For the young designers from all over the world, the occasion to get the most visibility is the Milano Design Week, which every year in April turns the city into the undisputed Capital of Design, furniture, with a vast array of creativity and ideas.
Then Milano opens its doors to the most disparate situations, opportunities and encounters. Schools, students and ex students, young architecture and design studios from all over set their sights on presenting themselves here.
Heading the list of the most prestigious and official occasion is the SaloneSatellite at the Rho fairgrounds. SaloneSatellite is the youngest offspring of the Salone del Mobile. Young in two ways: it’s only 21 years old compared to the Salone del Mobile’s 57 years, and it is dedicated to the under 35 designers.
Founded and curated by Mavra Griffin, each year the SaloneSatellite accords visibility and credibility to more than 100 hand-picked talented young designers from all over the world. Not only does it allow them to showcase themselves and their ideas in the heart of the Salone del Mobile, but above all it also opens doors to a concrete pathway towards the production and marketing of prototypes, enabling them to meet up with companies, factories and the historical protagonists of the furniture industry.
After more roundups and considerations, we highlight 10 +1 names and encounters of the SaloneSatellite 2018.
1. From Milano. The hybrid and pastel-colored world of co.arch
Giulia Urciuoli and Andrea Pezzoli, that is co.arch studio.
She is from Verona, he is from Bergamo. They met during their schooldays at Milan Politecnico University and since then they have been a couple in life and work, opening their own architecture and design studio, co.arch. “We graduated in 2009 and three years later we founded our own architecture and interior firm. We also do our own design projects. We love to hybridize objects and functions: for instance, here we present a metal and pastel colored cafe table and an armchair for reading, both with an incorporated light,” they say and explain in unison, with super nice availability and kindness while posing for us, caught in the middle of a manic moment of visitors, interest and requests.
2. From Japan. The lightness of light by Satsuma Washi Studio
From Japan, where she grew up in nature-rich Kagoshima, Keiko Haraguchi makes lighting out of “Washi”, the traditional Japanase paper.
She explains: "I studied architectural design in Denmark. While there I noticed the wonder of Washi which is Japanese traditional culture. I began learning Washi in 2011. Currently I mainly make modern 'Washi' in architectural spaces. 'Washi' is Japanese traditional craft paper with a history of about 1400 years. It takes a long time preparing it for production. It comes from the bark of the branches of the Kouzo (Mulberry, editor's note) tree.” And Keiko transforms 'Washi' into creations of light of a natural beauty and warmth.
3. From Mexico. A breath of fun air with Francisco Guerra
Francisco Guerra, industrial designer based in Mexico City who speaks a bit of Italian too: “These chairs are about fusion between past and future, a blend of these two timelines together in the present. They are part handmade and part build by numerical control machines, so it’s a balance between the old and the new. I love working with different materials, from wood, to fiberglass and plastic to.. and above all I like to work with creativity, passion and also fun!”.
4. From Japan. Always on the theme of light and poetry: Studio Baku
Lighting and poetry also for Studio Baku by designer and craftsman Baku Sakashita.
He founded Studio Baku in Tokyo after graduating from ECAL/Ecole Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne in Design for Luxury and Craftsmanship with highest honors in 2017.Thin sheets of lights on steel wires.
“This collection, named ‘Suki’, is inspired by the Akari light sculpture created by Isamu Noguchi. I replaced Noguchi’s bamboo with thin steel wire and see-through Japanese paper. My intention is to create geometrical shadows on the wall and floor. 'Suki' is a Japanese word that means empty space and transparency. So my lights have an empty space between each piece of paper to emphasize the shadows, and by absorbing light, bright papers appear to be floating in the air,” he recounts.
5. From Germany: Design for sport! Kenkō studio
Andreas Bachmann and Fritz Grospietsch of Kenkö studio interpret sports equipment for working out with style at home (cover photo).
“We are based in Frankfurt, but we will move to Berlin next month. Our idea is to create sports equipment to integrate into the living area. Most people have some sports equipment at home but they don’t want to show it or you yourself don’t want to see it, so this idea of sports equipment that is not only functional but also an object for the home. We use wood because it’s a natural material and to give a warm and soft feeling,” they explain while they pose and “workout”.
