News: the proliferation of computer renderings and prototypes on sites like Dezeen is making real products “look extremely boring,” according to Dutch designer Marcel Wanders.
Furniture brands are struggling to make their products appear interesting in comparison to online fantasies, said Wanders in an exclusive interview with Dezeen.
“You are so able to present every crazy idea as if it is reality, the whole universe of communication is so strong,” said Wanders. “But now it’s difficult for a company to be anywhere interesting in a world that is so dominated by prototypes and great and bright ideas.”
“The Dezeens of this world are extremely inspirational, but have no realistic dimension any more,” he added.
Wanders was speaking to Dezeen in Milan at the launch of the latest collection by Moooi, the furniture and lighting brand he co-founded in 2001 with Casper Vissers.
Moooi has grown rapidly by recruiting a roster of international designers to create unusual products that sit alongside new work by Wanders, who was one of a generation of Dutch creatives nurtured by conceptual design company Droog.
“It’s funny that in the 1990s Droog was doing all this wonderful work,” Wanders said. “It was interesting that we kind of invented something which I call today ‘virtual design’. We started making prototypes as if they were real, we communicated them in Milano as if you could buy them. That was at the same time a kind of communication being invented as a mass medium.”
Today, designers are able to get international attention for products that are not ready for market and in many cases don’t even exist as prototypes, Wanders said.
“Now I think it is so big, this virtual design, the prototypes are so important in the world of design and the alternative ideas are so important,” he said.
“Now you go on Dezeen and you go through the pages and you find a company like Cassina and oh my God, I mean it’s not even their fault, how could they be interesting between all these bright and virtual ideas which nobody is ever going to do? How could a chair or a lamp be interesting?”
“All that is realistic starts to look extremely boring in the world of all this inspirational stuff. It’s a really interesting problem that we’re going to face. It’s a bit difficult to be in such an exciting world because they to start to feel really boring.”
Milan 2014: explore the space created by Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers in Milan to showcase the new range from their brand Moooi, with this interactive showroom.
Moooi has taken over an old warehouse in Milan’s Tortona district to create an atmospheric showroom.
Products have been set up in clusters, as if in rooms of a house, against giant architectural and interior photographs by Massimo Listri that help create smaller spaces in the large building.
“We implemented something which is interesting for interior designers to see,” Marcel Wanders told Dezeen.
“If you look at all these objects they are a bit displaced. They should be in houses and projects and they should live in surroundings which have their own kind of depth and logic,” said Wanders.
The exhibition is accompanied by eerie sounds created by Dutch musician Fontane, to emphasise the surreal nature of exhibiting home furnishings in an industrial space.
The ability to create a bespoke atmosphere for the showroom is one of the reasons why Moooi presents away from the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the trade fair taking place on the other side of the city.
“Every year we decide not to [go there] because the fair makes it really difficult to make a really wonderful show,” Wanders explained.
“The limitations of the fair are tremendous, simply to get a nice space. Besides that even if you get a nice space then it’s a square with nothing. You get a floor. It’s just not the right thing for us at the moment.”
Milan 2014: the latest collection from Dutch design brand Moooi, including furniture and lighting by Marcel Wanders and Studio Job, will launch at this year’s Milan design week (+ slideshow).
Cocktail chair by Marcel Wanders
Moooi‘s collection includes products by the brand’s creative director Marcel Wanders, who has designed a range of seating upholstered with bold prints.
Bassotti Sideboards by Marcel Wanders
Other designs by Wanders include tables with marble tops and curving metal feet, a set of dining furniture that comes in solid oak or birch, and colourful lounge chairs that have stumpy wooden feet.
Love Sofa high back by Marcel Wanders
Wanders’ Inkborn table lamp features small bulbs and lampshades on the ends of curling metal tendrils that form a candelabra with a cylindrical marble base.
Inkborn Table Lamp by Marcel Wanders
Dutch collective Studio Job has created a chunky desk with integrated cupboards and a stained oak veneer surface. Other pieces of the desk are available in white or a range of bright colours.
Paper Desk 140 Patchwork by Studio Job
Glass bubbles cover the bulbs on Bertjan Pot‘s Prop lights, which are shaped like disks or oblongs that can by mounted on the wall, suspended from the ceiling or stood on the floor.
