design miami – Page 5 – DesignApplause

interview with designer francisco gomez paz and guiseppe butti of luceplan. design miami 2012.

Mar 14, 2013

above> synapse

DesignApplause is talking to Argentinian designer Francisco Gomez Paz and US CEO of Luceplan, Giuseppe Butti, in the Miami Luminaire Design Lab Showroom. We’re all here for Design Miami 2012 and these men are here to introduce Francisco’s new light ‘Synapse’ to the US. It’s all part of Luminaire’s annual presentation of new production introductions during DesignMiami.

[DesignApplause] What brings the both of you here here?
[Francisco Gomez Paz] We’re here because Luminaire wishes to introduce a new product that I designed for Luceplan, the Synapse light. A system that works with LED light. It’s basically a divider of spaces. You can join it in different ways to create different configurations. Energy dividers for the space.

[DA] Is this a new product for 2012?
[FGP] We’re ready to put it on the market and we’re showing it here for the first time in America.

[DA] Francisco, tell us a little about you and where’s your design office located and what’s your office like?
[FGP] I’m Argentinian, born in Argentina. I studied in Argentina, but moved to Italy 14 years ago to study the Master in Design at Domus Academy. After a bit of working experience, I opened my office. Now I’m working with several companies.

[DA] The LED technology is causing quite a stir in the U.S. We’re starting to do away with the incandescent light bulb. In Europe, you have a bit of a head start on this.
[Giuseppe Butti] Yes. Europe banned the incandescent bulbs a year ago. The move is coming to the U.S. as well. The prime mover is the West coast with all their energy codes. The LED really started nudging out the halogen and incandescent bulb a few years ago with Title 20 or Title 24. This past year we saw a big trend toward the new light sources, like LEDs for commercial spaces, replacing florescent light sources. At residential levels, incandescent is still the most popular light source that people prefer.

[DA] People are hoarding incandescent light bulbs now.
[GB] I know. But the residential sector is starting to understand the LED a little bit better. The more it evolves toward a warmer light, away from the blue LED lights we used to see in the beginning, the more people are getting comfortable with adding new light sources in their homes.

[DA] I know the earlier LEDs were very unpredictable and unreliable. How long ago were you able to begin to invest in making quality lights?
[GB] I think that Luceplan, was one of the first companies to start experimenting in 2003-2004 with LED lights. We came out with the first LED product in 2006 called “Mix.” Since then, the entire industry has seen a big evolution. And our company now belongs to Philips which is one of the key producers of LED in the world. All our designers, like Francisco, take advantage of the R&D Development that we have. Every year we the LED technology allows us to do more than before. This is the big thing. It’s very important.
[Francisco Gomez Paz] In terms of design, I think it’s a big opportunity to try to find new languages. Then we can change all the earlier rules concerning sources of light. In my opinion, it’s a very nice opportunity to find new types of lights.

[DA] What are some of the differences from a design point of view that LED brings to you?
[FGP] There are huge differences. One is the light, the lamp, is a really tiny electronic element, not electric element, and is very small. 4×4 millimeters. It’s allowing us to put it in different types of situations that wasn’t possible before using the E27 lightbulb. It’s really amazing in terms of design. Luceplan encourages me to experiment to find new objects and new technology. Predictably there are many companies simply copying what was done before. That’s a big missed opportunity for many. Our decision is to try to imagine new frontiers of light.

[DA] How was the light conceived? Who approached who?
[FGP] This is an idea that came to me because one of the sources of inspiration a designer and an architect can have is to understand the human being. How you live and change. Of course, in the last 20 years, you have smaller houses and you remove walls because you need bigger spaces, for example it’s really common to mix the kitchen with the living room to share activities. But you still need in some cases sort of divider or filter. Hence the starting point for this idea. I tried to create a new way to divide spaces using light, LED light. I then simplified the idea using just one shape, a module, that could be configured in many interesting ways.

