We've previously stated our quiet dissatisfaction with awards ceremonies and for all there omnipresence. But love 'em or loath 'em when they are good they are one of the best ways to help consumers separate the chaff from the rye - or at least from amongst those producers who pay the entrance fees.... One of the most renowned awards in Europe is the red dot Awards organised annually by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen. And while the red dot Awards fulfill almost all the criteria that we
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We sadly didn't meet the colleagues from Stylepark, but had we - a day ticket for Milan costs €3 and a return ticket to the exhibition centre costs €4. There's meant to be a global recession
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Shortly before travelling to Salone in Milan the (smow)team headed off to Switzerland to spend a couple of days with first USM Haller and then Vitra. The (smow)team make such trips regularly, on the one hand to keep abreast of developments in and the mood of the producers, secondly to learn a little more about the production process and thirdly quite simply to maintain and develop the personal contact with our suppliers: The better smow work with companies such as Vitra or USM Haller the
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This picture shows the moment "Not allowed" pulled away from Neptun to win the Preis der Leipziger Messe at Scheibenholz racetrack on Saturday. Needless to say your smow(blog) team were aboard the 20-1shot and after the race had to explain how we came to back such a horse; simple we replied, a youthful british talent, trained in Leipzig who ignores the rules. How could we not back him.... Sadly we had a less luck in the feature Audi Cup, but despite that many thanks to the Audi Zentrum
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As already written, every year the London based producer Established & Sons take over a former municipal sports hall in the Via Palermo for their Salone "installation". The theme this year appeared to be Robinson Crusoe. We'd been really looking forward to the Established and Sons show since seeing the pre-show releases; and while the show was well worth the trip, we couldn't help coming away with the feeling that in many of the pieces the design had been taken priority over practicality.
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After our turbulent week in MIlan the (smow)blog team is looking forward to the ever faster approaching May bank holiday weekend here in Germany. On Friday we will be at the traditional May Day Horse Racing Meeting at Leipzig Scheibenholz Racetrack, Saturday the Leipzig Spinnerei "Spring Gallery-Tour" with among others Damien Hirst at Gallery Hilario Galguera and then Sunday the exhibition "EAST_for the record" at the Leipzig Museum of Contemporary Art. And there are people out there who
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As a quick info for all smow customers outside Germany - Friday May 1 is a public holiday in Germany and as such the normal (smow)service will be a little disrupted. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience.
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Despite Lufthansa's best effort we made it back to Leipzig yesterday evening. We only hope our luggage will arrive this evening. And despite the joy at being back in our green oasis with our wonderful view over the romantic historical ruins of East Plagwitz, Milan remains very much in our thoughts and we will continue to intersperse the blog with news and updates. As we never tire of telling anyone who will listen to us, furniture needn't be complicated. The design process can be
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It's almost time. The exhibition halls are half-empty, the beer fridge in the press room half-full and the hold of our Lufthansa plane back to Leipzig is being waterproofed on account of the 6 kilos Italian rainwater we are now carrying with us. It's been a fun week - and a heart-felt thanks from us to all who made it possible and who made it what it was, both here at the exhibition centre, but also Superstudio, Zona Tortona and all the off-site shows and exhibitions. But although we are
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They say that in every life a little rain must fall. The amount that has fallen in Milan in the past 24 hour is however ridiculous. And unjust. We don't know what the Milanese did to annoy Tlaloc, BUT WE WEREN'T THERE!!!! And had we been, and had we seen what the Milanese were doing we would have tried to stop them. As it is, however, we were forced to flee our tent at 3.15 this morning - enjoyable as the water bed effect through the tent floor was, we have an awful lot of state of the art
read moreIn our entry on the designersblock showcase we mentioned a foldable cardboard chair that had caught our attention. Now we know as well as everyone else that are our heads are readily turned by free beer and bagpipes (thanks Calum) - and if you throw in some dub and finest Italian ska and we would lie for you in court. And so we thought we had better wait a day or two before saying anything more about Stuart Miller's fine folding cardboard chair. In case we found something better. We thought we