Prop Light Floor by Bertjan Pot
Wood-framed cabinets by Kiki van Eijk and Joost van Bleiswijk come in a selection of shapes and sizes, and feature surfaces inlaid with leafy patterns.
Tudor Cupboard by Kiki van Eijk & Joost van Bleiswijk
Two layers of mouth-blown glass form globe-shaped lamps by Scholten and Baijings. The inner layer is patterned with dots or lines, and the pendants feature colourful tops and cords.
The collection will debut at Moooi’s Unexpected Welcome exhibition at Via Savona 56 in Milan’s Tortona district, from 7 to 13 April.
Taffeta Chair Green by Alvin Tjitrowirjo
Here’s some information about the collection from Moooi:
Bassotti Coffee Table by Marcel Wanders
A table for every occasion or a combination of tables placed side by side and onto each other to decorate with elegance, practical sense & a touch of humour. The Bassotti table collection by Marcel Wanders merges the solid grace of marble table tops with the shiny lightness of classically shaped legs.
Bassotti Tables by Marcel Wanders
Bassotti Sideboard by Marcel Wanders
A combination of practical, light wooden compartments and of classically sculptured legs, the Bassotti sideboards by Marcel Wanders embody the perfect storage solution for any home or office environment. Feel free to explore their potential by re-arranging them in different compositions to your hearts content!
Bassotti Table and Sideboards by Marcel Wanders
CANVAS 230*115 and Canvas Footstool by Marcel Wanders
Enjoy the comforts of a cozy lounge & sofa that make you feel like an expert art lover sitting on a canvas of hazy dreams.
Bassotti Tables by Marcel Wanders
Cloud Footstool by Marcel Wanders
Have you ever wished that you could fall into the softness of a white cloud that looks like cotton candy? After a brief reality check this daydream is forgotten, until you catch a glimpse of the Cloud sofa by Marcel Wanders, a composition of rounded shapes & soft white cushions.
Canvas 230 and Canvas footstool by Marcel Wanders
Cocktail Chair by Marcel Wanders
Mix the lightness of your favourite cocktail with the weight of Dutch historical heritage, while comfortably lounging in Marcel Wanders’ Cocktail chair. Its straightforward design is luxuriously enveloped in a stylish signature woven textile, Heritage for cocktail. With its black and white symbols of Dutch legacy, this woven jewel adds a cultural patchwork of photography and graphics to the chair’s instant flair.
Colour Globe by Marcel Wanders
The Colour Globe lamps by Scholten & Baijings inaugurate a new collaboration with Moooi in the name of refinement and transparency. Two layers of fine mouth blown glass run parallel in a rounded embrace of playful details and colourful contrasts that optically blend into each other, generating a dynamic effect. Through the glass layers beats its heart, a bright LED lamp enclosed and protected by an opal shrine.
Colour Globe Blue Dot by Scholten and Baijings
Container Oval 210 by Marcel Wanders
A new versatile family member enters the Container Table series by Marcel Wanders. Available in the same materials & colours as its sibling, it combines soft, rounded shapes with a slender body: a dream of many. Find the perfect Container Table Oval for your needs or those of your home, working area or public space.
Container Oval Top 210 by Marcel Wanders
Container Oval 260 by Marcel Wanders
A new versatile family member enters the Container Table series by Marcel Wanders. Available in the same materials & colours as its sibling, it combines soft, rounded shapes with a slender body: a dream of many. Find the perfect Container Table Oval for your needs or those of your home, working area or public space.
Container Oval Top 260 by Marcel Wanders
Inkborn Table Lamp by Marcel Wanders
Marcel Wanders’ Inkborn table lamp conveys the rounded shapes of traditional chandeliers and encloses the futuristic substance of an electro sandwich. This new family member combines ingenious technology and timeless charm!
Kroon 7 Champagne Glow Matt by Marcel Wanders
A softer version of the Kroon lamp by ZMIK (Matthias Mohr & Rolf Indermühle) in a Golden Glow Matt, brings a touch of sunshine to its star-like design. Its new light (champagne) matt features facilitate the diffusion of a golden glow that adds an intense feeling of warmth and coziness to a very cool design!
Kroon 11 Champagne Glow Matt by Marcel Wanders
A softer version of the Kroon lamp by ZMIK (Matthias Mohr & Rolf Indermühle) in a Golden Glow Matt, brings a touch of sunshine to its star-like design. Its new light (champagne) matt features facilitate the diffusion of a golden glow that adds an intense feeling of warmth and coziness to a very cool design!
