The Smart List is a monthly list of multi-media recommendations on everything design, curated by Interwoven Design. As a group of aesthetically obsessed designers, there are a lot of beautiful products, objects and events we love and enjoy. These recommendations make our daily lives special and inviting and we want to share them with you. This issue is a guide to Milan Design Week featuring our favorite lighting and chairs!
Cage Lamp
Lindsey Adelman
Ever since Lindsey Adelman opened her design studio in 2006, she has been producing lighting for upscale interiors made from metal and glass. These previous works had a specific goal in mind. The Cage Lamp featured at Milan’s Design Week design exhibition, Alcova, is Adelman’s experimental creation. This time around, the designer focused on creating the lighting piece without a specific agenda, departing from her traditional industrial design approach. This workflow allowed Lindsey Adelman to create LaLAB, which she describes as a platform to create each design individually without any specific aesthetic connection between the sculptural lighting pieces.
Mr. Bojangles Lighting
Anna Boch and David Engelhorn
By no surprise, German design couple Anna Boch and David Engelhorn got creative while in quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspired by playing with a piece of rope, the two took interest in the flexibility and curvature. Fast forward to their creation, a flexible light fixture named Mr. Bojangles. Mr. Bojangles has an arm that swivels 360 degrees, an aluminum head that contains an LED bulb and a cloth cord that is attached to the steel base. Named after the famous tap dance performer Bill “Bojangle” Robinson, the piece can be found from April 18-23, 2023.
Cassiopeia Lighting
David Rockwell and Lasvit
Czech glass and lighting company, founded by Leon Jakinic in 2007 along with design partner, David Rockwell have partnered on multiple collections including Cassiopeia. The new lighting fixture was launched at the Euroluce Lighting Show during Milan Design Week. The Aluminum fixture, consisting of 5 orbs of light in the shape of a “W,” can be assorted as a chandelier or a wall sconce.
Chandeliers of Interconnectedness
Andrea Bowers
Andre Bowers is known for practicing in a variety of disciplines including fine art, installations, and video while at the intersection of art and activism. Bowers’ light fixture, Chandeliers of Interconnectedness, is made of steel and recycled neon glass tube that come together to illustrate a vision and literal quote along one of the branches, “EVERYTHING IS PART OF EVERYTHING ELSE.” Andre Bowers’ fixture was also featured at the Euroluce Exposition at Milan Design Week.
Tortello Chair
Barber Osgerby Design Studio And B&B Italia
The duo of Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, who have made up the design studio Barber Osgerby for the last 10 years, have collaborated with B&B Italia to produce a chair for Milan Design Week that resembles stuffed pasta! The London based design tandem originally did not have the pasta dish aesthetic in mind. It wasn’t until they saw the full scale model from the northern Italian furniture brand that organic shape resonated.
PEEL Chair
PROWL Studio and M4 Factory
The PEEL Chair designed by the California based design studio, PROWL Studio and manufactured by M4 Factory, may not be recognizable if you saw it at the Alcova Exhibition. THe new product was disassembled , laying on dirt. The innovative introduction allows the Peel Chair to instantly make a memorable connection with compostable and biodegradable materials of which it is made. Prowl Studio’s founders, Lauryn Menard and Baille Mishler explain that no matter how beautiful a piece of furniture is, people move, their aesthetic tastes change. The team manufactured out of mixing bast fiber (a hemp byproduct) with a biopolymer to create an injection molded chair only lasts as long as it is intended to.
LOEWE Chairs
LOEWE
The LOEWE Chairs were featured at Milan Design week in the courtyard of Palazzo Isimbardi. These chairs have challenged our preconceived notions of what a chair should be like and how it should be made. LOEWE utilized artisans from around the world that explored weaving to create new textures and expand on its sculptural essence. These unique designer pieces stand out due to their craftsmanship and weaving embellishment that gives a new tactile experience.
LaVenus Lounge Chair
Luca Nichetto & Ginori 1735
Luca Nichetto first collaborated with porcelain manufacturer Ginori 1735 in 2019 when they produced candle holders and diffusers together. Now a few years later, Nichetto’s contributions have led to Ginori 1735’s first home furnishing collection. Dubbed Domus, the collection included a swivel armchair, a table and three lamps produced with glass lighting manufacturer Barovier & Toso. The LaVenus Chair is inspired by the famous Boticelli painting, “Birth of Venus.”
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