The Small, Beautiful Things of New York Design Month

Design week showcased small, excellent objects that fit within limited space and budgets. Tiny home goods often fail to inspire when they are too niche to justify stunning editions, but everyday items were transformed into delightful pieces. Dimwit introduced Anagrams, a line of light dimmers with bauble-like knobs and colorful switch plates that can be swapped without tools. The collection offered multiple color options and provided a tactile alternative to app-based smart-bulb dimmers. Petra debuted Petra Fundamentals, its first in-house hardware design featuring seven coordinating knob and pull combinations across three collections, hand-cast in India.

"The humble light dimmer has been transformed into an object of delight by Dimwit, an electrical hardware company founded by Joanna Bean Martin. At the Afternoon Light design fair, it debuted Anagrams, a line of dimmers with bauble-like knobs and switch plates that are anything but discreet; these can be swapped out without requiring a single tool (and there's the anagram). Available in a palette of lemon, aubergine, sage and other complementary colors, the collection is a satisfying alternative to the app-based dimmers that accompany so many smart bulbs these days."

"From Petra Hardware's new line of knobs and pulls to Lichen's exhibition of incense holders, the pleasure was in seeing everyday objects made strange and beautiful. Among the regular assortment of items that would burst the seams of your bank account or your apartment's square footage, this year's design week featured all sorts of small, excellent objects, and many of them were even affordable."

"For the last two years, Petra, a showroom founded by Sight Unseen's Monica Khemsurov, has commissioned and rounded up high-end hardware - switch plates, curtain tiebacks, and towel bars, among them. This month it just debuted the first design of its own with Petra Fundamentals, seven coordinating knob and pull combinations across three collections. Hand-cast in India"

Read at Curbed