Artek at Salone Internazionale del Mobile - Milan 2012

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Here are a few images from Artek's exhibit at the Milan furniture fair 2012. Featuring some of my favorite  pieces from the iconic brand. TW002 pendant lamp, Kiki sofa, Kiki table, Lento side table, Lento lounge chair and Stool 60. All in one place and one picture, totally drool worthy!

 All images courtesy Artek 

Pop Art Furniture by Silvia Zacchello

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Silvia Zacchello describes her work as recycling and restoring furniture and vintage objects with a pop art theme, but it is so much more than that. Like a true artist, she takes a common object, brushes it with her unique sensibility and turns it into something special. In Silvia’s case this special ability is her great sense of humour and the ability to have fun with her craft.

She grew up in Mestre, at a time of economic austerity, feminist demonstrations and blight, absorbing these environmental and equalitarian messages as her biggest inspirations. Complimentary to this is the joie de vivre in her work, which springs from her childhood in the 70’s and 80’s. Growing up with disco music, Superman and Wonder Woman as her heroes and travelling on family vacations in an Orange Fiat 128 3P, she formed an image of her ideal world - “absolutely colourful, conceivably inhabited by super-heroes”. 

Her journey as an artist started when one day she found an old chair in her house and decided to paint it in the images from her dream world - superheroes and comic books. Her idea was to rescue these objects from their gloomy existence and give them back a new, adventurous and colourful life. An idea that is clearly visible in her pieces even today, specially her chairs, which are painted with themes inspired by pop art, comic books and vintage graphics. These chairs with their bright pops of colour can instantly enliven a room and turn it into a happy space. 

Silvia Zacchello still lives and paints in the chaotic city of Mestre, in an apartment that she loves to continuously make more colourful.

All images courtesy Silvia Zacchello

Celebrity Home - Will and Jada Pinkett Smith

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I have been touring English Stately homes recently. Wandering around the sumptuous rooms and enormous gilded galleries makes one wonder - what exactly did the common folk think about the grand owners of these houses? Living in small communities where they were the richest and most powerful, their immediate neighbors usually villagers living in a little village named after the grand house. Did this situation inspire awe in the villagers or contempt for the ostentatious display of wealth?

To find the answer I looked at the elite of today’s society and their homes. The closest in profile to English landed class would be the Hollywood stars of today with their enormous wealth and penchant for displaying it through their houses. A perfect example is the home of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith featured in Architecture Digest. The house is the height of luxury and ostentation, I am even having trouble calling it a house, especially when my own little flat would neatly fit in their hallway (with ample room leftover). But it gives a fair idea of the awe and wonder the stately homes must have inspired in the simple folk. For me it also tells a tale on the shifting nature of celebrity.

The stars commissioned architect Stephen Samuelson to design an adobe-style residence full of free flowing spaces, organic forms, and handcrafted details. The exterior of the house sits comfortably in the landscape and the adobe walls - reminiscent of baked mud huts of Africa, offer protection from the hot Malibu Sun. The interiors designed by Judith Lance are a complete assault on the senses. But what redeems the interiors for me, is that the stars have their personality showing through in every corner. Their love for Indian and African style oozes through all the rooms, in the form of ethnic textiles and prints, rough-hewn wooden sculptures and warm earthen colors.

 

The house’s massive front door was salvaged from a fort in northern India



The pair of vintage resin tusks flank the carved wooden columns and the lanterns at left are Moroccan.










Rustic reclaimed timber complements the nature inspired furniture,
notice the Sitar by the window and the Indian Haveli door

 



The iron four-poster in Willow’s bedroom is draped with a canopy of patterned silk

The private terrace off the master suite 



All images via Architectural Digest

Design find: Bokja at the Mint Shop

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I visited the Mint Shop in London recently and one piece of furniture caught my eye above all others. The Bokja Bean sofa – upholstered in a patchwork of traditional textiles is in one word - magnificent! I can assure you the photograph does no justice to it. Established in 2000 by Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri, the Bokja brand is a wonderfully eclectic mix of traditional textiles and vintage furniture. Their flagship boutique in Beirut sits in the heart of a historic neighborhood called Saifi district that has recently become a mecca for designers. You can view beautiful photographs of the store here.

The two ladies share a passion for textiles from the Levant and countries along the Silk Route including India. Their focus on sustainability is reflected in the use of found fabric pieces, which are used by traditonal craftsmen to upholster the furniture. Hoda and Maria think of themselves as modern day Scheherazade’s spinning tales through their furniture and believe in making each piece a unique collage of different time periods, lands and moments of people’s lives. These one of a kind pieces are breathtaking and can create an instant focal point for any room by adding a splash of bold colour, texture and pattern.

Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri of Bokja

The Bean sofa at the Mint shop

All images courtesy the Mint Shop and Bokja.

Aero Furniture Store in Helsinki

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During my stay in Helsinki, there were a number of delightful shops which I enjoyed visiting. Among them, a favourite is Aero, one of the best places to find the best of Finnish design. I can easily spend an entire day in this shop! 

Aero is an interior design store located in down town Helsinki, in the heart of the Design District. The shop displays top designs in furniture, rugs, fabrics and lighting from Finnish, Scandinavian and European manufactures. 

The store is housed in a period building with high ceilings, vintage plasterwork and beautiful tiled floors. The interior has been tastefully restored and contrasts magnificently with the sleek contemporary furniture. 

Located next to the Dianapuisto Park, bang opposite the Design Forum Shop, the store opened in 2000 and rapidly became a leader in its field, going on to became a part of Artek in 2010. 

All of these pictures are from my visit to Aero. Clearly not to be missed!