L’Afrique Carpet by Marcel Wanders
The print of L’Afrique carpet is familiar and mysterious at the same time. Typical elements of traditional African iconography are swallowed into a dense jungle of foliage becoming iconic, yet outspoken symbols of power. Looking into this fantasy world feels like hiding away behind one of the tribal masks, into the dark, with its intricate ramifications of feelings, fears and longings … a place where anything can happen.
Love Chair by Marcel Wanders
Love Sofa, Love Chair and Love Sofa High Back by Marcel Wanders
Have you ever fallen in love with a chair or on a sofa? Both experiences are possible, even probable while enjoying a romantic dinner for two in the Love chair or cuddling up with your sweetheart in one of the Love sofas by Marcel Wanders. Their cosy, soft and rounded shapes are available in several textile options, including the designers’ tailor made signature textile ‘Plush’, made of a soft, luxurious synthetic fur that looks like the cutest white, fluffy teddy bear. One of the sofas has a higher backrest because, as we know, love comes in all shapes & forms. The intimacy of two people snuggled up together is what truly matters. Whether you are flirting with your beloved or with a box of chocolate, enjoy the sweetness of Love!
Love Sofa by Marcel Wanders
Nest Chair and Nest Sofa by Marcel Wanders
The Nest collection’s linear, clear metal structure lifts the plumpest and softest cushions from the floor, creating a comfy, elevated nest for one or more people. For the lovers of fresh, colourful prints Marcel Wanders has developed two signature textiles with a heart of sunshine: ‘One minute’, with its instant splashes of blue skies, and ‘Flower bits’, with a bloom of flowers and butterflies.
Nest Chair Old Blue by Marcel Wanders
Nut Dining Chair, Nut Lounge Chair and Nut Footstool by Marcel Wanders
Sitting in the warm embrace of the Nut dining and lounge chair by Marcel Wanders you will feel protected and as precious as the most beautiful pearl in the sea. The precious flavour of its design and the rich pattern of its textiles distinguish it from the mass. Its cushions enclose you in the comfortable embrace of Marcel Wander’s signature textile ‘Oil’.
Nest Sofa Flower Bits by Marcel Wanders
Paper Desk 140 and Paper Desk 180 by Studio Job
Have you ever dreamt of a classic-looking desk made of white paper and cardboard? Thinking outside the box, Studio Job makes that crazy idea come true by extending their renowned Paper collection to our studios and working areas with the playful utility of the Paper Desk. Its surface, made of dark stained oak veneer, brings a touch of warmth to an otherwise candid desk.
Nut Lounge Chair Oil with Footstool Oil by Marcel Wanders
Prop Light, Prop Light Wall and Floor, Prop Light Round and Prop Light Round Floor by Bertjan Pot
“We have round lights, we have straight lights. We have them with lights on one side, we have them with lights on two sides. You can hang them high, low, horizontally, vertically or even hang them in an angle. Put them on the floor, hang them on your wall or down from the ceiling. We find it very hard to imagine an interior where this prop is not in place”, Bertjan Pot.
Nut Dining Chair White Leather by Marcel Wanders
Indeed the most versatile lamp ever, the straightforward yet ingenious Prop Light by Bertjan Pot represents the perfect lighting solution for literally any kind of interior. Whether you prop it up against a wall, hang it from a ceiling or place it on a floor, its bubbly form and pure spirit brighten up any kind of environment with a fresh, timeless elegance. Enjoy ethereal spheres of light in your home, at the office or in a public space.
Prop Light Round Double by Bertjan Pot
Salago by Danny Fang
The Salago lamp by Danny Fang is born out of his fascination for the timeless value of mastering a craft in contrasts with the quick pace of mass production. By combining the techniques of Paper Mache and paper pulping he creates a lamp with a strong structure and incredibly light body.
Taffeta Sofa Orange by Alvin Tjitrowirjo
Taffeta Sofa and Chair by Alvin Tjitrowirjo
Inspired by the crafts of traditional Indonesian textile weavers, Alvin Tjitrowirjo’s Taffeta sofa and chair embody the spirit of local craftsmanship applied to decorate sacred places housing important celebratory occasions. Their blown up woven structure adds a playful twist to the softness of the rounded shapes and to the delicate flower & fruit motif of the cushions.
