out and about :: salonesatellite 2013

I have got so much Milan design geekery to share with you, that I’m hijacking the usual schedule for the next week or so until I’ve posted it all – well, I did promise to get it up here quickly. Salone Internazionale del Mobile is the trade show around which Milan Design Week has grown. It’s hosted at ‘Milan Fairgrounds’ (with a disappointing lack of helter skelters!) and is a must-see on arrival in Milan. I headed straight for SaloneSatellite – the section dedicated to new designers under the age of 35. Here are my top picks…

Wallpaper is definitely coming off the wall and into the room. These wall decorations, simply entitled ‘leaves,’ are by architect and designer Alessandra Meacci. Each ‘leaf’ is cut from sheet metal and folded to form a 3D form, which provides decoration in itself but also through the shadows it casts.

I love a bit of concrete and these entwined stools are made from recycled concrete and wood – they almost look as though they are dancing together. They are by Utopia Architecture and Design otherwise known as ut.ad.

I was also quite taken with the neon lasso-style Stream Light Collection by Miguel Soeiro for Portuguese Own.

The Triangle chair caught my eye, and not just because of the fabulous grey and fluorescent yellow colour combo! Hamburg-born, Berlin-based designer Claas Redlefsen says his design focus is on simple shapes and I think that’s the secret behind the success of this piece.

I’ve been a fan of Kristine Five Melvaer‘s work since spotting her at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in 2011, so it was really nice to see her at SaloneSatellite launching new products. The Moa lamp reverses the traditional positions of the wooden base and glass top enabling the light and tinted glass to blend with the surface beneath. Kristine says: “my friend Moa smiles at you from under her bangs” [or “fringe” for UK readers]. The lamps are made from hand turned beech wood, tinted glass in a hand-made mould, and a textile-covered electrical cord.

It was great to meet the students and course leader from Savanna College of Art and Design – so lovely to talk to people who are so passionate about what they do. This stool by Jerri Hobdy is created from two miles of alpaca wool – Jerri said: “The name of the stool is Ampy and the concept is amplifying one unit to create something bigger than itself. I did two miles of chain stitch, then used that chain stitch to compound on itself, using it as if it was yarn to chain stitch with again… I did that three times.” The resulting yarn is crocheted into a cover for the leather stool that stays in place due to the natural properties of the wool.

Who says a shelf needs to be a horizontal surface to put things on? Jangada by Nicole Tomazi is inspired by “the line between the sea and the sky” and offers a new way to store kitchen apparatus.

Using an ancient brick-making technique, custom-made moulds and clay from different regions in Italy to produce three different colours, ilaria.i has created Adobe, a collection of desk accessories brought into the modern day by the inclusion of coloured metal frames. The collection includes an in-tray, a stand for an iPad or mirror equally at home on a desk or dressing table, and a pencil holder.

The UMV lamp by Lauri Hiilinen and Thomas Tallqvist is designed to be an over-table light and has a dimmer integrated into the side of the light – it almost looks like a wind-up mechanism for a toy, lending the lights a subtle playfulness, which really appealed to me.

As you will have already seen if you’ve been following along on twitter, Instagram or Facebook, I loved these little stools by Re – they are made from recycled carrier bags and I was really pleased to see that they took 2nd place in the SaloneSatellite Awards! And last but not least, I was mesmerised by Catena, a mobile by Kobe Design University staff and student experimental collective, Design Soil.

Further reading for the especially geeky:

• out and about :: milan 2013
• out and about :: milan design week preview
• out and about :: salonesatellite (2012)
• out and about :: ventura lambrate (2012)