Hasta La Ideas Taller 6A Archives

Jul 08

Seven Questions for Ambra Medda

Ambra Medda‘s name is familiar to design lovers from her tenure as director Design Miami, which she founded in 2005 with Craig Robins. Three years after leaving the fair, she is back in a big way with L’ArcoBaleno (“the rainbow” in Italian). The new site is devoted to collectible design—from top galleries including Galerie Kreo, Carpenters Workshop, and Demisch Danant—that visitors can learn about, browse, and buy. “Creating the ultimate marketplace for design as well as a platform for the design community to congregate (virtually), share, and push design discourse forward is what stimulates me,” said Medda, who co-founded the site with eBay veteran Oliver Weyergraf. “After the incredible experience with fair it seemed natural to scout the best design pieces and creative talent and promote all the incredible quality and stories surrounding them.” Here she discusses rainbows, covetable objects, and words to live by.

“Fuzz 2010″ by Study O Portable, available from Gallery Fumi on L’ArcoBaleno.

How did you decide on the name L’ArcoBaleno?
Coming up with a name was fun and torturous at the same time. I love language, and there were so many great options but we either couldn’t own the .com or it wasn’t this enough or that enough. When I thought of what gives me the most electrifying feeling. I thought about love at first, but i couldn’t call it love.com, because that’s just silly. So then the next thought was rainbow! Looking up at the sky and seeing a rainbow is an extraordinary sensation, the most powerful natural experience. Add to that we wanted to present the whole spectrum of design from limited-edition design, technology, food, science, fashion. “L’ArcoBaleno” sounds beautiful and stands for a jolt of energy, which i believe the design world needed at this point in time.

What are a few of your favorite limited-edition products available on the site?
I love the Sedimentation Urn by Hilda Hellstrom, Fuzz 2010 by Study O Portable, and Peter Marigold‘s Calendula Cabinet. If I had the cash in the bank that’s what I would buy right now.
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Apr 11

Ambra Medda launches online store for collectible design

Posted in: Uncategorized

News: Ambra Medda, the director and co-founder of Design Miami/Basel, has announced the launch of L’ArcoBaleno, a website offering unique and limited edition pieces for sale alongside reports from the design world.

Launching in May, L’ArcoBaleno – which means rainbow in Italian – will combine an online shop with original reports and movies about culture and design trends.

Founder Ambra Medda, who left Design Miami in 2010, said: “L’ArcoBaleno will reflect the entire spectrum of design – that includes collectible objects, but also fashion, food, music, architecture, art and technology.

“Our hope is that it will influence the global design conversation, and inspire and engage collectors, curators, and devotees of creative fields.”

The website’s CEO Oliver Weyergraf added: “We have developed the site with a ‘mobile first’ approach, building it to address the needs consumers have today, and what we anticipate their needs will be in the future as commerce becomes an increasingly mobile function.”

Ambra Medda launches L'ArcoBaleno

L’ArcoBaleno will be guided by an advisory board that includes architect David Adjaye, Greek shipping heir Stavros Niarchos, gallery owner Suzanne Demisch, musician and design fan Pharrell Williams and British designer Tom Dixon, with whom Medda partnered in 2011 for the launch of the MOST exhibition space in Milan.

Earlier this year the founder and CEO of online furniture retailer One Nordic criticised the way design is sold to the public. “I just feel that this whole industry is terrible at seeing that many people are moving online and willing to buy furniture online,” Joel Roos told Dezeen. “In the furniture field many, many companies retail exactly the same way as they did in the seventies.”

Last autumn, in a reversal of the trend for physical shops moving their business online, the homeware webstore Made.com opened a showroom in a west London office tower.

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