An Exhibitors view of the Milan Furniture Fair 2010

Yes it's been nearly a month and I still haven't posted these photos. Here are the highlights from an exhibitors limited perspective from the show; with long hours and not being able to venture to far away from your stand and miss out on 'the one' most important contact!

Well there are allot of images, and not much text (who reads that anyway) hopefully something will catch your eye as you scroll through as they caught mine.

mmm my new Leica camera, all photos are though the beautifully designed lens of this.

Arrival in Milan and straight to the Satellite to set up.

It had been a long day...nearly back to the apartment...

...to have a much deserved and needed beverage. Cheers!

After that pick me up we ventured in to town to Zona Tortona and stumbled across the Marcel Wanders "United Crystal Wood' exhibition for Baccarat. I was a bit more interested in the little characters around the work  as was MocoLoco.

1st day of the show.

Ready for action.

The SaloneSatellite was split up into different areas of the world (not sure why we're in the American zone) with each zone having it's own colour and chill out area for exhausted visitors.

this was the first seating that caught my eye, hinged squares, clever.

The finished stand, with visitors trickling over.

Seating area 2 - this had some great graffiti on it by the end of the week.

The walking was too much for some people.

Chatting the chat.

RCA party at the old Lambretta factory.

On our way back from the RCA party we passed this busty exhibition in Spazio Undai and couldn't resist a detour.

I bumped into Jens Praet who I first met during the RADOSTAR exhibition in Switzerland last September where we exhibited together. This time he was part of the Transparency exhibition which included work by Jens Praet, studio Vibeke Skar and friends. The products were truly beautiful :

ARCTIC COLLECTION

PARTICLE COLLECTION -

made from sawdust and resin but with a glossy finish.

Elsewear in Spazio Unda.

Laikingland and their Kinetic objects, we had a demo of the part popper puller.

Storm in a New English Tea Cup By John Lumbus, clever and quirky but at £550 quite an expensive cup of tea for me!

then off for much needed food.

Pizza, no surprise there, the surprise came with a gift of beautiful dangley earings from the waitress, mmm.

Back to the show, some children taking a spin in Rupert's Egg.

Busy busy

Quick lunch in the sun.

The end of the day, but spirits are still high. Good to see the Tuffet Stools being used too.

Seating area 3

By now I needed a wander when I saw The New Act who are a Swedish collaboration between Charlotte Ryberg and Johanna Strand. I was great to see Charlotte as we studied together at Kalmar University back in 2003.

This is their ‘Different Angles’ Screen.

I continued on my wander and saw some interesting display techniques:

Really...honestly... do you think they meant to write 'samples didn't arrive in time’? If I had more stock I would have put in this stand!

Really eye catching and with a large crowd around it was the 'Seasons' Collection by Nao Tamura which was flexible serving ware which you can roll away for storage.

Seating Area 4

d.lab pre-edtions, I love love love their collections, I first saw their 'object around the tablescape' collection at Maison et Objet last January. I can't get enough of the pared down forms and intelligent use of materials.

Nearby was the Young Serbian Designers Stand which had 10 different designs all of which had their own individual personality but worked brilliantly as a collective. My personal favourites were the TEAT / 3-legged stool and SUGAR BEARS which focused on how with global warming, polar bears are an endangered species.

I also briefly ventured into the Main Halls which are full of the 'Big Boys', with huge no expense spared stands. Here are a few of the hidden away details I appreciated.

Paper clothes

Minimal playing cards

colour

white

simple accessories.

One great example of simplicity was the Kose stand, i loved the fragile forms and use of muted colour pallet. It reminded me you don't have to have colour to make a design beautiful.

Back in the Satellite are the girls from Scene and Warm, who were both past exhibitors with Hidden Art. It's inspiring and promising to see designers coming back and reaping the benefits from the show.

I’m loving the kid at the back trying to squeeze in a few more centimetres!

Happy it's the end of another day

Greeted by really random Italian TV!

Okay?!!!

well it entertained us!

I decided to try out the Thomas Heatherwick Spun chair by Magis.

...not so sure!

The 100 Kilo test...

...the look of disbelief...