[DA] What are the materials used?
[FGP] Polycarbonate.

synapse

[DA] Looking at what you have on the wall, how many modules are up there?
[FGP] I know this may sound silly, I designed the assembly, but from here I can’t tell. I have to get closer to see a few seams then I can tell you.

[DA] How heavy is a module?
[FGP] They’re really light. We designed it wanting a lightweight solution and we used the minimum amount of plastic possible. Just two very light pieces of plastic that are welded together.

[DA] You had an idea. You go to Luceplan. Then you begin to collaborate with their engineers.
[FGP] Yes. I have a very good six-year relationship with Luceplan. We started with the Hope chandelier and we put to market in 2009 in Europe and 2010 here. It’s now a best seller at Luceplan and has allowed us to have a really good trusting relationship. I work almost in-house with the Luceplan engineers plus it spills over to my studio and workshop. Prototypes can be made at Luceplan or my office. A very open dialogue. That’s something really special of a relationship with Italian companies. That there’s such a close dialogue with a design company. A very open and free one.

[DA] We’re very fortunate having both the designer and the US CEO here. A business question: What percentage of your products are in the US and around the world?
[GB] The U.S. represents about 15% of total sales of Luceplan.

[DA] How long have you been in the U.S.?
[GB] Seven years in the US Before that I worked for 5 years for Luceplan in Milan as a sales and marketing director. We’ve been in the US since 1994, and it’s a long-term commitment. We are based in New York and New Jersey. We have a showroom in Soho. We have warehouses and corporate offices just outside of the city. However, the majority of the markets are the European markets. The most important markets are Germany, Italy, Scandinavia.

[DA] Luceplan is positioned as both contract and residential?
[GB] Yes, absolutely. The Luceplan line is for both markets. I would say that overall, we have about 65-70% is contract and the rest is residential. I must say that this percentage, which is quite unusual for Luceplan, is mainly due to the fact that the distribution of high-end lighting or high-end furniture stores in the US is not so wide. It’s not easy to find retail stores that can sell high-end products. This is a bit of a limit of the U.S. distribution. Certainly in the U.S. we are mainly contract oriented as far as retail.

[DA] Which are some of the U.S. cities you feel have a lot of potential?
[GB] The Northeast certainly. It’s one of our biggest markets. So is Miami. Mainly because there are a lot of South Americans and Europeans here that have bought apartments and houses and are almost residents here. The South American and European culture is very strong in Miami. The Northeast, Miami and then Canada. Southern California is another key market.

[DA] Francisco, do you just design lighting? It seems that there are so many architects doing products and vice versa.
[FGP] I do all kinds of products, not just lighting. My clients are mainly in Italy. I have a new client in America. As a designer, I’m very holistic in using different kinds of materials and means of creation for objects.

[DA] You’re strictly a product designer, not an architect? It seems in Europe there are many architects doing products and vice versa.
[FGP] I’m not an architect, even if I came from a family of them. Sometimes I’ll do some things for myself, but no I’m not. I think the same philosophies share something that is difficult to divide.

[DA] Where did you go to school?
[FGP] At the “Universidad Nacional de Cordoba” in Argentina, that is one of the oldest university of Argentina. After that I achieved a master at Domus Accademy in Milan.

[DA] What do you think of Design Miami?
[FGP] You have two different things going on in the city. The art show and the design show. The design show has matured and grown in importance attracting more people to talk about design.
[GB] Luceplan presented ‘Hope’ at Luminaire in 2010 and it was a big success. We’re presenting again tonight, introducing Synops to North America and hoping for the same kind of success.

hope

[DA] Francisco, do you do limited edition pieces for the design galleries? or are you just concentrated on production?
[FGP] For now I concentrate just on production.

[DA] What does that mean ‘now?’
[FGP] My interest in the past was doing high production pieces because of the investment that went into the objects. There was more opportunity to experiment. Today’s technology is making it possible to experiment with small production with very good quality and that will encourage designers to participate because of the allure the freedom to experiment.

