NYCxDESIGN wrapped up last month, proving to be as eclectic as the city itself. With the festival’s broad view and all-encompassing outlook, we saw everything from the virtual: Adorno’s The Rear View Mirror, a curated collection of Spanish designers in a virtual venue evoking the Mediterranean; to the vivid, Ode to NYC Poster Art: a collection of not-so-discretely placed posters celebrating the pride and resilience of all five boroughs; to the vanguard: JM Syzmanski’s collaboration with graffiti artist Mrs. BX.

Suffice it to say that one is forced to take a focused view in order to absorb anything at all in this sprawling metropolis (same could be said for daily life in NYC), so here are seven sample of stuff we enjoyed. We know you will as well.

Peiter Maes at Let Ateliers Courbet

Pieter Maes’ arresting and provocative Fold Table looks like a hyper-inflated black balloon, all the more surprising, then, when you notice the fine wood grain, as it’s made from solid ash that’s sanded and ebonzied. Fold is part of Maes’ larger collection at Melanie Courbet’s gallery, including similar sculpted wood wonders like the Palindrome chair, which is also adorned with upholstery.

Anony Wisp Suspension Lamp and Trio Stool

Anony’s dynamically dazzling duo—Wisp Suspension Light and Trio Stool—play with expectation, perspective, and materiality.

Wisp inverts expectation with a shade suspended form a wisp of a cord. Wisp works by catching light instead of projecting it. It also performs a cool trick of vanishing from certain perspectives, thus giving the impression of an ethereal object suspended in mid-air.

And Trio is a masterstroke of engineering, with three identically bent steel pipes conspiring to make something very like a stool, its metallic sheen reflecting and reinforcing the atomic age aesthetic.

Owl Furniture Ergopro

Wheel around and save your back with this nifty little stool from Owl Furniture that debuted at a farmer’s market and quickly spread its wings.

Creator Kurt Warner credits the stool’s success to its humped seat and postural support holes: “The eco-friendly design produced by an injection molding technique makes for an affordable retail priced ergonomic task stool.”

Gubi and Space Copenhagen

Gubi and Space Copenhagen brought their joint Scandinavian sensibility to New York with the Howard Chandelier, a lovely piece that manages to be both elegant and industrial.

The synchrony is intentional. Says Space Copenhagen, “Howard is inspired by our fascination with the industrial beauty of New York City. We have paired this with our passion for everyday functionality as well as sculptural silhouettes and organic materials that age gracefully over time.”

Bien Hecho

Bien hecho means well done, and that’s exactly what this Brooklyn-based design firm aspires to.

Bien Hecho not only makes beautiful handcrafted pieces from historic and reclaimed lumber, they also do customized cabinetry, countertops, built-ins, and shelving, as shown in the below image from a condo development by renowned architect Shigeru Ban.

Brent Warr Furniture

Georgia-based Brent Warr‘s furniture is truly timeless.

And I mean that in the most literal sense of the term, as these unique creations form his Woodfin collection (made from a combination of wood, plaster, and paint) could just as likely inhabit the aesthetic terrain of fairy tales as that of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The above Wendon Console, for instance, has simultaneous nods to antiquity (the Roman arch) and interactive technology in Warr’s signature plaster protuberances.

Ege by Talk Carpet

Gotta get some textiles in here, and Ege by Talk Carpet is an easy inclusion.

The new company is a collaboration between the U.S. And Denmark, specializing in personalized patterns and colors with fast lead times and no minimum order.

They’re also the only carpet manufacturer with a 100% Cradle to Cradle certified range, meaning they’re carbon neutral, use 100% renewable energy, and process their wastewater until it’s clean enough to drink.

NYCxDESIGN is officially over but design lives! Many of the companies mentioned here will continue their presence throughout the five boroughs, not only through the rest of this year but on into the next. Find out more (and get a sneak peak at 2022) at NYCxDESIGN.