If Tarzan and Jane had stayed in Milan for the Design Week...

... They would have found a mini appartment to stay in just up their Street (metaforically speaking. Of course there are no streets in the jungle).

That is, if Gervasoni and Marie Claire had let them use the showcase rooms that had been prepared in via Durini, at 'Gervasoni Furniture Industry since 1882'.

The installations of the rooms was curated by Marie Claire to show Gervasoni's armchairs 'Ghost Out.'

The whole appartment, covered in exotic wallpaper and fuzzy liane, had a striking effect, evocative of a holiday home of past decades. 

GhostOut in turquoise and tangerine

the corridor with seating area, leading to the bedroom

the bedroom, a jungle in black and white



the en suite

an outdoor/underthesea living area

sun chairs in the sun

All photographs in this post were taken by me.

Happy Easter!

Buona Pasqua a tutti!

from Little Lou

xx

Recovering the satellites at the Salone del Mobile

Milan Design Week - Salone Satellite

Tucked away, at the end of one of the four pavillion entirely filled with kitchens, there was a special exhibition for young designers and design students. Here numerous small stands made out of wood pannels stood in a row. Tables, chairs, objects for everyday life, and sometimes the designer too, sat there waiting to be noticed.

This was a really interesting part of my trip to Milan and I am sorry to say I did not have time to see all the stands or take as many pictures as I wanted to (though my friends would say I took lots).

Here are some of the ideas that made me stop and look twice.

Young German desinger Meike Harde standing by her classy and chic furniture and lamps.

Dossofiorito and their very original 'green' idea, where plants and flowers seem to be a little bit into their looks.




an orchid checks her reflection

Liquen Lav young Spanish architect and designer Valentin Sanz with his prize winning bench/table. 

Valentin Sanz with 'Mas' bench and 'Farolera' lamp

'Mas' can be a table, a bench, a chair with a side table...

Sphere and quadrat, a slick collection of tables made of woods and metal, by Polish-German designer Olga Bielawska.

Tepfenhart Design, who were unsuprisigly out of business cards, displaying a wood and metal table, which can easily be transformed into a bench.

Fn:two seats eight people

Fn:two as a bench

As I made my way round the Salone, University of Koln and Koln International School of Design (Kisd) students were in the middle of sorting their display for 'Gute Stube', where modules are used to create a 'design it yourself' space.

'Gute Stube' ready for a game of chess



If you ever get the chance to go to the fair don't miss the Salone Satellite!

All photos in this post were taken by me.

Ps: 'Recovering the satellites' is an album by Counting Crows.

Designed for the little ones - Design per i piccoli

Milan Design Week - Brera and Tortona districts

Design rocks


Le chien savant, by Philippe Starck

On my way out of the Fritz Hansen showroom I spotted this writing table for children displayed in a shop window. Le Chien Savant, by Architect and Designer Philippe Starck, could help make studying fun. This piece of design was part of a series of products created purpusefully for children, suggesting designers awareness of children's presence in society is strong.

Japanese designer Tomoko/T.Magpie presented her new product Bimbi in the Temporary Museum for New Design, in the Tortona district. This easy to assemble flat pack chair made of recycled cardboard, available in several patterns, was part of a general trend at the fair to support sustainability.

In Superstudio Più, also in the district of Tortona, I found Googy. This rocking horse was made of fabric and wood. It is produced in two sizes, for kids and for the child that is in all of us, and most grown ups visiting the fair wanted to have a go.

Bimbi, a 'green' space-saving chair

Googy, the rocking horse?

a rocking horse and stool from the Salone Satellite

And finally, I spotted this wooden rocking Vespa in Tortona, parked next to some bicycles. I didn't find the name of the designer, but I know a few little ones that would like to own one!



Rocking Vespa

Analog and the drop make me go wow

Milan Design Week - Day 1 - Brera district

My first ever visit to the Fiera del Mobile in Milan began with an unexpected treat. On Saturday we planned to visit the 'Fuori Salone', an alternative unofficial part of the fair. Over the years the Design Fair has become an excuse for designers, shops and makers to display their work not only in the Fair grounds (in Rho) but also all over the city itself. Various quartieri of Milan are filled with stalls and installations.

We started our trip in the Brera district. There we followed a route which would take us to the Duomo.

Our first visit was to be the shop of furniture company Fritz Hansen. Their display focused on launching Analog, a table by Spanish designer Jaime Hayon. And re-introducing two chairs by the great designer Arne Jacobsen: the Drop chair in new materials and an improved version of the Grand Prix chair. There were videos being projected onto the surface of the tables, with various scenes suggesting how Analog and the Drop or the Grand Prix would bring people together. The result was captivating.

Analog in white and the Drop in red

Analog and the Grand Prix

An interesting use of the table

What caught my eye though was a small display about architect and designer Arne Jacobsen (1902-71). It showed a building I happen to be very fond of.

A small display dedicated to designer A. Jacobsen

More about Fritz Hansen:

http://www.fritzhansen.com/en/fritz-hansen

All the photos in this post were taken by me.

Fiera del Mobile di Milano 2014

Next up the Fiera del Mobile in Milan.

Keep an eye out for next week's post to read my account and see my photos!


Read more about the Fair:

Living.corriere.it

Fuori Salone

Love love love

Have a loved up day!

Plastic caps and plastic bottles

At my son's school they are collecting plastic bottle caps for recycling. I wanted something to put the caps as we collect them at home. So my son and I made this container out of a plastic bottle. We cut the top part off and then he painted it. We used some stencils we made out of card, but the shapes are no longer recognisable.

The leftover paint was used to do some finger painting!

Fashion show

A couple of photos taken at a fashion show by Coccole di Silvia.
Loved the bright wigs!

More about Coccole di Silvia on Facebook
Photos by Little Lou.