Hasta La Ideas

Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in this movie filmed in Milan earlier this month, leading designers and manufacturers discuss the phenomenon of copying and how they are responding. “It’s become an increasingly big problem for us,” says Tom Dixon. “People can steal ideas and produce them almost faster than we can now.”

“An original design product will have a cost higher than its copy,” says designer Marcel Wanders (above). “It’s very simple. Stealing most of the time is more cheap than buying.”

Unscrupulous manufacturers visit Milan to photograph new prototypes and then rush out copies before the original products reach the market, according to Casper Vissers (below), CEO of furniture and lighting brand Moooi.

“It’s very sour if you have presented a product in April and it’s in the shops in September, but a bloody copier has it already in August,” says Vissers, speaking at Moooi’s spectacular Unexpected Welcome show in Milan (below). “This is what happens at the moment.”

Vissers adds that legal action against copiers in Asia is expensive and, even if it’s successful in the short term, it does little to stem the tide: “You need huge amounts of money [to launch a law suit in the Far East] and if you win – if – a new limited company in China will start production [of copies]”.

Copiers are increasingly shameless about their intentions, says Tom Dixon, speaking at his presentation at MOST in Milan. “People feel very confident copying things. Some people come around with spy glasses photographing things but other people are more overt and come in with iPads or film crews.”

Dixon says the problem is getting worse, with markets around the world and even the UK market increasingly flooded with copies. “Everywhere we go in Australia or Singapore or India we’ll see many, many copies, and that’s also hitting more and more the UK as well.”

Gregg Buchbinder (above), CEO of furniture company Emeco, says the solution is for designers to push manufacturers to make more sophisticated products that are harder to copy. The furniture collection Emeco developed with designer Konstantin Grcic for the Parrish Art Museum on Long Island (below), for example, “was a very difficult project to do. Although the chair looks simple, there’s nothing skipped.”

“The more difficult it is, the more difficult it is for people to knock it off,” Buchbinder adds.

Emeco aggressively pursues copyists through the courts and earlier this year won a case against fellow US manufacturer Restoration Hardware, which had copied the iconic Navy chair.

But outside Europe and the US, copyright law is less robust and harder to enforce. “It’s very, very difficult to protect yourself legally,” says Dixon.

Dixon’s company is directly responding to the problem of copying by developing a range of new products designed to make life more difficult for counterfeiters.

“What you’ll see [at our Milan presentation] is a number of coping strategies,” Dixon explains. “We’ve been trying as much as possible to invest in tooling and slightly more advanced technology. We’re working on adaptive models where we make specific things for clients. A new bespoke division where we make things for people, so we adapt our products to suit a client’s needs. So there’s ways of dealing with it. We’ve just got to be faster and smarter.”

See all our stories about copying in design ».

Milan is the second stop on our Dezeen and MINI World Tour. See all our reports from our first destination, Cape Town. This movie features a MINI Cooper S Paceman.

The music featured is a track called Divisive by We Are Band, a UK-based electronic act who played at the MINI Paceman Garage in Milan on Friday. You can listen to the full track on Dezeen Music Project.

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who copy our products” appeared first on Dezeen.

Milan 2013: Dutch brand Moooi has sent us these sketches by designers including Marcel Wanders, Studio Job and Joost van Bleiswijk for the Dutch firm’s new collection launching in Milan next week.

Above: Cloud Sofa by Marcel Wanders

Presented at Via Savona 56, Moooi‘s Unexpected Welcome collection will feature new products by brand co-founder Marcel Wanders, including the Cloud Sofa, the Bell Lamp topped with a ceramic bow and the Farooo Lamp based on a lighthouse.

Above: Bell Lamp by Marcel Wanders

Also included are two helmet-like lamps decorated with Japanese fish and flowers by Milanese designer Lorenza Bozzoli and the crane-like Construction Lamp by Dutch designer Joost van Bleiswijk.

Above: Farooo Lamp by Marcel Wanders

Artists Studio Job will present a set of lamps with metal buckets or tubs for shades and a collection of interlocking furniture called Labirinth.

Above: Labyrinth by Studio Job

Slovenian designer Nika Zupanc will unveil a Golden Chair with a minimal silhouette, while Shanghai studio Neri & Hu will show a group of tables titled Common Comrades and Swiss design duo ZMIK will present a hinged hanging lamp called Kroon.

Above: Bucket lamp by Studio Job

Photography by Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf will surround the works. “Expect to arrive in Milano to experience two parallel universes collide,” Wanders told Dezeen. “In the midst of it you’ll encounter the works of Erwin Olaf, and also my new furniture for Moooi.”

Above: Tub lamp by Studio Job

“The 2013 Moooi presentation is a game changer,” said Moooi founder and CEO Casper Vissers. “You will find the creativity and soul of Moooi as a brand together with the individual, innovative and sparkling products from the designers we collaborate with. We will make your visit to Moooi unexpected and very welcome again!”

Above: Construction Lamp by Joost van Bleiswijk

Unexpected Welcome will be on show at Via Savona 56 in the Tortona district from 9 to 14 April. Our own Dezeen and MINI World Tour movie studio will be located just down the road at the MINI Paceman Garage – more details here.

Above: Kroon lamps by ZMIK

Other Moooi products we’ve featured include a clock inspired by London landmark Big Ben and a glass and spun metal lamp – see all design by Moooi and see all design by Studio Job.

Other products launching in Milan this year include an aluminium sideboard by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and modular furniture made from Meccano-like perforated steel plates – see all products and news from Milan 2013.

Above: Common Comrades by Neri & Hu

Here’s more information from Moooi:

On occasion of the 52nd edition of the Salone del Mobile, Moooi has prepared an entire collection of refreshing new designs and surprising experiences that will be revealed at an unexpected location: via Savona 56. From the 8th to the 14th of April Moooi is taking up residence in the imposing space of 1.700 m2 and transforming it into a stylish assembly of colourful living quarters, new product displays, lounges, an artistic exhibition, along with the FRAME Moooi award nominees exposition, panel discussion, exclusive ceremony and VIP cocktail evening.

Above: Golden Chair by Nika Zupanc

Moooi’s biggest gift to the public is to reveal how a wide empty space can be magically transformed into several iconic, rich and colourfully dressed living quarters. This assortment of interior environments is decorated with an inspiring variety of patterns and colours to embrace any kind of space and make people of different ages, cultures and personalities fall in love with their homes. Of course Moooi will make sure to dress and accessorise all the interior sets with an irresistible blend of exquisite richness, nurturing warmth and colourful playfulness.

The living quarters will be furnished with items from the current collection & many new, exciting creations by Marcel Wanders, Studio Job, Joost van Bleiswijk, Edward van Vliet, Neri & Hu, Nika Zupanc, Moooi Works/Bart Schilder, Bertjan Pot, Raimond Puts, Lorenza Bozzoli and ZMIK (Mattias Mohr & Rolf Indermuhle). You are welcome to enjoy, amongst others, the artistic temperament and intimate nature of Marcel Wanders’ Canvas, Zliq and Cloud sofas, the retro atmospheres of Nika Zupanc’s Golden Chair and the sophisticated brightness of ZMIK’s Kroon chandeliers. Take some time to walk around and study the high-stream inventiveness of Joost van Bleiswijk’s Construction lamps, the pragmatic playfulness of Studio Job’s Bucket & Tub lamps and the graceful symbolism of Lorenza Bozzoli’s Juuyo lamps.

Above: Juuyo lamp, Koi Carp Tattoo by Lorenza Bozzoli

The new designs can also be admired and observed in detail along an extensive ‘catwalk’ presentation, in which they ‘pose’ individually to share their pristine beauty with the public. This unexpected home vision brings to life a whole world of new ideas and inspiring settings to brighten up daily life with a touch of magic. It represents a place where visions converge and where every traveller can stop to admire the perfect eclectic mix of culture & experiences that make a home environment more beautiful and unique. Celebrating the successful cooperation and friendship between two highly creative souls, Marcel Wanders has asked renowned photographer Erwin Olaf to join the Moooi presentation with a grand selection of photographs from his personal work. Interior design meets artistic photography and they connect, creating the perfect balance between two inspiring, stylish and playful realities.

The photographs unfold their stories and feelings on a large scale, reaching a stunning height of 4,5 meters especially for this exhibition. Admiring them feels like stepping into a world of exceptional sophistication, permeated with the sharp intensity of human emotions and enveloped in a dreamy haze of subtle tension. Although cleverly concealed, their hidden stories instinctively appeal and connect to our deepest sense of being, revealing the strong frailty of the human spirit. Erwin Olaf has chosen to challenge the public with pieces for his series Grief, Fall, Keyhole and Berlin which respectively challenge everyday notions, dwell on sensations of shame & guilt, or show the transcendent relation between people in a different light.

Above: Juuyo lamp, Peach Flowers by Lorenza Bozzoli

Especially for this occasion the Moooi presentation will be inhabited and characterized by a number of colourful mannequins by Hans Boodt. Combining 25 years of experience in visual merchandizing, creativity and know-how, the world-famous, high-quality mannequins of Hans Boodt never fail to make a great impression with their strong charisma. They will make themselves at home at Moooi’s presentation, bringing an extra feeling of intimacy to the living quarters and resembling peoples’ personality, style & taste. Real and surreal at the same time!

