As part of this year’s London Design Festival, jewellery designer Lara Bohinc will showcase her exclusive furniture collaboration with Lapicida, here Lara tells us about the process behind the creation of her ‘Solaris Kinetic’ table and the events she plans to see at LDF this September

How will you be spending London Design Festival this year?

We are hosting a Q&A on the Solaris table at Lapicida’s showroom on the 15th, and we are also doing a presentation on metal interiors accessories with Skultuna on 18th September. In between I will try to see as many shows and openings as possible. It will be a busy week!

You are best known as a jewellery designer…what was it like stepping into the word of furniture design for this collaboration?

Well actually my original background is in industrial design and I did my MA in metalwork and jewellery, so jewellery is really only one of my interests, though it is the one that I am best known for. I often think of jewellery as small objects for the body and I think of furniture as jewellery for the home. Designing an object, be it big or small, is ultimately the same: after your initial design concept you have to take into consideration material and industrial processes and off you go.

What was the inspiration behind the ‘Solaris Kinetic’ table?

Solaris, a concept inspired by the planets and their orbital movements, is a theme running through much of my work. Four stacked rings of marble move smoothly on a rotation spindle like a range of orbits. Highly polished circular brass dishes are inset into the marble plates, like planets rotating around a sun. The table is ever changing, as the plates can be easily moved around its axis, from a totally closed circle it can be spread open to almost double its size.

Are there any other areas of design you’d like to try your hand at?

The Resident: The Solaris table is made up of four stacked rings of marbleThe Solaris table is made up of four stacked rings of marble

Many! I would like to design lamps and other pieces of furniture. I would love to do some more home accessories, and I would also love to design wearable technology. There is no reason why those plasticky accessories have to look so manly and so sporty.

What was the most challenging part of the project?

The challenge was to make a table a smoothly moving object and still retain its design. The table has quite a complex mechanism inside, it looks like a watch mechanism but on a much larger scale. Obviously it is a heavy piece since it is made of stone and metal, however it moves as lightly as a feather.

Other than your own, what events are you attending at this year’s London Design Festival?

I am looking forward to the exhibition of chandeliers (by Zaha Hadid) at David Gill galleries, as well as attending all the big shows.

What’s the best part of your job?

When it is good it feels like I am playing, not working. I love my job, I love coming up with new ideas, as well as learning about new materials and techniques. I am quite geeky in fact.

Table Talk: Designers in Conversation with Lapicida featuring a Q&A with Lara Bohinc and the conceptual designers Brooksbank & Collins will take place on 15 September 6.30pm-8.30pm; Lapicida, 533 Kings Road (entrance on Lots Road), SW10 0TZ lapicida.com