My friend from Montreal, Kim Vallee, writes an entertainment and lifestyle blog. She’ll be out for part of next week and has asked me to guest blog for her. I’m looking forward to writing about cooking - my second love.  So look for me there ( as well as here) next week.

Now I’ve got to go frost Arthur’s birthday cake. Have a nice weekend!

 cake image via: cake journal

 I’m getting all my black things together for Milan. Misterarthur and I leave in just a week. The Salone is the giant international furniture show. This year they expect over 270,000 visitors. The show is separated into a number of large pavilions - a total of 226,000 square metres.

It’s not just furniture. Soft home products are there, and a huge kitchen exhibit.

The show is divided into two styles - contemporary and classic. It’s so huge that one person couldn’t possibly see everything. But I’ll try. I’m especially interested in the Satellite Pavilion, which features young designers and students.

I’ll be posting throughout the day, along with Arthur and Industrial Designer, Leon Fitzpatrick.

It may seem rather abstract, but this is where the trends emerge. This is where it all starts - color, new materials, styles. Think of it like haute couture for the world of home furnishings.

Speaking of New York (see today’s previous post), last Sunday, The Museum of Modern Art opened “Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today.” According to an article in today’s New York Times, “The show looks at contemporary artists for whom color functions as a ready-made — something to be bought or appropriated, rather than mixed on a palette. As Frank Stella famously quipped, “I tried to keep the paint as good as it was in the can.”’

“Ten Large Color Panels” by Gerhard Richter

An entire wall is devoted to Gerhard Richter’s “Ten Large Color Panels” (1966-71/72), a 31-foot sequence comprised of ready-mixed paint bought from a hardware store. Looking at this brings on happy flashbacks to the color theory class I took while a student at CCS. I use the stuff I learned in that class every day.

I’m spreading the word about Always Mod, a new online shop devoted to all things Marimekko.

They’ve got a fantastic selection of fabrics, as well as pillows, tabletop items, you name it. I was previewing the site last week, so I really got a chance to check it out. I like the fact that Always Mod has more than the Usual Suspects. By that I mean Unikko and Kaivo fabrics. They’re terrific, but Marimekko is about so much more than that.

Well, no phone. No internet. Not yet anyway. And it’s 4:00. So, Jennifer will see you back here on Monday. Have a good weekend.

Misterarthur here: Comcast decided to “upgrade” our internet service - without prior notification - and as a result, Jennifer’s posts will be delayed today. If it looks as though the outage will continue for the whole day, I’ll post another alert. On behalf of my better half, please be patient. (Don’t tell anyone I’m doing this from my office). Thanks

Tre di Una - Hunn Wai, Singapore

Shelving Chair - Jun Murakoshi, Japan

United We Stand - Robert Southcott, Canada

The 1st prize winner: Raphaël von Allmen, Switzerland with Chair

I was invited to attend as a guest of Architonic, but alas, I couldn’t get away from work. However! I am attending the Il Salone del Mobile, which is the grand daddy of design shows. It takes place in April, so stay tuned. In the meantime, come back tomorrow for more from Cologne.

Stay tuned next week. I’ll be writing a post for Design Tip Tuesday, discussing new color trends, news from the Cologne Design Show, and a special focus on Teen Bedrooms. Here’s a sneak peek of one of the bedrooms I’ll be featuring.

See you on Monday!

I hope everyone enjoyed Kitchen Week (!) as much as I did. I covered so much material that I thought this would be as good a time as any to begin writing a weekly wrap-up. I hope this will help serve as a guide to quickly access the information covered during the week, and that it will help serve readers as a resource.

• I wrote a long post on kitchen cabinet options, including Gory (pictured above). They come in so many styles and price ranges it could make your head spin. The best place to start is to choose something that compliments the style of your home. Eco-friendly options include Lyptus, Neil Kelly and Crystal.

• Read design advice from kitchen design experts, Jim Morris and Susan Serra.
• Countertop materials include many choices other than the standard granite. They include: Silestone, options from 3-Form, and glass, concrete, soapstone, stainless, and Ice Stone.

