Mecato Bench
Width: 700 mm
Height: 450 mm
Depth: 380 mm
Material
Galvanized and powder coated tubular steel. Fibres from Iraca palm leaves
The light Mecato Bench is a minimalist piece that allows the beauty of Colombian craftsmanship to take centre. It’s a design by Pauline Deltour, who found the inspiration for the piece when visiting the Colombian province of Nariño. Suitable for all indoors environments, the stool’s seat is covered with a handwoven fabric made with the fibres of the Iraca palm. Its cover has a slightly corrugated texture, making it very pleasant to touch, and is available in warm earthy or natural colours while the frame comes in three different colours. The bench is also available in a smaller size
Departamento Nariño is located in South West Colombia, where working with the natural material Iraca has a long tradition. The artesanos weave hats, bags, purses, ornaments and individual one-of-a-kind pieces from the fibres of the palm. The material holds its shape and is very durable. The fibres are dyed using natural methods with seeds, leaves, nuts and roots and some mineral materials are also used to create different colour sections. After the dyeing process, the fibres are drained and need to be left to dry for several days. Only then can the artesanos process the material. With the help of tweezers, needles and tongs, they weave the seats by hand, using different types of stitching. Just the preparation of all the materials takes five days, while the production of each bench takes nine days
German designer Sebastian Herkner is a long-term collaborator of ames and has visited Colombia multiple times to experience the country’s cities, nature and people first hand. He also visited many of the ateliers that ames has partnered with to learn about the unique traditional crafts of Colombia's regions. A sought-after contemporary designer and recipient of many industry awards, he has worked with many international design brands, creating intriguing pieces that showcase his intuition for interesting material, colour and texture combinations
