May Bench

“I come from an architectural education,” says Knut Benedik Humlevik, creative director of New Works. "It's a field that has taught me a lot about how to attack and work with a concept.” The Copenhagen-based design house melds a boldly sensual approach with the vaunted legacy of Scandinavian design. “One cannot deny that a lot of inspiration comes from the furniture ‘heroes’ of the past centuries,” says Humlevik. Not to mention “how their influence is applied in works of other designers in our time.”

New Works was launched with a series of sculptural objects grounded in 4 core values—Natural, Experimental, Rough, and Craftsmanship. With an emphasis on materials including concrete, marble, mirror and tactile metals like rough copper and oxidized aluminum, the collection has quickly expanded to a full range of furnishings that still push at the boundaries where art meets design. As a noted product designer himself and now directing the New Works stable of collaborating designers, Humlevik says, “It’s surprising where I find inspiration; it can come from very small things that have lots of character.”