Global Buying Director for The Conran Shop, Paul Middlemiss, and his buying team have just got back from this year’s Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan, the most important furniture fair of the year.
‘This year, the fair was buzzing,’ says Paul, ‘very energetic with a very positive atmosphere and a genuine feel of relaxed domesticity. Overall it felt less pretentious than in previous years, more informal and aimed
at the home. All the key brands; Vitra, Cappellini, Cassina and Kartell had major launches this year.
Here’s an overview of the key trends and designs we saw and loved:
Plants and foliage: bringing the outdoors in. There was a huge use of plants, hanging gardens, wall gardens and suspended plants.
Quilting: still an important trend but this year, it’s much looser and more informal.
Originality and provenance: huge emphasis on how products are designed and made, working drawings, prototypes and detail. Clearly displayed heritage, functionality and originality.
Handmade and proud: the new Fritz Hansen chair (below) – showing the continued importance of the
hand of the maker.
Oversized, comfortable and informal seating: large poufs and sofas – slouchy but elegant with high quality stitching detail.
Stacking and layering: collections were key – displaying items in an interesting way.
Color: generally warm and generous, with strong primary colours – oranges and reds – featuring large.
Detail: delicate use of edge detail and stitch detail on upholstery. Hidden color seams and hand finishes
were important.
Re-editions of originals: the re-edition for Cassina of Charlotte Perriand’s shelving from the 1950s
(below, left and centre), slightly updated in soft colors, was stunning. This was one of our favourite pieces
and highlights the key trend of originality and provenance. It proves that good original design lives on and
is hugely powerful. On the right is a re-edition by Kartell of the Joe Colombo chair from 1965. Another
re-edition from Kartell is the Petal table by Richard Schultz (below) – it’s almost as if the clock has gone
full circle from the 1960s and everything is now working together.
Neon: vibrant blasts of neon add an edge.
Sophisticated elegance: the use of pine and cedar, plus muted color, softens hard contemporary lines.
Styling: Vitra is the king of styling and we loved the display (below, left) – parrot tulips and glass with
a slight play on the ‘70s, taking inspiration from Dutch Old Masters.
1970s feel: Knoll showed off refined elegance (from left) with a nod to the 1970s in brown marble.
Tom Dixon’s new light and more Vitra 1970s-influenced styling with brass palms, looking almost like
a back issue of Wallpaper magazine.
Bikes: were everywhere – there was even a mobile repair shop.
Our look at the month’s interiors magazines includes clippings from our UK and French colleagues,
but first this: an accessories feature in the current issue of Trunk magazine with two pages devoted
to products from The Conran Shop, including a Globe-Trotter suitcase and the tiny Eclisse lamp:
In The New York Times, Anda Andrei, President of Design at Ian Schrager, included our Balance side table in her round up of the best night stands because ‘it offers just enough storage space to keep things off the floor.’
From the UK, this glorious still life, shot by Anders Gramer and featuring our No. 4 chair, appears in
Elle Decoration…
Where you’ll also find Achille Castiglioni’s Toio lamp in two very different homes: in a Stockholm apartment – in fact there are two Toios – surrounded by classic Danish designs, photographed by Jonas Ingerstedt…
And in this moody Athens home (its fiercely industrial interior challenging our preconceptions about what
a home in Greece looks like), shot by Wichmann & Bendtsen:
In House & Garden magazine, another unexpected interior: it’s hard to believe that this dining room, photographed by Paul Massey, is in a traditional ski chalet in the French alps. Perspex chairs allow an uninterrupted view of the fabulous table and what a textbook example of grouping lights, in this case,
Tom Dixon’s Beat lamps, for maximum impact.
A feature by Design Editor David Nicholls in the UK’s Telegraph magazine (images by Rachael Smith) is proof that small children and design classics are not mutually incompatible…
This family home in Brighton is full of them (kids and classics): Saarinen table and Tulip chairs, Bertoia chairs, Albini desk… ps Spot the vintage Conran sofa in the sitting room.
And so to France: what a great pic – we love the play on scale in this shot from Résidences Décoration, featuring this little oak side table, part of the Barton range:
And from Marie Claire Maison, these strong images, part of a feature called ‘Objets Satellites’, ie all of the items we place around our sofas, including the little Penguin Donkey bookcase and La Volière table lamp:
Meet Leslie Dunoyer, e-commerce assistant at the Conran Shop Paris since March 2011 :
‘I became part of The Conran Shop family in 2006 – at the time, I was still a student (of product design) and worked part-time in the kitchen/tableware department. I stayed on and have learnt a lot over the years as I moved from department to department in different roles. Today, I feel totally at home in e-commerce.’
• If money were no object, which item from The Conran Shop would you buy?
Animal skin never goes out of fashion and I’m mad about this extremely comfortable chair. The LCW is perfectly designed for relaxation; it’s difficult to get up again once you’ve sat in it. The Eames certainly succeeded in their wager to create the design in moulded plywood that most resembled the human form.
What are you listening to at the moment ?
Ever since I discovered Pierre Lapointe in 2007, I’m there! It’s surprises even me, but I’ve become a real fan of his – ‘unfortunately’, he’s not very well known in France, but he’s a big star in Quebec. His style is
a blend of pop and typical ‘chanson française’ with frequent excursions into electro, and his videos are always very polished. I never miss any of his all-too-rare Paris concerts.
Who is your favorite architect or designer?
I love the work of Rem Koolhaas (1944- ). He’s considered the ‘enfant terrible’ of contemporary architecture and a bit of a provocateur with his buildings – and in what he has to say – and isn’t afraid
to mix genres. He’s also a fan of fashion and so am I: in 2003, he created United Nude, a shoe label
that pushes the boundaries of design and fashion, with influences that are architectural, artistic and
even industrial. I found them all quite irresistible and had to buy myself a pair!
What was the last book you read?
I’ve just finished L’éloge du mauvais goût [In Praise of Bad Taste] by Frédéric Roux;
it’s a very quick read, which I like. The title called out to me because, deep down,
we all like certain things that are, we can assume, a demonstration of bad taste…
But it’s well known that ‘bad taste is always that of other people’!
• Do you prefer beach or city breaks and where will you holiday next?
I was born in Annecy, so I’ve very a strong attachment to the mountain, especially in winter. But, like most people, I associate true relaxation with sun, sea and sand. My next holiday destination? I’m still thinking about it!!!
