bad trash

This is the dark side of the design fair, and the part that distressed me the most.  There was so much trash!  And I never saw one recycling container that was sponsored by the fair.  Not to mention the copious amounts of promotional papers, cards, and catalogues that get handed out.  They should know better.   There is so much room for improvement here.  

Milan Furniture Fair 2009

the "Dream Rooms" exhibit at the Triannale Design Museum Milan (link here)

at Moroso

gardens in Zona Tortona

Emert Schafer

new at Droog (kevin for scale)

at Moroso

the fairgrounds (almost 1 mile long!)

grey day at the fair

I have mixed feelings after seeing the Salone del Mobile in Milan last week.  Just the sheer scale of it is impressive, but also totally terrifying.  There is so much stuff, so many things, so many objects that are being created, and I'm not sure what most of it achieves.  The city was taken over by the fair.  There were a couple hundred independent events taking place around the city in addition to the actual show at a convention center.  My favorite places were the Zona Tortona, an area about 10x6 city blocks, and the Salone Satellite which is inside the main show.  Both places focused on young designers and student work, which was always the most interesting and innovative.  Somehow it didn't occur to me to write down the names of the designers that I liked, but I took lots of pictures!  Here's a list of designers that I liked, from what I can remember.

(links)

mammalampa (braided paper lamps)

Pieke Bergmans (mutated lightbulbs)

Anthony Kleinepier  (big textile sculptures)

Moroso (famous collections)

Droog (it's droog)

junjun (shelving incorporating tree branches)

Omer Arbel (pleated couch)

DesignDrift (lighting)

Ermert Schafer (cardboard trash can)

Clara Lindsten (re-using scrap material)

Isabelle Olsson (new kitchen design)

Roma

at the capitoline museum

my crib

cool tiling at the Vatican

steps at the Ara Pacis museum (they had a great Mandini show)

The Roman Baths

the Cenci (RISD headquarters)

at a flea market

Rome really caught me off gaurd.  I knew it was going to be cool, but I didn't know how cool.  It's such a layered city; the more you look the more you see.  I got to hang out with my risd friends and get a taste of everyday life, as well as be a tourist.  I saw the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, the baths at Caracallo, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, the Coloseum, the Spanish steps, and about a hundred other things that I can't even remember.  I loved the pace of rome,  very relaxed.  Just what I needed!

bike brite

This is my last day in Copenhagen before I head off on a mini tour of Italy.  I'm going to Rome to see some friends, then up to Milan to see another friend and also go to the Milan Furniture Fair.  I'm so excited to see a part of the world that I've never seen before, and I get to be in good company!  I'm sure I'll have a mega blog post when I get back in a couple weeks.  Ciao!

no more dark

It's kind of amazing that this photo was taken at 7:30 pm considering that when I first got here in January, dusk was around 3.  Daylight's savings, (which happened two weeks later here than it did in the states-don't know why), seemed to happen at about the same time that spring started, so it feels like the whole place changed in one day.  Now it's light until 9, which has tricked me into working late at school a couple of times, and I find myself eating dinner at 10:30 just because it seems wrong to eat when it's still light out.  

By the way, this is the Marmorkirken (marble church) about three blocks from my apartment. I get to ride by it every day on my way to school.

Portfolio

Since I've already got my feet firmly planted on my soapbox, I might as well announce that I've made a portfolio blog.  It's basically a place-holder for a real website that will be made (hopefully) this summer.  Anyway, check it out here.  And here's a sample of what you'll find...                                  

food shopping

This is Netto, where I go shopping almost every day.  They're on every corner, and I've probably been to about 15 different ones since I've been here.  The style here is to go shopping every day or every other day.  The fridges are smaller, the apartments are pretty compact, so it just makes sense, plus then it's all fresh!  

In general, the food isn't too different from what I'm used to.  The only things that are hard to find are smooth peanut butter and maple syrup.  Fish products rule the markets here, as well as very dense, grainy rye bread, and salted black licorice (don't ask).  

Graffiti in stockholm

L’Aquila earthquake

All of my thoughts are in Italy right now after the terrible earthquake there this morning (see nytimes article here). I'm hoping that it hasn't effected my friends in rome. Its so sad that the beautiful old buildings and towns that carry so much history are also so delicate.

first days of spring!

Friday was the first sunny warm day that I've seen since I've been in Copenhagen, and the city seems like a totally different place.  The sidewalk cafes are now packed with people, there's tourists everywhere, and I can buy an iced coffee without getting strange looks.  Today I sat with my friends in a huge park for a couple of hours and it almost could have been summer.  I also got a visit from Miles, on of my friends from RISD, and we went to the top of The Round Tower which has a great view of the city.  That dark line on the horizon is Sweden!

quiet place

Malmo poster

I found this awesome poster on my last trip to malmo and 

revisited it last week. It looked so much cooler in the sunlight 

than it did last time.

(no photoshoppery occurred to this photo)