"Missoni quelli delle righe"

If you know me, then you know my other “design” passion… fashion.  One fashion house that I have particular admiration for is Missoni; Tai & Rosita definitely new how to work those zig-zag and flame stitch patterns into beautiful dresses and scarves.  Many of the “abstract” patterns used by Missoni back in the 1950s (and still today) are indeed 100% Italian, as the original flame stitch, known as Bargello, is an intricate embroidery that was discovered in a Florence palace.  In the U.S., the 1960s and 70s were the decades for posh homes, as the same flame stitch and zig-zag designs were being seen on the furniture. 

In 2003 Missoni Home Collection debuted for the very first time at the annual Milan show, Salone Internazionale del Mobile, and it continues to have a presence each year.  As I’m always keeping tabs on the best hotels around the world, I must also mention Rosita Missoni’s great endeavor, finally realizing the Hotel Missoni, branded by Redizor SAS.  The design is Missoni from exterior signage to the plush black and white zig-zag robes hanging in the guestroom baths, while the architect that collaborated was Milan based Matteo Thun.  http://www.hotelmissoni.com/

I’ve been attending the Milan show since moving to Italy and it is always an adventure trying to pack everything in to a single day; in a word, impossible.  Yet, I continue to cover as much ground as possible, being very specific to what I actually stop and look at.  Touch.  Examine.  Admire.  Last April at the 2010 Milan show, along with my web/ graphic designer, Laura Micocci, I was struck in particular by Missoni’s outdoor furniture, specifically the multi-colored roped loungers (which are photographed below).  Colorful simplicity is utterly Missoni.    

And a little taste from the vibrant Women's 2011 Spring Collection and a few pastels from 2010!

Design Sherpa Contest 2010

I was lucky enough to be one of the 100-pick finalists for the Design Sherpa, "What Inspires You" contest this past summer.  Grand prize was $10,000 and an all-expense paid trip to Paris for the annual design show, Masion & Objet.  Although I did not make it past phase two, which consisted of writing a 350 word post about an interior or architectural design topic that communicates both my unique passion for design and writing style, I hereby share my submission.  The attached link is my first round top 100 winner, which consisted of selecting a photo that inspires me and expressing why in one hundred words. 

Despite not winning the grand prize, I was so appreciative to have been in the top 100 and published on the Design Sherpa website.  As one of my dear friends commented: "Being published, no matter how small, means you have arrived."

Design Sherpa: Phase II

It is a progressive world and with this, or shall I say, because of this results a fleeting art. 

A click of the mouse (and carpal tunnel) is replacing the innate talent of sketch.  Perfect precision is winning out against the softer line of a loose scribble. Yet, can the steady movement and emerging delicate line of a #149 Mont Blanc fountain pen, following the hand as the ink flows, sketching the gentle scroll of a Victorian Chaise Lounge, blotting the ink for each embedded button tuft be displaced by an Auto Cad print out?

There is, of course, a necessity for computer aided drawing in our industry, but not in the beginning of a project, when the catharsis is madly streaming.  Why bother with the layering and multi-colored line weights to draw a preliminary vanity, when a quick sketch, enhanced with a few stone and glass samples could sell the idea.  I’ve seen this too often: the crutch of the computer becoming the only tool for thinking.  It is time to take a step back.    

Dare I say that after 10 years as an interior designer I am still mastering this passing art?  It’s the truth.  At the basis of all, we designers and architects are artists.  Maybe it’s not a tightly stretched canvas where we are projecting our ideas, but most certainly it’s on a piece of white Bienfang Bumwad when first conceptualizing with a client, moving on to vellum for color rendered presentations, most likely with a few abstract Picasso-esque designed people, giving the space a human quality.  Our canvas has no limit of dimension, neither texture nor imagination. 

I am in awe of designers that sketch as they speak--- the instigation of an idea. How many quick ink sketches did Mies van der Rohe hammer out before achieving the final atonement for his Barcelona Chair?  And well trained architectural lettering (albeit, with a bit of personality) is more beautiful than embossed calligraphy. 

 

Needless to say, when not sketching a drapery treatment or architectural detail for my residential clients, I still have my sketch book close by.

http://design-sherpa.com/contest-updates/what-inspires-jennifer-hawkins-of-jennifer-micocci-interiors/#respond