How many times have you heard that design was more about the process than the final result? And yet, how many times has the final result influenced the way you viewed, understood and appreciated the process through which it was brought to light? While we can undoubtedly affirm that design is so much more than the physical form of an object, nevertheless, without it, all the social, cultural, economic, technological, productional implications of a designed object couldn’t be brought to light. This is precisely why Studio Formafantasma’s work is so powerful: because it fuses thoughts, ideas, critiques and concepts into an exceptional, intriguing physical form.

Usually developed for specific events and exhibitions, all of their projects have never been shown together. Thus, the exhibition “Prima Materia” currently on show at the Stedelijk Museum in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, appeared the perfect occasion to analyse their past projects, sense their poetics and delve in their design process. In fact, the title of the exhibition itself is a sort of a key for all of their projects, where “Prima Materia” refers to alchemy, or the transformation of everyday raw materials into precious goods, a method used for their Botanica, Craftica, Autarchy, Baked or Moulding Tradition projects. In revealing the process which glues together all the different project, the designers have divided the show in two parts: videos, sketches and material samples along the entrance corridor give a look at the duo’s thought and work processes before the finished pieces are viewed in the main space.

To understand their projects, in fact, one must take into account their personal and professional histories. Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin met while studying in Florence and later went to study together at the Design Academy Eindhoven, the hub of speculative, critical, experimental or socially and politically engaged design, that has characterized Dutch design production in the last three decades. In fact, Studio Formafantasma fits perfectly within this strand of design production, while still developing projects whose subtle poetics might appear the opposite of those explicitly bold objects produced by Droog.

In fact, Farresin and Trimarchi have told us a while ago that they really enjoy not belonging to anything or anywhere: “We always say we’re bastards, because if you put together Dutch and Italian design, it seems like nothing can come out of it or have a strong identity.” On the contrary, all of their projects have a strong identity that informed their practice since the very beginning and which draws on the past and exploration of traditional crafts in “offering an alternative vision to today’s consumer society and the role that design plays in it”.

“Prima Materia” runs until the 15th of June at the Stedelijk Museum in s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.

3 years ago you decided to go back home. Can you tell us something about your home in Italy and why you decided to return to your origin?
In the South of Italy the idea of “home” is still something big and strong, something that goes beyond the concept of “house” or “furniture”. It concerns family stories and moments, it is about a continuous sharing and it is based on the idea of hospitality and cosiness. I was deeply missing the good feelings and positive emotions that have always been present in my childhood. The reason why I made this decision was because I wanted to recover that feeling before becoming an “adult”, in this way I could learn again its meaning and keep it with me forever. This decision was not based on a rejection of Milan, I just wanted to start a personal research and I thought that in order to do so, home was the place.

What does the word “tradition” mean to you?
To me, tradition is not only related to the aesthetics of an artefact, but to the process and the method that are used. For me it is based on the idea of dying and on the respect of values and meanings… Tradition is “old school” and often I think that we are almost “the last generation” that can see the old ways and methods disappearing. I feel as if I have the duty to mix them with a modern touch.

How does the design process with your family look like? Do you discuss everything around the kitchen table?
Sometimes I start doing a lot of doodles and other times I see an old object in my grandfather’s carpentry, then I ask myself questions and finally draw some ideas. I usually show them to my parents, but also to my uncle Fedele and to my grandmother – hearing their opinions is really interesting. For many years, I have received opinions from professional designers or architects and honestly, I find my family’s point of view enlightening: they go straight to the point. I am lucky, because we all live in the same building. But the person who inspires me the most is my grandfather, nonno Saverio. He works without wasting material or time and usually does not talk that much, he just says “certu si poti fari, chi ci voli?” that translated from the Calabrese dialect means “of course it can be done, it’s easy!”

Looking back, has the return to your roots influenced the way you work nowadays?
After 3 years, I can say that this has totally influenced my way of working. Before going back home, I was really into 3D modelling and now sometimes I do not even sit in front of the computer anymore. Nevertheless, I think that the biggest influence came with the use of “tasty” and natural materials, really typical in Calabria. This region is a beautiful “piece” of Italy, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and with beautiful and eclectic landscapes.

