Milan 2011

MILAN DESIGN WEEK 2011 – 50 YEARS YOUNG

We are still only just popping for air after our annual descent on Milan for the furniture fair .This year’s 50th anniversary of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile was a wonderful affair sending our senses into a visual whirlwind at every turn. With 2700 exhibitors in half a million square feet in the Fiera at Rho just outside Milan and over 350 events Fuori Salone stretching over the city centre It was impossible to see everything!

The highlights for us were varied but here is a little run down of top delights that the week had to offer:

Re-Incarnation:

The 50^th birthday celebrations provided a perfect platform look back and recreate some of the classics. The Proust chair by Mendini was reincarnated in bright plastic for royal outdoor living and Patricia Urquiola and Sophie de Vocht provided new takes on the traditional chaise longue for Moroso and Casamania

High Fashion:

Fashion houses such as Diesel and Hermes have been busy produces furniture collections. Hermes stormed Milan with a temporary pavilion designed by the Japanese designer Shigeru Ban who is more at building shelters for people who have lost their homes in earthquakes and other natural disasters than producing something for a luxury brand

Duomo Design:

Even the Duomo was used as a cutting edge venue with a huge pile of salt and resin horses by Gobetti in the Piazza. The stock exchange also got a design makeover by Italy's most famous contemporary artist, Maurizio Cattelan

Can you see what we see!!

Marbleous Garden:

Patricia Urquiola was everywhere during Milan, our favourite and most fascinating of her projects was a collaboration with Budri. Amazing patterns, shapes and textures were created from marble.

Weird:

Moroso’s showroom provided a well deserved rest on Tokujin Yoshioka’s new “Moon” design chairs but Not a great environment for the staff to be in all day, gloomy and spooky!

Unusual Upholstery:

Kabiljo inc’s “Let them sit cake” consists of stacked bags of wheat, topped off with oozing 'chocolate icing' cushions – don’t sit down in a white skirt!

The Campana brothers covered a stool in remnants of ostrich skin for klein Karoo and for Edra draped in whole skins

Queen of Cool:

Studio Rosanna Orlandi once again proved itself to be the hub for young design cutting edge cool.

Seating from Piet Hein Eek made in pipes: Reworked industrial vintage from UK duo James & Hannah Plumb

Botanica, Domestica and Migration by Formafantasma made you feel like a Darwinian anthropologist discovering a lost Amazonian civilisation!

Leather and ceramic vases: Gerla Farmers Basket chair:

Rugs for Nodus inspired by the work of 19th century ornithologist Jan James Audubon:

High Tech:

Jawbone revolutionary Bluetooth speakers “Jambox” provided a perfect seating and a cool place to drink!

Top 5 Tips for Milan Design Week

With the Milan Furniture Fair now approaching for those of you who have never been I thought it might be helpful to put together some top survival tips to get you though the week in style!

Top 5 Tips to Make Your Trip Easier!

1. To get around the Milan, why not hire a bike, sign up at https://www.bikemi.com

2. Call and reserve a ticket for the "The Last Supper" in Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie

02 8942 1146 (you have to persevere as it's always busy!)

3. Here are some numbers for calling taxis on your mobile. You cannot hail a taxi in the street as you can in the UK, so you either go to a taxi stand or call one

02 4040 or 02 8585 are just two numbers!

4. Buy Interni Magazine from a newspaper stand. This has the booklet for Design Week telling you where and when all the events are taking place during the week

5. Download the metro map from www.atm-mi.it a great site to help you get around Milan with all the travel information you might need

Top 5 Things To Do!

