London can be pricey and popular this time of year. The team at designjunction has shared 4 simple ways to help maximize your time at this amazing fair.

Book in advance. Tickets are £12 standard advance or £15 on the door. Trade professionals arefree in advance and £15 on the door.

Print your badge. Prior planning means you can skip the queues and access all four areas as soon as you arrive. If you forget, there are printers onsite.

Download Junction. It’s the digital version of the event guide, which includes show highlights, exclusive interviews and the full exhibitor directory.

Check out Traces. The Traces app lets you discover KXCQ special offers and discounts from local creative businesses, restaurants, shops and hotels.

Marcel Wanders’ ceramic tile collection for Ceramica Bardelli

We have been invited to the Milanese preview of the latest collections of Ceramica Bardelli.

The exciting collaboration between the eclectic Dutch designer Marcel Wanders and Ceramica Bardelli has as a result two astonishing collections: Eve and Sofia hand painted tiles. Different layers of screen-printing make each tile unique and enhance a pattern with intriguing optical effects.

We love patterns and we fell in love with both the Sofia and Eve collections. Their unique designs encourage playing with the non-directional pattern to elaborate infinite layouts.

Marcel Wanders’ Collection for Ceramica Bardelli – Details

Countdown for Cersaie, the International exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings, has started.

More news to come.

Stay tuned!

Up for a picnic? Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) is hosting its fifth annual summer soiree and fundraiser on September 7, Picnic By Design® at the Mercantile Annex in Midtown! Guests will have the chance to bid on beautifully designed picnic baskets, created by renowned New York City tastemakers.

Diffa’s Picnic by Design®

Picnic by Design combines high-end design, food and a fun atmosphere at a beautiful venue. Dawn Roberson, Director of Special Events at DIFFA, notes, “This event grows each year and continues to serve as a platform for young and emerging designers to raise awareness for the cause while celebrating epic design.”

DIFFA’s Mission: Combat HIV/AIDS

DIFFA’s mission is to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The charity organization was founded in 1984 and has since grown into one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS Service and education in the country. So far, DIFFA has granted more than $41 million to nonprofit organizations combating HIV/AIDS across the United States. Picnic By Design® is just one of its popular events raising awareness and funds for a serious cause, while engaging designers and showcasing their work.

Designers: “Repeat Offenders” & “Newbies”

This year’s basket designers are, as always, an amazing group–including “repeat offenders” such as: Antoinette Loupe Interiors, MoDmade NY and VDA Designs as well as first-time participants: KWG Design, Mee Tran + Phuong Huyn, Stacy Garcia, FXFOWLE, Wills Design Associates, Stantec Architecture are just a few who will contribute their unique creative work. Media Sponsors include Interior Design and Modern Luxury Manhattan. Food and Beverages will be provided by Cliffton Dry, STK Restaurants, Canard Inc., and more.

Tickets & Sponsoring

Tickets are now available for an Early Bird Price of $125, increasing to $150 on August 25. Purchase them here. Want to become a sponsor? Inquire here. Find more information about DIFFA’s combat against HIV/AIDS and their successful fundraising programs here.

Event: DIFFA’s Annual Summer Fundraiser: Picnic by Design
Date: September 7, 2016

Time: 6 – 9pm EST
Location: Mercantile Annex, 517 West 37th Street, NYC

The 2015 picnic basket my MoDmade NY was a work of art. Photo by Erik Bardin, courtesy of Interior Design.

VDA Designs, “Repeat Offender” at Picnic By Design®. Photo by Erik Bardin, Courtesy of Interior Design

Antoinette Loupe’s contribution included a message from the heart in French. Photo by Erik Bardin, courtesy of Interior Design.

The Met Expands Programming on MetFridays

This Summer with Live Performances, Featured Events, and Restaurant Specials

MetFridays: New York’s Night Out is expanding this summer at The Metropolitan Museum of Art with the addition of thematic programming on July 22 at The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters, and extended evening hours at The Met Cloisters through Labor Day.

