THE JOURNAL
Photograph courtesy of Nodus
Highlights by Studio Job, Mr André Fu, Mr Max Lamb and Massimillano Locatelli at the Milan furniture fair 2016.
Today marks the opening of the 2016 edition of Salone Del Mobile furniture fair in Milan, the most important (and aesthetically pleasing) fixture in the annual design calendar. For those who already knew this, and are currently strolling around the fair’s various exhibits wondering whether to go for lunch at Bice or Da Giacomo – lucky you. For the rest of you, who, like us, are currently stuck in the office putting off the same decision about Itsu and Pret A Manger – here’s MR PORTER’s selection of some of the highlights of this year’s show.
Photograph courtesy of hem.com
Made from a single sheet of paint-splashed metal and appearing in five different colours, the Splatter stool by British designer Mr Max Lamb is a future classic in the making. And for £200, it’s a snip. At its launch, Swedish manufacturer Hem called on Milan’s Gelateria Rigoletto to create four flavours of ice cream inspired by stracciatella to match Splatter’s colourways.
Read our interview with Mr Max Lamb in the Design Issue of The Journal.
Herman Miller presents “The Double Dream of Spring”, an installation by Michael Anastassiades at Salone del Mobile, Milan 2016. Photograph by Ben Anders
Mr Michael Anastassiades is famous for lighting that typically features bulbs balancing like juggling balls on elegant brass frames. Now the Greek Cypriot designer has turned his attention to a debut collection of stools and occasional tables for American manufacturer Herman Miller. It consists of Spot stools in three heights and Stasis tables in walnut and oak. The whole collection features Anastassiades’ signature brass.
Photograph courtesy Untitled Homeware
Mr Locatelli runs his practice CLS architects from one of Milan’s most covetable studios (in a deconsecrated Baroque church) and designs furniture and tableware that complement its understated opulence. This year, he’s taking over a four-storey townhouse to launch his new collection, Untitled Homeware. Locatelli’s the master at creating a culinary mise en scène and creates everything from glassware to napkin rings.
Photographs courtesy Lasvit
Hurrah! Someone has finally updated the modernist glass brick, so we no longer have to rely on eBay-sourced vintage versions with perilously worn wiring. That someone is Mr André Fu, the Hong Kong-based interior architect who, in his new Tac/Tile range with Czech glassmakers Lasvit, was inspired by the 1932 Maison de Verre in Paris and the Czech metro. The collection goes on sale this autumn.
Photographs courtesy of Nodus
Mr Job Smeets and Ms Nynke Tynagel, otherwise known as Studio Job, are Dutch design royalty. They have 13 different projects at this year’s Salone but a favourite is their Thanks A Bunch rug for Italian maker Nodus. Explaining its origins, Ms Tynagel reveals a rogue streak: “Not long ago, I left a gas station with a lovely banana that I accidentally forgot to pay for. It wasn’t until I flung the skin out of the window that I realised my crime. I haven’t stopped feeling bad about it ever since. The rug is in honour of the man who runs that gas station.”