As part of DMY Berlin 2013 the Belgian design critic, curator, journalist and lecturer Max Borka organised the exhibition "Refugium. Berlin as a Design Principle" in collaboration and cooperation with students from his d- SOAP course at the FH Potsdam. Presenting works by some 50 Berlin based designers Refugium not only presents works by the selected designers but also seeks/sought to explore what characterises the Berlin design community and what makes the Berlin design scene relevant and
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For us there are many highlights to the (smow) design year, Milan, London, Brussels, Copenhagen.... and of course DMY Berlin. DMY Berlin isn't the biggest design fair, but what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. And for 2010 the organisers have not only found a new location; but also a new jury structure. Rather than the normal "rotating heads jury" DMY Berlin now features a UN Security Council approach with 3 permanent members and 2 rotating. The three permanent
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DMY Berlin may have been a few weeks ago, but the warm memories remain. And as we were sorting through the piles of info material we gathered in Kreuzberg we came across a postcard from Wohngold. And like a remiss lover returning from a holiday fling, instantly felt a pang of guilt as we saw the card and were reminded of that wonderful time at DMY Youngsters. Why hadn't we responded since our return? Did it all mean so little? For the truth is that LADAR by Wohngold is a truly wonderful
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We at (smow)blog we have often mentioned Vitras Net'n'Nest office design concept - one the one hand because we like it and on the other because as an official Vitra partner we at smow like to draw attention to new developments and products from Vitra. We have, however, never made a secret of the fact that one can - if one wants - mix and match furniture from various producers. Which was pretty much our third thought upon seeing Adenike by Heidelberg based designer Bao-Nghi Droste at DMY
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Before we start slowing down and head outdoors to enjoy the summer we want to take the opportunity over the next couple of weeks to look back on the smow design spring; namely our trips to Milan, New York, Brühl, Basel and Berlin ... as well as to start looking forward to the forthcoming smow design autumn. And no we won't just be re-visiting old ground, we have saved a few treats from USM Haller, Vitra, ICFF, DMY Berlin and Salone for those long summer evenings on the balcony with a good
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Every month Jasper Morrison sends a photo to the Vitra Magazine. And every month Vitra publish it. Every month we send a photo to the Vitra magazine. And every month they don't. Whereas the good Jaspers photos are always entertaining, this months entry was a lot more thoughtful and thought provoking. Taken in Indian Pondicherry the photo shows a chandelier made from old PET bottles and Christmas lights. "If this was an exhibit at the Salone del Mobile in Milan I wouldn’t give it a second
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The International Design Festival Berlin is over, but the pleasing afterglow remains. In particular through joys such as that presented by Portugese designer My Own Super Studio. At designer furniture shows one sees a lot of furniture, but not much that genuinely excites on account of its genuine innovation. Fiss Family by my own super studio is one of the rarities. Fiss Family is essentially a set of 4 colour coded - Big Blue, Small Yellow, Long Green and Fat Orange - lamps. Or better put
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Berlin didn't become the pulsating metropolis its is by blithely doing what everyone else does. Oh no, Berlin became Berlin because it was Berlin. And now so that we all can bathe in wonder of what "Berlin" means, the city marketing authorities have started an education programme, "be Berlin", in which they instruct us all how we too can be like them. And in conjunction with the DMY design festival, (smow)blog can exclusively reveal a few secrets as to how you too can "be Berlin" be Berlin
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What first attracted us to the work of Jason Miller at ICFF was the fact it was dirty. Obviously not pysically grubby, but dirty. As in a get down, funky, sort of dirty. Downtown Manhattan circa 1976 dirty. And we liked that. A lot. A similar emmotion grabbed us here at DMY Berlin as we walked past the stand from Design Apparat. The furniture was filthy. Again not in a grubby, don't sit down you'll ruin your jacket sort of way; rather in a "did you find that in Warsaw Pact appartment
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Berlin didn't become the pulsating metropolis its is by blithely doing what everyone else does. Oh no, Berlin became Berlin because it was Berlin. And now so that we all can bathe in wonder of what "Berlin" means, the city marketing authorities have started an education programme, "be Berlin", in which they instruct us all how we too can be like them. And in conjunction with the DMY design festival, (smow)blog can exclusively reveal a few secrets as to how you too can "be Berlin" be Berlin
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Berlin didn't become the pulsating metropolis its is by blithely doing what everyone else does. Oh no, Berlin became Berlin because it was Berlin. And now so that we all can bathe in wonder of what "Berlin" means, the city marketing authorities have started an education programme, "be Berlin", in which they instruct us all how we too can be like them. And in conjunction with the DMY design festival, (smow)blog can exclusively reveal a few secrets as to how you too can "be Berlin" be Berlin
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In the past few months we've had the privilege and misfortune of viewing several student showcases. These have ranged from the wonderful, such as the kkrraalls show in Milan from the students of the Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe, over the disappointing (Cranbrook College in New York) and not especially good (Weimar Uni. Milan and Berlin) onto the outright pointless - in particular we think on the show in Milan by a nameless north European-based college. The show from the
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While the "big name" designers show their wares at the IMA Village, the future stars are grouped together as DMY:Youngsters in the Treptower Park Arena Admittedly the classification is based on the organisers own perception and marketing concept - why, for example should the students from Bauhaus Uni Weimar be considered "Allstars" while those from Burg Giebichenstein in Halle are classed as "youngsters"? It makes no sense. Especially given that the Burg Giebichenstein show considerably
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Berlin didn't become the pulsating metropolis its is by blithely doing what everyone else does. Oh no, Berlin became Berlin because it was Berlin. And now so that we all can bathe in wonder of what "Berlin" means, the city marketing authorities have started an education programme, "be Berlin", in which they instruct us all how we too can be like them. And in conjunction with the DMY design festival, (smow)blog can exclusively reveal a few secrets as to how you too can "be Berlin" be Berlin
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The good news is that there are plenty of tables in the press room. And some excellent stuff on show from ETH Zürich, Fischerundfritze and Design Apparat, among others. More information and photos will follow soon. And Bauhaus University Weimar are here again with their "my bauhaus is better than yours" exhibition. It still isn't, but "their birdhaus maybe better than yours"
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