[DA] Tell us about your design principles? Do green and sustainable go into it?
[FGP] We can talk a long time about this. I don’t think you can put an eco label to design because I believe that it’s something that has always been in the philosophy of design. It’s impossible not think pollution and energy consumption. My philosophy is best described knowing the shape never starts in the beginning. I always try to start from a white paper free of preconceptions of ideas or shapes. For me, a shape is already an idea that is closed. My process is long, it involves philosophy, technology and the freedom to change the pre-existing. In the end of this process the shape almost magically appears.

[DA] Giuseppe, are you selling online?
[GB] We do online sales because in the US it’s very difficult not to do them. But it’s not the majority of our sales. The majority is the contract business or with architects on projects. Hospitality. Commercial. Residential. We have a network of retail stores like Luminaire and many others, but selective. Online is for us about 10% of our sales.

[DA] Do you have any stand-alone Luceplan retail stores in any city?
[GB] We have one in New York. In the heart of Soho. It’s our flagship store. So far this is the only one. It’s been open since 2007. Prior to that we had another showroom that was less a retail store, but more a showroom still in the Soho neighborhood on Houston Street and then we moved the our current location on Green Street.

giuseppe and francisco

[DA] How successful is it? Everyone I talk to in your business niche, the jury’s out for many. How is it working for you?
[GB] It’s good. It’s working. It’s still our number-one retail store in terms of sales. Certainly, with the New York costs, you have to see it as an overall advertising touchpoint for Luceplan worldwide. A lot of people from all over the world pass through Soho which is great for our brand image.

Another thing, our store in New York is more than a retail store, it’s also a showroom. We use that space to present to architects and designers. We organize events. For us, it works both ways. It’s yes on one side, a retail store so you can come in and buy a fixture. On the other side, it’s a moment that we use to present, in an ideal situation, a light fixture to an architect. You walk into stores where it’s difficult to figure out what that fixture can really give you. In our store, we pretend to say we have ideal vignettes and situations for our fixtures. We are happy with our store.

[DA] What’s Luceplan’s philosophy? Do you have an in-house design group?
[GB] Two of the founders are Paolo Rizzatto and Alberto Meda. They founded the company and are still designing for us. We also go to Francisco and many others from France, Italy, the US and all over the world. The important thing for us is that we receive a lot of proposals for new products and then it goes through a selection. If we think it is in line with the overall general philosophy, we are certainly open to new ideas and new products. We like to always been innovative not only with the materials, but also in the idea.

[DA] What is your background? Are you a businessman or are you a creative?
[GB] I’m strictly a business person. But I love design. I’ll let you alone with Francisco now.

[DA] Francisco, is there anything else you want to say that we have touched?
[FGP] I’d like to emphasize a really good relationship with Luceplan because we share many philosophies, and important ingredient. We like to do innovative things, but not just to do them. Design is an amazing tool to make a little progression to the world. Even in small pieces. Innovation always puts new value into our lives. That’s the role of design. You try to understand everything. Technology. Human beings. You try to do that little innovation step-by-step. That way we continue to innovate. This sharing of philosophy, the beautiful relationship we have with Luceplan…we’ve discussed many times where this world is going and how we can give to this world new objects that solve problems and that improve our lives in little steps.

apero

[DA] Early-on in my interviews I used the label ‘design-driven’ objects. I felt compelled to use this label every time interviewing non-designers. A non-designer response almost always was ‘function-driven’ along with a well-thought out explanation.
[FGP] I would say idea-driven. An idea includes functions, materials and human beings. When philosophy is true to design, it transforms into something that is solid and original. What moves me are the ideas and then everything comes.

[DA] Your work is very clean. The architect Jon Ronan who’s work is also clean describes his work as ‘essential’ where he subtracts until he gets to the piece that is essential, that when you take that piece away the idea is broken. Can you describe your aesthetic?
[FGP] I cannot put myself in one aesthetic movement. Ideas can be expressed in completely different ways. There are things that are minimal and things that deserve more complexity.