1. Climb up on top of the roof of the Duomo, particularly fun if it is a clear day

2. Go to the Triennale, good for lunch and exhibitions and is based in the Parco Sempione

3. Cocktails in the garden of the Hotel Bulgari, if the weather is good the garden might be open! Via Privata Fratelli Gabba

4. Visit Villa Necchi Campiglio where they filmed "I am Love" starring Tilda Swinton in via Mozart

5. Pinocateca Ambrosiana in the centre near peck the famous deli

Top 10 Lunch/Dinner

1. ll Bistrot di Giaccomo

2. Clandestino Moschino Hotel

3. Trattoria Santa Marta in Santa Marta, excellent traditional Milanese Cuisine

4. Hotel Diana, Garden if the weather is good! Near Piazza Oberdan but also a cool place for drinks.

5. La Libera Via Palermo near Piazza San Marco, great place for supper

6. La Triennale, Lunch only I think, Via Allemagna in Parco Sempione

7. Time in Piazza San Marco, good for refined lunch or dinner

8. Bianco Latte in Via Turati

9. Panino Giusto is an upmarket chain selling salads and sandwiches

10. La Rinascente department store beside the Duomo, top floor, choice of foods including sushi bar, styled on the 5th floor Harvey Nichols

Top 5 Places for Design Related Shops

1. Da Driade also with wonderful frescos in old palazzo

2. Da Padova

3. Rosanna Orlandi

4. 10 Corso Como

5. MC Selvini

I've linked up with Linde Werdelin, makers of wonderful sports watches and HG2 so you can Download the offer of a HG2 Milan Guide in association with Linde Werdelin plus 2 other guides either skiing or city breaks.

www.hg2.com/partners/quirico

STRAWBERRY HILL HOUSE

What a wonderful house, created by Horace Walpole in the 18th century, it is a wonderfully theatrical experience, from the "gloomth" ie warmth and gloom of the hallways and staircase into the light and colourful magnificence of the gallery.

TENT LONDON & DECOREX

Two highly successful shows for Quirico.

Here are the photo of the stand at Decorex and Tent London (bottom right). We had visitors from all over the world and from some Chelsea Pensioners.

MILAN FURNITURE FAIR 2010 – Springtime in Milan

Greeted by glorious weather and fantastic things to see. Only slightly marred by how on earth we were all going to all get home. However apart from being remembered for the epic journeys so many of us had trying to get back home! It will also be remembered as being one of the best – the energy and buzz in Milan was fantastic. The Fuorisalone events keep increasing and the best parties were by invitation only. It is becoming more and more like Fashion Week. So what were the top 10 designs, installations or just sheer fun this year.

1. Barovier e Toso

This year Paola Navone designed the most amazing installation, the huge blue door was just the beginning of the journey.

2. Bokja and Manu Crotti at Rosanna Orlandi

Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri showcased a pair of sofas entitled Conversations showing how they came to be. Also in the courtyard they displayed the Bokja Bug which was to be auctioned on e-bay with proceeds for the victims of the Haiti tragedy.

"Conversations"

Manu Crotti

Manufatti of Manu – a collection of unique handmade pieces which combine objects, memories and emotion put together in a way to produce new and beautiful designs. From the chaos of objects she finds such as a pie

ce of old fabric, plastic butterflies, an old doll, pieces from a broken watch etc she tells a story incorporating these into tables, mirrors, plates etc

3. La Rinascente Party 2010

One of the more bizarre events - Acrobats and Human Mannequins! Amongst 100% British Design

4. Produzione Privata

Launch of the Tree Collection by Michele di Lucchi

5. De Padova exhibition of Achille Castiglione

6. Via Ventura – Campana Bros and recycling

7 . Sponge Chair by Campana Bros Via Ventura

8. 8. Triennale - Using the wooden piles of Venice

9. La Triennale Design Museum – Alessandro Mendini curated an amazing exhibition with some 700 objects ranging from a huge replica of Michaelangelo’s David to original models of ET. All extremely kitsch but fun

10. Weird and wonderful ranging from an intriguing wine dispenser and a blow up bath!

LONDON

Lifestyle shoot at the house!

LONDON

Meeting with Eco-age

Having listened to Radio 4 talking about the over exaggerations of the new lightbulbs it seems we need a 20 watt new bulb to achieve 60 watts. There are alternatives halogen and Led the latter of which seems to be the better alternative. Need to explore this.

Met with Livia of Eco and discovered the wealth of eco friendly materials. Just goes to show

that eco does not have to mean ugly. You can have glamorous too. Fabrics from Hemp, Recycled Tarpaulin