A review of our trip to Milan
Milan Design Week! Three inspiring days full of passion, design and style in the broadest sense.
The first day we went to the fair in Rho; Salone del Mobile Milano. Here the well-known brands such as, Flexform, Living Divani and Roda presented their latest collections. It was striking to see that many earth tones are used by almost all brands. Back to earth!
After a long day, adding quite a few miles on the pedometer, we arrived at our downtown urban hotel. Ideal, because the following day followed Milan Design Week!
In a large radius around the Duomo di Milano (great Cathedral), also called the Brera District, was a beautiful parade of different design spots! Personally, I was very impressed with the Dutch Masterly, which was presented in the famous Palazzo Franceso Turati. Really awesome to see as Dutch designers leave their footprints in Milan. In particular, I would like to briefly comment on Cooloo, Actual and Marco Lopulalan:
Maximum material recycling combined with aesthetic outdoor design. Cooloo does it! A huge amount of waste material is still released from our industries, which Cooloo recycles into coatings used for (outdoor) furniture and accessories. A modest but attractive collection has since been assembled. Waste streams get a very nice, and responsible, destination!
From Amsterdam Sloterdijk to the fair in Milan! Actual is very advanced with 3D printing techniques. They make indoor and outdoor dividers, pots and store displays. As a 3D artist, like Actual, I am familiar with 3D modeling. Together with them there is an opportunity to physically bring our 3D models to attention. So who knows, maybe Strak studios will soon design its own outdoor divider collection!
Finally of these three, master glassblower Marco! Perhaps already familiar from the vases he has blown for the Strak collection. With his vast experience in this craft, the technique and artistic insight, he makes the coolest creations!
In terms of architecture, Milan is beautiful. One classicist building after another with interesting stores with designer furniture or clothing in between or under them. Or a combination of both!
Indeed, fashion designer Paul Smith has collaborated on the design for De Padova’s Everyday Life sofa collection. Another fun collaboration between fashion and furniture was that of MDF Italia. For example, fashion house Jacob Cohën, with their denim collection, gave the Neil Chair more body by upholstering it in denim.
For us, De Padova also definitely stood out in a positive light. Very refined quality, original designs and a clear signature in their collection.
The third day we looked at the new collections from Paola Lenti. What a performance and presentation! At their beautiful location in Meda, they manage to change course with every event by positioning their furniture so perfectly that it sells itself.
It was a valuable experience to get to know the creative genius behind the company, Paola Lenti.
View Strak studios’ projects here
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