New York Design Week with BlogTourNYC

Sorry for the delay it’s been one of those weeks (my little one has had Scarlet Fever) and I’ve been desperate to share more from my BlogtourNYC trip, in fact, this has been half written for 10 days. So where shall I kick off……  As you know I recently had the privilege of attending the Kips Bay Decorator Showhouse. Whilst I was in NYC for New York Design Week I also packed in some other great events such as Frieze Art Fair, ICFF (international contemporary furniture fair), WantedDesign, DesignJunction, Launch of Rootcellar Designs by Tamara Matthews, AIRE Ancient Baths of NYC and various dinners, lunches and parties {a huge thank you so much Modenus for the opportunity}. It was an inspiring opportunity and a chance to see products and people that do not show in Europe, as well as seeing familiar faces presenting to a new audience.

This was telling at one of New York’s bigger trade-shows, the well know ICFF fair at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. It’s often defined as the highlight of New York Design Week showcasing the new and the soon to be big designs.  Some of the most coveted brands of furniture attend this trade show presenting their work and their new pieces to the market.  One of the things I liked most about ICFF was that it was a manageable size compared with Maison & Objet or Ambient. There was still plenty of new releases from the big manufacturers but also a focus on a small group of young and talented hopefuls. More than 700 vendors presented their wares, so there were still plenty of aisles to march along and two lovely BlogTour sponsors to visit Wilsonart and Laufen.  Roll on BlogTourNYC.

First up I visited the amazing design challenge booth that Wilsonart and the Industrial Design students of Appalachian State University had created following their 2015 Challenge competition. This year’s competition was a celebration of the beauty, culture and history of the Appalachian region of North Carolina. As many of you know, I am also visiting tutor at a Design School in London, so I was completely blown away by the engagement of both Wilsonart and the students in this taught design challenge.  If you’re in the UK, you might not be familiar with Wilsonart as they are a leading manufacturer of engineered and decorative surfaces company based out of Texas. I really can’t stress what a fantastic opportunity Wilsonart has given these students and the quality of design in the student’s work was so impressive. I hope these guys pop up in the future as “ones to watch”, it’s not everyday you see laminate used in such an inventive way.

The winning chair by Samantha Lilly called ‘Blossom’ above. To find out more about the visit here

I also spent some time on the Laufen stand who are familiar faces on the European design trail as they hail from Switzerland. I remember one of my earliest encounters with the brand was at KBB when they showcased über luxury living in a bathroom space, and I fell in love with ILBAGNOALESSI and eventually specified it in a project. Then late last summer I saw them at London Design week at DesignJunction showcasing their new Kartell by Laufen products including the ultra-slim profile of SaphirKeramik, a new lightweight material. These slim profile sinks are  definitely something I like the look of and on my “hit list”. The orange in the Kartell collection made my morning when I saw it, and I love that the circular tray is removable on the tap – helpful when you need it and removable when you don’t.

I thought the lighting seen at ICFF was my favourite product category closely followed by chairs….. ah yes, we all know about my love of chairs. I’ll be back on Wednesday for the next instalment of New York’s ICFF highlights.

See more of my BlogTourNYC antics here.