It's fair to say that for us the real shock of IMM Cologne 2011 was the number of senseless sofa combinations and truly, truly, hideous leather cantilever dining chairs on show. And that despite that fact we were expecting such. It of course wasn't all cheap pointless tat, there were also some wonderful young designers on show and one or two brave producers with genuinely interesting, innovative and aesthetically coherent product ranges. They were sadly in the minority - and we fear that in
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The first thing to say about Designers Fair 2011 is that it was smaller than last year. The second point to say is that the location was a lot poorer than last. The first point is in itself no bad thing - the second is. Now you know us. For us one of the genuine joys of a design week is the chance it offers to explore a city and to visit those areas that one otherwise wouldn't see. And the 2011 Designers Fair location in Ehrenfeld was in that sense good as it provided a focal point for our
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Just as Hannibal always loved it when a plan came together - so for us it is always a moment of extreme satisfaction when a product really is as good as we thought it probably would be. We first saw SuperSputnik by Stuttgart based designer Ahmet Sismanoglu a.k.a Sisman at DMY Berlin 2010 However owing to an, as ever, over-filled schedule never got round to more than admiring it from afar. And so at Designers Fair in Cologne we briefly ignored our schedule to grab a few words with Ahmet and
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While critics denounce such as an easy and obvious way to generate content - for us reviewing the past year is an important step in planning our activities for the coming year: where to go, who to talk to, what to sit on and, just as importantly, what to ignore or give up. The only real problem for us is that in preparing such we realise just how much material we haven't had the chance to use - and so receive an impression of how much more material we will acquire in the coming year. Heck!
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We first saw Becherlicht by Martin Neuhaus at Designers Fair 2010 in Cologne. And are still in awe. Our interview with Martin Neuhaus from Designers' Open will be published soon; but for now a few images.
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For us Designers' Open 2010 was a wonderful mixture of new discoveries and renewed meetings with old favourites. Such as Collecteur by Christian Lessing. We first saw back Collecteur in January at Designers Fair in Cologne - and are still impressed by the simple genius of the design. In essence Collecteur is a stool/side table that receives its stability from magazines. Perfect for all those of us with large magazine collection we can't bear to part with but which we can't find appropriate
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It's not often a product impresses us so much it causes us to swear; but Becherlicht by Martin Neuhaus had such an affect on us we spent our first four hours at Designers Fair cursing like trawlermen who had just hauled a case of whisky on board. Honestly the looks we got. But it was worth it. Because Becherlicht is already well on its way to being our product of the year. Light shining though a plastic beaker throws a coloured shadow onto a surface. The idea is so simple, yet only works
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"You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in" Arlo Guthrie's quote features on interror.be in conjunction with the product sevenup - a light that ironically proves that although a dark can be helpful to a light ... it aint a pre-requisite. Reminiscent of Rody Grauman’s 85 lamps for droog - just with only seven bulbs and with the bulbs elegantly held apart form one another - sevenup is a wonderful modern interpretation the classic chandelier. Stripped to the bare essentials - cables,
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According to the advertising information "The leaning lamp stresses the relationship between light and architecture by its generous gesture" That as may be, for us luca lean by maigrau is one of those genially executed design concepts that separate the chaff from the rye. Items leaning against walls is no new concept. Alone Moormann could create a category dedicated to furniture items that are supported by architectural supporting structures. But wheels aint new either...what is new is new
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As with all major furniture trade fairs, Cologne also has it's fringe events; indeed throughout they city museums, shops and other businesses have taken the opportunity to present some aspect of modern furniture. Not as much as one finds in Milan during the Saloni week; but an awful lot more than Leipzig manages during Designers Open. Sadly. The main "off-messe" focus is Designers Fair in .... well were not entirely sure what. That the building housing Designers Fair was previously some
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