Design/ Highlights from Milan part 2

From top to bottom: Royal School of Arts, The Hague (KABK); KABK; Dutch Invertuals; Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Utrecht (HKU); 010-020; De Invasie; COS pop-up store; Street Art

While I love scouting for Dutch talents during fairs, graduate shows and exhibitions, sometimes it can be nice to take a little break and just wander around the city. Here are a few photos of my favourite shows in Milan.

Once again the COS pop-up store was so super minimalist, pure perfection! Some of my favourite items were seen at 010-020 – a collective from Rotterdam and Amsterdam – creating the most vibrant fabrics (Mae Engelgeer) and simplistic racks to hang them from (Jeroen van Leur).

Design/ Highlights from Milan part1

Here are a few of my favourite photos taken during the Salone del Mobile in Milan earlier this month. Each year the entire design world flocks to Milan to show off their latest products and furniture. Over at Rossana Orlandi, a space curated by the 'Godmother of design', you'll often find some real gems. I was impressed by Konstfack graduate Tobias Lutmann's brilliant Face-O-Mat, and the portrait he made of course! As always Scholten&Baijings presented some of the nicest combinations of colour and form, this year with silver company Georg Jensen. I also would love to own the glassware by BCXSY that goes from clear to completely opaque and would look great at a dinner party!

Read more about Spazio Rossana Orlandi here

Flat: by Borre

At the opening of their gallery exhibition in Amsterdam, I spoke with Borre Akkersdijk and Daan Spangenberg of by Borre about ideas, materials and hopes for the future.

Fashion, textiles and techniques take pride of place at Gallery 33 courtesy of by Borre for an entire month.

Suspended from the ceiling, pressed between sheets of  glass or hanging 15 metres high, there is no ‘normal’ way of showing the designs made by by Borre. Both Design Academy Eindhoven graduates, Borre Akkersdijk and Daan Spangenberg set up the brand a number of years ago and have quickly made a name for themselves in the Paris fashion scene. Creating innovative knits, thick textiles and heavy, almost sculptured jackets, the duo’s style is recognizable and very ‘now’.

Read the full article via this link

Personal note: I was invited to the newly opened Gallery 33 by a friend and was pleasantly surprised. Situated at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam, admittedly an instant adder of city cool, the gallery itself is a great mix of disused factory and sleek contemporary styling with high ceilings and a mezzanine level. Borre and Daan seemed really enthusiastic about the expo and what was on show really impressed me, the thickness of material alone is something you just won't see on the high street or even high-end shops, it's really unique. I would definitely recommend you stop by the gallery if you're in Amsterdam and go take a look yourself. Almost all the products on show are for sale, but beware, because of the special techniques and materials, you will need a trust fund to buy anything that's not a scarf!

All images by Cassandra Pizzey @ Gallery 33

Out and about in Tel Aviv

So sorry for my radio silence, I have been traveling around Israel and Milan (my current hang out) and just couldn't find the time to sit down and write a blog post. Lame excuse I know. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some photos I took while walking around a neighbourhood in Tel Aviv called Yaffo. This is the predominantly Islamic neighbourhood south of the city and has an amazing mix of old buildings and modern shops and boutiques. Thanks to Jantien of Studio Darom (more on them later) for showing me around!

Also I included some shots of the amazing Ron Arad Holon Design Museum, which invited me to attend their amazing design week.

Miffy gets new furniture

When Dutch designers Tejo Remy and Renée Veenhuizen were asked to create a series of furniture for the Miffy House in Utrecht, they put a lot of effort into designing objects which didn't seem as though they had come straight from the books, but rather fit both of their styles.

This week I visited the museum and talked with the designers about the project. They are into using found materials such as in this 'cloud' table which is made from cardboard tubes and wood veneer.
A lot of the furniture is really surprising such as the chairs and bookcase which look soft but are actually made from a hard, polymer foam in a material case.

I think the furniture is a great addition to the museum and its fun to watch children and parents interact with the various pieces!

Object Rotterdam 2012

I haven't blogged for over a week as I have been touring round the Netherlands (or so it seems). Last weekend I was at the first edition of a crazy festival named Bungalup which was held at Centreparks. Based on the British 'weekender' festivals, words can't really do it justice so I wont even try!

Back to business and I visited the design fair Object Rotterdam this week. I always enjoy visiting a good fair, and this one was no exception. Although the fair itself mainly focuses on selling, there were a few designers dotted around the stands and I got a chance to interview most of them! I ran into Marjolein of Studio Drift (who also imports really cute French boots) and she told me about their latest project. Its a series of plexiglass chairs named Ghost featuring hand-drawn designs which have been drawn inside the framed using specially-designed lasers. Placed in a darkened space and using uplighting, the chairs really did give of a spooky vibe.

Another of my favourites at the fair were a series of carpets by Lizan Freijsen who did research into mould and the stains or patterns they make on walls and ceilings. These mould stains she then turned into amazing tufted carpets - or floor objects - together with the Textiellab in Tilburg. After the fair I stayed at the Manhattan hotel in Rotterdam and had one of the best hamburgers of my life, as is evident from the photo, non?