This year at FOG Design + Art Fair, Michael Young and Hedge present a project that represents several years worth of research and collaboration between factories throughout Asia. Having worked on a number of projects in aluminium for industrial clients, the Michael Young Studio came across several processes for which a commercial use could not be found. The Michael Young studio developed an unusual collaboration between competing suppliers and applied these processes to the creation of a new series of limited edition design pieces. The project involves the production of steel tools with which high-grade aluminium can be injected with high temperature gas. A secondary process embeds colour into the exposed surfaces as the material cools. It is a production akin to that of the cooling of a mineral, such as Obsidian, from which the project derives the name Metal Rock.

Hedge will also present several pieces from the Hex series, for the first time. Made by a precision engineering plant that manufactures aluminium computer casing, each piece is milled from a solid block of aluminium, specially made for the project in a specialized cutting process that may take up to 6 months to complete.