End of Summer

29 August 2009

After tasting the beginning of Fall in Sweden with some rain and crispy cold evenings, briefly surviving the blasting humidity and heat of Milan, Berlin sounds like the right way to end the Summer with a mild mix of both weathers. Just got in town to meet up the Parra team, but as Scott is already keeping you busy with updates, I thought I could recap on a few interesting things from the last two weeks. While being in Göteborg I headed out to Way Out West, probably Sweden’s best music festival, which was surprisingly good and well connected to the city clubs and venues, with maybe a bit too many gigs and events coinciding, but still efficiently organised like only Swedish could do. The three main stages were held inside Slottsskogen, a really nice park, right on the edge of the city center, with a small lake which was really the best spot to take your ear plugs off and have a quiet drink.

Hightlights of festival for me were Antony & the Johnsons with the Göteborgs Symfoniker

and Fever Ray light and laser performance, which was really something! By the way my images don’t pay any justice, so you should go see them live.

Talking about Fever Ray reminds me of meeting band’s memeber and supertalented Peder Mannerfelt in May, when him and the ever multitasking Tony had a small live performance together after a round of drinks at Peder’s flat, which I wish I could have shot properly for Apartamento.

Moving on from Göteborg to Stockholm, I managed to test a night at the Creators Inn, a project by Swedish brand Elvine, thanks to Jesper at Next Century Modern, who started it all and set me up with Martin and Erik at A World Beneath, who played great hosts for the night.

and definitely enjoyed the bathtub and plants everywhere!

Last but not least, Nacho came into town for a small project we have been working on with Japanese brand Collex and which will be released end of October during our issue 4 launch in Tokyo. Here you can see him chatting with Johannes Norlander in between shooting.

I hope you had a nice Summer too!

Swedish Holiday

12 August 2009

Finally taking a little break..

Yorkshire

7 August 2009

Just got back from a quick trip into the middle of Yorkshire to unveil part of a 15 years old collection of studio pottery and 20th century British ceramics, being put together by Max Lamb’s father, Richard, who will be the main player in Apartamento next project. Richard Lamb: The Everyday Life Collector, to take place during the London Design Festival in September in partnership with the Brompton Design District. We spent two days opening dusty boxes and here below you can peek over some of the first findings. Listening to the story behind the hunt for each piece was probably one of the best parts.

and in between some rain and lots of dust, Max took me on a tour of the fields nearby

which unfortunately feels already so distant from hot and sticky Milan.

FT Weekend

28 July 2009

It’s probably too late to get your hands on the printed copy unless you know someone working at the FT, but you can still find the main articles from last weekend FT Magazine’s special cars issue online. I particularly liked Sam Knight piece on the love for Svensk Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, aka Saab, with photos by Charlie Bibby.

Enzo

24 July 2009

Had the pleasure to meet Enzo Mari yesterday for a long interview chatting about kids, life, politics and Italy at his Milanese studio. Mari gave us so many interesting remarks and insights that I wish I could already post some here… but you’ll have to wait to read the whole thing in the new Apartamento coming out next fall. In the meanwhile I hope you enjoy a summer look by Mari, and I can tell you that at the age of 77 the master himself is still so incredibly focused and with an unbeatable sense of style.

Harvard Design Magazine

15 July 2009

Just got the latest copy of the Harvard Design Magazine yesterday. Beside being quite expensive (well probably as much as a copy of Apartamento in the States) I would definitely recommend this issue on Sustainability + Pleasure!

On water

11 June 2009

At the Biennale opening in Venice last week, you couldn’t avoid being constantly dragged around from a place to another, spending more time on water than anywhere else… not matter what time of the day. You might ask and what about the art..? Well Tracy and Yorgo gave you some good tips already and the rest is all there to be discovered. It runs till November and there’s a lot to see, so make sure you take enough time and are not afraid of water…

Moroso

1 June 2009

I never thought I would want to take a day trip to Udine, considering the 9 hours train journey from Milan and back, but I managed it and spending a day with Patrizia Moroso at the Moroso headquarter was worth every single minute. So much has been said about the company lately, especially for Moroso latest installation at Salone del Mobile in Milan or ICFF in New York, but I suppose that nothing is quite like walking around the offices and the workshops, looking at prototypes and flicking through old catalogs’ pages. Worth looking around for those if you can still find them!

Round up

28 May 2009

Thanks to Yorgo for exposing our burger lunch in the park catching up on things, which reminds me I haven’t been posting for a while, and that I still have to thanks Pieter for the amazing chat and dinner we had in Milan just before his opening at Galleria Patricia Armocida. The show runs until June 19 and you should not miss it!

Then was London and a place I really enjoyed visiting for the first time was the Conservatory at The Barbican, open only on Sundays and Bank Holidays. The best part for me being the catcuses’ greenhouse, truly inspiring! Seems like there will be an interesting workshop on August 13, as part of the events for the upcoming Radical Nature exhibition, might be worth attending if you are in London around those dates.

Also during my stay I had the remarkable experience to meet with Ilse Crawford at her home and finding myself talking about food and restaurants with her husband Oscar Peña. Shame I couldn’t stay for food, next time Oscar!

Speaking of food, I found a great new view of Maison Bertaux on Greek Street, directly from the roof terrace at Soho House. Such a view that I was actually craving one of their strawberries’ cakes!

and final stop before heading back to Italy, Dover Street Market, to meet Charlie, one half of the new Casely-Hayford brand, the other being his dad Joe, which you should definitely check on the second floor racks at Dover Street Market, as I suppose it’s the only place carrying it in Europe at present.

Rietveld for Rietveld

18 May 2009

Emily King from London just passed me this link and I couldn’t resist posting about it. It’s a petition to prevent the management of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy to leave the original Rietveld building, in Amsterdam, which was designed between 1950 and 1963 and was finished in 1966, and it’s the largest building Gerrit Rietveld ever realized.

Today, 18 May, is the 42nd birthday of the building, and the The Rietveld Preservation Society will meet to adorn the building with a human chain: a festoon (’slinger’) consisting of people, forming a temporary birthday decoration. Worth checking if you are in Amsterdam.