read moreMake up your own joke... we like: "Apparently, he had heard that there are some classics here that never go out of fashion - and wanted some tips" "Lets go to Kartell, they're also 100% plastic" We can't promise a prize for the best suggestion, but send your "entries" to blog@smow.de and who
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What the war on terror being won and everything, it appears Barack Obama has turned to his Secret Service to help save the American economy. We know its a weak joke, but they sadly didn't seem to understand what we meant when we asked what the delivery time is for
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As our old snowboard buddy used to say "Beaten tracks are for beaten men". And as everyone who deliberately strays from the conventional path knows sometimes you push it too far, take too many risks, lose control, break several limbs, are out of action for months and must begin all over again. Or if you know what you are doing, the conditions are right, you have the talent and just that pinch of luck you might just have the ride of your life - a ride that leaves you longing for the same,
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At the kkaarrllss showcase we couldn't help noticing that the students were using a copy of "Das Kunstwerk" [The work of art...] by Walter Benjamin to support the lamp. A subtle critic on Benjamin's Marxist ramblings, a rejection of modernism or just typical student forgetfulness. Fascinating
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Having re-read the first two "off-Salone" entries, we fear that it could be interpreted that we are not doing very much here. To correct that view, we must point out that you are only getting the pick of the crop; by the time a text reaches the (smow)blog we have already sorted out the rotten, misformed and unripe fruits. After leaving the after-hours-acid-jazz-cafe ambiance of the Zona Tortona press room, we headed of north towards the Piazza Moscova. First port of call was Established &
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Picture taken on Corso Garibaldi north of Piazza Moscova. The building in the middle is the "Centro Bonsai" - and the tallest building in the block. Italy - great at design, rubbish at artificially restricting vegetative
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We must say it is good to get back to the comfort of the Zona Tortona press room and an ice cold cola - although we must report that the focaccia's sadly seem to be finished :( The first port of call for our second "off Salone" sojourn today was "Fake it Easy" Czech design studio Koncern who have produced a range of products with the - alleged - aim that they should be copied. In the smow(blog) we have often discussed the subject of original and copies and we would loved to have discussed
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After 3 days at the Milan exhibition centre we're giving it a miss today and spending the whole day "off-Salone" Currently enjoying the splendid hospitality in the Zona Tortona press room and will try to ignore the film crew next to us who are working on "The First Design Movie" - coming to specialist film shop near you in September and try to order our thoughts from the first part of our tour. We were up and about early, far to early for most designers but that didn' stop us making a small
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Looks like it could be a new seating system by Ron Arad - it is in fact a safety barrier inside the main exhibition
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Here in Milan we have the main trade fair in the exhibition centre, the main "off-site" around the Via Tortona, and then the more extensive off-off-site which encompasses more or less the whole of the city. And so it was that we ventured yesterday evening into the wilds of north Milan in search of the designersblock showcase - the 9th of its kind organised by the London based collective After the compulsory getting lost and walking in the wrong direction we eventually arrived ... and quickly
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Graffiti is the plural of the Italian word graffito meaning "writing" and as already reported is a highly regarded art form in Leipzig which we at smow like to export. And so when we saw a blackboard and chalk at Tom Dixons stand in Superstudio Pia how could we
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As a long-standing Vitra partner the (smow)blog team naturally paid an early visit to the Vitra stand. Vitra's principle new project this year is the Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec ... over which we have previously written. This time however we can also say that we have sat in a Vegetal and can report that it is much more stable than it looks in the pictures. The result of four years research, and a lot of trial and error, Vegetal is firm without being uncomfortable and - despite
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Milan may be Italy's second largest city and an important industrial centre ... but it also lies close to both Lago di Garda and the Alps. And as this photo from the exhibition centre parking level shows, not matter how stressful the Salone is, serenity is never far
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