• Sink and faucet options from Kohler.
• All about dishwashers.
• Appliances! What’s new in cooking and refrigeration. Plus, the latest on retro fridges.

• New options on flooring, including creative vinyl tiles, and Marmoleum.
• Ceramic Tiles from Margaret Licha, Pewabic Pottery, Woven Wood, and Marlborough.

• A funny nightmare construction story from builder Steve Hulse.
• Practical advice (and some cookbook recommendations) on knives and setting up a proper cook’s kitchen from Renaissance Man, Misterarthur.

• And lighting styles from Tom Dixon, UNIK, and, José Esteves.

Of course, there are always my daily Chair of the Day posts. I’ll leave you to discover those on your own. My hand are tired from typing!

Brilliant Italian designer, Ettore Sottsass, died last week at the age of 90. Sottsass designed many iconic products, along the way changing the way we look at everyday objects. He never retired and was still working with his Milan design team until just before his death. Deyan Sudjic, a writer for The Guardian, said it best:

Sottsass showed that it was possible to understand design as a cultural as well as a technical issue. When he designed the Valentine portable typewriter for Olivetti in 1969, with the British designer Perry King, he was able to turn a piece of office equipment into a desirable object by understanding that there are emotions involved as well as ergonomics in the way that we use and understand our possessions.

Sottsass made the Valentine out of bright red plastic, with twin splashes of vivid orange for the spools; turning it from a machine into a kind of toy. As he put it himself, “the sort of thing to keep lonely poets company on Sundays in the country.”

Sottsass was also responsible for creating the Memphis design movement in 1981.

Here’s some good news for my fellow Motownies who are itching to open their own shop this year (a very good resolution if I may say so). Small business owners, Liz Blondy and Claire Nelson, are paving the way with a new group called Open City. It’s a group that provides existing and aspiring Detroit business owners with coaching, support and practical information.

Blondy, who owns Canine to Five, a dog day care and grooming business on Cass, was quoted in Detroit’s Free Press recently. She said, “Claire and I are very passionate Detroiters. We both think that Detroit is only going to grow. What’s going to contribute to the city’s growth is small businesses. People who visit my business have told me that, among other reasons, they do business with me because I choose to be in Detroit. People spend their money in the suburbs because they can’t in Detroit right now.”

Open City began holding monthly meetings in September. Discussions include topics like financing, forming a business plan and marketing.

Nelson, (pictured left) the 31-year-old owner of Bureau of Urban Living, an office and home furnishings shop on West Canfield, said the community has rallied around her shop, which she opened in April. Misterarthur and I purchased some of our Christmas presents there. She has a great assortment of home accessories and just plain fun stuff.

Bureau of Urban Living

“People are hungry for retail,” Nelson said. “I thought it would be a neighborhood corner store, but people drive from all over the city because they feel strongly about supporting local businesses.”

My friend, Joe Posch, owner of the fabulous Mezzanine is a big supporter of Blondy and Nelson’s new effort. For several years, he dreamed of moving his contemporary furniture and lighting store to Detroit from Ann Arbor. In 2005, he did just that. It’s located on the second floor of 206 E. Grand River. “The character is so interesting,” said Posch. “It’s full of energy, creative energy. It’s the small businesses that really give the city its character and a neighborhood its feel.”

Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at Cliff Bell’s nightclub, 2030 Park Ave., Detroit. The next meeting is Jan. 15. They start at 6:30 PM. See you there!

I’ve got a super busy week, so I wanted to start it off by conveying the latest news here at Design Hole. First, next week is Kitchen Design Week. I’ll be featuring great kitchen designs, tips on how to design a kitchen, and lots of information on new products. If you have something to share, shoot me an email.

Orange sinks? What are the new kitchen trends? Find out next week.

Second, I’m working on a new look for Design Hole and am super excited about it. It should be ready by the end of the month. Details to come.

The scene at The Satellite

Finally, I made my reservations for the Salone del Mobile, the annual furniture trade show in Milan. It takes place in April. I’ll be posting daily. I’m especially looking forward to the Satellite area, which features young designers and student work. It’s so inspiring.