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Chair of the Day: Cielo Armchair
Arthur and I toured the Satellite pavilion this afternoon. It’s an area dedicated to young designers and students. The term Satellite comes from its former home, a round building, which looked a lot like Sputnik. Anyway, it was here that I found one of my most favorite chairs of the entire show.
The Cielo Armchair was designed by Mikiya Kobayashi, who graduated from Musashino Art University in 2005. It’s made of rattan and painted steel, and is wonderfully delicate and comfortable. It has a smaller scale, which I found to be lovely and absolutely refreshing. I loved the use of color, too.
Kobayashi is looking for a company to produce his design. I wish him the very best of luck. He’s a young designer to keep an eye on.
Greetings From The Fun House
The city of Milan moved the Salone to a vast, specially built facility two years ago. It’s enormous and a completely overwhelming. It’s become so huge that there is no possible way to see everything you’d like. You’re forced to edit carefully.
Then there is the massive sea of humanity. I love a crowd – especially one that’s in a festive mood. But I couldn’t believe the number of people who were at the fair today. Perhaps the fact that today is Friday was a factor. I don’t know. Truthfully, every day has been jam-packed. For example, the kitchen exhibition, comprised of 4 buildings, was so crowded I could barely squeeze through. The sensory overload, mixed with very long, jet-lagged days has left me a bit weary.
The good news is that I’m returning with so much news and information that I have enough to keep me busy writing all next week. I promise lots and lots of posts. We had some Internet access difficulties, which threw my usually carefully (more…)
Chair of the Day: Mobles 114’s Om Chair
I’ve seen so many chairs in the last couple of days my head is spinning. And my feet are a little sore. But, I’m ceaseless in my never-ending search for just the right Chair of the Day. Therefore, I’ve chosen The Om Chair, designed by Martin Azua for Mobles 114.
The soft wool-covered chair makes a nice side chair. But truthfully, it was really comfortable and I could have taken a nap in it. Chair design is a lot more complicated than some would think. This was proven time and again throughout my chair-sampling day. So for now I’m succumbing to my baser instincts – the need for real comfort after a long day on one’s feet.
Trends from Milan: Square Tables
I hadn’t expected to see this the first day here at Salone, but square tables were everywhere. Large, square dining tables. Or for meetings, some were placed side by side to form a large rectangle - more suitable for conferences. I love the trend. The materials varied widely - from wood, to marble, to laminate. I particularly liked one from Porro, which was white with a lovely base. Another from Porro was marble, but also comes with a wood top. Not my favorite. But the trend is definitely there. Here’s a look at what we saw.
Rimadesio’s marble-topped table.
White Synopsis table with lovely criss-cross of legs from Porro.
Ferro-Lissoni from Porro
I loved everything from Heron Parigi - here a powder-coated steel table
Toea table, from Bellato, in wood and also laminate materials.
Another beauty from Rimadesio. Perfect in its simplicity.
It may create some problems in a traditional dining room. But it’s a break from the round dining tables. The crispness of the square is something new, and makes for an easier conversation at a dinner party. What do you think of this trend?
Zazzeri
Italian company, Zazzeri, manufactures impeccable kitchen and bathroom faucets. This photo was taken at their Salone booth three years ago. Orange was the color of the day and we were just beginning to see Carrera marble. Both are now quite the thing over here in the US. I’m so excited to see the new trends.
See you in Milan!
Valerian Gagnaire
I’m loving this Bracket table from young designer Valerian Gagnaire. He’ll be showing his designs in the Satellite pavilion in Milan. I like the use of color.
I’m especially looking forward to reporting on color trends. Three years ago I saw lots of orange. I’m hearing that shiny black was a big thing at IMM Cologne. Hmmm. Not big on shiny. How about you?
The Road To Milan: Autobahn
I’ll be leaving for Milan on Monday for the Salone del Mobile. Autobahn is on my must see list. In addition to their own new designs, they’ll be unveiling new designs by Matthew Hilton.
The Road to Milan: Emeco
The Aluminum chair company, Emeco, will be introducing Nine-O, a new line of chairs designed by Ettore Sottsass at this year’s Salone in Milan (16 days and counting).
The new design reimagines the original 1006 chair Emeco designed for use on submarines during World War II. Though it seemed to have disappeared there for a while, the original has been in continuous production since 1944.
The Nine-O chair is the last chair designed by Sottsass before his death last December at the age of 90. He never stopped working, and had a particular passion for chairs. He said, “A chair must be really important as an object because my mother always told me to offer a chair to a lady.” Which reminds me that I need to have a talk with my son.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the week of April 16th. I’ll be reporting from the show daily.
The Road to Milan: Moroso
As you know, I’ll be reporting from this year’s Milan Furniture Show, which runs from April 16-21. It’s the biggest show and everyone always pulls out all the stops. Moroso is not exception. One of their most talented designers (and a special favorite of mine) Patricia Urquiola, has designed their pavilion space, along with Martino Berghinz.
Patricia is known for her beautiful, feminine designs, such as the chair shown above. Her latest work will be unveiled. She’s Moroso’s top designer.
Another Moroso favorite is Ron Aran. His designs always push materials to the extreme, both at the design stage and in production. His new Pixel Sofa is an ultra-modern sofa composed of several soft parallelepipeds of various heights. Joined one to the other and fastened to a base, the various modules form the sofa’s shape.
I’m getting very excited about the show. It’s so much fun and so inspiring. So mark your calendars for the week of April 16th so we can all share in the latest-of-the-latest from Milan.
Xavier Lust and the Road to Milan
As most of you know by now, I’ll be in Milan next month for the Salone del Mobile. It’s an exciting and enormous show where many companies premier their latest designs.
Here’s a sneak peek at Flow, a series of sofas and chairs design by Xavier Lust for Indera. Flow combines aluminum and special fabrics which can be used indoors and out.
Salone Preview: Lime Studio
Here’s a sneak peek at one of the young designers who will be exhibiting at the Salone del Mobile in Milan next month. Students and young designers have their own space, known as Satellite. This is where we’ll find Lime Studio showing their new products like these triangular tables .
The Satellite is my favorite part of the show. I’ll be posting at the Salone throughout each day. With great designs like these at the show, it will be extra fun. Stay tuned.
via: Yanko Design
Moroso at Cologne Furniture Show
Here’s a peek at Moroso’s exhibit for last week’s furniture show in Cologne. They showcased their designs from 2007. To create the look, they used their Charpoy pattern by blowing it up and using it on the floor and glass panels to form a leitmotiv, a recurrent theme linking the various areas. “The effect is light-hearted, cosmopolitan and original, and, above all, highly distinctive and identifiable.” I can’t wait to see their new products, which will be introduced this April in Milan.