I mean, it’s not something that I think of when I’m doing a project. If you see some of my designs, you will see lots of complexity but also at the same time, simplicity. My thinking is not so simple. Sometimes I love complexity. Nature is full of complexity. A tree is full of art and intelligence. I enjoy the intelligence of something and work with it. I don’t have any kind of preconception. If you take everything from a tree, what will you have? A tree is really complex. Even when it’s blooming, it’s full of flowers. Not just one. I love the freedom of nature, to be simple or complex. Depends on what you are trying to do.
[ francisco gomez paz ] [ luceplan ] [ luminaire ]

Herzog & de meuron’s parrish art museum.

Feb 4, 2013

After numerous Design Miami 2012 related visits for numerous events held at the 1111 Lincoln Road office building and a Herzog & de Meuron parking garage I was inspired to seek out other Herzog projects and found the recently opened Parrish Museum located in Water Mill, NY. What makes the Parrish Musuem concept so beautiful is it’s simplicity: a long twin-peaked building pavilion of extreme efficiency. Of interest, simplicity and efficiency was not the first concept proposed. In 2006 the architects proposed an $80 million multiple pavilion scheme around the site, but this concept felt to be beyond the museum’s reach. Terrie Sultan, the head of the Parrish simply waited and Ascan Mergenthaler, the partner who was in charge of this project, came back with a $26 million concept which the museum agreed to. The museum opened in November 2012.

north view exterior | computer-generated image | copyright herzog & de meuron

The architect describes the concept: The starting point for the new Parrish Art Museum is the artist’s studio in the East End of Long Island. We set the basic parameters for a single gallery space by distilling the studio’s proportions and adopting its simple house section with north-facing skylights. Two of these model galleries form wings around a central circulation spine that is then bracketed by two porches to form the basis of a straightforward building extrusion.

The floor plan of this extrusion is a direct translation of the ideal functional layout. A cluster of ten galleries defines the heart of the museum. The size and proportion of these galleries can be easily adapted by re-arranging partition walls within the given structural grid. To the east of the gallery core are located the back of house functions of administration, storage, workshops and loading dock. To the west of the galleries are housed the public program areas of the lobby, shop, and café with a flexible multi-purpose and educational space at the far western end.

An ordered sequence of post, beam and truss defines the unifying backbone of the building. Its materialization is a direct expression of readily accessible building materials and local construction methods. The exterior walls of in situ concrete act as long bookends to the overall building form, while the grand scale of these elemental walls is tempered with a continuous bench formed at its base for sitting and viewing the surrounding landscape. Large overhangs running the full length of the building provide shelter for outdoor porches and terraces.

The placement of the building is a direct result of the skylights facing towards the north. This east-west orientation, and its incidental diagonal relationship within the site, generates dramatically changing perspective views of the building and further emphasizes the building’s extreme yet simple proportions. It lays in an extensive meadow of indigenous grasses that refers to the natural landscape of Long Island.
Herzog & de Meuron, 2010

parrish chairs | konstantin grcic | emeco | 2012

The Parrish collection includes a table, chair and lounge chair, all with curving legs made from recycled aluminium and seats made of reclaimed pine. “The Parrish chair was given a round tube, forming a belt that defines the space around you – a space where you can feel protected,” ~ Konstantin Grcic.

Architect: Herzog & de Meuron
Location: Water Mill, Long Island, New York
Client: Parrish Art Museum
Photos: Matthu Placek
Completed: 2012

Art.sy and design miami 2012 collaborate with online preview.

Dec 2, 2012

Design Miami/ 2012 a global forum for design runs from 5 > 9 December. The eighth edition of this event hosts 36 design galleries presenting works from designers including Wendell Castle, Pierre Jeanneret, Le Corbusier, Louise Nevelson and Gio Ponti. What makes this year different is on 28 November Design Miami and Art.sy launched an online preview of over 400 available selections. Organize your creative itinerary by checking out the [ preview. ]

In September 2012, Matthew Israel, Director of The Art Genome Project, spoke about Art.sy and The Art Genome Project at DataGotham. DataGotham aimed to celebrate New York City’s data community and brought together professionals from finance to fashion and from startups to Fortune 500 companies. The day-and-a-half event took place September 13th and 14th at at NYU Stern’s Paulson Auditorium.

