#Milan12

Our trip to Milan was shorter than usual this year, in no small part thanks to the lack of hotel space (seriously, Milan Chamber of Commerce, you need to sort that out) so we lived vicariously through our Twitter timeline. Below is a selection of our favourite #Milan12 tweets from some of our favourite Tweeters. If you're not already following them you should be!

 

http://bit.ly/HUUaEv

 

http://bit.ly/HZoj7V

http://bit.ly/HXkxie

And we end with some good advice for visitors and exhibitors alike.....

You might call it lazy blogging on our part, we call it Milan 2012 in a #nutshell.

Don't forget you can follow us on Twitter @RelayDesign and we have created a Facebook album of our own highlights. See you next year 9th -14th April for #Milan13

London Design Festival 2011 - Our Highlights, Part 2

We're starting Part 2 in Covent Garden and then heading west.

  

In the piazza at Covent Garden, Sebastian Bergne created the world's first LEGO greenhouse. Yes, a fully functioning greenhouse made of transparent LEGO bricks. (LEGO also had their own pop-up in association with ICON at Central St. Giles).

Online design store Theo materialised in Monmouth Street with a week long pop up. A chance to play with products before purchasing, Theo's temporary store stocked the wonderful desktop accessories by Australian duo Daniel Emma and was the first UK stockist for Tattly temporary design tattoos from Swissmiss founder Tina Roth Eisenberg.

If we keep moving in a generally west direction, Outline Editions hosted an exhibition by graphic artist Noma Bar entitled "Cut It Out". An embossing machine disguised as a giant black dog allowed visitors to re-create their own Noma Bar work, all of which were signed and numbered by the artist.

Jumping over to Brompton Design District, Michael Anastassiades took over an old jewellery store and filled the original display cases with a beautiful selection of silver ware and lighting in brass and onyx. 

A couple of doors down, Skandium presented a comprehensive retrospective on Swedish architects and designers Claesson Koivisto Rune called "On Yellow". Furniture, lighting, rugs, jewellery and architectural models designed by the small but prolific studio were dotted across the store, like a treasure hunt and identifiable by the yellow perspex squares they all sat on. Again, Ӧrsjӧ were well represented with both Aria and Baklava by CKR included in the show. 

  
As always, Mint's show was unmissable. This year, "Mint Explores" brought together fashion and furniture, cellulose that felt like concrete, as well as lighting and textiles from as far afield as Mexico and Chile.  

However, we will end our highlights in the eye of the storm - at the V&A Museum. For the third year, the V&A became the hub (both physical and digital) for the Festival's activities. Exhibits were dotted liberally throughout the galleries, encouraging you to wander, often into rooms you weren't previously aware of. British-ish, curated by Giles Deacon, and Industrial Revolution 2.0, curated by Murray Moss, saw pieces scattered throughout the galleries. it was sometimes difficult to tell which installation a piece belonged to, but it hardly mattered. It was a pleasure to wander and discover.

 

(Further pieces, along with project and designers names can be found in our Facebook album)

Impossible to miss was the 10 metre high Timber Wave by Amanda Levete dominating the main entrance. A serious feat of engineering, construction was apparently completed with minutes to spare before the press launch.

Inside, the other major draw was Textile Field by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, in conjunction with Kvadrat in the Raphael Gallery. A 60 metre raised carpet, it became a giant bed for weary visitors to sit back, relax and contemplate the famous Cartoons.

Also open at the V&A with impeccable timing is the Power of Making. Open until 2nd January and free, its worth a visit.  

And so we come to the end of another LDF. What does LDF 2012 have in store for us? Watch this space!

Milan 2011 - Ӧrsjӧ at Euroluce

Euroluce takes place every second year as part of the Salone. Ӧrsjӧ were back in Milan this year with a confident monochrome presentation. Their 2011 collection, first shown in Stockholm in February looked resplendent almost entirely in black and white, with only some flashes of copper and brass as accents.

Crane by Benjamin Hubert, which garnered so much attention in Stockholm, was shown for the first time in black lacquer. A bright yellow finish will make an appearance soon!


The Great White by Claesson Koivisto Rune, designed for the Nobis hotel, made its premiere as part of the collection. Arched brass arms reached from the wall to present their unusual white shades.

CKR's other Nobis design, Baklava was shown in the small and medium table versions, but eagle-eyed observers would have noticed the new floor version on the Vitra stand over in Hall 20.



