Ilil - START! Zona Tortona 2011

Inside START! in via Tortona 14, we met Alessandro Israelachvili and Désirée Restuccia - ilil - with 'Vestire la Tavola' (Dressing the table), a project that combines sartorial skill and interior design. Bottons, ceramic, broderies personalize your meals en doceur.
At their second exposition in Tortona.
http://www.ilil.it/

Teapot lights by Original BTC, UK

At Autorimessa in Via Tortona 20, denverexpo & s.o.m.e.c. srl presented the Tea Range Lights by Original BTC, UK.
A whimsical, quirky collection of teacup and teapot shaped pendants and table lights ideally suited to kitchens and dining rooms, inspired by the 1930’s tableware once produced in Original BTC’s Stoke-on-Trent factory.
http://www.densom.com
http://www.originalbtc.com

Low Chairs Family series by Jovana Bogdanovic

WoYou, curated by Beatrice Lenza, is a selection of works from the China Design Market hosted in Zona Tortona at Pasticceria De Santis.

Between them, Jovana Bogdanovic, native of Belgrade and now living in Hangzhou, near Shanghai, presented the Low Chairs Family series, one of her first realizations after moving to China and inspired to Asian habits.

Californian Poppies

I planted Californian poppies in my garden, their colours make me happy. Bernard, my cat, sit inside the pot:-)

Butterflies and tea - Florence

A tea with butterflies is an idea set in the Florentine Roster Tepidarium (1862), restored in the occasion. Tea is served in Richard Ginori ceramic while you can read something from the free library dedicated to insects and look at the beauties flying.
http://www.teconlefarfalle.it/

Jarrod Lim 2011 - Singapore

Idle Rocking Chair

From Jarrod's wsite:
“Inactivity is a luxury we should permit ourselves more often." - Samuel Johnson.

The designer presented in Milano his new creations - you can see the whole production here -.
Devoted to solid wood, Lim creates pieces that will last over years!

Interlock Coatstand

'This interesting coatstand in solid wood uses a simple system of interlocking three flat pieces to form a stable structure to hang your hat or coat.'

Kikari Table

'These simple yet distinctive triangular tables can be used individually or in clusters creating beautiful random patterns. Their cropped triangular shape allows them to join in various ways that can really add character to a room setting. Materials: Steel Frame with Plywood and Veneer top'

http://www.jarrodlim.com/

Lago Studio - I Saloni 2011

Lovely Lastika



Dangla chairs

 We love the happy living by Lago a I Saloni 2011 in Milano where they presented their new products. This year I missed the appartment but you can see it here!
More:
http://blog.lago.it/
http://www.lago.it/

Vandoma Design - Portugal

Vandoma Design has presented the Deluxe version of PortoGallus lamp and Sente60 sofa at Tortona Design Week in Milan, Italy.
PortoGallus Deluxe was Vandoma's novelty for this fair. Inspired by the Portuguese Barcelos’ Cock and by the national culture, this design object casts much more than light. By observing it you can define strong personality lines on a piece that marks for its presence and elegance. PortoGallus lamp has a metal structure base with the advantage of having a directional light. The crochet application completes it, transforming it into a piece full of life and charisma. A Vandoma’s wish.

Available in two versions: chromed metal structure and application of red crochet or, Deluxe vo, gold metal structure and application of black crochet.
http://www.vandomadesign.com/

Sente60 sofa and PortoGallus

3x2 by Italian Parri Design

Italian manufacturer Parri presented in Milano the new 3X2 stacking chair range designed by Marco Maran.
3x2 is a stacking chair with sled steel frame, chrome or painted, and a polypropylene shell.
The white translucent frosted is added to solid and glossy colours as orange, green, purple, taupe, pink, navy.

http://www.parridesign.it/

Offecct - Sweden

DUO by Patrick Norguet

OASIS: Green Islands by Jean-Marie Massaud; Green Pedestals by Front Design

OFFECCT creates elegant and intelligent products, incorporating Scandinavian design tradition and ecological values in the process.
Upper, their green stand in Milano design week. Following, other nice products in the catalogue.

Bird byBroberg & Ridderstråle



Droplet by Ingunn Eikeland Bjørkelo

 More about Oasis from Offecct website:
'Oasis is an assortment of design products, which together with flowers and plants enhances and adds value to the work environment, not least through an improved indoor air quality.' Everybody knows that a deliberate use of vegetation in interiors will bring a lot of advantages, including an improved indoor environment and reduced stress.
Exactly, 'according to a research survey conducted by Helmer Smith, ISS, green interiors provides the following benefits: Decreased blood pressure; Reduced absenteeism; Prevents "sick building syndrome"; Improved stress management; and Increased productivity. OFFECCT cooperates with ISS, one of the leading Facility Services companies in the world. ISS offer services within green interior.' not bad;-)

http://www.offecct.se/

Arco - contemporary furniture from the Netherlands



Pivot, designed by Shay Alkalay

After more than a century of craftmanship and innovation, Arco manufactures high-end furniture in the Netherlands believing in design on a human scale.
From Arco's profile I expecially like these lines:
'relatively serious'!
Informality and room for surprise are part of our company philosophy. Day by day we take our work very seriously but at the same time we do like to see things in perspective and we believe that some sense of humor is essential. We kindly invite you to visit our website to discover all elements that make Arco the way it is today.