You work a lot with different kinds of wood, where did you get your carpentry skills?
I definitely did not learn about wood at school, I learnt it at home, in Calabria. Woodworking is something common in my family. I make small objects and I help my grandfather with the sanding, but when it comes to the real building of the piece, he does it himself. While on one side I leave the making to the “artisan”, I really like to select the wood, not only the kind of wood but also the piece of wood! I like to imagine which part of the wood will “dress” the design of the object by studying the colour of the wood and its veins. I choose a particular wood for a specific design, and I like to caress the surface of the wood, because I think the wood is a “living material”.

Your works carry narrative titles such as Welcome Tree Carpet, Back Home, Olive Oil Tasting Set and Still Alive, what is the narrative behind your work?
People think that in the end an object is “just an object”. I know it can seem “old style” being too narrative, taking the risk of not being straightforward. However, I often like to imagine that objects are like people: every piece has its own character and story. However, the majority of people are used to reading stories, instead of “perceiving” them behind objects. Therefore, the narrative title is a “resume” of the story of the object – so that it is approachable to everybody.

During the last Salone del Mobile 2013, your work was part of the exhibition Nomadismi curated by Lidewij Edelkoort & Raffaele Carrieri, do you consider yourself a “third millennium” nomad?
I definitely feel closer to a nomadic nature rather than to a sedentary culture. When I was studying, I had the chance to change city almost every year. Now that I am in my family’s home in the south, I feel a sense of freedom that I had lost. The beautiful thing about the fact that you can think about yourself as a nomad is that you are never scared to lose something and you can easily adapt yourself to different situations. I think that a nomad approach to life is more spontaneous and for this reason it is closer to my personal idea of what creativity should be.

How do you see yourself working in the future? What will your work ethos be in, let us say, ten years?
I know that what I am doing now has been a playing and learning process, an important step in my life and career. I would like to keep studying in a practical way to learn what design is for me. One day, I would like to put this personal process into mass production and at the same time stay close to artisanal techniques, which are softly dying. I have a dream: to always work on the natural and spontaneous side in the creative industry, but there is no “business plan” for dreams. In ten years I will be 40, then I see myself working with young people and sharing what I have learned but also learning from them, their new ways of approaching design, so I can always deliver new and evolved narratives to design companies and to people.

Where did you study and how has this influenced your work?
I studied Industrial Design at IUAV University, in Venice, and later did a master in Product Design at ECAL, Lausanne. Both schools have taught me fundamentally different things: at IUAV I have learned more about design history, how design should be functional and formally ‘appropriate’, following the traditional notion of “form follows function”. On the other hand, ECAL was more about getting my hands dirty, making stuff and learning how to effectively communicate it. Combined, both approaches gave me the basis for developing my current design process.

If you hadn’t studied design, what do you think you’d be doing today?
I always say that if, for any reason, I should quit working as a designer, I would love to open a flower shop. That is, if I should ever be able to wake up that early in the morning.

What would you say is the most important characteristic of your work?
I am not sure what is the most important characteristic. I do know that I always try to give shape to a story, not only an object. I love to experiment with unconventional materials and finishings, with the idea of creating associations that can tell a story about the object itself, not only about how it should be used.

How would you describe your design process? Is there a ‘recipe’ you always follow?
My inspiration often changes – I can start from images, materials or stories which guide the creation of a narrative, further developed through extensive research. Only at this point I start working on the actual form, a process which could basically last forever, so I really have to find a compromise and learn when and where to stop. The material is a really important part of my process and I never choose it at the end. It is what guides the design process, but I wouldn’t say I always follow the same recipe.

Which one of your projects do you like the most and which one the least and why?
The project I like the most is Stock Collection, developed thanks to Luisa Delle Piane, who invited me to create a collection to exhibit in her gallery during Salone del Mobile 2013. I was totally free and I could experiment with unconventional colours and materials. Luisa gave me the freedom to try something risky and at the same time to be able to use precious materials (such as marble) that I have never used before. The first time I saw the collection was during the opening of the exhibition and I remember that was one of the happiest moments in my work so far. The one I like the least is a project I did before developing Narciso, my collection of mirror vases. It’s called Useful Ornaments and it has the same starting point as Narciso: creating a series of functional vases. I was trying to work with Murano glass blower without knowing exactly what I wanted to obtain so the result was a disaster. But without that project I could never have done Narciso.

