The Phantom

This is the Phantom, a table designed by GRAFT. Their words are better than mine, eloquently put and more importantly, directly from the source. Thus allow me to introduce… their description.

A table has always been something special. We spend many of our most important moments at or around it. We take care of basic needs such as satisfying our hunger and quenching our thirst, and sometimes more sublime, celebrate fine dining and good wine. We make important decisions, we invent the future and celebrate being in the moment. But the essence, the really important aspect of a table, is that it brings us together. Therefore, the table deserves a special place in our home, and in our lives. For this reason we were interested in designing a table, and with it, be able to search for those collectively creative moments.

In 1955, when the most famous dress in the history of films reversed gravity with the support of a floor ventilator, it simultaneously exposed the beautiful legs of Marilyn Monroe. We remember this sensual moment filled with lightness, playfulness and humour. An iconic picture icon of the twentieth century was created, an important milestone in the gradual flow of life. We seek these magical moments in our work, because they define our lives and make it worth living for: when unsurpassed laughter frees us of conventions, or the birth of an idea saves the world. Talking, eating and drinking at the table can shut out a crazy world for a few magical moments together.

The table designed by GRAFT captures a similar moment. As the table cloth starts to sway, seemingly gathering momentum by the energy of the beseated, and is about to take off, it reveals… that there is no table underneath. As if it never existed. A phantom. A moment of movement that leads to revelation: not the table is important, but much rather the people sitting around it!