With a small team of specialists, I helped Architect Amos Goldreich to develop a new furniture brand that spotlights the design legacy of his mother, interior architect Tamar de Shalit, ahead of his more famous father, designer and activist Arthur Goldreich.
I have rebuilt all furniture in 3D CAD, specified materials, made technical drawings, prototyped details, developed and made them by hand within a few months. Together with craftspeople in the UK and Europe, these furniture will now be produced in small batches and send to customers worldwide.
Launched during Milan Design Week in April 2024, Tamart's inaugural collection featured 10 furniture based on the archive of the late couple, a collection of more than 10,000 drawings, photographs, documents and prototypes.
South African-born Arthur Goldreich is more well-known than his Israeli wife, particularly because of his role in the anti-apartheid movement. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1963 after helping Nelson Mandela to hide from police. Goldreich also founded the architecture and design faculty at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem.
By naming the brand Tamart, an amalgamation of Tamar and Arthur, Amos Goldreich has deliberately put De Shalit in the spotlight as the driving force behind the creative partnership. Goldreich is keen to highlight his mother's non-nonsense attitude. This, combined with her attention to detail, led De Shalit to design interiors for a series of major projects. She designed a courtroom to host the trial of Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem in 1961 and worked on numerous projects in collaboration with architect Nahum Zolotov, described by Goldreich as "the Israeli Niemeyer".
Goldreich only discovered the wealth of projects in his parents' archive when he inherited it after they died, De Shalit in 2009 and Goldreich in 2011. After staging an exhibition in 2018, at the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art in Israel, the architect decided to redevelop some of the furniture designs for a contemporary market.
The results were presented in the show Tamart: Powered by Love, which was on show as part of the Milan design week exhibition Design Variations by Mosca Partners.
A significant piece in the launch collection is the Central Stool, which is based on a design that De Shalit produced as a student at London's Central School of Arts and Crafts. The Central Stool features three angular, tapered legs and a semi-circular seat. It can double as a small side table if leaned against a wall or paired with a second.
The collection also includes various pieces that were originally designed for a prestigious commission for the penthouse of entrepreneur and philanthropist Charles Clore, including a curved lounge chair and a geometric coffee table.
One of the more playful designs in the collection is the Red Rock Club Chair, designed for a club in Eilat. The backrest of this chair is topped by a pair of spherical handles, giving people standing nearby something to hold.
The Highgate Chair is the most reworked of the designs. It is based on archive photos but has some new features, including a tilted, pill-shaped backrest and a leather seat that can be re-tensioned.
Goldreich worked with furniture designer Adrian Weidmann to adapt the designs for modern manufacturing techniques and sustainability standards. For instance, they have avoided using any upholstery foam. Fabric options include Contrast produced by Bute in Schottland, a woven wool textile based on a patterned scarf that De Shalit designed.
Tamart won “Best New Brand” by Monocle Magazine
All pieces are now ready for preorders at Tamart
Credits
Art Direction by Micha Weidmann
Photos by Tom Mannion
Strategy by: Jacob Perez
Text by Amy Frearson
Articles: Dezeen ELLE Deco The Luxury Property Forum Baunetz (DE)