I am off to Milan tomorrow for Design Week and I couldn’t be more excited. I absolutely love design festivals – for designers, they are when all the hard work behind the scenes pays off, the curtain lifts and they show their wares to the world, often for the first time. The sense of anticipation is palpable.
The best things are always the ones you don’t know about in advance, but I thought I would share a few of things I’m looking forward to seeing to whet your appetite for what’s to come…
I will be heading straight to designjunction Edit from the airport and I’m looking forward to seeing the new Stacking Vessels from Utopia & Utility.
Afterwards, I can’t wait to see the Supperscene pop-up shop launch – they’re hosting a dinner party in the shop window, all served on specially commissioned tableware, including Lee Broom’s new On The Rocks collection, which looks gorgeous. And I will come back to see the rest of the Brera Design District the next morning.
Then I’m off to Spazio Rossana Orlandi, one of my favourite corners of Milan during Design Week, and I’ll be interviewing a few of my favourite designers, so watch this space! I’m also hoping to see, and maybe even sit in, the Peacock Chair by Eiri Ota and Irene Gardpoit Chan from the Toronto-based design firm UUfie – it’s made from an acrylic composite sheet.
Thursday is the day for Salone del Mobile, the big trade show. I’m looking forward to bumping into the Note Design Studio gang again, having last seen them in Stockholm. They’re launching Plateau for PUNT, which I’m really looking forward to seeing.
And I might squeeze Wallpaper Handmade in that day too – always a highlight. Here’s a short film about one of this year’s designers…
And then Friday is Ventura Lambrate, my favourite district at Milan Design Week. It’s where a lot of the design schools and new designers are, so there’s always something exciting going on. I’m looking forward to seeing Floris Wubben again, and to testing out Japanese studio h220430‘s Red Balloon Chair. (And of course, to a gelato – it wouldn’t be Milan without gelato!)
On Saturday morning, I’ll be off to Zona Tortona and designersblock. I’m looking forward to seeing Daniel Libeskind’s Chandelier made from shards of crystal – it looks incredible from the pictures. So much to see, so little time! Follow me on twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for live updates and I’ll start writing it all up on the blog as soon as I get back.
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: in the making (pt 2)
- out and about :: hello, my name is paul smith
- out and about :: greenhouse, stockholm furniture fair
- out and about :: in the making (pt 1)