You are currently working at Fabrica, could you tell us a bit more about the design studio there, what projects are you working on?
Fabrica Design studio, which is now called “Design Dialogues” is a team of around 12 young designers, coming from different countries, from Japan to Portugal, that work together under the art direction of French designer Sam Baron. I am working there as a consultant and the best part for my work is to constantly have the possibility to share ideas with so many different perspectives and cultures.

What would be your dream project that you haven’t yet had the chance to design?
More than creating a project for someone, it would be creating it with someone. My dream would have been to work with Ettore Sottsass. To work with a ‘master’ would surely be a dream come true, as I consider it the best way to continue learning. I strongly believe in confrontation between people as the best way to improve one’s work.

How do you envision the future development of design? What do you think is the role of design and designers in today’s society?
Design is much wider than only industrial design and design is currently being developed in so many different ways. Smaller companies are being born and designers are also working not only on creating objects, but also on developing new kinds of needs and new kinds of users. Design is becoming much more accessible. I wish there would be a more productive collaboration between companies and young designers where smaller companies would believe more in the role of a designer, especially in Italy.

What is your favourite and what is your least favourite book?
One of my favourite books is “Q” by Luther Blissett, but I also love “Little Prince“, I still like to read it a lot. I don’t actually have a least favourite book, cause if I don’t like a book, I am not able to read it until the end.

Tom Dixon : Faye Toogood = Konstantin Grcic : Pauline Deltour

Who are the protagonists? Dixon and Grcic are perhaps among the most famous designers of the early fifty-year-old generation. The first is English, the second is German. In more detail, they both stand out for the consistent development of their projects, always capable to fulfill the needs of the end users without renouncing to innovate with originality and wit the interiors they contribute to furnish.

Nevertheless, it’s not only their personality to divide them – anarchic for Dixon, functionalist for Grcic -, but a cultural background which reminds us of a crucial chapter in European history of ideas: the dialectics between English and German philosophical traditions, empiricism and rationalism. Dixon, ethereally self-taught by his own intuitions, keeps on reinventing himself when he designs his beloved, iconic lamps, as well as when he founds a new design showcase (as it’s the case with Most). Grcic, instead, has an undisputed talent to synthesize a problem solving attitude with a rigorous aesthetics, as for Achille Castiglioni’s Parentesi restyling in 2013, or for his most venerated product, iconic Magis’ Chair One.

And what about Toogood and Deltour? They both worked side by side with the other two designers in their own studios, getting acquainted with their masters’ methodologies and approaches. Then, they both chose to work as freelancers, emerging on the European scene as two of the most innovative young voices in the design field.

In her installations (La Cura, The Batch Room, Natura Morta), Faye Toogood privileges the spontaneity of a rough, impulsive taste: the experiences she’s used to offer to her customers, or to her public, are developed every time according to the specific context she’s involved in, always in the quest to reshape her objects through an immanent approach. The process is always refocused, and self-expression can’t be but an inescapable requirement. Pauline Deltour, on the contrary, doesn’t overstep the physical boundaries of her products, neither she reconsiders their terms of usage. Instead, she prefers to provide cost-effective yet fit-for-purpose solutions for everyday living needs (Alessi’s “A Tempo” collection, Discipline’s “Roulé” collection), designing affordances with an emphatic, familiar touch and working with materials through a clear-cut resolution.

The main venue of the Festival, which this year bears the slogan “Design is Everywhere”, is hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum. V&A’s rich collection is the perfect setting for creating connections and reflecting on design practice. At the intersection between centuries-old crafts and up-to-date design, the V&A will be hosting different initiatives, from a real-life installation with objects from its collection designed by Scholten and Baijings, to Swarovski “God is in the details project” which will offer a closer look (literally) at the museum’s collection.