Tapered Table by Moooi Works and Nut Dining Chairs by Marcel Wanders
Tapered Table 190 * 100 and Tapered Table 250 * 100 by Moooi Works
If you are looking for an elegant, fine table to lighten up your dining room but don’t want to give up the warm appearance of wood, this is the table for you! Around its tapered wooden surface you can entertain your friends in style, enjoy a family dinner or check your e-mail while savoring a drink. Although delicate and light legged, its structure of solid oak will support any amount of treasures you can possibly think of.
Tapered Table White Washed by Moooi Works
Tudor by Joost van Bleiswijk & Kiki van Eijk
Tudor Cupboard
The Tudor Cupboard is the perfect grand space to store your good tableware, shiny glassware and all sorts of curiosities or clothing. With all the grace of its tall and dignified appearance, it will protect precious treasures and great memories with the constancy and devotion of a loyal friend.
Tudor Buffet
The Tudor Buffet is the ideal decorative sideboard that you can trust with your dearest belongings and cherished family board games. At the same time it will support and emphasize a beautiful lamp or a bouquet of flowers with the strength of solid wood & the gracefulness of woven textiles.
Tudor Low Cupboard
The Tudor Cabinet is the smallest member of the Tudor family but no less in value or strength. Your old typewriter or beloved leather bag will make themselves at home in its cozy compartments, where you can also conceal unfinished paperwork or an eccentric garden gnome…
Valentine Table Lamp by Marcel Wanders
Valentine Table Lamp by Marcel Wanders
After the sparkling excitement of Valentine & Valentine Baby, please meet the new family member: Valentine Table Lamp. Love at first sight is guaranteed with its warm glow of its florid heart. “A magic mirror and the power of crystals transform a simple shell into an endless light bouquet of flowers” – Marcel Wanders.
Zio Collection by Marcel Wanders
Zio Dining Chair
Dining at home acquires a whole new meaning with the classic elegance and contemporary comfort of the Zio dining chair by Marcel Wanders. Sitting in its solid, sculptured wooden structure and soft cushioned body makes you feel immediately at ease, ready for an exquisite meal and a sharp conversation!
Zio Lounge Chair and footstool by Marcel Wanders
Zio Lounge Chair and Footstool
Lean back, close your eyes, relax your arms on the smooth armrests and grant yourself the time to drift your imagination away, beyond your surroundings, into the street, beyond the starry night. Living your fantasies is easy while cosily sitting in the solid softness of Marcel Wanders’ Zio lounge chair!
Zio Coffee Tabl by Marcel Wanders
Zio Coffee Table
The perfect living room mates any time of the day. Marcel Wanders’ Zio coffee tables bring a touch of playful elegance to your afternoons, either entertaining friends or while enjoying a quick coffee on a busy day. Their rounded silhouette and sharp looks come in two sizes, so that you can find the right fit for any space!
Zio Dining Table by Marcel Wanders
Zio Dining Table
In most households the table is the central piece of the dining room, the heart around which families gather, entertain and relax. Many special memories revolve around its steady presence. With their graceful look and refined details, the Zio tables by Marcel Wanders bring a touch of style to any moment.
Zio Buffet by Marcel Wanders
Zio Buffet
The perfect place to store away serious paperwork, endearing photographs and pieces of past memories, the Zio buffet by Marcel Wanders conveys a solid, classy appearance with a touch of playfulness. Trust it with anything: it will protect your finest treasures and support flower vases or car keys with dignity.
Items are arranged to form a house interior, with colourful mannequins by Hans Boodt lounging on the furniture and Levi van Veluw‘s photography hung on the walls.
Find your way Home to Moooi’s Unexpected Welcome at Moooi London
On the occasion of the 11th edition of the London Design Festival, Moooi has prepared an entire collection of refreshing new designs and surprising experiences that will be revealed at Moooi London.
From the 16th until the 22nd September 2013 Moooi London will be magically transformed into several iconic, rich and colourfully dressed living quarters. 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.
The settings will be dressed and accessorised 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, Neri & Hu, 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 and Cloud sofas, and the sophisticated brightness of ZMIK’s Kroon chandelier. 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 lamps and the graceful symbolism of Lorenza Bozzoli’s Juuyo lamps. Besides this, you are invited to admire the grandeur of the new Bart sofa collection by Moooi Works / Bart Schilder and the new Paper Patchwork & Paper RAL creations by Studio Job.
