Text: Alec Coiro
Photos: Bert Houbrechts and Courtesy of Bless
The new term “daycation” is perhaps a Europeanized version of our concept of “staycation,” except instead of just staying home and vegging, daycation, as imagined in Bless’s designs, is a way of elevating and humanizing our experience of relaxation. Bless enumerates its design concepts/collections and “Daycation” is the 57th. While the Bless project’s goals for achieving human comfort may seem lofty, the designers are admirably practical, and Bless number 57, was actually quite practically applied as a means of relaxation for visitors to BLESS number 56 “Worker’s Delight.”
In addition to the daycation objects BLESS created, they also present what we might call daycationwear, a version of liesurewear that is at once futurist and earthy. Earthy, it should be noted, not just in the sense of the warmth of its design, but also in the responsible way that its materials (and all of Bless’s materials) are sourced.
If Daycation is is your first introduction to BLESS, we recommend you read on and then read even more, as the scope of the BLESS project as a whole quite visionary.
What do you think is new about the contemporary ways in which people work and experience leisure today?
It is difficult for us to answer this question, but in general, we think that the key to a healthy lifestyle is not to detach wellbeing from working and longing for the leisure time to come. In our experience, the best situation is if one feels passionate about her/his work and sees a sense in it; then work is also a convocation that is fulfilling and therefore the term “work“ becomes relative.
The idea that office furniture and exercise equipment exist as alien entities within our living and working spaces rang resoundingly true for me as I think it will for most of our readers. Can you describe how you approached creating solutions to this problem?
We find first of all the general aesthetic of workoutmachines very masculine, and also they often have this kind of almost antiseptic, washable aspect. In giving them some “harmless,” almost dusty and senior like style,it kind of softens their look and integrate them quite well all of a sudden in whatever interior, almost like a homeplant.
Would you describe your project in whole or in part as a utopian project?
It is very realistic. It was now shown at Vitra, will continue to be shown from November onwards at a show at Lothringer 13 in Munich and will be applied of course in our own lives, as well as in those of our clients that bought it. but you are right – as with many BLESS products, it will take another 3-5 years until it arrives in the mainstream.
Bless is currently located in Paris and Berlin. Are there any discussion of a U.S. branch?
Interesting thought. Do you want to franchise, invest, participate? In general we can feel a growing interest in the US, but we are realistic and feel quite comfortable small and cozy in good old europe.
Is there always a continuity between successive BLESS N° projects?
No, not necessarily, but in this case we wanted our fashion clients to know about n°56 and therefore came up with the daycation idea to travel with them to see and experience this project set up.
