Most of the design world will be traveling this week- either to High Point or Milan.

Milan Design Week  held April 17^th -22^nd is THE place to visit for engaging exhibitions, innovation, surprise and around every corner- delight. i saloni is the benchmark. In it’s 51^st year it’s at the Rho fairgrounds expecting 280,000 + visitors.

via Core 77

Part of i saloni, SaloneSatellite was the first event to focus on young design talent and has become the quintessential meeting place for manufacturers, talent scouts and the most promising young designers. This year’s theme , Design<->Technology, is in honor of Steve Jobs – as the press says because he “taught us to dream and to believe in the possibilities of technology and creativity.”

But the real action is in Milan center and its neighborhoods. From the posh luxury brand stores on Via MonteNapoleon to Zona Tortona and Lambrate the show is a patch work of lofts, storefronts, warehouses, galleries. Milan Design Week  invented the “pop-up”. On my first visit- I was handed a map, put in a cab and sent on my way. I was exhilarated and panic stricken at the same time.  I guess that’s why my memories are still crystal clear.

You can’t feel alone, because the crowds are crazy and I mean 24/7! I am always struck by the numbers of general public attending– families with strollers and young kids visiting exhibits and talking design . You don’t see that everyday in the U.S.

But enough of my walk down memory lane. Here’s a sneak peek of what Milan Design Week 2012 will have to offer:

From the Simple:

Nino by Lucia Bruni via Designboom

nino is a recycled and recyclable candle lantern, perfect for both interior and exterior settings made from a  Italian ‘prosecco’ bottle.

To the Technical:

R18 Audi Chair via Designboom

The prototype chair is equipped with industrial sensors connected to a central server, alongside visualization displays. As an individual sits in the chair, information about the flow of forces from his or her weight is depicted onscreen and available to the person by e-mail as a personal, shareable video. the data will also be used by AUDI in optimization efforts to streamline the chair’s construction.

Speaking of Cars:

Mercedes Benz has teamed up with the Italian Formitalia Luxury Group, to launch a new collection into the furniture market, bringing Mercedes-designed chairs and tables to your living room under the Mercedes-Benz Style label.

Illuminating:

Inhale by Lasvit

For Lasvit’s Inhale Lamp, glass blowers form big air bubbles then inhale to produce an unusual shape with negative air pressure.

Press by Lasvit

Press lamps in pendant and floor styles rely on light sources tucked into compressed glass tubes to produce soft, organic forms.

New Meaning to the Kitchen:

Alpes Inox at Euro Cucina

Alpes Inox

Italian company Alpes Inox has integrated furniture and appliances in their new line of  freestanding cabinets. The fridge and raised oven are hidden behind the cabinet doors.

Alessi via designboom

Dutch architect Wiel Arets has collaborated with Italian company Alessi and Valcucine to create Lacucina Alessi. made entirely from glacier white Corian®. The freestanding piece has a unified appearance as the flush lower cabinets merge into the wrapped rounded counter top and integrated sink, all of which is held together by a hidden joint system.

Genius Inspiration:

Selvedge by Studio Raw Edges- Hallingal 65 Exhibition

My fabric mavens, you’ll love the special exhibition at Jil Sander. The special Kvadrat Hallingdal 65 exposition is curated by Tord Boontje among other notable designers and it features the works of 32 designers who have all re-interpreted the Hallingdal 65 in new contemporary ways. Hallingdal was the first fabric produced by Danish textile manufacturer Kvadrat. Designed by Nanna Ditzel in 1965, it has been updated with new colors as the Hallingdal 65.

The process

London-based design studio raw-edges (yael mer and shay alkalay) project Selvedge derives its name from the typically discarded selvages of fabric. Using the linear elements of the ‘Hallingdal 65′, they stretch it to dictate the form and structure of an armchair, emphasized by these ‘unraveling parts’- warp and weft threads. They then pulled out warp threads to create a hollow sleeve and then placed two layers in different colors on top of each other and joined them together using a transparent strip.
The result is a colorful rim which appears from the exterior, reminiscent of the selvedge that is found at the hem of raw fabrics.

