Cool Hunting

David Adjaye: Monoforms
Monumental. There really is no other word for them. The first furniture series from British architect David Adjaye awed the crowds when London's Albion Gallery debuted it at Design Miami last week. Like his acclaimed buildings these forms, hewn from Green Hassam Egyptian granite and solid American walnut, are serious and imposing while also beautiful and tactile. They serve to further erode any remaining...

Jake Phipps Furniture
Jake Phipps is an English furniture designer who has been making furniture since graduating design school in 1999. His studio gained a reputation as a resource for custom work, but he has recently added a few objects for the retail market. His work is clever; tables stretch or adapt to grow, all while maintaining the integrity of the design and the material, as seen...

Interview with Maarten Baas
The most talked about exhibition during the Salone del Mobile was that by Maarten Baas. Set within the chaotic mess of a working auto garage in the Zona Tortona, the show covered works to date, along with a preview of new collections for Contrasts Gallery and Established & Sons Limited. The choice of space initially felt to me like a commentary on the hyper-produced...

Joost & Kiki: reCollections
While the Italians were rightfully celebrating their design legacy at the Triennale with an exhibition called "What is Italian Design?," I find it worth noting that once again, Dutch design was proving to be the most radical, poetic, soul-searching work at the Salone del Mobile. On the last day of the fair, I doubled back to the Zona Tortona to see “reCollections,” an exhibition...

E&Y: Greenland
Just steps from the infamous 10 Corso Como, the Japanese brand E&Y mounted a modest show at Galleria Antonia Jannone under the name "Greenland." The title was supposed to reference both global warming and the changing nature of the namesake country. I didn't quite get the connection between their products and sustainability, especially considering the wanton (albeit well-designed) use of paper and cardboard in...

Stephen Burks: Cappellini Love
Yesterday at the Fiera Milano, walking through the sprawling campus of the supergroup Poltrona Frau, I ran into the New York designer Stephen Burks, who took a moment to chat with me about his new line of eco-conscious ware for Italian manufacturer Cappellini. Called Cappellini Love, the collection is comprised of a series of vases and bowls made from glass fragments, and a small...