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Now in its 45th year, Milan's annual international furniture fair is the largest of its kind, featuring over 2,500 exhibitors and attracting over 200,000 international visitors. This year the event inaugurated its new sprawling location at the Fieramilano. Designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, the €750M structure is the largest and most technologically-advanced trade fair complex in the world.
We sat down with Manilo Armellini, the Managing Director of the Saloni on a late Friday afternoon. What began as a conversation about the enormity of the new Fieramilano slowly became a discussion about the heart of Italian production and the reason why so many designers choose to produce in Italy.
In my favorite CH Video to date, we decided to allow the interview to structure a dynamic visual journey through one of the world’s most venerable design exhibitions. Enjoy.
Watch now: CH Video, iTunes, downloadable .mov
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Rome-based Central Unit Design, a four-person architect-design collective, introduced their sectional Dino Sofa at Milan's Salone Satellite earlier this month. Designed for indoor and outdoor use in public places like museums, airports, and parks, the animalized seating is made of Waterlily and Framefoam, both eco-friendly materials. Though not yet in production, each vertebrae-like section is intended for two people and makes the transition outdoors...
Earlier this month Ami and Scott traveled to Milan, where they got to check out the Furniture Fair and the off-site Zona Tortona design festival. In this first of two CH Video episodes, you'll see some Milanese sights and sounds and get a visual tour through the installations and exhibits of Zona Tortona. This episode is being shown in Flash video so more of...
Hopping a fence to get to the Salone Satellite from the main furniture fair made it clear that the grouping of smaller independent designers and schools was separated not only by the layout of the convention center, but in tone as well. Inside, the hall was teeming with young exhibitors and their designs and the sense of energy and innovation was palpable. From a...
British designers Dave and Toby, the duo behind the brand-new furniture company &made, took a unique approach to the whole meet-and-greet part of the Milan experience. Offering a taxi service to callers in exchange for little more than a conversation, their goals was to "meet as many designers as possible and to find some of Milan's notorious functions." They also handed out an &made...
Chicago-based furniture company Ooba (makers of the decidedly un-precious bassinet we covered in February 2006) have released a conversion kit ($250) which extends the usefulness of the bassinet by transforming it into a play table and toy bin. In keeping with their mission to "create a simpler and more insightful experience for modern living," they balance form, materials and function with sustainability. Also recently...
Thomas Keeley, a 25 year-old Rhode Island School of Design grad based in New York City, creates three dimensional pieces with creepy Halloween-esque themes. Equipped with wings and fangs, the "Bat Chair" is a slightly sinister yet entirely functional take on a classic café-style chair. A hair brush with dozens of bloody fingertips in place of bristles serves as a very literal interpretation of...
