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Milan 2015: SaloneSatellite Favorites

The SaloneSatellite was created in 1998 to bring the most promising young designers from all over the world together with the most important business people and talent scouts gathered in Milan to visit or exhibit at the Salone. 700 emerging designers under the age of 35 took part in the 18th edition of SaloneSatellite, the theme of which was “Life Planet”, resulting in some really interesting work. Many designers took the opportunity to investigate the boundaries between mass produced and hand crafted objects – Meike Harde’s Wooden Aquarell (above) is a coloring technique inspired by the movement of pigments and water, that enables the the mass production of individually unique pieces.

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The Corker Series by Max Harper (above left) and the Exo Series by Matthew Harding and Rowan Turnham (above right) were just two of the collections being showcased by the Melbourne Movement, a collective of young Australian designers founded in 1999 by Kjell Grant with the ambition of building an international reputation for cutting edge Australian design.

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The Hoff is a playful, colorful modular sofa system by Bergen-based designers Morten & Jonas, upholstered in collaboration with Kioshi Yamamoto. You can mix and match colours and shapes.

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I loved the very on-trend Punkt Pendant Lamp by Bauhaus University graduate Olga Bielawska – now a freelance designer in Hamburg, Germany, she was born in Warsaw, Poland and raised in Bavaria, Germany.

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There was a real trend throughout Milan for using waste as a material – one of the most exciting examples I saw was Nani by Studio Joa Herrenknecht – a solid wooden bench upholstered in salmon skin leather – a by-product from the food industry. The designers were contacted by a fisherman who wanted to find a use for his waste products and the rest is history.

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Maija Puoskari’s Vanamo Pendant, made of powder-coated steel and mouth-blown glass, was inspired by a small Finnish woodland plant, also known as twinflower in reference to the plant’s paired flowers. The pink bell-flowered plants are particularly fragrant at night time, when the pendant lights up.

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The Vladimir collection, inspired by the hyperbolic constructions of the engineer Vladimir Schuchov, includes a table, side table and stool. “It is based on a plain and simple construction: Vladimir comprises two oiled discs of European wild oak plus five metal rods, and can be constructed without tools,” said designer Christoph Friedrich Wagner.

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The Bonded Leather collection by Raw Narratives, which includes two side tables (pictured above), pendant lights, vessels, candle holders collection and handcrafted leather pencils, is made using leather off-cuts bonded together naturally using just moisture, heat and pressure.

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I absolutely loved all of Büro Famos‘ work, so it was difficult to chose just one product to feature. The Mil coffee table combines black marble, black glass and a base of four asymmetrically interlocked black stained ash legs. Perhaps black is the new black!

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The 1l carafe by Dutch designer David Derksen appeals to my nerdy sensibilities. Available in four different patterns, and drawing inspiration from laboratory glassware, the measuring stripes on the side have been applied both as a functional and a decorative element.

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And finally, Gemma by L’ecole Bleue gradate Anais Maigrat was inspired by the facets of a brilliant cut diamond.

Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author and, podcaster championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. She is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a program and membership community for designer-makers who want to join the circular economy. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine and Monocle24 – as well as being Editor at Large for Design Milk. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and a podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.