Milan Design Week 2009 Recap: Skitsch

While the timing seems less than ideal to launch a high-end furniture company, the new Italian brand Skitsch certainly made a go of it during last week's Salone del Mobile. With a broad collection of seating, tables, storage, lighting and accessories from a who's who roster of today's youngest design talents, Skitsch is clearly trying to position itself amongst the design world vanguard. While many …

Milan Design Week 2009: Established & Sons

The British manufacturer Established & Sons vaulted onto the design scene just five years ago as if out of nowhere. Despite the cheekily ironic assertion of heritage suggested by their name, a rambling selection of products that makes up their ouevre to date gives a sense of a company yet in its infancy, with frequent missteps and disappointing additions among the gems that have put …

Milan Design Week 2009: ECAL

The University of Art and Design Lausanne, or ECAL, has been consistently turning out some intriguing talent under the directorship of Martin Schgaguler. While the curriculum teaches students to each hone their own identity, there remains a distinct style that sets the school's program apart from that of, say Design Academy Eindhoven or the RCA in London. An attention to detail and a poetic simplicity …