As many of you know we don't do trends. Never have. Never will. But others do. And back in 1964 the trend in West Germany was leather furniture. At least according to Der Spiegel. In "Haut und Haare", a delightful article, that admittedly probably shouldn't be read by anyone planning buying a Barcelona Chair for Christmas, the unnamed Spiegel author not only explains just how much of a trend leather had become in the West German living rooms of the day, but exhibits a wonderfully casual
read moreResearching a text on Donald Judd ahead of the opening of the exhibition "Donald Judd. A good chair is a good chair" at Die Neue Sammlung – The International Design Museum in Munich, we came across an essay he wrote in 1993 called "It’s Hard to Find a Good Lamp" We're not claiming any major scoop here - the text is published on the website of the Donald Judd Foundation and is freely available to all. It was however new for us. And we think we may have a new hero. An engaging, if at times
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One of the genuine highlights of our year is DMY Berlin. Not just because it offers the chance to spend a week in Berlin, but because whereas all design festivals, inevitably, have a commercial aspect - at DMY Berlin it is not rammed down your throat. Conceptual, experimental design is just as welcome as market ready products, and one genuinely has the feeling that "design" is the only thing that matters. Egos, star allure and bottomless expense accounts belong elsewhere. DMY Berlin 2011 is
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Billed as being an "... experimental, collaborative journalism project that aims to lift the lid on the design world to coincide with next week’s Milan furniture fair." #milanuncut appears to have come down to an article in the Guardian by Justin McGuirk and a side discussion about unpaid interns. Sadly. Because there is without question an urgent need for a more open discussion about the "design" industry. However what #milanuncut does beautifully prove is that before the discussion can
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