...now the real test, on Rupert's Bounce Chaise Longue, which it cantilevered at the foot end....easy does it...

tada...passed.

Is this business card Genius or madness, you decide.

These were so charming, I want to frame them, the problem is I just can't read the card to tell you who they were from.

Patternity's reverse of their brochure.

The Hidden Art boys planning the pack up.

It's been a long week!

When the last visitor is gone, we leapt into action for the breakdown.

All done, with wine in hand back to the flat.

After the show: thanks to Eyjafjallajoekull erupting over in Iceland, our flights were cancelled twice, but at least we had a chance to see a little bit of the sun and Milano.

Duomo di Milano Cathedral

'100% British Design' Design Supermarket at the Rinascente department store.

La Triennale Design Museum unfortunately most of the shows had already been packed away, so this is what remained.

The Campari bar- a little too early in the morning for that.

Castello Sforzesco

Our apartment had this cleaver bit of space saving for the washing up.

We eventually paid to get on a coach organised by the British consulate (150 Euros for the privilege).  It felt like an evacuation, with flags and luggage.

a bit more waiting...but at least it was in the sun.

This was our home for 23 hours thank goodness for ipods and TED podcasts!

some nice views out the window of the Swiss countryside.

The discovery of Bolognaise crisps eased the journey.

Onto the Eurostar by coach.

This is the coach driver showing off how tight the drive is.

THEN HOME! back in London yay!

Well done, you've made it to the end of this mammoth blog, you probably feel like we did after the coach!

Until next year arrivederci Milano.

Hidden Art Milan 2010... the fab 5

Milan 2010 was a great show and experience, apologies for the delay in posting updates. Below is a quick bio about each designer and the work they exhibited:

Here the designers and Hidden Art team.

Rupert Goldberg and his Bounce chaise longue and Egg revolving chair. Each wooden block is individually cut and hand finished in Ruperts East London workshop; before being meticulously assembled into various products. The visitors to the stand couldn't get enough of the egg, with many getting a spin. 

Detail: inside the egg!

Patternity: Grace Winteringham (half of Patternity) with her Phase Bureau, made by experienced furniture maker Toby Winteringham. The Phase pattern used in the range explores traditional marquetry craft revisited – true to the technique, the design represents the transitions between cutting out & replacing in, combining old with new, bold with neutral. 
I think it was really refreshing to see a traditional technique using contemporary pattern and colour. Check out their website which is constantly updated with a visual feast of patterns they've sourced from the internet, photography and their own work.
 Detail: Phase pattern on central leaf.

RALLI Design:Louis Howe and Sophie Howe with their Flip Chair and Stepping Stool. They were recently featured in Homes and Property, which was much deserved after they demonstrated their products tirelessly through out the week of the show; (they must have tallied up hundreds of demos) .

Video: Louis demonstrating the multi purpose use of the Flip chair-demo number 900....! Apologies for the sideways viewing.



Purewhyte: Me standing rather nonchalantly by the Tuffet Stool, which was comprised of 3 stacking stools and a table. For impromptu socializing that can then be tidied away and used as a side table. They are a prototype made from compressed sawdust and resin, using this material a hollow shape can be cast and then be worked like timber.
Detail: The Array bowls, with fruit in before it was stolen by passers by (I know show food is expensive but really, fruit!!)



Dare Studio: Sean Dare exhibited the Katakana Desk and Chair, Cage Light, and Fujiya Lamps.
The company, founded by Sean Dare, champions the skills of local craftsmen and sets a benchmark for the very best in contemporary British design and manufacture.
Detail: The Katakana desk and chair in American black walnut and Buttercup yellow leather. Which was snapped up straight away by another exhibitor who loved it so much they couldn't stop stroking the desk! 

Milan was a great experience, and the Satellite had a huge selection of young designers work, I'll be posting more photos from the show soon. 

BACK FROM MILAN

...AND THANK YOU!

It has been a busy two weeks, with the Milan Furniture Fair and then trying to get back to the UK afterwards; thank you Eyjafjallajokull!

I'll be updating this blog soon with highlights and features from the fair, but for now: