Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, co-founders of WantedDesign, were thrilled to announce Arielle Assouline-Lichten, founder of Slash Objects, as the 2019 recipient of the American Design Honors, an exclusive WantedDesign program, presented with Bernhardt Design.

Launched in 2015, American Design Honors was created by WantedDesign co-founders Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat, and Jerry Helling, President and Creative Director of Bernhardt Design, to recognize up-and-coming American designers who embody excellence in creative design and superior entrepreneurial ability. For consideration, candidates must possess a solid body of work, express a unique design language and offer a pioneering new design business model.

The 2019 American Design Honors recipient Arielle Assouline-Lichten is the founder of Slash Projects, a multidisciplinary design firm in New York whose work spans from digital to physical. Her line of furniture and products explores the intersection of materials and form. Using unexpected juxtapositions and thoughtful design, the studio strives to create beautiful pieces with impact.

”We are very pleased, and thankful to Bernhardt Design, to be able to give an extra support and visibility to the new generation of talented American Designers. Arielle is a brilliant and creative young woman, capable to envision original products and spaces, with a particularly great attention to details and without compromises,” said Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat. “It is very exciting to have her as the fifth recipient of the American Design Honors.”

“We are thrilled to highlight Arielle Assouline-Lichten as this year’s American Design Honoree. Her dynamic approach to design and unique vision translate into a wide range of remarkable projects, spanning the digital to physical realms,” commented Jerry Helling of Bernhardt Design. “Her creative use of materials, like recycled rubber, and appreciation for sustainability make her work not only interesting but original. It’s no surprise Arielle has earned such recognition.”

In 2018, Slash Objects won the highest honor in the product category of the NYCxDESIGN Awards for the Coexist Collection, which includes the Coffee Table, the Askew Side Table, and the Standing Mirror. The pieces are a play on the use of materials, bringing together metals and stone in a way that allows each material to rely on the other in order to function. The pieces are all fabricated in New York and are custom made.

For WantedDesign Manhattan 2019, Arielle Assouline-Lichten introduced the Coexist Daybed, an extension of her award winning Coexist Collection.

The Coexist Daybed is a contemporary take on the chaise longue, designed by Slash Objects and fabricated in New York. The daybed consists of a black steel frame, with a brass cube at one end, and a nero marquina marble cube at the other end holding the frame in place. Using balance and delicate harmony of materials meeting, the piece holds space in suspension through the daring move that turns the brass cube on its finest edge.

The pieces fit together seamlessly, with the marble cube holding up one end of the piece, and the brass cube notched into place on its knife edge in suspension. There is no hardware used to hold the piece together, rather precision fitting and engineering allows for the parts to rely upon one another to exist – hence the name Coexist. The mattress is upholstered with karakorum italian bouclé wool by Dedar.

The Coexist Daybed was on the Dezeen Awards 2019 long list and received a warm reception at WantedDesign Manhattan 2019.

Top image, photo credit: Sophie Mathewson