Lighting shines bright this year at WantedDesign

Lighting is a strong theme this year at WantedDesign and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Nothing enhances a space like good lighting and that, design lovers, is something we’re sure to have. From the minute you enter the Tunnel this year, you’ll be enveloped in Blackbody’s breathtaking installation. Their OLEDs (Organic Light-Emitting Diodes) offer unparalleled lighting solutions and the lightweight, ultra-flat, glare-free, shadow-free and heat-free technology can be used to create inspiring designer indoor or outdoor light fixtures. MoreMore…

The Pacific Northwest design boom by Jaime Gillin

The seven Seattle-based companies exhibiting together at WantedDesign spent months visiting each other’s studios before coming to New York. The goal was to make a cohesive exhibition, but in the process they gained a deeper understanding of the current state of Pacific Northwest design.
“We realized all our work shared some common traits,” says Sallyann Corn of fruitsuper design, a product and industrial design consultancy. “We’re not hiding anything in our designs—when it’s wood, all the joints are obvious, and there’s a minimal use of materials. All our pieces have an honesty and straightforwardness.” Whether it’s a spun brass light or an heirloom-quality walnut console, “we’re designing products that help you celebrate the small moments and details in everyday life.”

The studios at WantedDesign—Chadhaus, 16th workshop, urbancase, Standard Socket, fruitsuper design, Seattle Design Bureau, and Piano Nobile—represent just a small cross-section of the talent in the region today. But their work epitomizes the high-quality handmade production for which the Northwest is renowned. More More…

Effeti USA Brings Creativity & Consultation to the table

Permanently located in the Terminal Stores building, Effeti USA features luxury Italian kitchen systems manufactured in Florence. Known for quality, craftsmanship, and innovative design, the brand has been a symbol of excellence for the past 40 years. The US flagship showroom, which is celebrating its one-year anniversary, features two of the company’s most popular models. Visitors can see firsthand the refined detailing of Effeti’s BK1 and BK2 system, designed by Milan-based architects Gabriele and Oscar Buratti. More

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“X” marks the spot – by Ray Hu, managing editor of Core77

No other tradeshow comes close to matching the scale of the Salone del Mobile, which is exempt from the existential dilemma of growing its audience. NYCxDESIGN, on the other hand, continues to resist categorization as to whether it is expressly for the industry—designers, manufacturers, and retailers from around the world—or for the general public, i.e. folks who wouldn’t know the difference between an Aalto stool and its IKEA doppelgänger.

This is only the second year that those 10 days in the middle of May have been subsumed into the still-mercurial NYCxDESIGN brand. While each of the dozens of participating organizations, institutions, and companies has established itself in the ecosystem of New York Design Week, as a collective we face the conundrum of our identity as a whole.
It comes with the territory, in a way: the five boroughs are nothing if not a vibrant, pluralistic horizon of possibilities, and design is just one of many communities that thrive here. Frieze New York, which anchors the first weekend of NYCxDESIGN, represents an overlapping slice of the city’s cultural offerings, but it’s a prodigious pie: consider that ICFF draws only a tenth of the visitors of the Salone (30K vs. 300K) in a city that is six times more populous—a fraction of the 30% influx in Milan.

Of course, no design week compares to the Salone, and no other metropolis compares to New York City. If Milton Glaser’s sentiment is but a platitude by now, it’s worth noting that “I (heart) NY” originated as a pro bono project for a 1977 ad campaign. Just as New Yorkers certainly loved their city before they ‘hearted’ it, so too has the design community grown organically since before we became NYCxDESIGN.
The question, then, is where we go from here.
Ray Hu is the Managing Editor of Core77, the online magazine and resource for design, which is available in print for the first time ever this May. For four days from May 16–19, Core77 will design, produce, print and distribute the C77 Design Daily—find it at your favorite venues during NYCxDESIGN , including at WantedDesign in West Chelsea and Industry City/Design in Brooklyn.

About NYCxDESIGN

NYCxDESIGN is New York City’s official citywide celebration of design. Spanning all disciplines of design, NYCxDESIGN creates a
collaborative platform for cultural and commercial opportunities, elevates established and emerging design practices, and increases awareness of and appreciation for design by all audiences. Information about NYCxDESIGN program will be available at the Design Concierge desk in the WantedDesign welcoming area.

Industry City, the new destination for design in Brooklyn

Industry City/Design, May 9-19 2015

More information coming soon.

Industry City/Design, May 10-20 2014

The international design world will descend on Sunset Park, Brooklyn, this May as Industry City and WantedDesign team up for 11 days of design-centric events and workshops in conjunction with NYCxDESIGN.
“As Brooklyn emerges as a new hub for the design world, we’ve seen Industry City grow into a dynamic community of 21st century makers across a wide variety of disciplines,” says Andrew Kimball, CEO of Industry City. “Both the creative and the production components of the design industry are key to growing the innovation economy at Industry City and in the borough. Our partnership with WantedDesign seeks to open up the design world to the public and expand opportunities for the design world in Brooklyn.” “The site of Industry City is quite unique and very inspiring and has everything needed to become a real destination and home to a multidisciplinary design community for years to come. It is a great opportunity for WantedDesign to extend its vision to Brooklyn by bringing a lively program with city organizations, design collectives, and makers to create a Brooklyn design hub for the entire NYCxDESIGN celebration.” MoreMore…