While German manufacturer ClassiCon is usually recognized as a company that fanatically adheres to the principles of Classic Contemporary Design, it was an outlier this year at Salone 2008.

Saturn stool. Designed by E. Barber & J. Osgerby. Manufactured by ClassiCon.

Sinuous lines and organic forms characterizes their collection of tables, stools, and trays. For ClassiCon contemporary design and classic styles are not mutually exclusive, and this is reflected unambiguously with their products shown in Milan.

All ClassiCon creations, be it the Saturn stool or the Styx, have a timeless and almost incandescent quality to them. The products are a testament to the company's insatiable appetite for pushing their "art" further, and all reflect an innovative take on contemporary furniture. Reinventing the old with a modern twist marks all pieces by ClassiCon eclectic and appealing.

The Saturn Stool, which has been designed by E. Barber & J. Osgerby, moonlights as a side table too. The designers have managed to achieve a quaint harmony with the stool by giving it clean lines, a solid structure, and a charming eccentric design. With its even surface, Saturn is hard to pin down to just one use. Varnished in any shade of choice, the stool has been constructed from solid beech that brings a controlled edge to this capricious tool/table.

Styx coffee table. Designed by Alexander Taylor. Manufactured by ClassiCon.

However my personal favorite is the Styx, which is quite a resplendent avatar of the ubiquitous coffee table. The term Styx has many connotations and in Greek mythology, the “River Styx” was a river that formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld. Alexander Taylor's Styx Coffee Table may not be Greek at all, however it is made of
Folded steel bands, which bulge before meeting the floor. What truly makes the Styx 'mythical' is the magnet, which holds the glass plate to eliminate any need for elaborate anchoring.

ClassiCon's philosophy is to design pieces that withstand time and become instant classics. With both the Saturn Stool and the Styx, the company has managed to express a fluidity and a convergence of the old with the new.

The ClassiCon brand stands for quality, individuality and a timeless aesthetic - regardless of passing fashions. More important than the degree of fame achieved by the designer is a demonstrated fascination with new formal concepts.