icff 2015 – DesignApplause

the best nycxdesign 2015 exhibits to visit at the 11th hour or later.

May 18, 2015

new york design week runs from from 8 > 19 may. surrounding these dates is a citywide offering of design related installations and exhibits. for visitor’s interested in taking something in on the 19th or later, here are the best.

thru 19 may | sofitel times square | 45 west 44th street nyc
french design connection / is back for its 34rd edtion featuring acabas, anouchka potdevin, armel soyer gallery, carpenters workshop gallery, dutko gallery, dyptique, servaire & co, valerie goodman gallery and wustenberg

thru 19 may | 11 a 7p | ingo maurer showroom | 89 grand street nyc
new works by ingo maurer and team see new and several world-first prototypes, concepts and finished pieces.

thru 19 may | 9a – 6p | nanimarquina | 588 broadway #607 nyc
nanimarquina: new collection launch designed by sybilla.

thru 19 may | 11a – 7p | vitra store | 29 9th avenue nyc
prouvé RAW office exhibition is a crossover project between g-star RAW and vitra. this is the second edition of this partnership. above photo courtesy of vitra – wundr studio

thru 19 may | 11a – 7p | the future perfect | 55 great jones street nyc
wonder room curated by piet hein eek features a major installation of one of-kind collaborations and works of art from dutch designers hansje van halem, paul heijnen, linda nieuwstad and floris wubben. in addition works by michael annastasiades and local designer bec brittain and the newest roll & hill lighting.

thru 20 may | 10a – 5p | next door | 4014 1st avenue #603 brooklyn
1:1 piero lissoni exhibition originating from chicago showing architectural models and many objects shown in varying stages of development, from concept to finished piece. In new york it’s curated by studio next door and represents a special partnering with elle decor italia, carin scheve’s styling including emerging brooklyn designers.

panel discussion thursday 21 may | 7p – 8:30p | thru 27 sept | 10a – 6p | museum of arts and design | 2 columbus circle nyc
women in industrial design: a changing field? in certain typologies in the design world – interios, textiles and tableware – women have been extremely successful while others – furniture and product design – they have been conspicuously absent. a panel of curators, industry leaders, teachers, journalists and designers share their thoughts. [note: more exhibit info on ‘pathmakers: women in art, craft and design, midcentury and today’ towards end of this post] above photo courtesy of gabriel ann maher

thru 22 may | 12noon – 6p | matter | 405 broome street nyc
matter made 2015 collection bold new works from in-house brand matter made. also ana kras, henry julier, philippe malouin, vonnegut kraft and visibility are shown. solutions include the latest energy efficient led technologies.

thru 22 may | 12noon – 5p | moma design store | 81 spring street nyc
moma design store presents: london tech city a new suite of products documenting the london tech scene in honor of nycxdesign.

thru 22 may | noon to 7p | project no 8 | 38 orchard street nyc
ward bennett: making sense is an installation of sensual minimalism of iconic new york designer ward bennett. a collaboration between design institutions herman miller and geiger, the environment designed by various projects. above photo courtesy of herman miller

thru 23 may | 11a – 7p | kikkerland | 493 6th avenue nyc
kikkerland celebrates china design challenger winners during beijing design week 20014 kikkerland in collaboration with leaders in design and innovation challenge young design talents. the winners are celebrated and their designs are being produced and sold worldwide through kikkerland’s distribution network.

thru 23 may | 9a – 8p | the center for architecture | 536 laguardia place nyc
praque functionalism is the first major exhibition at the center for architecture to focus on eastern european design. the photographs are of functionalist buildings, projects and drawings.

thru 31 may | 9a – 5p | moiety | 166 north 12th street brooklyn
design collective, field experiments presents a new project focused on the concept of ‘play as work’ featuring a host of visual and tactical programming [ program details ] moiety.nyc

thru 30 june | 11a – 5p | e.r. butler | 55 prince street nyc
rise by karl zahn is part II of the momentum series. a large collection of mezmorizing objects in a display of motion and physical interactions.

thru 30 august | 11a – 6p | socrates sculpture park nyc
agnes denes: the living pyramid new york city artist builds a 30 feet high, site-specific earthwork created from several tons of soil and planted grasses.

thru 13 september | 10a – 6p | museum of the city of new york | 1220 5th avenue nyc
everything is design: the work of paul rand features over 150 graphic design examples by an american design legend. it was rand who most creatively brought european avant-garde aret movements such as cubism and constructivism to graphic design in the usa.

thru 27 sept | 10a – 6p | musuem of arts and design | 2 columbus circle nyc
pathmakers: women in art, craft and design, midcentury and today features more than 100 works.

thru 15 november | 9a – 5p | cooper hewitt, smithsonian design museum | 2 east 91st street nyc
how posters work exhibition shows 125 posters from cooper hewitt’s permanent collection such as masters like herbert matter, paul rand, philippe apeloig, to lesser-known creators.

ongoing | 10a – 6p | moooi | 36 east 31st Street nyc
moooi new york technically not an exhibit but the opening on 15 may 2015 of a new moooi showroom. while we were in milan dutch designer marcel wanders alerted us to dutch lifestyle design company moooi crosses the ocean and lands in nyc to open its first showroom and brand store in the usa. marcel is moooi’s creative director among other things.

getting from point a to b with giulio cappellini. icff 2015.

May 17, 2015

[DA] What’s on the top of your mind right now?
[GC] Ah, many things. It’s because I’m always looking towards the future, what’s next. And more and more now, I experience a great of degree of change to an approach to design that has transpired over time. In the 50s and 60s, those early products just had to be well-constructed and beautiful. Today it’s more than just a nice shape, now there’s more emphasis on function. We also think more about scale. By scale I mean that many of our customers live in the city and their living spaces are physically smaller, and we scale down for them.

More recently we have found the need to not only create for the home environment but for the office space as well, a landscape experiencing a great deal of change. The same for technology. There are many more natural materials and complex natural colors to work with. And today the consumer more and more likes the freedom to make their own choices. So more options, more customization is added to the mix. And through all of this, quality has to keep pace and not be compromised. There’s a lot to think about.

[DA] Giulio, you’re a great judge of talent. You’ve done this for years. So many designers that I’ve talked to agree you are responsible for who they are today. Who, what do you look for?
[GC] I think that each designer is unique, they don’t follow the same line or path. Sometimes they have a sketch or prototype and now I think I can’t live without this product and I want to bring it home with me now. I try to talk and get to know the designer to see if we communicate and can work with Cappellini. There’s a need to establish a relationship that communicates the right feeling, the common perspectives and values. So the personal approach is very important. I always say the good Cappellini designers are first of all good friends of mine.

[DA] Good chemistry. Everyone gets from A to B a bit differently. How did you get from A to B. What are some of the things that were important to you to put you where you are right now?
[GC] I’m always enthusiastic in my job and I try to be kind to my stomach, you know, less worry and more passion. At the beginning of my career I didn’t follow an A to B dream. And now today, the company is big, the situation different, and through this change I like to always keep a little freedom. Regarding the company and our relationships with our consumers, we do it a certain way which seems to work, but I also like to take my risks and strongly believe in what I am doing. For me this is very important.

[DA] Would you give the same answer if I was asking what advice would you give to a young designer?
[GC] I’m a visiting professor, invited by design schools to speak about my experiences. I tell students that I understand when they start their career they want their sketches and ideas to quickly hit the marketplace. But you cannot think it’s a simple journey to design a new chair or table. You have to follow the development of a product like a baby.

In the market there are thousands of products. We really don’t need a new table or sofa, we need a better table and sofa. The new products should be more contemporary and the shape may benefit from the new materials and technologies. Plus there are new strategies and philosophies to add to the process, such as incorporating environmentally friendly and less expensive features. I tell them do few things but do good things.

[DA] Is there any aspect in design that’s broken, not working, that can be improved upon?
[GC] What I’m going to say is something I just thought about this morning. There can be a communication problem in design. If a consumer doesn’t buy a product most of the time it’s because they didn’t fully understand the design’s value to them. The value needs to be better communicated to the consumer. We can’t assume the buyer is knowledgeable.

Knowledge is not enough however. For many years, the communication about design was, maybe too sophisticated or better, there was a presumption and maybe an elitist attitude that impeded communication. Maybe it was just hearing the top 300 in design talking to themselves. And maybe this dialog made some a little afraid of design. People might like and appreciate the artifacts in the permanent collection of a museum or the windows displays of a fine showroom but they’re still afraid to go deeper, to engage with design.

[DA] To be continued.
[GC] To be continued.

L>R luca nichetto, giulio, jaime hayon smokin the design world

Giulio Cappellini is a Milanese architect who has been working since 1979 with an energetic spirit and refreshing goals. Through the years his work transformed into that of a designer’s, offering a personal approach to contemporary design. He has successfully established both his brand and his name and has worked as the art director for other key design brands. His most important project, the “company”, transformed Cappellini into one of the biggest trend-setters worldwide. His lectures at the Milan Architecture University always generate great interest from Montreal to Valencia.

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authentic design online – be original americas. wanted design 2015.

Apr 30, 2015

Be Original Americas to host a dynamic panel at WantedDesign on Saturday 16 May 2015 at 2:30p, about authentic design online. The event is titled Authentic Design Online – Be Original Americas. With more and more consumers shopping from a device rather than a brick-and-mortar location, the panel will share their thoughts on how can the design community assert and promote quality through intangible channels? How can the notion of “good design” transcend the static interface of a computer screen or smart phone?

Join Dwell editor in chief and panel moderator Amanda Dameron in conversation with Bezar founder Bradford Shellhammer, Emeco chairman Gregg Buchbinder, and author and design commentator Max Fraser about the ever-shifting online marketplace.

Be Original Americas, founded in 2012, is committed to educating, informing and influencing designers, businesses, and the greater public on the value of purchasing authentic designs. The goal is to elevate the discussion so that all who appreciate good design also understand the economic, social, and ethical reasons to support the creators and manufacturers of original, authorized design, thereby ensuring its future.

event> authentic design online – be original americas™
venue> wanteddesign | terminal stores 269 11th avenue new york city | conversation room
date> saturday 16 may 2015 | 2:30p

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