Arising from the discussions and discourses of the earliest years of the 20th century on the production of, materials of, forms of, and relationships with our objects of daily use in context of the increasing industrialisation of the, then, Germany, and in context of the increasing globalisation of the, then, Europe, the Leipziger Grassimesse1 quickly established itself amongst both avant-gardists and those of a more traditional persuasion, and in doing so became, arguably, one of the more
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For all that the annual Leipzig Grassimesse is and always has been as a sales fair, a place to peruse, discourse with and purchase, contemporary craft, applied art and design, and thereby an opportunity to support contemporary craft, applied art and design practitioners, or perhaps more accurately an opportunity to support those practitioners whose practice you most enjoy, it has also always been a platform for creative schools and their students to present their works and approaches and
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Unlike a great many international craft, applied art and design fairs, entry to the annual Grassimesse Leipzig is strictly by jury selection. And has been since the first edition in 1920. 'twas, in many regards, one of the pillars on which the event established its reputation. And one which helps it maintain that reputation. The 2023 Grassimesse jury recently convened to review the abundance of applications for this year's edition, up some 33% on 2022, and, and perhaps more satisfyingly,
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Although the Grassimesse has been staged, with readily understandable pauses, since 1920, the Grassimesse smow-Designpreis is being staged for the first time in 2023. Which means a highly impressive roster of innovative, intelligent, imaginative, informative, designers from back in the day can't win it. Have, if one so will, missed out But you can win it and the associated €2,500. Or can if your reading this before Friday May 12th Sunday May 21st, the new extended, deadline for entries.
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The 2023 edition of the Grassimesse Leipzig will see the inaugural awarding of the €2,500 smow-Designpreis. The first dedicated design prize in the institution's long (hi)story. Entries are were open until Friday May 12th. But what if that first Grassimesse smow-Designpreis had been awarded not in 2023, but 1923? Who might have won? Who would the 1923 Grassimesse jury have selected from the many possible candidates? ???? A smow Blog fantasy final four....... Back in 1923 the
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For the first time in its long and illustrious history Leipzig's Grassimesse will award a dedicated design prize at its 2023 edition. More specifically, will award the €2,500 smow-Designpreis. The call for entries is now open, and you are all cordially invited closed....... Tracing its history back to 1920, the contemporary Grassimesse began as an, if you will, response on the part of Dr. Richard Graul, Director of the, then, Kunstgewerbemuseum Leipzig, the contemporary Grassi Museum für
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When one considers the, let's say, unique, derisive, unalluring place the Sächsisch dialect enjoys endures amongst German speakers, it could be considered unwise, foolhardy, to explore all too deeply the contributions made by creatives and industry in and from the State of Sachsen to the development of Bauhaus, to explore, if you will, Bauhaus's Sächsisch accent. With the exhibition Bauhaus_Sachsen the Grassi Museum für Angewandte Kunst Leipzig do just that....... Bauhaus_Sachsen, Grassi
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Time was when Leipzig hosted two fayres per year, one at Easter and one at Michaelmas. The Easter Fair has since given way to a grotesque faux middle ages market. And no we're not using grotesque as a synonym for the pains and discomforts of the middle ages as reflected in the stalls, shows and characters who compose the market experience. We mean its painful and uncomfortable. The Michaelmas Fair however has evolved much more agreeably and is now ably represented by the annual Grassimesse.
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What with the sweet afterglow of Vienna Design Week behind us we entered October 2013 full of enthusiasm - not least because it meant the opening of the new (smow) Cologne store. The month nearly nose-dived on account of a hideous plagiarism in Leipzig, but was more than rescued by Alison and Peter Smithson at the AIT ArchitekturSalon Cologne.......
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When the yellowing leaves of passing like a carpet over Leipzig lie..... it must be time for "Leipzig Creative Autumn", as the town's marketing bods will no doubt eventually get round to calling it. On Friday we'll be at Designers' Open, the start shot however is traditionally made by the Grassimesse at the Leipzig Museum for Applied Art. Which is only fair. On the one hand Grassimesse is older - tracing its history as it can back to the 1920s and counting many a Bauhaus student and
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In addition to works by individual designers and artists Grassimesse 2012 also presented the results of the research project "Ü60 Design: Design for Tomorrow" No-one denies that our society is getting older and that in the coming decades an ever greater percentage of the population will be Ü60, so 60+ What is often forgotten is that the future 60+ generations will be different from the current 60+ generations and so the needs in the future are not the same as those at the present. Similar.
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Drawers! And we don't mean that as an insult. If there is one thing we really, really miss it's desks with drawers. Back in the day, all desks had drawers. Then, probably due to flexible office design where no one has a fixed desk, drawers started to vanish from desks. Regrettably. And so it was with a small scream of delight that we saw Ragna Gutschow's desk at Grassimesse 2010. Sadly we didn't get to speak to Ragna and so we don't know any more than we liked it. And not just on
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The third stage on the (smow) design marathon 2010 was the Grassimesse at the Grassi Museum here in Leipzig. First hosted in 1920 the Grassimesse has established itself as one of Europe's most important sales fairs for contemporary arts and crafts. And felt. It also spawned Designers' Open and always invites a wide range of art and design schools to present a selection of their students work; consequently, and although as a matter of principle we can't get excited about jewelry, pottery or
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Mannno! If we're honest we didn't expect Orgatec 2010 to be such fun, or to be so sorry to leave. For us Orgatec is one of those "must dos" Not must do as in the sense of, "If you don't go you'll regret it for the rest of your life" but more "your going, stop your bleating and accept it!" But at the end of the day we could have happily spent another couple of days in Cologne. Aside from a range of interesting new products at Vitra and Thonet, we discovered a host of new office
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