While touring the Established & Sons exhibition in Milan we met Jason Bruges designer of the Flat Liner. This family of interactive LED lamps respond to touch. While different sizes are suspended, the table and floor lamps allow more adjustment–face the lamp towards the wall and display the backside, a “stealth like” surface displaying the circuit board beneath.
On the Salone del Mobili in Milan, the Finnish furniture company Artek presented their new packaging with a message: Communicating the company’s value of time-less and sustainable products but wanting to avoid the semantically inflated word “sustainability”, they chose simple but strong messages such as “One chair is enough”, “Timeless content inside” and “Buy now, keep forever”. We love it!
Paul Cocksedge created another marvel design which was presented on the Salone del Mobili in Milan: The table light Life 01 for Flos is a crystal vase with a lamp built into the base that turns on when a flower is inserted. The flower functions as an electrical conductor. The light turns off automatically when the flower wilts. Rendering Selene Tunesi.
Sociologist Francesco Morace, president of Future Concept Lab in Milan, was meeting us in the Appartamento during the Milan Design week and shared with us his interesting views on the current state of the design world and the opportunities that the crisis creates. He also introduces us to the manifesto he had launched with the Future Concept Lab just before the Milan Design Week took of.
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Please click below to read Renaisssance Link, the manifesto of Future Concept Lab.
The Senseware exhibition in the Triennale during this year’s design week in Milan showed a wide range of installations exploring new technological fibers and their respective potential applications. One was mintdesign’s “to be someone”: breathing masks that are literally masks to disguise yourself as a chimpanzee or put up a “beautifully proportioned face”. So, if the human race is – as we are continually being told on the news – being doomed, then at least we can all go down with a certain style and irony… maybe a “Miss Piggy” mask would be most appropriate in the current situation?!
Watch the video to see more from this great exhibition:
Imagine how the new artificial fibers that have evolved through the application of high technology will spur humans to a new wave of creation. Some of these fibers are as fine as individual cells, some are more pliant than rubber, and some are electrically conductive like metals. This exhibition is an attempt to visualize some of the domains that the new Senseware can open up. Ideas were sought from architects and designers of all ilks, automobile and electrical appliance manufacturers, media artists, and even a flower artist. The exhibition represents an intersection of technology materials, and talent, all oriented towards future manufacturing.
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Click below to see more pictures and have a look at our massive gallery of the best from Milan!
Aimed at young, European designers, the Prix Emile Hermes rewards the creation of innovative objects. This year it was happening for the first time with the theme “Everyday Lightness”. The jury unanimously decided not to award a first or second prize for this first edition of the Prix Emile Hermes, but rather to award three third-place prizes. The results of the contest were exhibited at the Triennale during the Milan Design Week. Here you get more info about the designers who were selected.
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Click below to see more pictures.
We were excited to meet Bruce M. Tharp in person for the first time the other day. He and his wife, of Materious, had an exhibition at the Tuttobene, which was inspired by the ideas of philosophers. Watch the video above to learn all about it.
If you weren’t able to walk around the Zona Tortona last week, check out this tour of the Lago Appartamento with artist Diego Paccagnella. Not only were all the Lago designs on display, but they were in use as well–a concept sure to be imitated at many festivals to come. Lago also promoted work by some Royal College of Art students. One of our favorites was Valentin Vodev‘s “Kick It,” soft flexible lamp. The Appartamento will be open for the next couple months, you may need to schedule an appointment, but it is well worth it.
As usual the Spazio Rossana Orlandi was one of our favorite places in Milan this year. You just can’t beat the athmosphere and patina of this space. So many things are to be discovered and the attention and love to detail is such a great pleasure. This year was a wide range of objects collected under one roof: Li Edelkoort curated the “Talent Milan” exhibition, a selection of 21 design graduates from 11 countries, which was happening in the court yard mongst other new works of various designers.
In the various galleries within the space were Piet Hein Eek, Weltevree, Established & Sons and Nacho Carbonell amongst many, many more. Pictured above is TAFs Soft Parcel sofa and one part of Tina Gerini’s “Playing Memphis” installation. Below some impressions of the court yard bustle and a radiator in the shape of a ram.
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A couple of days ago we met Jordi Canudas on the street, who was happy to show us the graffiti sculptures that he and a friend, Andrew Haythornthwaite, installed for design week. The work is entitled BUON APPETITO.
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Click below to see Jordi and Andrew’s Public Design Festival competition entry. (Didn’t get picked, but congrats on the installation!)
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