Design writing around the web Archives

I wrote this article following an interview with Li Edelkoort, one of the world’s leading trend futurists. The interview was conducted over a garden breakfast during the Milan Furniture Fair 2014, was commissioned by Kobe Johns (now of JP Finsbury) and was first published in the DesignEX catalogue 2014.

Left: an image from Fetishism in Fashion exhibition, Right: Li Edelkoort

“My job is to anticipate what will be coming.” Lidewij Edelkoort, or Li for short, is one of the best known and most respected trend forecasters in the world. The list of brands she has worked with reads like a who’s who, including Coca-Cola, Lacoste, Disney, Siemens, GAP, L’Oreal. She regularly releases trend books that are sold to top brands all over the world, she started a number of magazines, including Bloom, which presents fashion, design, perfume and more inspired by horticulture. She directed the Design Academy Eindhoven from 1998 to 2008 and established a new design school in Poland in 2011 that merges design with humanities subjects like psychology or anthropology called the School of Form. Read more →

Reproduction, Replica or Rip Off? Launch sparks furniture debate

October 29, 2014despc

“Replica, reproduction or rip off? It’s likely what you call a fake piece of designer furniture depends on if you would have one in your house or not. Over the last few years designer fakes have been seen as big issue in the Australian interior design industry. For example Authentic Design Alli ance was set up a couple of years ago to petition government for change and educate both the design industry and consumers.

“The topic of fakes or copies came up last week I attended the launch of Penny Craswell’s The Design Writer blog at Stylecraft. The panel consisted of 3 Australian furniture designers – Keith Melbourne, Helen Kontouris and Greg Natale. The issue of copying was raised by Penny as part of the panel discussion and certainly dominated the audience comments at the end of the night. Whilst none of the designers present had yet had the (dubious) honour of having their pieces copied, all are aware of how prevalent cheap (and even not so cheap) reproductions are – and that they seem to be are comprising a growing segment of the furniture market in Australia.”

Interior designer and blogger Ceilidh Higgins has published a fantastic article sparked by the debate on replicas at the launch of this blog last week.

Thank you Ceilidh for the thought-provoking article from an interior designer’s perspective.

My article on Storytelling in Design

September 1, 2014January 1, 2023despc

“While necessities of size, cost, comfort and even aesthetics can be crucial when selecting furniture and lighting, stories are often what make us fall for design.”
Home Design magazine’s latest issue includes a comment piece from me on storytelling in design, including stories on products by Australian designer Trent Jansen, German designer Sebastian Herkner, Knud Eric Hansen from Carl Hansen & Son and UK designer Jay Osgerby from Barber Osgerby.

Knud Eric Hansen of Carl Hansen & Son (supplied by CULT) and Penny Craswell at DesignEX panel discussion. Image: DesignEX

Article on Storytelling Design by Penny Craswell in current issue of Home Design magazine.

Designing scent at The Blocks by Faye Toogood

August 8, 2014January 1, 2023despc

The Blocks by Faye Toogood. Photo: Paul Barbera

“Visitors are first brought to the centre of the space, where five timber sculptures stand like oversized totems. Dubbed “The Oaks,” each one is built in a unique geometry using a different type of timber, inspired by the five groups of grapes available for tasting: aromatic whites, chardonnay, varietal blends, regional and shiraz. “Based on the tasting notes that the sommeliers gave us, we reinterpreted that in terms of geometry,” explains Faye Toogood of Studio Toogood. “We placed the totems in a ring because there is a great mystique to wine which is quite spiritual.”

“In addition to this, each is infused with a different scent, created by Studio Toogood in partnership with Paris and New York-based perfumers Dawn and Samantha Goldworm at 12.29. The scents themselves are based on the tasting notes of each group of grapes; for example, the notes for the aromatic whites group are: pure, mineral, abstract, energy, sorbet, cool, altitude, elevation, pristine, vibrant. The resulting scents do not smell like wine but are related to the wine.”

This one’s a bit of a blast from the past – an article I wrote on The Blocks, an installation in Sydney by Faye Toogood, originally published in Artichoke magazine when I was Editor in 2012. My favourite thing about the project was the design of five scents – I love the idea of being able to create a new scent working with a perfumer.

Read the whole article (republished in full on architectureau.com) here.

The Other Hemisphere exhibition review in Yellowtrace mag

May 25, 2014January 1, 2023despc

“Another theme for the exhibition is the Australian-ness or New Zealand-ness of the work – in her catalogue essay, Hen Zeffert ruminates on the “otherness” of the exhibition title as part of the Australian psyche. But perhaps more crystal clear in capturing something uniquely Australian is the work of Sydney collective The Fortynine Studio. Each of the five studio members showed one piece – all inspired by bushfire.”

Screen shot of The Other Hemisphere article in Yellowtrace's e-mag — Screen shot of The Other Hemisphere article in Yellowtrace’s e-mag

My review of The Other Hemisphere, Sarah King’s exhibition of Australian and New Zealand design held at Ventura Lambrate as part of the Milan Furniture Fair this year, is included as part of Yellowtrace blog’s latest project – a wonderfully comprehensive review of this year’s fair in the form of an interactive e-mag.

Read Milantrace Edizione 2014 here.

Review of design at Ventura Lambrate during the Milan Furniture Fair

April 23, 2014January 1, 2023despc

“While there is much that is innovative at the fair itself, some of the more experimental work happens in other design districts. Ventura Lambrate is a wide-ranging series of exhibitions located in Milan’s Lambrate precinct. It began in 2009 when Dutch curators Margriet Vollenberg and Margo Konings teamed up with architect and entrepreneur Mariano Pichler to provide a new space for design talent during Milan Design Week.

“Growing each year in size and quality, this year Ventura Lambrate showed a lot of the best emerging and unknown talent, both Dutch and international. The strength of the work is due to the exhibition’s careful curation by Vollenberg and Konings, with strict judging criteria applied to each project.”

Thanks to editor Peter Salhani for publishing my review of Ventura Lambrate on architectureau.com.

Milan preview: collaboration and cross-disciplinary design

April 7, 2014January 1, 2023despc

“From the highly commercial exhibits of the mega furniture brands, through to the experimental work by designers from all corners of the globe, Milan’s Salone del Mobile 2014 is set to be another extravaganza celebrating all things design.

“This year’s Salone del Mobile is the first chance to see the changes that new president of the fair Claudio Luti has proposed, including making sure there is a concentration of the big brands and making Milan a better experience for those visiting, including doing something about expensive accommodation and improving transport to the fair.”

Here I am in Milan ready to be inspired by the 2014 Salone del Mobile and share all the best design ideas with you.

My preview of the fair for DesignEX is available to view here.