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Australian lighting innovation in Milan

March 31, 2015January 1, 2023despc

It’s that time of the year again, when all the major designers and design brands turn their attention to Milan for the annual Furniture Fair, happening in the second week of April. While I won’t be heading there myself this year, Ben Baxter of McDermott Baxter will be writing up some of the innovative lighting designs he sees there, while showing the Nimbus light.

Ruth McDermott and Ben Baxter will be showing Nimbus as part of Ventura Lambrate Station, one of four Australian studios showing work in this new part of the exhibition for emerging designers. Nimbus is a continuation of McDermott Baxter’s experiments into lighting, using new technology and a low energy philosophy to create innovation artworks and design pieces. Read more →

Top 5: Australia’s love affair with Nordic design

December 17, 2014July 21, 2016despc

By Penny Craswell

In 1981, a radical new design collective Memphis, headed by Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, released its first collection in the “new international style”. Since then, globalisation of brands and products has led to a consistent aesthetic across national boundaries in contemporary design, to the extent that discussion of national design styles has become increasingly irrelevant.

On the other hand, it is hard to argue with the fact that some countries do design really well (Denmark, Japan, Italy to name just a few) and some not so well (overbearing dark wood furniture and kitchens in some parts of the US or over-the-top glitz in Russia or China, for example). Read more →

London Design Festival guest post by twitter

September 18, 2014January 1, 2023despc

Today, our first guest post comes in the form of some choice updates by excellent London-based design writer (and friend) Giovanna Dunmall who has agreed to let me blog her twitter feed during the London Design Festival.

Design writer Giovanna Dunmall at the Ace Hotel with Martino Gamper doughnuts as part of the London Design Festival

Many of the posts are familiar names to us, including designers Omer Arbel, Philippe Starck and Barber Osgerby, brands like Wrong for Hay and venues like the Ace Hotel and V&A Museum.

Check out Giovanna’s web page here or follow her @JournoGiovanna. Read more →

Chair meets barrow at Magis with Rogier Martens

June 1, 2014January 1, 2023despc

By Penny Craswell

Rogier Martens with his Trotter chair at Magis — Rogier Martens at Magis

At the Magis showroom in Milan, I met Dutch designer Rogier Martens who posed with his chair for children, called Trotter, at the Fair the next morning. The chair can be used by small people for sitting, or can be lifted and wheeled around like a wheelbarrow.

In designing it, Martens thought about what he would have liked as a child, and the result is a simple idea, well executed. This chair is part of a series of Magis products for children called Me Too, which also includes iconic design Puppy by Eero Aarnio and Bunky bunk beds by Marc Newson.