Young designers Yael Mer and Shay Akalay are focused on bringing fresh and raw ideas to the world of furniture, hence their studio name: Raw-Edges. Thinking differently about standard objects, looking at simple mechanisms and breaking them down; the end product is innovative and often function-enhancing. The drawer, however old it may be, is a smart design concept which the talented pair seems drawn to reconfiguring.

Pivot. Designed by Raw Edges for Established & Sons.

From kitchens and bathrooms to bedroom dressers, the sliding mechanism, though different in form, has been and will continue to be a common element in our homes and workplaces for years to come. “When people see Stack, they think it’s just boxes on top of each other and often don’t realize they can push and pull them…people thought it was a sculpture, but it’s also about increasing function: more than one drawer can be opened and accessed at a time.” says Shay. In deconstructing a chest of drawers to its basic and ever-present elements: a frame, a runner and a drawer, the pair was able to re-conceptualize how the components could work together to create a flexible system of any size. Presented in Milan in 2008 as a multi-colored, five-meter-high version, with doors that slide in both directions, Stack was recently inaugurated into the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. Another notable success for Established and Sons, also responsible for manufacturing Zaha Hadid’s Aqua Table and Jaime Hayon’s Tudor Cabinet.

Stack. Designed by Raw Edges for Established & Sons.

Raw-Edges’s initiative to increase the functionality of drawers is evident in another recent piece: Pivot. Manufactured by Arco and winner of the 2009 iF gold award, Pivot is a set of two drawers on tall, skinny legs which lean forward, allowing both drawers to be accessed simultaneously. Small items and everyday necessities find a welcoming home in this piece, placed next to the bed or near the front door. It occupies minimal space due to its narrow depth and the material choices allow it to be subtle or somewhat flashy. Light wood, dark wood or blue varnish; Pivot can work well in the homes of both modern-lovers and those who lean toward more traditional aesthetics.

In exploring Raw-Edges ongoing work with drawers, it is impossible to go without mentioning Cut Attache’z, a small table built to convey the concept of simple runners being affixed to any flat surface to support a drawer. The runners, rather than being hidden as is standard, cut through the surface to reveal themselves, resulting in an interesting reinterpretation of a standard end table.  This piece, designed and built in 2007, seems to have been the beginning of the Raw-Edges drawer exploration.