[ art.sy ]
Carter Cleveland founded Art.sy in 2008. Art.sy created The Art Genome Project, an ongoing study of the characteristics that distinguish and connect works of original art. Developed in collaboration with art world professionals (including curators, artists, academics, and art dealers) and Joe Kennedy (CEO of Pandora and the Music Genome Project), The Art Genome Project and Art.sy’s proprietary search technology allow Art.sy to make intelligent artwork recommendations based on your personal preferences.

In recent weeks, the website has been working to extend its core search technology to include more works by notable industrial designers. President of Art.sy Sebastian Cwilich says, “There’s a very close connection between high end collectible design and fine art. Collectible design can be an accessible way for people to get involved with art for the first time.”

[ main gallery program ]
Caroline Van Hoek/ Brussels
Carpenters Workshop Gallery/ London & Paris
Cristina Grajales Gallery/ New York
Demisch Danant/ New York
Didier Ltd / London
Gabrielle Ammann // Gallery/ Cologne
Galerie BSL / Paris
Galerie Downtown-François Laffanour / Paris
Galerie Jacques Lacoste/ Paris
Galerie kreo / Paris
Galerie Patrick Seguin / Paris
Galerie VIVID / Rotterdam
Galleria Rossella Colombari / Milan
Gallery SEOMI / Seoul
Hostler Burrows / New York
Industry Gallery / Washington DC & Los Angeles
Jason Jacques Inc. / New York
Johnson Trading Gallery / New York
Jousse Entreprise / Paris
Magen H Gallery / New York
Moderne Gallery / Philadelphia
Mark McDonald / Hudson
Nilufar Gallery / Milan
Ornamentum / Hudson
Pierre Marie Giraud / Brussels
Priveekollektie Contemporary Art|Design / Heusden
R 20th Century / New York
Venice Projects / Venice

[ design on/site ]
Antonella Villnova / Florence presenting Delfina Delettrez
Booo / Eindhoven presenting Front
Carwan Gallery / Beirut presenting India Mahdavi
Design Space / Tel Aviv presenting Michal Cederbaum and Noam Dover
Erastudio Apartment- Gallery / Milan presenting
Victor Hunt Designart Dealer / Brussels presenting Slyvain Willenz + CIRVA
Volume Gallery / Chicago presenting Snarkitecture

[ schedule of events ]
public show | 5 > 9 december 2012
preview day | 4 december | collectors preview 12 > 6p | vernissage 6 > 9p
Design Miami’s cultural programme, including Design Talks, Design Performances, and Design Satellites, as well as the 2012 Designer of the Year, will be announced in the coming weeks.

[ about design miami/ ]
Design Miami/ is the global forum for design. Each fair brings together the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators and critics from around the world in celebration of design culture and commerce. Occurring alongside the Art Basel fairs in Miami, USA each December and Basel, Switzerland each June, Design Miami/ has become the premier venue for collecting, exhibiting, discussing and creating collectible design. [ design miami/ ] [ design blog ] [ preview 2 ]

How to remove pinky toe to fit into your designer stilettos.

Dec 2, 2012

bebe head to toe, photo > javier padilla photography | click > enlarge

When I see a women walking briskly in (on) a pair of modern day stilettos I remember the day when I could do that. I don’t remember being that uncomfortable, and whatever, you just did it. But never would I think to chop off a toe. There’s a pinky toe story in the press at the moment about women cutting off toes or removing bones from their longest toe so their shoes are more comfortable. Not many things surprise me but this seems over the top.

Watch the latest video at video.foxnews.com

‘classic miami’ footwear

A topic of conversation at dinner last night: in flip flops, would you even notice if a picky is missing? In one day I go to Design Miami where these ‘designer’ shoes thrive. I’m going to be really looking now and thinking, do they or don’t they.

about boo hill

Acconci named designer of the year. Design miami 2012.

