Re/Start – 4

Three simple questions addressed to design protagonists (today we are featuring mist-o, Paola Navone, Luca Nichetto, Fabio Novembre, Ludovica + Roberto Palomba and Federico Peri) who will return to Milan this year. Three answers that reveal an entire world for each of them

Bolle collection by Midj, Design Paola Navone
Bolle collection by Midj, Design Paola Navone

1. What was the object that represented the lockdown the most for you?
2. What object represented the restart?
3. What are the main projects you’ll be showing at the Salone (or Fuorisalone)?

Paola Navone
Milan

1. I’d say the “magic wall” in my home, not a single object but many objects. A collection, an entire three-dimensional wall made with ceramics and porcelain, vases, pitchers, cups, plates… in many shades of blue and turquoise. It has the colors of water, the colors of my world. It makes me feel like I am in a faraway place, and it tells me a small story of the world.
2. Definitely my Harley Davidson. For me it is synonymous with freedom, fun and slightly impromptu journeys, air and sunshine, starting over.
3. At the Salone there will be new projects presented by companies with which we have worked for years, like Baxter, Gervasoni, Casamilano, Ethimo and Slide. Then there will be new creative adventures and new collections for Caimi, Exteta, Midj, Illulian, Mariaflora, Abk and Turri. 

mist-o
mist-o

mist-o
(Tommaso Nani, Noa Ikeuchi)
Milan/Yokohama

1. During the lockdown we went ahead for the most part with a cosmetics project for Shiro Japan. This was a first for us, in a particular situation. We remember the sudden changes in ways of communicating, which was difficult and alienating at the start.
2. The Moon collection with Living Divani: the first project presented after lockdown, which began slightly before the start of the pandemic. It survived the stoppage and the uncertainty, so it must be a strong, valid project.
3. The table for Zanotta: it is an interpretation of a trestle table, but made into a system, with tops in various materials and sizes from very small to very large, covering a wide range of situations. In the home or at work.

Jeometrica by Scavolini, Design Luca Nichetto
Jeometrica by Scavolini, Design Luca Nichetto

Luca Nichetto
Stockholm/Venice

1. Face masks. It’s banal, but for obvious reasons I couldn’t choose anything else.
2. Trolley bags. To resume traveling – especially in my case, as an Italian in Stockholm with a family in Murano, and as a designer with international friendships – has almost been a sort of rebirth.
3. The Jeometrica furnishing system; the Bemyguest installation for Vitale Barberis Canonico at Via Solferino 23; the set-up for La Manufacture at the Poldi Pezzoli museum; and, finally, the Monumental installation for Wittmann at the fair.

Fabio Novembre - Photo © Livio Mancinelli
Fabio Novembre – Photo © Livio Mancinelli
Ludovica + Roberto Palomba - Photo © Carlo William Rossi & Fabio Mureddu
Ludovica + Roberto Palomba – Photo © Carlo William Rossi & Fabio Mureddu

Fabio Novembre
Milan

1. My guitar is the object I associate with that period of isolation and inevitable reflection. Now when I am looking for some balance, I tune the guitar and my voice, producing sounds that for me are a form of meditative prayer, while for others they are also a form of entertainment. I’ve become a cross between a sadhu and a mariachi.
2. Besides books and music, the other major pastime was cinema: the lockdown made me reassess that new form of film narrative, the TV series. The saga of “Peaky Blinders” features an extremely characteristic piece of clothing: the newsboy cap. It became the fetish of my restart, with the brashness of a Peaky Blinders.
3. Like every year, we enjoy working with very different brands, from Natuzzi to Driade, Scavolini to Citco, by way of Seletti, Villari Tapis Rouge and many others.

Ludovica + Roberto Palomba
Milan

1. Undoubtedly our Lama chaise longue for Zanotta: it is the object we spent the most time with in that period. We rested, chatted, made work calls, or read books.
2. The Laguna collection of vases for Purho. After the pandemic, before reaching the final design, we made many visits to Murano, working once more in physical presence with the craftsmen. An approach we missed during the pandemic period.
3. A new upholstered piece, Happy Jack, for Poltrona Frau. We have moved forward this year with the Versace Home Collection: a very interesting partnership between fashion and design. And a capsule collection for Fratelli Rossetti: a sandal for her and for him, an ode to the Mediterranean summer and outdoor living.

Modulo by CTO Lighting, Design Federico Peri
Modulo by CTO Lighting, Design Federico Peri

Federico Peri
Milan

1. The project developed for CTO Lighting: for the first time I had to do the prototyping via video calls and email.
2. The “essential” collection of vases for Purho Murano: the first project I was able to conduct in person after the restart, with a great sense of freedom!
3. For Baxter we have gone deeper with the family of the Stone bed, with new complements; for Giacobazzi Legno, I have designed my first wood floor; for Dall’Agnese I’ve created a new bed. With Cierre Imbottiti, I will present a line inspired by the Seventies. For Marta Sala Éditions, I have designed a small collection of complements for the living area. Finally, with Gervasoni, I am showing a fixed and extensible dining table, a sideboard and a credenza.