It's here again - Milan Design Week (17-22 of April) and Design daily has been busily preparing to deliver it's comprehensive summary of all that is new and interesting from the fair and from all of the other action around the city. As editor of the Milan report for Belle magazine Australia, Design daily will be travelling with photographer Craig Wall to capture the magnificence and drama of the occasion. This week's post is all about the previews and as has been mentioned on Design daily previously, it is fascinating what is revealed before Milan Design Week and what is held as a carefully guarded secret. With this in mind what is featured in this post is a selection of new items that have come across Design daily's metaphorical desk (this week actually a laptop on my knees in a barn in the south of France) and is but a tiny taste of what is to come over the next few weeks as Design daily experiences the new releases, prototypes and installations first hand. Follow all the news @designdaily & stayed tuned for weekly blog posts. This year we are on two wheels so hope to cover even more ground.
Rather than get bogged down in text, this week's post will rely on some brief captioning to tell the tale. Where possible Design daily has included a link to the designers or manufacturers should you wish to learn more.
Below left is a installation of glazed wall tiles by Zava Relievi for Cedit Cermiche Italia. On the right is a beautifully intricate goblet by Murano glass company Salivati. Salivati was established in 1859 and the six special goblets being created for this year's fair are recreations of pieces from the company archive from the 19th century.
The image on the left is of two new products by Dutch studio visser + meijwaard. Their 'Familiar Ground' vessels are for German brand Pulpo while the Room Divider is a prototype. The objects on the right are from Bloc Studios exploring new marble colours for their ongoing research into the possibilities of marble. The brand was founded in 2014 in Carrara by Sara Ferron Cima and Massimo Ciuffi.
The image below left is a preparatory sketch of the Envisions & Finsa Spain installation Wood in Progress. On the right is a rug from the 'Terrazze' collection by Elena Caponi Studio for Mohebban Milano.
Below are two new designs for Gebrüder Thonet Vienna (GTV). On the left is the 'Loie' chair by Chiara Andreatti and on the right the new 'Carylion' table by Cristina Celestino. The chair combines metal, cane and square section timber - an unusual melange for the brand - while the table features delicate marquetry. GTV will be showing at Salone del Mobile in Hall 20 stand D07 and at Spotti - Viale Piave 27 in Porta Venezia where there will be an installation of new pieces by Philippe Nigro.
Design daily is excited to see what seems to be a trend toward simple industrial inspired chair designs as seen in these two previews below - one from Leon Ransmeier for Italian chair producer Mattiazzi, the other by Låufer + Keichel for German manufacturer Zeitraum. Like Tom Fereday's wonderful 'Sia' chair from late 2017, its all about a stripped back metal frame in combination with solid timber elements - honest, functional and unpretentious.
The next post will be a comprehensive round up of installations from Milan with new releases the week after that. If you are anxious to keep completely up to date with all the goings on in Milan, follow Design daily on Instagram for non-stop posts throughout the week of the 17 to 22 April - just keep your eyes peeled to @designdaily