Oct 24, 2012

vito acconci before delivering the 2011 margaret mccurry lecture in the design arts: “into & through & out of landscape.”

Brooklyn-based Vito Acconci, famous for his performance art has been named Designer of the Year by Design Miami, the design fair that runs in concert with Art Basel Miami Beach.

photo courtesy of acconci studio

The Miami Design District has commissioned his studio to create a permanent playground structure and installed in the Miami Design District in 2014. Though the commission won’t be completed for the Miami fair, an Acconci exhibit will show drawings. Founded by Vito Acconci in 1988, Acconci Studio an architecture and design collaborative, is known for fluid, shifting spaces designed to encourage unexpected communal experiences.

Klein-Bottle Playground, as the structure is called, was originally developed for the humanitarian “Art for the World” program, as part of a touring exhibition of experimental recreational equipment and toys for refugee children. Acconci Studio’s contribution was inspired by the German mathematician Felix Klein, who expanded the concept of a Moebius strip into a structure – a “Klein Bottle” – in which there is no identifiable “inside” or “outside,” as one surface flows continuously into the other. Acconci Studio has transformed this mathematical construct into a playground, in which a series of tubes extend out from and into a central sphere, such that children can climb in, through and on top. The installation of Acconci Studio’s Klein-Bottle Playground in the Miami Design District will provide the first public area in the neighbourhood dedicated to children.

Marianne Goebl, director of Design Miami, explains that Acconci’s buildings and public projects are about “generating unexpected and intense interactions. Ultimately, it’s more interesting to surprise people, and teach them, than to serve them the safe and the obvious.” [ acconci studio ] [ design miami ]

event: design miami
date: 5 > 9 december 2012 | miami

DesignLove. Design a cure for cancer event ends 31 march.

Mar 24, 2012

31 march is last day to purchase items from the 2011 DesignLove collection

DesignLove stems from an original collaboration between the groundbreaking French design magazine Intramuros and the innovative science company DuPont. Gifted to Luminaire for the 2011 edition of the design showroom’s philanthropic Love Series, the exhibition boasts original works in DuPont™ Corian® solid surfaces, shown together for the first time.

The works were exhibited ( photos below ) at Luminaire Lab in Miami’s Design District in December 2011, and were auctioned online. The pieces that did not sell during the time period of the auction are still available for purchase and will be until 31 March. Over $50,000 was raised for this year’s event to date.

click > enlarge

[ designlove event dates]
31 march 2012 is last day to purchase 2011 collection pieces

[ contact us: 305.448.7367 800.645.7250 ] [ designlove collection and designers ] [ luminaire ]

Architect luis pons designs “chapel.”

Dec 9, 2011

“Chapel” an organically shaped, meditation chamber designed by architect Luis Pons is part of Inventory 02: Soul Does Matter, an exhibition showcasing the work of a provocative group of designers who embrace the concept of limited production manufacturing. The exhibition, which attracted a lot of attention during Art Basel Miami Beach, will be on view in the Buena Vista Building, 189 NE 39 Street #120, in the Miami Design District through 19 December 2011.

“Chapel” offers a relaxed interior for one to four people and is pre-programmed by the facilitator to support the users’ individual needs during daily sessions. Upon entry users experience a period of meditation, during which the chapel’s integrated lighting, sound, and aroma therapeutic scent systems are set to create a calming atmosphere. Meditation is followed by activation of the video-conferencing mode, during which users engage in a two-way communication with an energy expert via the Chapel’s Internet connected state-of-the-art video conferencing system. Sessions close with the Chapel returning once again to a meditation atmosphere for a period of time. When users leave the Chapel low-level lighting gently illuminates the interior until the next session begins.

“In the Chapel we leave the distractions and chatter of the everyday world behind. Here we are able to embrace and enhance our ability to reconnect to the energy source that is within ourselves and always available in the universe,” says Pons. “The chapel’s organic shape is a symbol of life itself. Like a cocoon, it is a source of, and protective space for, birth, rebirth, renewal, and growth.”

