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Ventura Lambrate at Milan Design Week

Lambrate is one of the most talked about design districts of Milan Design Week. I headed over there on day two of my trip, having exhausted SaloneSatellite on day one. One of my favorite spots was the Book Light above by Barbara Vos.

Ventura Lambrate Milan

The area was buzzing with creativity, and almost had a festival vibe, with pop-up restaurants, bars and gelato stands galore – plus plenty to look at besides the design, from graffiti and flyers to interesting wall surfaces.

Alice by Rachel Boxnbolm Milan

This rather delightful teacup called Alice by Rachel Boxnbolm was created from a desire to “sew a teapot.” The fabric provides a casting form for the ceramic material and burns away during the firing process.

Bubble Chair Kevin Yu Jui Chou Milan

The Bubble Chair by Kevin Yu Jui Chou was part of the Han Gallery’s show. Each bamboo ball is hand woven and a nod to traditional craftsmanship. The modular construction provides a contemporary interpretation.

Hook Line Depping Milan

The simply entitled Hook was Line Depping’s contribution to Mindcraft12, a collection of 16 words of Danish craft and design.

Jakub Petr teaset Milan

More tea, this time from Jakub Petr – simple, functional and beautiful.

Katie Stout Milan

On an altogether more irreverent note, this tray table from Katie Stout made me smile. Made from laser cut plastic cafeteria trays, each layer lifts off, giving you four trays with big holes in the middle and one that you can use for carrying tea!

Lee Broom Crystal Bulb

A real highlight of Ventura Lambrate was Lee Broom’s Public House, with the bar staffed by the man himself. It was the most complete collection of Lee’s work even he’s ever seen – and these fabulous Crystal Bulbs were new for the occasion. They are hand blown and hand cut and work just like a light bulb. Stay tuned for our exclusive interview with Lee!

Neven Kovacic

I loved this little blue chair by Neven Kovacic, a reinterpretation of traditional katriga stools, as part of Croatian Holiday 2012, a collection of work inspired by tourism.

Plum Cousin Cuento Next

As the sign says, it’s a must-have combination! The sofa is Next Sofa by Mikolaj Wierzyttowski, the table is Plum Table by Tomasz Augustyniak and the cushions are Cousin Cuento Pillows by Katarzyna Cebulak.

Strikks

STRIKKS developed this fabric as part of the Tea Time project curated by the Academy of Fine Arts Maastricht and open to their graduates. The ridges were knitted in relief and then hand-dyed with a gradient from fluoro-orange, on the one side of the chair to fresh green, on the other side.

Tadeas Podrecky Still Life

I loved Still Life by Tadeas Podrecky – it almost looks like an ice sculpture.

Viminibidi Giulia Cavazzani

Giulia Cavazzani describes Viminibidi as a “parasite” that can grow on ordinary plastic chairs found in gardens giving them extra functions – this one features a magazine pocket on the far side. I liked the combination of a mass produced and ubiquitous object and the hand woven wicker.

Werner Aisslinger Chair Farm

And last but not least, Chair Farm from Werner Aisslinger was part of an exhibition called Instant Stories and imagines a future where furniture can be grown and harvested, rather than manufactured. I was particularly taken with the stuffed rabbit! Then there was just time for a spot of lunch, before I headed off to MOST – more of that to come.

Ventura Lambrate

Our trip to Milan for Milan Design Week 2012 was supported in part by Airbnb.com.

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.