The interior environments will be also decorated with an inspiring variety of patterns and colours that compliment all types of spaces and make people of different ages, cultures and personalities fall in love with their homes. Hans Boodt mannequins will make themselves at home, bringing an extra feeling of intimacy to the settings and resembling peoples’ personality, style & taste. Real and surreal at the same time!
This presentation at Moooi London will also bring together photography of the multidisciplinary Dutch artist Levi van Veluw. Interior design meets artistic photography once again and they connect, creating the perfect balance between two inspiring, stylish and playful worlds. Van Veluw photographs suggest a narrative world behind the portraits. The portraits unfold stories and feelings on a large scale especially for this exhibition.
Product news: these lamps by Joost van Bleiswijk with stands that looks to be built from a child’s construction toy will be launched by Dutch design brand Moooi this week.
Construction Lamp was created by Dutch designer Joost van Bleiswijk for Moooi, based on vintage building toys.
The four-sided stand tapers upward towards the light source like a telegraph pylon.
Each round joint is exaggerated, fixed with large prominent screws.
All elements are the same tone on the black version, except the screws and the inside of the cylindrical shade that are both coloured gold.
On the white model, the corner legs match the shade while wood is used for the horizontal and diagonal bracing.
Two sizes are available, the first is a floor lamp while the second is small enough to also be raised on a table.
Movie: in our second video interview with Job Smeets of Studio Job, the artist discusses the recent economic crisis but claims that, unlike many in the “design art” world, his studio’s work has not been negatively affected by it.
Job Smeets, founder of Studio Job
“I sometimes talk with young designers who are starting their careers; I would not like to be in their shoes,”says Smeets, who was speaking at Moooi’s Unexpected Welcome exhibition in Milan.
“Having said that, when I started Studio Job, I didn’t care a thing about the economy. I was involved in trying to make a statement in design or art.”
He continues: “But being in a crisis when you’re already ten years old is quite exciting. We had the big advantage of not having to slow down our business. There is still a lot of interest in our pieces.”
Studio Job has been at the forefront of the “design art” world, where limited edition and one-off design pieces are sold to collectors as pieces of art, for over ten years. Smeets says that the marketplace has become much less crowded since the crisis.
“A lot of our colleagues in the art or design business have disappeared,” he explains. “They came up very quickly because they saw there was a market and they went away very quickly because they saw there wasn’t a market anymore. But Studio Job already had a body of work by then.”
Being a small company with a worldwide reputation helped Studio Job steer through the crisis and take advantage of emerging markets in the east, Smeets claims.
“The market changed because, all of a sudden, the USA wasn’t the biggest market anymore. But we are a very small ship; we are lean and mean. A completely new market appeared in the Middle East, in Asian countries and in Russia.”
He concludes: “I don’t think our work changed [because of the economy], so that’s good.”
All the designs featured in the movie are by Studio Job. Photography by R. Kot, D. Stier, L. Blonk, A. Blommers / N. Schumm, A. Meewis, Moooi, Lensvelt.
Studio Job founder Job Smeets looks back over his career to date and explains why sculpture is so important to his studio’s work in this movie Dezeen filmed at Moooi’s Unexpected Welcome exhibition in Milan.
Job Smeets, founder of Studio Job
“When we started [Studio Job], it was very simple: we wanted creative freedom,” Smeets says.
“The only way to reach creative freedom was to design sculptures, because when you do a sculpture, each sculpture can be a unique piece. That’s perfect. Not for economical reasons, but it’s perfect for creation because every time you can start to design a new piece.”
Smeets continues: “We started to sculpt pieces and cast them in bronze. As with plastic, with bronze you can make any shape you like. Plastic is for the industry and bronze is for the art world, but I thought: ‘let’s turn that issue into something beautiful and introduce sculpture into design’.”
Studio Job’s work straddles both the art and design worlds, but Smeets says he does not distinguish between the two.
“I really don’t care,” he says. “When you are trying to separate art from design, you are creating a ghetto, which is always a bad thing. Let’s not have borders in creation.”
Paper furniture by Studio Job for Moooi
Studio Job has designed collections for Moooi since its range of paper furniture launched in 2007.
