Stone Logic

Volcanic altar, by Sabine Marcelis and Made a Mano.

- Rosa Bertol

As we planned our Milanese temple to divine design for the Wallpaper* Handmade exhibition, we knew that an altar would be an essential component – a celebratory centrepiece for our spiritual theme. We entrusted the creation of the piece to New Zealandraised, Rotterdam-based designer Sabine Marcelis. We sensed something celestial in Marcelis’ work and were keen to see her tap into the transcendental.   An inventive take on materials is Marcelis’ calling card: her star-making collections feature neon lights encased in candy-hued resin shapes, a technique she invented and has developed over the past few years. So we decided to offer her a new material to explore, enlisting as collaborator the lava stone specialist Made a Mano. Founded in 2001 by NanaKi Bonfils, who now serves as creative director, the company is based between Copenhagen in Denmark and Sicily and Naples in southern Italy, producing a variety of glazed lava stone surfaces and objects. ‘When I was asked to take part in Wallpaper* Handmade, I decided that a heavy theme deserves a heavy object, and for me this was the perfect excuse to dream big and create something unexpected,’ says Marcelis. ‘An altar is a grand gesture, so I really wanted to go big, pushing the limits of Made a Mano lava stone.’   Marcelis’ altar is composed of a 700kg slab of blueglazed lava stone gracefully balanced on a glass base. The large slab seemingly floats above the ground, held in place by an almost invisible glass box. ‘We wanted to create a visual illusion,’ the designer says.   Her initial ideas for the design evolved once she discovered the library of surfaces and colours available at Made a Mano. ‘At first, I wanted to really play more with the material, combine it with the other materials I am more used to working with, like resin,’ Marcelis explains. ‘But when I saw the beautiful glazes that NanaKi had been developing