This year the exclusive Frame Moooi Award ceremony, VIP cocktail evening and panel discussion will also take place in via Savona 56. On the 10th of April a selected crowd of design professionals is invited to attend a unique cocktail evening dedicated to the celebration of creativity and design. Jana Scholze (Curator of Contemporary Furniture at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum) will crown the winner, who will receive a tempting award of €25,000. Detailed information on the 10 shortlisted designs will be available throughout the entire week of the Salone on artistic, informative panels at via Savona 56.

Above: Unexpected Welcome collection

The post Unexpected Welcome
sketches by Moooi appeared first on Dezeen.

London Design Festival: Dutch designer Marcel Wanders spoke to Dezeen about a new clock inspired by a London landmark earlier today at the Moooi showroom in west London (+ audio + movie).

Big Ben is a giant decorative wall clock based on the ornate clock face of the famous landmark, which was recently renamed the Elizabeth Tower.

“Clocks are by now probably the most non-functional object,” said Wanders, suggesting how easy it is to find out the time from our phones, watches and computer screens.

“Because [the clock] doesn’t have any function anymore, it has a very decorative aspect,” he told Dezeen.

Big Ben is on show alongside other work by Moooi and pieces by Studio Job and Stefano Giovannoni in the Moooi showroom in west London – see the map below for details.

See all stories about Marcel Wanders »
See all stories about London Design Festival »

Movie: Big Ben by Marcel Wanders
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Dezeen’s London Design Festival map

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The map above is taken from Dezeen’s guide to the London Design Festival, which lists all the events going on across the city this week. We’ll be updating it over the coming days with extra information on our highlights so keep checking back. Explore the larger version of this map here.

The post Big Ben by
Marcel Wanders appeared first on Dezeen.

London Design Festival 2011: Dutch designer Marcel Wanders launched a collection for British retailer Marks & Spencer in London last night, including a pair of gloves with one gold finger tip (below).

The collection for Christmas comprises accessories for men and women, confectionary, cosmetics, homeware and decorations.

See our earlier Dezeen Wire story about the collection here.

Wanders also presents a photographic installation with mermaids floating among the Moooi collection in London this week.

See all our stories about Marcel Wanders here and all our stories about the London Design Festival here.

Here’s some more information from Marks & Spencer:

Marks & Spencer Launches Design Collaboration with Marcel Wanders

On 12th October M&S will launch an exciting new Christmas product range under the creative direction of world renowned designer, Marcel Wanders.

The ‘Marcel Wanders for M&S’ collection is a cohesive gifting range that includes men’s and women’s accessories, cakes and confectionary, cosmetics, Christmas decorations and homewares.

Displayed in store in a unique Marcel Wanders designed gift shop, the collection has been created to excite and surprise customers this Christmas, offering a range of individual and inspiring Christmas gifts.

This is the first time M&S has worked with a single designer to create a collection that spans a range of product areas encompassing food, clothing and home. Marcel was selected for his international reputation, as one of the world’s most influential product and interior designers his work is shown in some of the world’s most important collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and San Francisco and the V&A in London. Synonymous with cutting edge design, Marcel co-founded the internationally renowned interiors brand Moooi and has worked with a host of global design brands as well as working on architectural and interior design projects.

The collection comprises over 150 uniquely designed gifts with the Marcel Wanders gift shop present in 60 stores nationwide and a virtual shop avaible online at www.marksandspencer.com.

Stand out products include the unique Teddy Bear nightlight with illuminating nose, an interchangeable set of cufflinks depicting King Henry the VIII and this six wives and the must-have ‘gold finger’ gloves in red leather.

Marc Bolland, Chief Executive, M&S says: “Marcel Wanders is an internationally acclaimed designer and I’ve long admired his original and cutting edge approach to design.

Marcel brings something new and exciting to our Christmas gifting range and I think our customers will be surprised and inspired by his unique and cutting edge designs.”

Marcel Wanders says: “I wanted to create a new collection of personal objects from my heart to you. Design allows us to reach out and inspire and I am so pleased M&S have joined me in my quest to make beautiful design accessible for everyone”.

See also:

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Mermaids by Marcel Wanders	Tableware by Marcel Wanders	Funambule by Patrick de Glo de Besses

Dezeenwire: UK retailer Marks & Spencer has hired Dutch designer Marcel Wanders to create a range of gifts and homewares, the Financial Times reports. Read the article | All our stories about Marcel Wanders