Hallingal Table by Frederickson Stallard's

Another approach London-based designer Frederickson Stallard’s ‘Hallingdal table’. Using the fabric as a construction material, rather than solely for aesthetics, the table  explores the possibilities of achieving structure from a soft wool fabric, using nothing but the textile itself as the main building block.

To Over the Top:

More Art Factory furniture from luxury tile manufacturer Sicis

The Black Moon

Share/Bookmark

I am in the market for a new sofa, so I was doing a little window shopping when I came across these stunning possibilities.

Favn

“Design needs to solve the problem and be long lasting – off-course. But it is important to remember that my design is made for humans – to be used by humans. I believe that design should provoke emotions. Design should make you feel good. Create happiness.”   Jamie Hayon

 Jamie  Hayon’s new sofa- FAVN does all of the above. FAVN – the Danish translation for embrace, is the result of an experimental dialogue between Fritz Hansen& Hayon. “FAVN is picking up from the long tradition of Arne Jacobsenin the sense that I wanted to create a form that was based on a shell, like the Egg™ and the Swan™ which looks equally beautiful from all angles.” Hayón continues.

“I wanted the sofa to be based on a shell. A shell being hard on the outside, soft and welcoming on the inside. I wanted to create a form that embraces you, something really organic – that’s why we named it FAVN.”  There is something very Mad Men about this sofa.

Personally, while I love the sofa, I find myself drawn to the sketches even more.

The Cape

This gives new meaning to a slipcovered sofa. Love! the idea of changing out the cover with the seasons.

  Cape by Konstantin Grcic is an upholstered sofa with an overlay cover. Cape grew organically from the initial design challenge to create covered seating with a casual yet luxurious feel to it. The inspiration came from the informal way in which loose fabric is draped over a piece of furniture as protection  in hotels or country estates off season. ( I know, you can’t remember when the last time was that you throw a cover over your couch as you closed up the country home for winter…. just go with it.)

The Cape pieces have  moved beyond the slipcovers and tight-fitting, washable coverings seen at last year’s Milan furniture fair. Grcic’s mantle is much more free-flowing, casual but still tailored — less Snuggie-for-your-sofa than these pictures might imply. It’s available in different colors and weights so customers can change looks over the years or even change textures with the seasons. It also allows for an instant update as an interior changes.

 I am thinking a subtle houndstooth; maybe a fine wool sateen???

Share/Bookmark

‘bishop table’ by barnaba fornasetti
all images courtesy of fornasetti

For milan design week 2011, milanese atelier fornasetti presents ‘armistizio’ (armistice), a collection of office furniture, designed by barnaba fornasetti son of the late piero fornasetti. The series of furniture pieces draw on the renaissance engravings of armour, mêlée weapons and antique illustrations of firearms. Weapons can be inspiration too! The assortment of weapons, full-body armours in their colorful fusion of antique and modern, provide something unexpected. Archival drawings such as the ‘spade e fucili’ and ‘pugnali e pistole’, previously used to embellish a variety of objects, are revisited, updated and applied in a new context- a common theme this year at design shows.

The drawings are applied in a pop-art mode to furniture pieces: a dividing screen, desk, wall organizer, office
and meeting chairs, small bureau, cabinet with drawers, nesting tables, bench with emphasis on acid and digital tones
ranging from yellow to green to pink. They are all hand-printed silver leaf decorations which give contrast to the
black-lacquered surfaces of the pieces which they adorn. Art gives way to form in the masculine square, linear shapes  of the collection.

A year ago I was drawn to Cole and Sons’ Fornesetti wallpaper collection- specifically the Boemia pattern.

