA, but now I want to invest in some pieces by important designers. Where do I start? – Jennifer, West Village 

A great thing about design is that if you look hard enough, there are a lot of good pieces around, at different levels; rare, collectible pieces but also everyday pieces. Muji and Apple products, Swatch watches and Qantas Airlines cutlery are all great designs in my opinion.

Many of these designs are crafted by the same people who design today’s collectible pieces. Naoto Fukasawa, for instance, who designs products for Muji, is a designer at our gallery; similarly, Marc Newson designed Apple products, and some of his most iconic metallic pieces have been produced in limited edition with us.

For every gallery piece by a designer I love, there are industrial projects that can be found in homes, restaurants, museums, shops, offices… At home, aside from our own gallery pieces, I’ve got a kitchen drying rack by Marc Newson, a trash can by Jasper Morrison, an umbrella holder by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby (all for Magis), tiles by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Mutina… It’s also possible to find good vintage design at this level – the George Nelson clock and Eames coat rack are great examples!

For me, the best with design, like with art, or fashion, can mix beautifully made, affordable pieces, with more special, statement ones. At our gallery, we let the designers explore themes, materials and typologies outside of their industrial projects — it’s perhaps the space where they’re most free to experiment. The pieces made for the gallery are always produced in limited editions.

Konstantin Grcic who we’ve been working with for 20 years, once compared the difference between limited edition pieces and mass-produced items to crafting a Formula 1 car versus a mass-produced one. I think it’s quite a good analogy!

Some objects I see in shops and galleries look like art, but they come under the label ‘collectible design’. How do I tell the difference? – Daniel, New York

At design fairs like PAD, you will typically see pieces that span several categories: vintage designs from different periods (19th, 20th and 21st centuries), limited-edition contemporary designs by industrial designers and contemporary designs by artists or creatives from other artistic backgrounds.

At the gallery, we only work with industrial designers. So, even if some pieces lean towards the conceptual or the avant-garde, there remains a functional aspect, as well as an understanding of their place within the history of design. I find it challenging to connect with pieces labelled as ‘design’ when they lack consideration for function or the historical context. They feel more like personal creative experiments rather than a genuine dedication to good design.

Following the Kim K/ Donald Judd fake table saga, how do I know if what I’m buying is genuine? – Kris, California

This is an important question. Nowadays, many people turn to online platforms to buy vintage pieces. While there are some good finds, it’s important to note that the amount of false or counterfeit pieces has increased significantly. This is where buying from reputable sources (a gallery, an expert, a trusted vendor) makes a big difference. It’s also important because, in vintage design, lots of pieces weren’t signed or didn’t have production labels when they were made. For these pieces, the authenticity will rely on the expertise and integrity of the seller — so you do want to make sure they can be trusted!

My Eames ottoman is well-loved and needs reupholstering. Where should I take it to get repaired to retain its value? – Louis, Brighton 

A lot of great reupholsterers approach vintage design thoughtfully – what’s important is to respect the original design. Sometimes pieces are reupholstered in ways that alter the design slightly, disregarding specific curves, not folding into the creases as was intended, or using fabrics that are completely at odds with the original type of textile or pattern. A good reupholsterer will preserve the essence of the original design, keeping it in mind throughout the process. If you ask the gallery you bought a piece from or a design expert, they’ll have names of reupholsterers you can go to in your city or country to make sure your piece remains beautiful and stays true to its original design.

I’ve seen loads of design fads rip off iconic designs (*cough cough* Ligne Roset Togo sofa). How do I avoid the fad-trap and build a timeless collection? – Gwyneth, California

Fads usually come from seeing a lot of something and thinking that ubiquity is a token of good taste. I think good taste is more intuitive — it’s not seeing something over and over again until it’s won you over. It’s having a gut feeling about it. Sometimes you see something and are immediately overwhelmed with how good it is; sometimes you’re intrigued because you’ve never seen something quite like it before. There’s a big difference between thinking something looks ‘cool’ and thinking something is great. I think it’s important to listen to yourself; there’s also nothing more frustrating than investing in something that then turns up at every corner, and in the end, isn’t so special.

Who are the most important contemporary furniture and industrial designers right now? – Steven, Edinburgh

I think our gallery works with some of the best minds of our generation in design. From Hella Jongerius to Ronan Bouroullec, Erwan Bouroullec, Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, Marc Newson, Konstantin Grcic, Jasper Morrison, Jaime Hayon, Pierre Charpin, Front… Many of their designs are already in the most illustrious museum collections worldwide — and most of them are chosen to work on the most prestigious projects. Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec were enlisted to make all the designs for the Bourse de Commerce – Fondation Pinault in Paris; Guillaume Bardet has designed all the liturgical furniture for Notre-Dame de Paris (reopening at the end of 2024); Hella Jongerius splendidly transformed the Delegates Lounge of the United Nations in New York…

My grandma left me some amazing modern design pieces (including by Arne Jacobsen and Charlotte Perriand!). I love them, but don’t have space in my small London flat. I’d rather they didn’t rot in storage, so where should I take them to sell? – Margo, Battersea

If you can’t keep your special design pieces, some auction houses have really strong design departments with connections with designer estates as well as clients that will ensure honest prices relative to the market. In my opinion, Wright (in the USA) and Phillips (worldwide) have great track records for selling modern design, as well as Christie’s and Sotheby’s, depending on what you want to sell. If possible, selling with a gallery that represents work by the designer is optimal! They will also have the added quality of hopefully placing these works in good private or public collections.

Is it worth going to design fairs? If so, which are the best? – Alice, North London

Absolutely! Often, galleries will keep special finds and important pieces until a fair to show them to collectors. At fairs like Design Miami in Basel or TEFAF in New York, we frequently bring out our best and rarest vintage pieces — by Gino Sarfatti, Vittoriano Vigano, B.B.P.R. We also bring a selection of contemporary design that captures the scope of the gallery’s projects and it’s always very special to witness how pieces by different designers live together. Fairs like PAD in London and Paris are also wonderful to see a larger variety of work, with collectible pieces at different price points.

I see a lot of manufacturers reissuing legendary designs. What exactly is a reissue and is it worth investing in them? – Mathilde, Paris

Very good question. Reissues are often manufactured in ways that are so different and less qualitative than the original productions, so they lose out on both quality and scarcity. It’s a bit of a purist’s answer, but to me, the best design is the one that came from the designers themselves (or the subsequent reissues that they oversaw in their lifetime). The original condition might be less pristine than a newly bought piece, but it’ll be infinitely more special and reflective of the time it was made in. Also, these original designs are collectible pieces – they retain their value much more over time. If you’re set on buying something brand new, I’d recommend going for a piece by a living designer, made in today’s context and with today’s conditions in mind, which can also be a good investment.

As a proud Brit, I love Robin and Lucienne Day, it doesn’t feel like British designers have reached the same heights as those from other European countries. Why do you think this is? – Bob, Surrey

Ditto! Robin and Lucienne Day were fantastic designers, some of the best of their time in England. I think the design world progresses more slowly than other creative industries like the art world, where we’re used to seeing high highs very quickly in the market. Midcentury Italian and French designs have risen steadily and are now very in demand; as a result, more people have been selling pieces, and these designers’ work has become more visible and well-known. Good English design, in my opinion, is a bit harder to find, but once you find it, it’s just as in demand. But it’s worth it, and I’m sure these English designers will reach similar popularity very soon. At our recent PAD fair in Paris, we had three pieces by Ernest Race in the late 1940s, with structures made of reclaimed steel from the war — these were our booth highlights, and quite a few people were disappointed that they were the first pieces to sell!