What, feeling all left out and loser-ish because you missed the hottest design show of the season–the Salone de Mobile–last week? Well, I’ll let you in on a dirty secret. While the Milan Furniture Fair is a truly amazing phenomenon to witness first hand and, indeed, any design lover should make a pilgrimage at least once, the best way to see everything–the latest releases from big-name European manufacturers, crazy innovative prototypes by the most cutting-edge designers–is to…not go at all. Seriously. Better to sit on your couch, macchiato in hand, and voraciously read the blog and magazine coverage after the the dust settles. I swear, I felt more plugged-in about new products last year, when I made an effort to “see” everything in cyberspace, than I did the previous year when I actually attended and almost collapsed from exhaustion.
Thought I’d share my fave design blogs—and some of their top picks–so you, too, can experience this year’s show virtually:
1. New York Times’s The Moment
There is probably no design journalist who’s opinion I take more seriously than Pilar Viladas, the New York Times’s resident expert. Read her posts from Milan–sprinkled in with other bloggers’ savvy style sound bites.
* Top pick: Rainbow mirror by Ettore Sottsass for GlasItalia
2. Core 77
The self-proclaimed “industrial design supersite” is, well, exactly that. Wanna know what the other designers thought was the coolest of the cool? Check this site out.
* Top pick: Konstantin Grcic’s super-light, cantilevered MYTO chair [pix courtesy of core77]
Comprehensive coverage from my fave design mag, including a slideshow of 108 great finds.
* Top pick: Naoto Fukasawa’s curvy-swoopy chairs for Vitra
4. Inhabitat
For cutting-edge design with a green twist, we love Inhabitat’s in-depth coverage of eco-friendly, environmentally responsible innovations. What better way to kick off earth week?
* Top pick: Alain Bertreau’s poufs
Interior Design magazine’s great website pointed me to this blog, which covers all things Italian design related, 24/7. They even published videos from the show–check it out.
* Top pick: Lime Studio booth at Salone Satellite
6. Dwell blog
I’m always curious to see what Dwell’s online editor, the esteemed Mike Cannell, has to say about the show. He proved a prolific poster in Milan! I love a design editor who gets around (so I don’t have to leave my couch).
* Top pick: Everything from Established & Sons [pix courtesy of Dwell's blog]
7. Dezeen
Great, great coverage and lots of juicy images.
*Top picks: Front Design’s Shade project
8. Design Crack
Spot-on trendspotting–and cheeky meta-coverage.
*Top pick: The Beautiful Game table soccer! [pix courtesy of Design Crack]
9. Design Boom
1,383 images! Enough said. But I’ll say more: great comprehensive survey of the show, helpfully organized by manufacturer.
*Top pick: Sustainable design at Droog: Creatures by Tobias Rockenfeld
Trust me, people, this is the only way you can do Milan in stilettos. –Jen Renzi
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