The 18’ x 12’ x 9’ structure is fabricated from 69 elliptical panels crafted from translucent white fabric that was custom designed, creating a soft oval interior space. This interior space sits on an oval platform made of acrylic light cast cotton. A custom designed sofa bench offering seating for up to four people inside the Chapel is oriented toward a 42” audio/video LED display with integrated speakers. The audio/visual system includes an Apple Mac mini control processor and computer, an HD web camera with a microphone, and an iPod Touch. A high-performance LED lighting system can be programmed to bathe the interior in various lighting schemes.

[ about the exhibition ]
Curated by Thais Fontenelle, Soul Does Matter is the second exhibition from Inventory and features an array of design objects in a range of mediums and disciplines. The show is presented with the intent to explore themes centered on the interplay between the material and the intangible personality of design objects. The highly disparate limited edition pieces that comprise the show reflect the unique visions and worldviews of their respective designers yet unify around the shared theme.

Alessi miami. New store opens. Celebrates 90.

Dec 6, 2011

above: invite to the grand opening of alessi miami featuring a special installation by marti guixé celebrating
90 years of alessi. the opening coincided with 2011 design miami/ and art basel miami.

espresso maker | 2006 | richard sapper | alessi

above: unveiled in 2006 this ‘entry’ level espresso maker by the german designer richard sapper recalls the expressive themes which he holds dear, reproduced here in 18/10 polished stainless steel with a handle of molded and folded plate. it’s essentially a redesign of the original 9090 espresso maker he created for alessi in 1979. there are 2 sizes available : 3 cup and 6 cup. just one of over 2,500 products created by over 200 designers.

above: alessio in town to launch new miami store. l>r: giovanni alessi (4th generation alessi, designer) | alessio (3rd generation alessi, president alessi usa | paolo cravede (managing director alessi usa) | photo taken in front of raleigh hotel south beach following designapplause interview – stay tuned.

designer: richard sapper
designer: marti guixé
producer: alessi
alessi miami venue: 4141 ne 2nd avenue | design district miami

[ design miami/ update 2 ] [ design miami/ update 1 ] [ design miami 2011 ]

Top ten picks. Design miami/ 2011.

Dec 1, 2011

apache table | konstantin grcic | galerie kreo

Design Miami/ have compiled a “Top Picks” of Design Miami/ 2011, selected by interested and informed tastemakers, collectors and academics.

octopus chair | lee sam woong | gallery seomi

1951 bridge office chair | jean prouvé | galerie patrick seguin

[ design miami/ update 2 ] [ design miami/ update 1 ] [ design miami 2011 ]

Ornamentum gallery. Design miami 2011

Nov 30, 2011

blue python 1/12″ | david bielander | switzerland

Ornamentum Gallery is exhibiting provocative contemporary jewelry for the first time in Miami, with a focus on silver hollowware. The silversmith has been an area of great importance in the world of precious metals… the fields of jewelry and silversmithing often overlap, with many artist / designers creating excellent examples in both mediums.

jugzilla and spoonies | david clarke | uk

On display original work from artist / designers such as Luzia Vogt (Switzerland), Gerd Rothmann (Germany), Karl Fritsch (Germany), and introducing for the first time in Miami- David Clarke “often cited as one of Britain’s most highly innovative silversmiths.”

gerd rothmann | germany

Since the 1960s, Gerd Rothmann known for his work with the fingerprint and imprints of the skin, the jewelry of Rothmann achieves an almost iconic personal connection with the wearer.

precious plastic | jantje fleischhut | netherlands

ted noten | netherlands

Dutch Artist of the Year 2012 is Ted Noten. The iconic handbag / suitcase form made of a 5 Kg bar of silver with a handle and shoulder strap mounted upon it.

[ design miami/ update 2 ] [ design miami/ update 1 ] [ design miami 2011 ]