This year I had the chance to visit the Furniture expo and fuorisalone in an unusual way and with every comfort.
La Milan Design Week is an unmissable event for architects, designers and enthusiasts of the sector not only to view new proposals and products but, above all, to experience the profession in a total way for a few days, to meet and get to know colleagues, to discover corners and locations of Milan and to breathe an international, young, dynamic and very worldly air.
But this year I also took part in the tour, Expo3, organized by Ventana Group to test and test their hospitality offer in view of Expo 2015. First of all, on Monday 7 April I attended, with Luca Tonelli and Giulia Parisi from Ventana, the opening evening in the splendid setting of Palazzo Reale, visiting the Bernardino Luini exhibition, between art , frivolity and lots of chatter. Then on day 15 the Ventana staff prepared an impeccable welcome for us and pampered us throughout the day and evening.
Upon our arrival they took us to their office inside the exhibition center, under the "North Star" designed by Massimiliano Fuksas, a position that allows them to welcome customers and to be in a strategic area to visit the exhibitions. After a brief stop in the exclusive Red Lounge we visited some stands of the Salone with the help of Marco Pietrosante, designer and teacher who chose for us Italian brands that have achieved a good positioning on the market and that have been able to innovate with attention to sustainability and the social aspect of furniture.
Il first stand was that of Kartell, the world famous Italian brand that this year has declined the entire collection in the gold version. Glamorous and shimmering, new products and classic pieces in a rich and sumptuous guise.
Il second Italian brand that we visited was Lake, a company I know very well, where we had the privilege of meeting Mr. Michele Lago, who illustrated the company's philosophy: to create a good product and establish partnerships and connections with other interior design suppliers to look for new innovative solutions and products. Like the shelf that attaches and detaches from the wall thanks to a finish that allows it to cling without the need for screws and holes in the wall. Furthermore, for Lago it is also important product function, what happens around the table and inside the houses they furnish. A new approach that does not limit itself to thinking and designing an artifact but that studies and enhances its use and its life beyond leaving the factory.
Il third stand of the morning was to Arper, an Italian company that owes much of its success to “tailor-made” quality products that it exports all over the world. For lunch we went to the nearby NH hotel, the two towers that rise in skyline of the fair area and have become one of its reference points. The lunch, excellent and abundant, it allowed us, as well as to take a break after the tour among the crowded stands, to socialize and get to know each other.
In the afternoon the visit continued from Snaidero, where the owner of the company showed us the flagship product they are pushing the most. The last stand we visited was that of Propeller, one of the major suppliers of motors for extractor hoods. The choice of this brand was made to present ecological products and to illustrate a virtuous business management model.
After the visit to the fair we were accompanied to thehotel Holiday Inn of via Ugo Bassi in the area of ​​Porta Garibaldi. Upon our arrival, the welcome was excellent and the room reserved for us was comfortable and equipped. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, the wonderful evening began around a crowded and particularly summer Milan.
The aperitif started at MeliĂ , famous and renowned hotel which, given its proximity to the San Siro stadium, often hosts national and international football teams. They then took us to the Chateau Monfort, luxurious five-star hotel that welcomed us in a rural and bucolic atmosphere, with delicious tastings, excellent champagne and an unusual, but much appreciated, olfactory tasting proposed by Anna Paghera.
The last hotel where we ended the magical evening was theNhow, in via Tortona, the fulcrum of the Fuorisalone and a must every year. It is a trendy hotel where emerging artists exhibit every year and where you can breathe the true air of the design week.
The day was very interesting and enjoyable, full of ideas and above all well organized by an efficient, friendly staff that was up to par for an event like Expo 2018.
