Mark Hix opened the doors of his new restaurant on Wednesday 24th May.  I was fortunate enough to be invited for lunch on the tuesday before to sample the food, the space, the art and the wine.  The dining room is one huge space with a giant Damien Hirst “Cock & Bull” submerged in a water tank as the centre piece.  

A while ago, I was asked to do a feasibility study on the Tramshed for a London Design company and retailer.  So I knew the building very well.  I’d done forecasts and projections of what would be required to justify an east end design shop and restaurant.  I started to get quite excited about how a restaurant would work in the space.  The company never took the space - and so it lay empty - with prospects of being home to temporary design exhibitions and student graduation shows for the foreseeable future.

As soon as I heard that Mark Hix was definitely taking the space - I wanted to help; to get involved. 

I got in touch - and was quickly working with Interior Designers Waugh Thistleton to find the right chair for the dining room.  We went through several chairs - different material options - and several days trying to get it nailed down.  We eventually landed on the Navy Chair from Emeco - made from PET - or 111 re-cycled Coca-Cola bottles, for the layman…   With the aluminium version chosen as the barstool - the chairs really work well in the room.  

Importantly, and as you would expect - the food was fantastic.  

Thank you to Tramshed for giving Republic of Living the opportunity to work on this project.  I urge you all to go along for lunch or dinner soon.  And after dinner - have a drink at the bar and explore the Cock & Bull art gallery in the basement which opens next week.  

All Photographs copyright Damien Hirst 2012

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Republic of Living in Milan, 2012

In recent years the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan has been more about what’s been going on in Zona Tortona, Savona and Porto Romana etc.   This year was different.  Rho Fiera flexed it’s muscles.  Via Tortona, normally a throng of activity and great design felt like a ghost town.  And Via Savona without the Design Village made it feel empty.  It was great to see Established and sons in Design Village’s old space - but Established are better at taking something unexpected and delivering a sensory explosion.  The Poltrona Frau Design Village in it’s new home on via  Solari was enormous.  Good, but enormous.  It took about three days just to drive past.  But being just around the corner and a little further away from via Tortona, the focus of the area has changed - and you realize just how important the Design Village is for the whole Zona Tortona experience.

Overall - I found that everything felt a bit softer and accessible.  This is no bad thing.  Some years the trends have tended towards the sharp edges Italians love,  and bling, bronze and brass of the Middle East and Russian sensibilities.  In other years - the focus has been on concept breaking - like if you were to let Picasso make you a chair.

This year - colour was back.  The Flexform stand, usually a blend of autumnal leathers, was awash with fabric and colour as they launched their new fabric collection.   Tacchinni had a slightly retro feel, helped along with strong oranges, greens, reds and blues.  Monotones were out this year. 

Philippe Starck was prolific.  He was at every party launching a new product or collaboration - the most surreal being with Lenny Kravitz at Kartell.  We watched as they forged their way through the crowds to Rock the world with a new chair.

Starck’s Broom chair for Emeco is a true innovative product.  Hot on the heals of the Navy 111 chair produced using recycled coca-cola bottle, Emeco have hit the market with the Broom, made from a new material which utilizes industrial waste.   The chair is low cost, has a strong Eco message, and looks great.

Rossana Orlandi was amazing as usual.  The eclectic mix of products in the weaving space over several floors makes you feel like your discovering everything for the first time.  It was a joy to find the Ercol exhibition at the back of the main room.  The vintage and new pieces displayed together in this old tie factory, still piled high with long, thin boxes, looked fantastic. 

The colours that lifted the Salone this year could easily have been inspired by Rossana Orlandi, giving the exhibition a lighter and more accessible feel.

Here are some images of the Michelin-starred Quilon restaurant.  Republic of Living is proud to have been the main furniture supplier for this project.  The food at The Quilon is exquisite, and now the whole interior has been gently manhandled into shape by Design LSM; I personally look forward to trying the cocktails at the new Q Bar.

Republic of Living would like to thank The Quilon and Design LSM and choosing to work with us on this project.

The Carlotta chairs are stunning, and the Como wing back chairs run the risk of keeping you seated for hours - which given the Q bar - is no bad thing.

The Quilon refurbishment

The Quilon has now re-opened after an exciting refurbishment - Republic of Living would like to thank The Quilon and Design LSM and choosing to work with us on this project.

The Carlotta chairs are stunning, and the Como wing back chairs run the risk of keeping you seated for hours - which given the new bar - is no bad thing.

Images of the interior will be showcased here shortly. 

Carlotta Armchair - take a seat…

Como Wing Back

Ice Cube Celebrates The Eames

Ice Cube Celebrates The Eames for Pacific Standard Time the birth of the LA art scene. For more info on Ice Cube & The Eames visit http://pacificstandardtime.org.

(via hardeepmatharoo)

pastinaisgood:

Charles Eames, Furniture From The Design Collection,  MOMA  1973

Think QR codes are ugly? No excuse when they can be like this…

Is that a Bluetooth Geneva Sound System Model XS in your pocket..?

The new pocket sound system based on those alarm clocks that drugs reps used to give doctors.  Along with pens.  Lots of pens.

Click through to the website - the Model M in the Walnut finish is beautiful!

Equal Rights for Design

Do you think design should be given the same respect as other creative works?  At the moment - the design world is strewn with blatant rip offs with little or no recourse for the holder of the Intellectual property.  

Read on for more details and share if you agree.

Equal Rights for Design!

ELLE Decoration UK petitions the government to afford the discipline of design the same UK copyright protection as is currently granted to works of literature, drama, music, film and art: ie 70 years after the death of the originating author/s.

This is in stark contrast to design, where registered works are currently covered for only 25 years from date of issue.

We ask, why is design seemingly deemed less worthy of protection? Additionally, the hypocrisy of our copyright laws promotes the UK as a default “safe harbour” for copyists, manufacturers producing cut-price fakes of classic designs. We believe this amounts to UK-endorsed intellectual property theft.

If the government stands by Chancellor George Osborne’s stated desire for ‘the words: “made in Britain”, “created in Britain”, “designed in Britain”, “invented in Britain”, to drive our nation forward’, then we see no impediment to immediate ratification of this e-petition.

Thanks to Anthony Dickens for showing me this.