As with any other fair or international event, London Design Week has given birth to a set of collateral events, mainly organized in design districts around town. Even though Brompton Design District is the oldest cluster, nevertheless Eastern London has lately been true hub of creative activity. Hence, Clerkenwell Design Quarter with its retail spaces and Shoreditch Design Triangle with design studios and young creatives are the ones that need your attention.

Last but not least, we feel the need to mention in a concise to-see some events that have already been put on our design calendar for this year’s Festival: Max Lamb and his terrazzo project developed for dzek, Wrong for Hay collection directed by Sebastian Wrong for the super-exciting Danish brand Hay, Graphic Africa at Habitat‘s Platform gallery, and, of course, two days of talks at Global Design Forum at the V&A.

p.s. Even though we are still sleepy from our holiday break, we cannot but end this post on a critical note and think, once again, that events like London Design Festival or Salone del Mobile, should carefully think what is actually their role in contemporary design world and if 19th century world’s fair exhibition model should still be applied today.

According to the enthusiasts, these tools will soon transform us into contemporary demiurges – or simply “makers”, as Chris Anderson suggests – offering us the chance to fully control both design and manufacturing in a process that goes backwards from bits to atoms, that is to say from a 3D file to a three-dimensional object. The sceptics, on the contrary, are reluctant to diminish professional designers’ talent to imagine and create new objects according to their visions and knowledge.

In any case, the opportunities opened by personal fabrication are indeed real, but easy to be misunderstood at these early stages of technology development. Let’s think about the launch of the first 3D printed furniture: when Patrick Jouin presented his Solid collection in 2006, his futuristic interpretation of organic aesthetics impressed the design community, but very few professionals were stunned by the use of 3D-layering for objects on the scale of a chair. The same happened to Endless chair by Dutch designer Dirk Vander Kooij, which was first displayed in 2011 at the Eindhoven Design Academy showcase during the Salone del Mobile days. People got excited by the real-time processing of this seat, which was realized though a print head mounted on a robot arm. Nevertheless, they lost the perception of what its innovation represented: not only a DIY application of a numerical control machine, but a first step into the world of mass customization.

Thus, if we don’t get surprised by the widespread inability to give a proper weight to innovation – design history is full of naïve misunderstandings -, at the same time we should not be astonished that we ignore whether personal fabrication will allow us to fully customize the way our homes look like or, on the contrary, it will be an opportunity to print too many worthless gadgets. What we know for sure, however, is that the biggest revolution is not going to involve the way we imagine, draw or use our furniture, but the way we market them along the whole supply chain. We already got familiar to purchasing our furniture online, and we shall soon get used to buy a 3D file (or download it from an open-content platform) and then print it in a next door Fab Lab. Does it sound apocalyptic? It could, if not only showrooms risk to get obsolete, but also wholesalers risk to become unemployed.

In Milan, the presentation of Rijksstudio was inspired by the domestic interior scenes of painter Johannes Vermeer and set up in a small room of approximately 30 sq m. Yet, the idea behind the digital project is much bigger than the one room we saw in Milan. The Rijksstudio is namely an online database, a platform packed with ultra high-resolution images of 125.000 collection pieces, from masterpieces to unknown artifacts. All images are free to download, collect and share and moreover of perfect quality to zoom in on details, print on big scale, sample or manipulate and all of this copyright-free.

The museum’s goal with their digitalized collection and big launch during the Milan Design Week is to reinterpret “century old works in contemporary shapes, techniques and materials.” And in order to plug the Rijksstudio project firmly into the international design field, they approached the Dutch design label Droog to set the first examples. One of the most striking outcomes is how Droog turned the classical art painting Still Life With Flowers and Glass Vase of Jan Davidsz de Heem into a body tattoo. Another eye catcher is the lavishly decorated Center Piece by German silversmith Wenzel Jamnitzer (1549) that is now re-decorated with 3D-printed magnetic miniatures of the Rijksmuseum collection. Besides 3D-printing and tattooing Droog applied other highly modern techniques combined with material such as rubber, titanium, plastic or glass to create new designs such as distilling the Irmari décor motif of a historical plate onto four glass plates, which recreate the original motif when you stack them.

