'Borris' Collection by Miminat Designs explores the interplay of motion and stillness

Fundamental design concepts, ‘motion’ and ‘stillness’ provide designers with various components to experiment with and balance. Motion gives a design vitality and energy, frequently conveyed through dynamic forms, interactive aspects, or kinetic elements. It can increase user engagement and functionality by evoking a sense of movement, change, and evolution. On the other hand, stillness, defined as simplicity, steadiness, and constraint, fosters reflective and peaceful periods. Skillfully navigating between these two ideas, designers combine them to form an overall experience of a design, elicit particular feelings, and improve usability.

Inspired by the intricate interplay between motion and stillness, Miminat Shodeinde of Miminat Designs imagined the Borris collection to redefine the essence of movement itself. The lighting and furniture design collection explores the invisible side of motion—the halt. To emphasise that movement does come to an end, it seeks to capture a single moment inside the fluidity of movement. "This collection is about capturing the essence of movement when it ceases. We're exploring the beauty found in the pause, in those solid, ridged structures that emerge when movement reaches its culmination," Shodeinde shares.

The furniture and lighting designs in the collection are created in such a way that they can be set up as individual pieces or as modular compositions. The pieces in the collection comprise a chair design, table designs including a console table, a dining table, a sofa design, a floor lamp and a wall-hanging pendant light. Each product design adorns brutalist aesthetics while showcasing the beauty of a moment suspended—a grounded yet inevitably compelling picture of movement at its halt. “The poetry of movement is something I am often drawn to explore in my work. Here, I looked to capture its pause - movement suspended in time you could say and the beauty of those solid, rigid structures that emerge,” the furniture designer explains.

Shodeinde says, “Our philosophy centres around aligning the prosaic and the poetic, pushing the boundaries of my imagination and creativity to create spaces and pieces that feel sumptuous, sculptural and one-of-a-kind. I think (and hope!) the Borris pieces align well with this.” The pieces in the collection are made from a refined palette of aluminium, Nero Marquina marble and ash wood, the materials blend harmoniously to create a sophisticated and opulent look. Additionally, the collection's modular layouts offer a variety of possibilities for space planning. The larger-scale forms work well in open-plan living areas when all the parts are arranged together, but when the pieces are split or employed separately, they can be used in a range of interior design layouts.

Shodeinde has created an assortment of lighting and furniture designs that encapsulate movement by combining brutalist aesthetics with poetic reflection. Through its modular compositions, the series enables variety in space design while also encouraging reflection on the beauty found in moments of slowing down. With a keen eye for detail and meticulous craftsmanship, the Borris Collection offers both functional adaptability and aesthetics.