Seeing these furniture pieces confirmed for my why I love Fornasetti so much- dramatic, intense color juxtaposed against bold scaled historical documents. A perfect blending of today and yesterday for me. I dug out a cache of original engraving I prurchased 5 years ago in France and starting dreaming about how I would use the idea and information as inspiration for my business. Stay tuned- more to come soon on that design front.

Share/Bookmark

 Anthropologie, bohemian chic sister to Urban Outfitters debuts their Decorator Concept boutiques March 24 in 12 of their stores across the globe. Amping up home décor, the Decorator concept will share the Anthropologie aesthetic, but is dedicated to “delivering a unique experience that helps generate design ideas and support decision making.” The store sees these concept shops as a continuation of their focus on “product rivaling that ordinarily available only to the trade.”

The workshop style boutiques offerings include wallpaper, curtains, lighting, furniture , books and accessories. (Decor8′s new book ,Decorate is part of the selection.) Boutiques will be selling brands like Cole and Son and Tracy Kendall.

Decorator Concept locations will host workshops with design experts and special events  in a range of fields and offer printed information about their selection, from care instructions to creative ideas.

A new online section, “For the Decorator” launched on this past Thursday. Resources available to online shoppers will include wallpaper calculators, swatch request forms, and glossaries.

Decorator concept stores are coming to:

• Atlanta, Georgia
• Beverly Hills, California
• Chicago, Illinois
• Corte Madera, California
• Denver, Colorado
• Houston, Texas
• London, United Kingdom
• Miami, Florida
• Nashville, Tennessee
• New York, New York
• Wayne, Pennsylvania
• Westport, Connecticut

If you thought it was hard to sell to the under 40 crowd; wait till they get a taste of Decorator Concept. You can guess where I’ll be next Thursday.

Share/Bookmark

“This distinction is incongruous as we always believe that we could have done things better… prizes are quite a healthy form of pressure; they force us to do better each time and always”.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, 2011 now! design à vivre designers, show how this pressure can encourage even more precision. Designed to meet present-day needs but to resist the assault of time and fashion, their objects are sustainable by definition and consequently need to be precise. Their designs themselves are part of a long-term industrial process where design, in their opinion, owns the top spot. The importance of draftsmanship seems incongruous in these days of 3D technology. Yet it is natural for Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

Slow Chair for Vitra

Ronan born in 1971 and Erwan born in 1976, have worked together for over 10 years. Their partnership is a permanent dialogue, nourished by their differences and guided by their need for precision and delicacy.

At the Salon du Meuble in 1997, they were noticed by Giulio Cappellini who assigned them with their first industrial design projects. In 2000, Issey Miyake asked them to design a space presenting his new Apoc clothes collection in Paris. Then came the decisive meeting with Rolf Fehlbaum, president of Vitra, which led to the design of a new typology of office systems called Joyn in 2002. They have worked with Magis to design two complete furniture collections: Striped and Steelwood.

Steelwood Chair for Magis

Finally, the textile walls  North Times and  Clouds designed through a  partnership with Kvadrat.

 In 2010 they presented two separate collections for two new editors: a tableware collection, called Ovale, for Alessi and a bathroom collection for Axor.

Alessi Oval Collection 2010

UPDATE: Being introduced at M&O  next week in the  Nanimarquina booth is ‘losanges’ , a new rug collection designed by the  Bouroullec brothers.

Intrigued by traditional persian rugs and the ‘kilim savoir-fair’ which the designers consider to be a delicate mix of rusticity and fineness, the ‘losanges’ project is carried out by craftsmen in northern Pakistan who weave the rug’s thirteen colors into a geometrical rhombus shape. ‘losanges’ is crafted by hand, and the afghan wool used to craft it is hand spun, allowing for particular color tones to be highlighted,making each one a unique piece. Can’t wait to see it in person.

 For those of you interested in the process; see below.

Full scale sketch by Bouroullec brothers

Traditional weaving process by Pakistani craftsmen

Photos Courtesy of Maison et Objet.

Share/Bookmark