Cool Hunting

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...

Farm
Staged in an immaculate, white gabled space in the Navigli neighborhood in Milan, Studio Job recently previewed their latest monumental work in conjunction with the Eindhoven-based designhuis. The installation, called Farm, draws inspiration from traditional farming economies of the Dutch lowlands, and is composed of twenty-four cast bronze objects and six pieces of Palissander wood furniture. Continuing the leitmotif developed in last year's Homework...

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...

The Pyramids of Makkum
For years, Royal Tichelaar Makkum, the Netherlands' longest extant company, has quietly mounted the most impressive displays of ceramic ware during the Milan Furniture Fair and this year is no exception. Two years ago, they released a hugely successful collection of biscuit ware with Studio Job; last year they launched a unique office collection with Dick van Hoff, which turned the ornamental into the...

Early Future Lamp by Ingo Maurer
Here at CH we think every day should be Earth Day, but we also think 38-year-old holiday deserves honoring as a way to single out projects and products that keep the environment in mind. Today we'll be bringing you the best of the eco-web, as well as a few of our own finds. The first of its kind to use organic LEDs (OLEDs), Ingo...

Christiaan Postma Clock
The sprawling Spazio Rossana Orlandi was almost a fair unto itself, featuring the annual Design Academy Eindhoven student show and work by Piet Hein Eek, Front, Jaime Hayon, Studio Libertiny and many others. One of the most intriguing pieces on view was a clock by the Stockholm based, Dutch designer Christiaan Postma. For some reason, one of the perennial engagements in design is the...