The designers in Milan ahead of the exhibition Local Milan
This year Local Milan is showcasing the largest independent of Australian design in Milan to date in the presentation of LOCAL DESIGN.
Pioneering the way forward for Australian design, Emma Elizabeth (founder of LOCAL DESIGN) has curated and directed the exhibition to create awareness and understanding of Australian design to a global and focused audience.
Held in a resplendent but dilapidated Milanese palazzo, in the historic heart of Milan, District 5 Vi, Emma drew inspiration for the style direction of the space and the pieces within it from the pre existing and beautiful aged jewel toned walls.
The showcase is presenting over 30 one-off pieces from Australia’s most talented designers such as Christopher Boots, Henry Wilson, Tom Skeehan and Daniel Emma.
Emma Elizabeth on site at Local Milan
“The objective of Local Milan was to present a collective of Australian design that will heighten the global perspective of our Australian aesthetic and style, encouraging and supporting local designers to continue raising the bar.” …………………….. Emma Elizabeth
Jonathon Zawada & Nicholas Fuller
Pieces by Nicholas Fuller and Jonathon Zawada
Skilfully blurring the lines between art and design
Jonathan Zawada has created this chair in collaboration with VELA Life and fabric house Kvadra Maharam. Soft yet assertive, bold and playful with a 70’s vibe that explores Zawada’s interest in graphics.
Adelaide-based designer Nicholas Fuller grew up playing with lathes and milling machines in his father’s workshop.
The practicalities of construction in hand, he trained at the Australian National University School of Art & Design and later the JamFactory in Adelaide. His “Voyage” series comprises adjustable woven screens inspired by boat sails.
Adam Goodrum & Arthur Seigneur
Bloom Cabinet by Adam Goodrum and Arthur Seigneur
An assault of colour, pattern and texture, this show-stopping piece is the result of a collaboration between furniture and product designer Adam Goodrum and straw marquetry artisan Arthur Seigneur. Suggestive of an open lotus flower, their “Bloom” cabinet is made up of 1400 sections of hand-tinted French rye straw.
Anna Varendorff & Henry Wilson
Works by Anna Varendorff and Henry Wilson
The tubular brass vases of Melbourne-based metalsmith and artist Anna Varendorff were selected by Wallpaper* magazine as the best drawing room objet d’art at last year’s Salone del Mobile.
Varendorff has this year extended the idea into brass sculpture. While retaining the essence of their predecessors, these conceptual pieces play with more complex geometrie
With a stellar education at the ANU School of Art & Design, Rhode Island School of Design in the US and Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands, it’s no wonder Henry Wilson is good at what he does.
He’s showing a new series of wall lights and up-lights in bronze and travertine that are typically sculptured, meticulous and restrained.
Emma Elizabeth & Tom Skeehan
Nave Chair and XO Lighting by Tom Skeehan with hall runner from Emma Elizabeth
Trained in Milan before setting up practice in Australia, Emma Elizabeth’s contribution to the Salone del Mobile this year is a continuation of her “Natural Progressions” range for Sydney retailer Designer Rugs. On display is a hall runner with a bird motif.
Skeehan Studio, based in Canberra, designs furniture and lighting to be manufactured in Australia. Founder Tom Skeehan’s “Nave” chairs have a slender, tubular form and generous upholstered cushions, while the new SO light is a hand-blown, limited-edition desk lamp.
Fred Ganim
Fred Ganim’s Plane table in the foreground and Timber Rack on the back wall
The intuition of a designer and the skill of a craftsman combine in this ebonised European oak piece by Fred Ganim. The low, sinuous “Plane” table illustrates both Ganim’s mastery of traditional joinery techniques and ability to think beyond the domestic, using scale and shape to reveal a more art-based bias.
Daniel Emma
Daniel Emma pieces from their Bling Bling Dynasty project
Daniel To and Emma Aiston established the design studio DANIEL EMMA in 2008, to enable themselves to express their thoughts through Industrial Design. Pieces on display include the Soft Chair and various new decor pieces building on their Bling Bling Dynasty.
Christopher Boots
Lighting by Christopher Boots and Furniture pieces from Patty Hava
Christopher Boots is a Melbourne based Industrial Designer, driven by a love of nature and light with a commitment to nothing short of excellence. Having graduated from Industrial Design at the National School of Design (Prahran, 2005), he has a background in product design engineering.
Boots established his own architectural lighting design practice in April 2011. Boots’ work explores the architecture and geometry of organic shapes, and is often inspired by forms that are forged by the pre-existing natural elements.
Jon Goulder
Chair by Jon Goulder with Ross Gardam lamp and Noon Collection mirror
Fourth-generation furniture maker Jon Goulder is creative director of the furniture studio in Adelaide’s JamFactory. Working in Tasmanian oak and blackwood, he’s created this hand-crafted range comprising a console, dining chair, side table, coffee table, credenza and lounge chair.
About LOCAL DESIGN
Curated by the talented designer, stylist and creative director, Emma Elizabeth and her entrepreneurial brother, James Coffey, LOCAL DESIGN is an online and offline platform for Australian Designers, enabling them to showcase their work and providing a unified community of creative professionals all with the vision to support the local.
As the local design landscape becomes more and more global (with online shopping & sourcing dominating the market) LOCAL DESIGN is a way forward for both consumers and designers, steering away from replica products and towards high quality, original designs crafted by local talents.
