Orior, a family-owned design studio, often returns to its Irish roots. Founded in 1979 in Newry, Northern Ireland, by Brian and Rosie McGuigan, it’s now run primarily by their son, Ciarán, with a workshop in Newry and a showroom in New York City. The company works with many of the same artisans it did four decades ago, sourcing materials such as Connemara marble and Irish crystal to build modern credenzas and tables, and producing chairs and sofas in Ireland’s signature green. Orior’s latest collection, Fearn, consists of sculptural planters made from three Irish limestones: Armagh, Kilkenny and Lecarrow, each named for its native city. “Taking these raw blocks of materials that are extracted from the earth in their purest form and reimagining them into a new shape is part of our practice,” Ciarán says. “It’s about mixing materials and introducing curvature and detail.” There are three planter shapes, though each has a stone base that features engraved symbols from the Ogham Irish alphabet (Fearn is the third letter). On top is a hand-sculpted marble basin, meant to resemble centuries-old waystones that were once placed in front of homes to welcome visitors.
The Fearn collection is available now from $12,250, oriorfurniture.com.