“The first thing you learn in Kindergarten is to work with paper,” Smeets says of the collection. “So it’s a very authentic approach.”
Gothic Chair by Studio Job for Moooi
Subsequent collections include a gothic chair made from plastic and a series of hand-painted furniture inspired by antique German designs, while Studio Job’s latest pieces for Moooi’s Unexpected Welcome collection include lamps shaped like upturned buckets.
Altdeutsche Cabinet by Studio Job for Moooi
“Now we’re sitting here in a total design environment, we have 35 or 40 products we did for Moooi on show here,” Smeets says. “I’m a happy artist and a happy designer.”
However, Smeets believes that the influence of sculpture is still apparent in these industrial pieces.
Bucket lamp by Studio Job for Moooi
“In a way, the Moooi pieces are becoming a little bit more sculptural,” he says. “If you look at the bucket lamp series, for instance, it’s a mixture of wood, of paper, of brass. It’s quite interesting.”
He continues. “[Today], we are allowed to do s*** like that. Five years ago, if I came up with a bucket upside down on a wooden pedestal they would say, ‘do it on your own, don’t do it here’.”
“I think that has to do with trust. We are getting old and people tend to trust you when you’re over forty, no?”
Robber Baron coffee table by Studio Job
All the designs featured in the movie are by Studio Job. Photography by J.B. Mondino, R. Kot, K. Vrancken, A. Meewis, Groninger Museum, Moooi, Z33.
Dutch designer Marcel Wanders discusses how he overcame the challenges of using LED technology in his new lamp for Moooi and defends the high cost of design products in this movie Dezeen filmed in Milan.
Flattering by Marcel Wanders at Moooi’s Unexpected Welcome exhibition Milan
Wanders‘ new lamp for Moooi is called Flattering and features an ornate copper-coloured frame that supports 32 LED lights enclosed by tiny individual transparent lamp shades. It was on show as part of Moooi’s Unexpected Welcome exhibition in Milan.
“With LEDs we need to redesign our thinking about what to do,” says Wanders of the challenges of working with the technology.
“You have these little lights, but each of them is very sharp. If you want enough light in an LED lamp you have to put them together and [if] you have a lot it [will] blind you completely. One of the solutions is to put these little lights further away from each other.”
Normally, spreading apart so many individual LEDs would result in a lot of messy wiring to power them all. However, Wanders explains that Moooi has developed its own proprietary technology called Electrosandwich, which allows the LEDs to be powered directly through layers of conductive material within the frame.
“Here we have developed a patented technology which makes it possible for us to put lights anywhere we want without putting special cables and fittings,” he says.
Wanders then goes on to defend the high cost of products that design companies like Moooi produce.
“If Moooi makes a design, the company doesn’t only make this object in a really good way, with the right materials, with the right techniques and with the right perfections,” he says.”It also did all of the development. To get there is really difficult.”
“You will always find that the companies who copy something sell only the things that sell really well,” he continues. “A company that does design has to also find a way to make it’s margins for all the other things that fail, which is part of design.”
Wanders concludes: “Ultimately, an original design product will have a cost higher than its copy.”
Wanders also believes that owning an original product rather than a copy is important.
“If you want an authentic life, if you want to be an authentic being then you want to connect with with your surroundings,’ he says.
“My grandfather used to say ‘show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.’ Show me your surroundings and I’ll tell you who you are.”
The Moooi show featured pieces from its Unexpected Welcome collection arranged in small room layouts, with giant portraits by Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf dividing the large warehouse space.
“I am 100% sure that we are by far the most expensive exhibition in this Milano fair,” Wanders says in the movie. “We might hopefully be the most impressive one.”
“For Moooi, this is the right moment to do something,” he continues. “This year we felt we were really ready to do more development.”
“We wanted to show that besides making iconic objects, we are ready to do spaces, to make things work together. To not only make objects, but homes.”
Wanders believes that the quickly developing economies in the east provide a new set of challenges and opportunities for companies like Moooi.
“The west has been educated in its own kind of rational way for a hundred years,” he says. “We arrive now to clients all over the world. These people don’t have this dogmatic education. You’re not going to sell them a grey sofa because you tell them it’s a great grey sofa.”
Wanders continues: “You have to give real value, give them something that they think is really vital to them, something valuable to them, something they really want to have in their hearts. And I think it’s a great opportunity for design.”
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.
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.”
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