6. From Norway. The super young Andrea Bue and Alexander Åsgård
From Oslo we met Andrea Bue and Alexander Åsgård.
“We studied product design, Andrea is still a student, she is 24 and I am 28. We use a lot of wood and metal, and also some fabrics. It’s Andrea who works with fabrics,” Alexander says.Together, they present a grey and beige ambience, made of “Cielo” lamps inspired by the horizon, where the sky meets the water surface; the sideboard Spot with a textile door…. : furnishing ideas in geometrical and essential shapes following Scandinavian minimalism.
7. From Denmark. The soft world of Felicia Arvid
Felicia Arvid is a Danish designer who fluctuates between Fashion, design and architecture, with the common thread of the warmth of fabrics.
“I studied fashion design. I am formally a dressmaker, and I take my knowledge working with textiles and fabrics into design. I use wool for this sofa, where you can insert a side table or a lamp wherever you like. With wool I also created acoustic panels and room dividers you can customize with different colours and arrangements. Wool has sound absorbing quality,” Felicia says.
8. From Yokohama. The playful proposals by Hamanishi DESIGN
Hamanishi DESIGN is a multidisciplinary studio founded in Yokohama, Japan, in 2005 by Kunikazu Hamanishi, after he returned home from design school in Denmark.
Shy and embarrassed, it’s not easy to make Kunikazu talk; while smiling he just says: “Concept is playful and emotions…” and he and his team tell us to look at their Website!
He indicates to us his modular shelving system “Leg-O” and the mobile and reversable lamp Othello, between function and decor, respectively inspired by the Lego combinations and by the board game Othello, also often called Reversi.
9. From Sweden. Always a twist with Stoft
Stoft is a studio based in Malmö made of 3 former industrial design classmates: Jenny Ekdahl, Ola Nystedt and Joel Herslow.
Stoft is a Swedish word for millions of small particles, constantly moving and re-arranging themselves into new and surprising constellations. Everything they design has always a twist, an unexpected thought or element. So, for instance, here is the “Whittle away” cabinet made of pine wood whose its outer layer slowly lifts up to reveal the colors beneath, or the “Canvas” chair edged in leather.
10. From Croatia. Young women and bright colours! Market studio
From Zagreb the cheerful and dynamic young women of Market studio: Marita Bonačić, Katarina Perić and Iva Hrvatin, two product designers and a graphic one.
Away with Nordic or Japanese minimalism! All clear for colour and passion! “Our starting point was to make something to celebrate our genuine aesthetics, to let people feel we are from the Balkans and to show our feminine touch. We are escaping from today’s popular Scandinavian aesthetics. Why blue and red? Because, with white they are our national colours," Marita, spokesperson for her colleagues and friends, tells us.
And their story of how they arrived in Milano sounds amazing. They drove all the way from Zagreb: the car broke down and came to a halt in the middle of the highway. Riding in a tow truck and then a taxi, they finally arrived at the fairgrounds, but, once there, more problems: they were late setting up their stand and then it fell apart! Their SaloneSatellite was definitely an adventure, and so they stand out for their fortitude, cheerfulness and creativity!
11. The SaloneSatellite winner: Stefano Carta Vasconcellos and his Light Kitchen
Every year the SaloneSatellite judges and honors “its participants” with the SaloneSatellite Award.
Because of it’s sustainability solution, this year the jury awarded first place to the "Light Kitchen" by Stefano Carta Vasconcellos, designer of Italian-Brazilian origins who lives and works between Cagliari and Milano.
The light kitchen is part of his “Celer Furniture” collection: light, economical, “do it yourself” furniture designed for the nomad citizens of today who move and migrate from one city to another.
Easy to assemble and disassemble, these are furniture pieces with no screws, or glue; just a mounting system based on joints holding everything together. the instruction manual is online. The celerfurniture.com platform allows designers, small producers and customers to enter in contact and personalize the size, colour and finishings through mathematical script digital manufacturing. The platform generates a file that can be easily read by any numerical control machine, facilitating a “glocal” production; the assembly is interlocking and the project is sustainable, with no warehouses or inventory necessary.