Of course the Rijksmuseum is not the first museum that shows its face during the Salone, but unlike the others, this time it’s not a one-off museological presentation of limited editions that makes the critics claim that “design is art”. And whereas one usually tends to write about what the eye can perceive, in this case the prototyped outcome displayed by Droog even seems of inferior importance to the story. It is foremost the museum’s initiative that must be noted for its experimental approach and creative usage of the Internet to cross historical art with contemporary design. Hopefully they have fired the starting gun for an equal footing relationship with a benefit for both the disciplines: collection pieces get a new (technical) boost out of the oblivion and designers are allotted the role of the new bearer of our cultural history.

Nevertheless, we should not be mistaken about the eclectic identity that limited edition design has shown in the last decade. Its complex phenomenology, in fact, puts together different players that prove to have little in common: design galleries trading expensive XX and XXI century furniture with the most sophisticated collectors (the insight behind Design Miami’s success), little maisons d’éditions, makers involved in 3D printing, as well as young designers choosing self-production as a chance to combine personal research with a new form of intellectual bread and butter capitalism.

In addition to that, there is also a new avantgarde that highlights the links between design and craftsmanship. That’s the case of Pietro Russo, set designer converted to industrial, long-run collaborator of Pietro Lissoni and now freelance designer devoted to custom-made furniture. His talent in old manufacturing techniques and his passion for precious woods and metals are clear in his pieces like Piuma table, Voliera shelving, or Otto lamp. His work doesn’t begin with a sketch on a piece of paper, but instead is the result of an established professional assignment and is developed as a dialogue with a specific space, mainly a private house under refurbishment. Thus, his approach develops along the legacy of one of the biggest Maestros of modernist Italian design, Gio Ponti, guardian of the value of handicrafts who used to curate with an obsessive care the furniture design of his Milanese homes (Casa Laporte, the house in via Brin and later Casa Dezza), and who, at the same time, would have never designed any piece of furniture without an established commitment.

At the last Salone del Mobile, Pietro Russo showed his work in a collective exhibition that was paradigmatic to understand the development of limited edition type of production in contemporary design. The exhibition, entitled Juice, was curated by Cristina Morozzi, Michela Pellizzari and Federica Sala, and gathered together small design companies devoted to “limited” excellence: young editors (like Secondome Gallery, Colé), new web-based brands (One Nordic), and self-promoted design authors (like Form Us With Love or Massimiliano Adami). Its goal was to suggest us that these blurring boundaries are an unmistakable symptom of the vitality. And that innovation may be driven by the cross pollination of these different attitudes.

The aim of the event is to create a connection between young Finnish designers and worldwide fashion leaders; by fashion shows, talks, seminars, parties and presentations, the new brands have the opportunity to be introduced to a wider panorama and to discuss, together with the guests, about trends and different points of view. Realization of the idea of creating a new interchange platform between Finland and the rest of the world has been possible also thanks to Finland Foreign Affair Ministry and Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture special cooperation.

Along with established designers like Marimekko, Laitinen and Heikki Salonen, also younger talents such as Ensæmble, Saara Lepokorpi and Sasu Kauppi are showing their newest collections, and the newcomer Siloa & Mook is doing a debut in the industry by presenting its first collection. Lately, Finnish fashion is becoming more and more internationally recognized, which is a new phenomenon for a country formally known for its architecture and product design. That’s one of the main reasons why the nation thinks local fashion industry needs to be supported, and experiments new types of events. Talking with Development and Business Relations officer 
Martta Louekari, she says: “Pre Helsinki is neither a traditional sales event, nor a fashion week. The focus of Pre Helsinki is on promoting the internationalization and networking of Finnish designers and fashion brands in a relaxed, yet professional, atmosphere.”

Philippe was born in Canada but has studied in Paris and at Design Academy of Eindhoven, a school that has surely influenced his approach towards design. In fact, Philippe is more interested in un-orthodox production processes and exploration of different materials than in formal virtuosity. We had a pleasant chat with him on the occasion of his first solo show in Italy, properly titled ‘Simple’, held at Project B gallery in Milan.