Foglie by Matali Crasset

The Foglie design is inspired by nature. Matali Crasset says: “I did not set out to copy nature but to bear witness to its magnificence. What is so amazing about nature is the intrinsic force contained in every plant which blossoms in the spring. A vertical force which starts at one point and develops in space as it searches for light. Foglie consists of a single branch which splits into two, and then into two again, bending and then straightening out. I think this tension is appropriate for adorning light: a powerful force that starts in one point and then branches out”.

In the floor lamp version, the stem of the light represents the tree trunk and the branches accompany the ray of light upwards; in the pendant model, the branches stretching downwards “tame” the light, breaking it up into as many rays as there are branches.
The diffusers are made of “leaves” in injection moulded opaline polycarbonate in light ivory, traffic white and oxide red. Available in three different diameters.
http://www.pallucco.com/

New from Kundalini: Treis

Treis

Between 2011 Kundalini's new entry, I like Treis. 'Industrial as a car headlight, natural as a fractal. The visual style is simple, but it summarizes multiple meanings. Industry and nature. Speed and tranquility. Organic sinuosity and technical rigour. Movement and harmony. Treis. Suspended Lamp. A project arising from the out-of-the box imagination of Benjamin Hubert. The main elements of inspiration were car headlights. Hubert employs their prismatic diffusers with an ultra contemporary decorative effect, that also calls to mind the open and natural logic of fractals. The sensation is of an immense fluidity. '
http://www.kundalini.it

Make Urban Living better! a walk in Florence

Ponte alla Carraia (view on Ponte Vecchio)

Ponte alla Carraia

A house in San Frediano

Set a lounge area on bridges and let house front be coloured, little easy things our administratives can do to make urban living happier:-)

Casamania 2011 preview

Marie Antoinette Pop by Sam Baron, Granny Lamp by Pudelskern and Valises by Maarten De Ceulaer

Party pouf by JBA design

The Loop Chair by Sophie de Vocht and Industry Library by Benjamin Hubert

Alieno and Meduse designed by Gamfratesi

Plenty of ideas at Italian brand Casamania, colourful and smart;-)
http://www.casamania.it/
Previous Post about Casamania

Tom Dixon's Bulb: rethinking of led aesthetic

'BULB is an energy efficient oversized light bulb designed in reaction to the phasing-out of the incandescent bulb and the unattractive aesthetic of most CFL replacements. The quick start T5 bulb is unique to Tom Dixon and the standard thread means that it can be used with almost any light fitting. Bulb can be used individually or as part of one of three new chandelier frames.'
http://www.tomdixon.net/

Pallucco: new dresses for Fortuny Giudecca

'Just like two soulmates who meet up again after years apart, the chemistry is at work again between the lamp designed by Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo in 1907 and the luxurious fabrics produced by Fortuny, the world renowned textile factory he established on the island of Giudecca in Venice nearly a century ago.

The lampshade is embellished with the legendary Fortuny fabrics, still produced in the same factory, on the same machines, using the same secret process and techniques handed down from generation to generation.
The creations are innovative, yet traditional, and the diffuser is available in three different extraordinary versions, chosen to complement the lamp’s tripod stand: Fortuny Papiro Ebony & White for the black lacquered structure, Fiori Caramel & White for the white structure and Onde Ivory & Gold for the titanium coloured structure.
And these are just the first three combinations: the customization options are endless and magic is guaranteed every time, if the Fortuny fabric range and imagination are anything to go by. '
http://www.pallucco.com/

Roll & Hill

Excel Double Sconce

Excel Table Desk

Excel designed by Rich Brilliant Willing is a family of fixtures made from simple and elegant structures supporting illuminated shades. Excel’s hidden secret is a metallic reflector located inside the shade, which emits a warm light. A full family of Excel offspring includes the desk lamp, floor lamp and a series of chandeliers. The full collection, presented in Milano, is available from spring 2011.
'Launched in January 2010, Roll & Hill is a New York City based manu-facturer of high end contemporary lighting. Roll & Hill produces original lighting products by American and international designers.
Roll & Hill was founded by Jason Miller, and has grown out of his experience as a designer and producer of contemporary lighting fixtures. In 2003, Jason designed the now ubiquitous Superordinate Antler Lamps. The elegance, versatility and wit of the collection made it an instant success both critically and commercially.'
http://www.rollandhill.com/