GREAT OUTDOORS

DEDON’s furniture combines traditional craftsmanship and modern technology

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

DEDON’s furniture combines traditional craftsmanship and modern technology

My Reading Room

With more than 25 years of experience in creating luxurious outdoor furniture, German-based furniture brand DEDON was founded on the simple desire to offer the world good-looking designs that could weather the storm—in every sense of the word. Its latest collection, Dala, is no different. Designed by Brooklyn-based product designer Stephen Burks, the collection—which comprises a lounge chair, a footstool, a sun bed and matching tables—was inspired by the ad hoc and improvised seating arrangements found in developing countries. Hence its name: Dala means “to make” in a Senegalese dialect that Burks encountered during one of his sojourns.

With a powder-coated aluminium mesh as a frame, each of the lightweight yet hardy pieces is designed to be easily moved around the patio or carried down to the beach. Harking back to nature with three richlyhued colourways of stone, fire and grass, the fibres are researched and produced in Germany, before being woven by DEDON’s master weavers on the island of Cebu. The 100 percent recyclable and sustainably manufactured fibres have been tested to withstand extreme weather conditions and up to a decade of UV exposure.
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