Joel Karlsson's Butler family looked almost unrecognisable in black and white. For the first time, the rough brass finish was replaced with white and black lacquer finishes, giving Butler an ultra-contemporary edge. It just goes to show that technically advanced products can work in modern and traditional settings, given the right finish.


Jenny Bӓck's Lean family continued to please and the new table version looks like it will be just as popular as it's floor standing big brother.



More images can be found on our Facebook page HERE.

Stockholm 2011 Highlights

It's fair to say we always enjoy the Stockholm Furniture Fair. It's comfortable to walk around, not too big so you don't worry you're going to miss something and most importantly the standard is always high. This year was no exception. While some of the big brands like Vitra and Moroso had a presence, Stockholm is all about the Nordic manufacturers showing what they are capable of and that is simplicity, subtlety and quality. Our favourite new non-Relay product was almost invisible (which is part of the appeal) - Isaac Chen's Riddle magazine rack for Swedese was simplicity itself. Seven strings hang from a simple piece of lacquered wood with a wooden ball on the other end and gravity adds the magic. Use it as a bookmark and turn your magazines into a piece of art.

Swedese also presented Ivy by Thomas Bernstrand, a deceptively simple bookshelf. Stack the units on top of each other, as usual, or arrange them at angles to add some interest in a plain space. Ivy was awarded the Form +1 award for best product. Further Bernstrand designs were on show at Muuto, Nola, Materia and Horreds. Busy boy!


Also ticking the busy box were Form Us With Love, who went for the "keep 'em wanting more" approach by staging a show in a top secret location (an old church in central Stockholm). Showcasing some of their new designs for manufacturers as diverse as Träullit and Santa & Cole, their party proved the big draw of the week.

Within the walls of the main fair, new FUWL pieces were shown by Mitab. Highway easy chair and table were launched to compliment the existing Highway family. Mitab also showed the Stereo sofa system by Joel Karlsson, designer of the Butler family of lights for Ӧrsjӧ.

Källermo and Klong both used leather belts and buckles on their products. Mama Look by Anna Kraitz gave a 60's-ish sofa an hour-glass figure (very Mad Men!) while Strapp by Britta Teleman keeps your books and documents safe behind its buckle.



We have added an album of highlights to our Facebook page. Check them out here.

Relay on Facebook

Relay Design Agency is now on Facebook.


We seem to take a lot of photos on our travels, but until now haven't really done a lot with the photos, so we though we would start a Facebook page as an easy and convenient way to keep everyone updated. So, as well as our website, newsletter, this (rather fetching) blog and our Twitter feed, you can also keep tabs on us on our Facebook page here. Isn't technology great?

Don't forget to "Like" us!

Interieur 2010, Kortrijk and Orgatec 2010, Kӧln

Design shows are like buses - you're almost guaranteed that two come along at once. Every second year the Belgian town of Kortrijk is host to Interieur and as soon as that closes its doors everyone decamps to Cologne for Orgatec, the largest office show on the block. It is a major commitment for any manufacturer who decides to show in both locations.

Let's start at the beginning with Interieur - an accessible and sophisticated show. Generous stands, wide aisles and 6 halls meant it was easy to see everything in a day without being completely worn out. Stand designs were imaginative and ample space was given to young designers within the main show. The focus was firmly on Belgian and Dutch design, but the big Italian brands like Moroso also had a presence.

Overall, the trend seemed to follow Milan - muted backgrounds with splashes of vibrant colour, however this time the colour had the volume turned down slightly. Milan's acid yellow and fluorescent green became mustard and apple green.

Zeitraum launched Morph Kid, the latest addition to the incredibly successful Morph family. Scaled down and with bright felt seat cushions Morph Kid maintains the sleek design credentials of its big brother but adds a playful edge.


Below are some of our other highlights from Interieur. We have uploaded an album of images to our Facebook page here with a more detailed impression.





One week later and everyone was in Cologne, Germany for Orgatec - a mecca for anyone with every the remotest interest in office design. The industry giants like Vitra and Herman Miller had vast stadium-sized stands which certainly drew the crowds, but the smaller stands proved to be just as (if not more) interesting.


We spent a couple of days with Buzzispace on their first ever Orgatec stand and the reaction to the collection was amazing. Having previewed the new Buzzibooth and Buzzihood products at 100% Design in September, we thought we knew what to expect but with people from as far afield as Canada and Australia getting excited about the range, it meant we were run off our feet. Just the way we like it!