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Friday Five with Sebastian Bergne

British industrial designer Sebastian Bergne is known to crank out some really cleverly designed everyday objects, each with his own special spin on them. Trained in design at the Royal College of Art, Bergne graduated in 1990 and promptly set up his London studio. Besides exhibiting his work internationally and acquiring various design awards, he’s collaborated with brands like Vitra, MUJI, Lexon, Authentics, TOG, Driade, and Luceplan, just to name a few. I’m pretty sure this designer has no plans to stop and will continue “making everyday objects special.” For this week’s Friday Five, Bergne takes us on a tour of some of his favorite places where he finds inspiration.

From Sebastian:

I find that places have become more and more important to me in terms of inspiration and significance. Here I would like to share five such places that I either visited once or continue to visit regularly.

F5-Sebastian-Bergne-1-Studio-Museo-Achille-Castiglioni

1. Visiting Achilles Castiglioni’s studio is a little like meeting him in person. There is a strong atmosphere created by all the objects, humour, and personal solutions that inhabit the space. Although I only met him once for a short time, the small Italian with a huge smile had a great impact on a nervous, very tall Englishman.

Photo © Serena Mignani / Imago Orbis

Photo © Serena Mignani / Imago Orbis

2. For a few years I had a studio space in Bologna and fell in love with the work of the local painter Giorgio Morandi. There is a magical reconstruction of his studio in the Morandi Museum. There is something about the light and selection of objects that makes one feel like one is in a painting.

Photo copyright of the Trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum

Photo copyright of the Trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum

3. I discovered the Sir John Soane’s Museum when I was a student around the corner at the Central School of Art. Popping over regularly to dive into this amazing world, I was often the only visitor and could almost live the sequence of enchanting rooms.

Photo courtesy of Walking the Labyrinth

Photo courtesy of Walking the Labyrinth

4. The Chelsea Physic Garden is a secret oasis in the back streets of Chelsea. Step through the gates into a living museum of functional plants.

Photo by Cesare Colombo

Photo by Cesare Colombo

5. As a student on my first trip to Milan, I visited the dark basement workshops of Giovanni Sacchi. Every design model was lovingly carved in solid wood without a drop of filler. A visit to the cavernous stores revealed design classics stacked high under a thick layer of dust. It felt like the memory of Italian design.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.