A chair that completely folds away

Seen at Milan Design Week 2013:
Pythagoras is inspired by Origami techniques from the past - a plain sheet of aluminum is laser cut, and then bend into the final product. It is designed by Sander Mulder and is made of three pieces: a seat, back and a tripod of legs.

The users can choose between aluminium or oak legs:

As the designer explains, 

"The triangulated lines serve both aesthetics and function, and this chairs sturdiness and comfort will surprise anyone.

Made up from only 3 different parts, this chair displays furniture design in its purest form. A powder coat finish is used to finalize the aesthetic and structural characteristics.
Available in all RAL colours with oak or aluminum legs ( which make Pythagoras chairs suitable for outdoor use)."

 The smart flatpacking design for transport & production with only 3 different parts.

Trends: Copper - one of the big themes in Milan 2013

It is not a new trend, but a development of the theme from last year: copper is a prefered material in interior design objects:

It was Tom Dixon that began to use extensively copper earlier and now continues at this Milan Design Week, too.



Olga Bielawska's 'Sirens Floating' table lamps are made from copper and hand blown glass
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 Bass and copper vessels by Finnish designer Matti Syrjä with finnish birch bark lids:

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Bala Side Tables by Jaime Hayon source

Sculptural copper wall lights and tiles, called Lum panels, are the work of Chilean designers Q Studio. source
Look also at the 'Salute' tables by Sebastian Herkner, 

In search for tranquility - the pastel trend at Milan Design Week 2013

 "Ro", which means tranquility in Danish, is the name of the latest creation of Spanish designer Jaime Hayon for Republic of Fritz Hansen, unveiled this week in Milan. This new easy chair is available in nine colours, which, as you can see, are mostly pastels:

More examples of the pastels trend at Milan 2013 :

 Colour Porcelain by Scholten & Baijings 

As we saw earlier in pastel shades are also the Lu tables by Yuhang Porcelain,  Maarten De Ceulaer's "The Chest Of Suitcases", The Haze Series by Wonmin Park and studio Nendo's series of tables.

Masterhood and Crafts at Milan Design Week 2013

 

I seems that Masterhood and Crafts are highly valued again at Milan Design Week 2013. This revival of craft in contemporary design is not a new trend, but it is getting stronger and that's great - for all of us :) who are going to enjoy the results soon in our surroundings.

Handmade terracotta flower pots in a selection of smooth sculptural shapes from Jaime Hayon's Gardenias collection, part of an ongoing collaboration with Catalan furniture brand BD Barcelona Design.

Donzella

De Lucchi’s Donzella for De Padova is “inspired by the deftness of the farmer/craftsman who made his own work tools and the ingenuity that sees the potential to turn everyday materials, those always before our eyes, into implements. This chair exploits the fantastic joint invented by someone unknown many years ago to resolve the problem of connecting the seat to the legs.”
 While for his Deck chair Luca Nichetto  was inspired by the “great cruise liners of old, with their long sea promenades. The decks were in marine timber, which is resistant to humidity, salt and bad weather, as was the seating that lined them.” It is designed as a seating system that combines the resilience of outdoor furnishings with the elegance of indoor seating.(source)

Jar RGB by Arik Levy for Lasvit

In Hall 20 seek out Mattiazzi, the Italian brand which disproves the modern myth that mechanized manufacturing is not a craft. This year they show the latest addition to the "Medici" collection by Konstantin Grcic, a new furniture collection designed by Jasper Morrison, the 3-legged „Radice" by Sam Hecht, etc. Pictures here is the "Medici" collection:source

Interesting ideas from Milan Design week 2013

'Cloud boxes' by studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters for PROOFFlab - a series of storage boxes display a semi-transparent latex skin (source)

Loos table lamp by Luca Nichetto

Bell lamps by Marcel Wanders

 Natalie Sampson Designs -paint roller and a corresponding wall decal

Paint rollers turned into wall lamps with matching paint stripe wall decal by Natalie Sampson 

Designersblock at The Magazzini: Cheap Ass Elites by Saran Yen Panya - furniture which criticizes what is socially considered ’high’ and ‘low’ in regards to design. 

La Chance, 'Salute' tables by  studio Sebastian Herkner

Vaiss.eau by Hanna Krüger

It has a mouth-blown double-walled glass body, which combines in a single form lampshade, reflector and illuminated space. The cable is coiled inside the glass body.(source)

The new luxury at Milan 2013

is practical and responsible. It is connected with the freedom to travel in comfort and elegance - Maarten De Ceulaer -"The Chest Of Suitcases" 

- dedicated to "modern nomads, that travel through cities and continents without restrictions or boundaries," the designer explains.

 source 

It may be sparcling like a real a crystal glass, but is much more stable than crysrtal and made from polycarbonate, which only appears to have the texture and cut of crystal glass. Tokujin Yoshioka's Sparkle is an outsized cut-crystal-vase-like table and stool that will be presented by Italian design brand Kartell at Milan's Salone del Mobile 2013, starting tomorrow.

And another allusion of luxury - Rising from the trash of mid Europe as a relic: A piece originating from former Yugoslavian army beds heaped on military flea markets, questioning our aesthetic and political demands on design. The project is reflecting the delicacy of war-time, the perilous life of soldiers and those inherent memories. The springs of the mattresses, bare of all frills, simple and honest, representing our present: lively, vibrant and sexy. Will the future be golden? 

OCCUPY! Armchair is 24 karat gold galvanized springs of mattresses

108cm x 76cm x 78cm, sitting height: 45cm
Unlimited Edition by Dejana Kabiljo 

A Dressed TV at Ventura Lambrate during Salone 2013

"The average telly is a technical black shrine constructed of hard plastic. And the worst part is: its uninspiring form is dominating our interior." explains his idea designer Robert Bronwasser from  SMOOL.

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SMOOL's Homedia TV concept is "dressed in fabric in order to give it a natural position within the larger interior design." 

Konstantin Grcic’s Medici armchair now has a company:

Now it is a family: side table, stool and armchair "Medici" - you can be seated comfortably, with your legs up and your drink next to you on the table :). Good idea! I like especially the colour of the armchair.

L+R Palomba - Salone del Mobile 2013, KARTELL BY LAUFEN

SaphirKeramik - twice-as-strong, more ecological and thinner than ceramic, with stunning performance. In the new codesigned project by Kartell and LAUFEN we see ceramics with thin, almost live edges, the grooves in (solid surface) baths that house LEDS for chromotherapy, surfaces treated with enamels in sophisticated colours, drain outlets that are invisible, hidden below essential slots, and assembly systems that are as innovative as they are easy.

A portable hotel and office in a cupboard - at Fuori Salone 2013

The Hotello  is a four-square-space packed in a rolling cabinet created for the Swiss firm  Daskonzept by artist Roberto de Luca and designer Antonio Scarponi.  You can see it at the Fuori Salone 2013 in Milano at the Fabbrica del Vapore via Procaccini 4 from 9-14 of April 2013.

The Pastels Trend

It appears that the pastels trend will continue to grow. We saw this at IMM Cologne 2013 and Maison et Objet 2013, now we see an interesting confirmation- some of the new collectioss that will be launched at Milan Design week this April are also in these colour schemes:

The Haze Series

South Korean designer Wonmin Park has created The Haze Series - a set of furniture made from resin in translucent pastels and Japanese design studio Nendo has created a series of tables featuring pencil shading in pastel colours: