Must Sees during Milan 2013

With the Milan Design Week fast approaching, this year once again sees top manufacturers and some of the most promising designers from around the world display their designs and products.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile will take place between the 9th - 14th of April this year with many events taken place around Milan along side the main event.

We have decided to give you a sneak peek of some of the top events we would recommend visiting if your lucky enough to be going.

British designer Tom Dixon is back again this year with MOST at the Museum of Science and Technology. MOST provides a curated creative hub, promoting forward-thinking culture, commerce and creativity against the extraordinary backdrop of historic exhibits based on technological innovation. Brands showing include Tom Dixon together with Piet Hein Eek, Saunder Muler and online design brands, Designboom, Dwell and FAB. The brand showing will be exploring new materials, technologies, production techniques and distribution systems to the public. The space will also cater for the thirsty public with Tom Dixon’s Grand British Tea House situated in the shop space. Dixons new "Eclectic Tea Set" will be used to serve out tea and lunch to the public.


Showing also this year, are Dutch company Moooi. Moooi have prepared an entire collection of refreshing new designs and surprising experiences that will be held at Savona 56 from the 8th to the 14th. Moooi is taking up residence in the space and transforming it into a stylish assembly of colourful living quarters, new product displays, lounges together with an artistic exhibition. As well as their own products, the FRAME Moooi award nominees will also be on display with an exclusive ceremony and VIP cocktail evening included to mark the occasion.
 

Designs by Moooi

New on during this years Milan design week is a special collection of `New British` design showcasing at the Vivienne Westwood flagship store in Corso, Venezia. The design installation has been the collaborative work of the British fashion designer and one of the biggest design brands during London Design Week, 100% Design.  The installation will provide evidence of a revived focus amongst these young designers on craftsmanship, high quality materials and skills, sustainability and innovative design solutions which are timeless and charming to the fore. Amongst other’s you’ll find works by Plant & Moss, James Smith Designs, Young & Norgate, Decode London, and Bethan Gray.

G&T table by Be than Gray

London 2012 Preview

Continuing on with his metalic experimentation and lighting, Tom Dixon has created the "Lustre Pendants" which will be showcased in September at this years London Design Week. The collection of lights which exhibit an iridescent sheen which is a result of applying a specialized glaze composed of minerals and precious metals to the ceramic shades and firing them at 1200 degrees celsius. The ceramic forms of each pendant bring together lines and shapes derived from Mayan temples and the archiecture of the Art Deco period. The "Lustre Pendants' are the first ceramic designs in the studio's collection 'Luminosity' which will all be shown at London Design Week at Luminosity at the Dock. 

Stools shaped by Magnetic Fields

Dutch graduate designer Jólan van der Wiel showcased an incredible set of stools shaped using magnetic fields and the force of gravity at the "Transnatural" exhibition during the Milan furniture Fair. The stools were made by placing a combination of iron and plastic between strong magnets that pull the material into unique and organic shapes.
"The Gravity Stools" take their unique shape thanks to the cooperation between magnetic fields and the power of gravity. Inspired by the idea that everything is influenced by gravitation, a force that has a strong shaping effect, he intended to manipulate this natural phenomenon by exploiting its own power of magnetism. The positioning of the magnetic fields in the machine, opposing eachother, has largely determined the final shape of the Gravity Stool.

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