From shows featuring dozens of nightlights to conceptual furniture and innovative student work, NYCxDesign 2026 was a dazzling mix. Dezeen US editor Ben Dreith and US reporter Ellen Eberhardt pick out objects that show the scope of the busy week.
New York’s year design week has wrapped up, and the tenor of the event was both communitarian, with shows designed to bring designers together, and contemplative due to news that long-running trade show ICFF is moving to November in 2027.
Many questioned what next year’s design week will look like without the commercial centrepoint, but didn’t let the uncertainty get in the way of the outpouring of energy that went into the many shows.
The use of metal in designs was prevalent, as were oxblood tones, leading to a richly accented minimalism in many of the designs.
Also prevalent was the entrance of many independent designers into a more product-oriented realm, and while the present list focuses mainly on one-offs and special projects, Dezeen highlighted a few of these launches at NYCxDesign 2026 here.
Read on for 18 items we liked during this year’s fair:
Reading Man by Nicholas Baker
Dozens of designers created night lights for an exhibition curated by Philadelphia studio Dudd House and design platform the Future Perfect.
The Reading Man by Nicholas Baker was a standout for its playful simplicity.
Crown of Thorns Stool by Benjamin Graham
Displayed at the Co + Hab show in Carroll Gardens church, the Crown of Thorns Stool by designer Benjamin Graham is made of small units of folded laser-cut aluminium.
According to Graham, the material manipulation is based on a wooden joinery technique that was practised in the 1800s and early 1900s, which the designer learned from one of the last living practitioners of the skill.
Elegy for Egon Riss by Colin Knight
Multiple design exhibitions were hosted at the condominium building 144 Vanderbilt in Brooklyn, including this year’s iteration of Paraphernalia (pictured at the top), which prompted designers to create around the word ‘alien’.
Local designer Colin Knight showcased the Elegy For Egon Riss bookcase, a play on the Penguin Donkey bookcase designed by mid-century architect Egon Riss during WWII as an exploration of the hardships and alienation faced by designers while working under global conflict, as well as “the effects of war on design”.
Tensei by Scott Newlin
Designers Scott Newlin and Overt Cove curated a small show that saw pieces exhibited on the tables and walls of the Lower East Side’s Sake Bar Asoko.
For the show, which included small, household items such as candlestick holders by Earnest Studio, Newlin created a set of brightly coloured, petalled sake cups and matching masu, a dish that holds spillover from generous pours.
Cocktail Fountain by Pinch x USM
Local food design studio Pinch Food Design teamed up with USM to create a series of furniture used to display the studio’s outlandish desserts, small bites and drinks.
The Cocktail Fountain simultaneously served cocktails, chilled beverages and “demonstrated how hospitality infrastructure could merge directly with furniture”, according to Pinch Food Design.
Wall of Sound by Symbol Audio x USM
Swiss furniture company USM put out another collaboration with local design and audio studio Symbol Audio for the Wall of Sound exhibition held at the design fair Afternoon Light.
The installation displayed a new speaker module created by the team, with custom speakers placed within the modular USM system.
Good Night Light by Che-Wei Wang
Showcased at an exhibition curated by local gallery Allen Street Gallery and design platform Slow Construct, the Good Night Light by architect Che-Wei Wang explores home safety at “the scale of the hand”.
“A simple flashlight docks into a bent sheet metal body; pull it out, and it becomes a companion for the dark hallway,” said the designer. “The fixture stays, the light travels.”
What Still Holds series by Bechara Maaouf
Lower East Side retail shop Komune displayed a small collection of lamps and other objects by New York-based designer Bechara Maaouf in a tiny gallery specially renovated for the show.
The lamps call to the intricate window guards covering Maaouf’s family home in Lebanon and were designed as an ode to daily resilience and beauty during times of global conflict.
Find out more about What Still Holds ›
The Landing Dabyed by Julio Torres x Sabai
Actor and comedian Julio Torres teamed up with local furniture company Sabai for his design debut, featuring a collection of four items, including this daybed.
