Swedish Love Stories

Sweden moves to Milan in a showcase of the country's brightest design minds

Milan will soon be swollen with darkly-clad design types as its mammoth Salone del Mobile furniture fair and plethora of off-site exhibitions, showrooms and installations open their doors to around one million visitors beginning Tuesday, 12 April 2011. The many post-Milan tales of new discoveries are just around the corner, and the shift to underline a product’s backstory is one we expect to see heavily …

An Interview with Dirk Vander Kooij

Some words from design's robot-driven Dutchman as he preps his live demo for Milan

Dutch designer Dirk van der Kooij is obsessed with rapid prototyping. Best known for his Endless Chair, made from a continuous string of recycled plastic using a 3D printer, the design has grown into a range of products all with the goal of making the production process more visible. Speaking at Design Indaba recently, van der Kooij explained, “the best thing about recycled plastic is …

Colé

Milan's newest furniture brand launches their utility-driven first collection

With strong roots in the Milanese tradition of furniture-making, the new design firm Colé will debut at the coming 2011 Design Week, bringing with it a modern take on usefulness in design. The thinking behind the brand draws on the industry experience of Matteo De Ponti (brand manager of furniture manufacturer Driade for more than ten years) and co-counder Laura Macagno’s passion for art, fashion …