The collection was informed by Torres and Sabai founder Phantila Phataraprasit‘s shared experience of immigrating to New York City and the joy that comes with eventually establishing your own place to host visitors or others who have just arrived.
Find out more about The Landing Daybed ›
The Hum Speaker by Silence Please x Kouros MaghsoudiÂ
Speaker design continues to be a hot-ticket item in New York’s design world, with local designer and Dezeen collaborator Kouros Maghsoudi working with audio company Silence Please to create the Hum Speaker.
The speaker marries the thick volumes and lacquer work of Maghsoudi’s design language with the technical know-how of Silence Please, combining a horn and subwoofer with a passive crossover system.
Slotted Series by Nolan TK Studio
Vancouver designer Nolan Talbot-Kelly, who often works with found materials, moved into a more producible design language with Slotted Series, lighting with CNC-cut sheet metal and frosted acrylic, which was shown at ICFF’s WantedDesign showcase.
The LEDs inside are dimmable, and Talbot-Kelley said he wanted to use “ubiquitous localized production methods, resulting in a scalable design that embraces the latest technology”.
Purity Nighstand by Eliot Wolfert
Local designer and recent Parsons graduate Eliot Wolfert quickly became one of the most interesting young designers to show during the week, featuring in multiple shows, with work including a beeswax poncho (pictured at top).
His Purity Nightstand, shown at ICFF’s WantedDesign, has wooden slats and a top that make it function as a nightstand, yet the prototype conceals internal mechanisms that allow it to work as a humidifier and air purifier.
Till Lounge chair by Nok Nok
Featured at the Dezeen-sponsored WantedDesign Look Book platform at ICFF, Nok Nok‘s Till Lounge represented a fresh, efficient take on the classic form.
Part of the New Jersey-based studio’s Loops Collection, the chair features tubular metal shaped to resemble natural forms and an oak-and-upholstery seat, back, and ottoman.
Ziggurat Bird Bath by Sophie Collé
Known for her colourful interior schemes and geometric furniture, Sophie Collé presented a playful yet minimal birdbath at a Brooklyn exhibition curated by Kin & Company, featuring pieces designed for and in homage to avian creatures.
The Ziggurat Bird Bath is aluminium with a stepped form that leads up to a glass-lined bathing pool for birds to relax and clean themselves.
Material Studies II Coffee Table by Kalon
One of the most rigorous studios practising in Los Angeles, Kalon showcased its new iteration of the Material Studie series, which features the studio’s first use of stone.
The coffee table is a riff on the cube-and-void forms seen in much of the studio’s work, with mirrored aluminium bases and pigmented stone tops.
Tlaloc Table by Ollin
Shown at Afternoon Light, local studio Ollin continued its explorations in the fusion of Mesoamerican and modernist themes with the Tlaloc Table.
The stone base has raised bumps that contrast with the highly polished stainless steel. The tabletop has a void that can be filled with objects, and the studio has constructed a variety of inserts, from ikebana screens to walnut plates for modular centrepieces.
Gantri Wireless by Ammunition x Gantri
California lighting company Gantri teamed up with design studio Ammunition to create a series of 3D-printed, wireless lamps to mark the launch of its Gantri Wireless category.
The Eave Wireless Floor Lantern is one of several lights in the collection, informed “by the place below the roofline that reaches outward to catch and soften light”.
The Eva Collection by Maiden Home
The Eva Collection is Maiden Home‘s second collectible design collection and comprises a sideboard and an armoire, which were showcased at the brand’s New York City flagship.
Each piece is made of white oak or walnut by artisans in Upstate New York.
NYCxDesign took place from 14 to 20 May. For more global events in architecture and design visit Dezeen Events Guide.Â
The post Eighteen weird, wonderful and well-made objects from NYCxDesign 2026 appeared first on Dezeen.
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