On July 22, a concert will highlight MetFridays: Extreme Measures at The Met Fifth Avenue. That same evening at The Met Cloisters, the quartet Jazz and Honey will perform music from the 1930s, the decade in which The Cloisters was inaugurated.

Each of the three Met locations will have special MetFridays offerings this summer:

MetFridays at The Met Fifth Avenue

More than 5,000 years of art come alive at the Museum’s landmark building, The Met Fifth Avenue. On MetFridays, when this location is open until 9 p.m. on Friday nights throughout the year, visitors can enjoy a drink, music, and conversation with friends, or immerse themselves in a range of exhibitions and programs.

A full list of MetFridays: Pride programming and activities at The Met Fifth Avenue is available on The Met website.

MetFridays: Extreme Measures, on July 22, invites visitors to discover the power of objects large and small through interactive gallery chats, art making, music, and more. A concert by Bansuri flutist Jay Gandhi will take place in connection with the exhibition Divine Pleasures: Painting from India’s Rajput Courts—The Kronos Collections (June 14–September 12), and a special Drop-in Drawing session will feature live models wearing garments inspired by the exhibition Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology (on view through August 14).

The Met Fifth Avenue offers food and drink specials every Friday evening as part of MetFridays. The Roof Garden Bar is presenting an artful cocktail menu inspired by The Roof Garden Commission: Cornelia Parker, Transitional Object (PsychoBarn) (on view through October 31, weather permitting), featuring one of their most popular offerings, the Red Barn Sangria. Throughout June, the Great Hall Balcony Bar will host a menu inspired by the exhibition Pergamon and the Hellenistic Kingdoms of the Ancient World (on view through July 17), drawing on the cuisine of the ancient city of Pergamon (now known as Bergama, in present-day Turkey), and featuring light appetizers-perfect for sharing with friends while enjoying a drink.

Museum Members can enjoy priority service at the new Members Rooftop Bar located on the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, open every Friday and Saturday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. The Members Rooftop Bar, open only to Museum members, will feature a selection of summer cocktails and offer unparalleled views of the New York City skyline.

Other MetFridays activities occurring at The Met Fifth Avenue on a more regular basis include concerts by string quartet ETHEL and Friends on the Balcony Bar, Museum Highlights tours, Drop-in Drawing sessions, and The Observant Eye, in which visitors spend time investigating and discussing a particular work of art.

Full schedule of public hours at The Met Fifth Avenue

MetFridays at The Met Cloisters

Visitors can experience the wonders of medieval European art, architecture, and gardens at The Met Cloisters until 7:30 p.m. on Fridays through Labor Day. The Met Cloisters overlooks the majestic Hudson River in northern Manhattan’s Fort Tryon Park and derives its name from the portions of five medieval cloisters that have been incorporated into its overall structure.

On Friday, August 26, at 6 p.m., The Met Cloisters will host a tastingof German white wines of the Mosel with importer Stephen Bitterolf, founder of vom Boden Fine Wines.

Jazz and Honey at The Met Cloisters will take place at 6 p.m. during the July 29 MetFridays. Trumpeter Alex Nguyen and his quartet will perform music from the 1930s, the decade when this jewel on the Hudson was designed, built, and opened to the public. Visitors will be able to taste the flavors of the summer season with a sampling of local honey and learn about the ancient practice of beekeeping.

The Trie Café at The Met Cloisters offers a thoughtful selection of wine and beer, chosen to complement the gardens and inspired by the Saint-Guilhem cloister. The heritage of all of the wine and beer selections can be traced to the medieval era.

Extended Summer Hours at The Met Cloisters are made possible by The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.

Full schedule of public hours at The Met Cloisters

MetFridays at The Met Breuer

The Met Breuer extends The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s modern and contemporary art program to the iconic building designed by Marcel Breuer on Madison Avenue at 75th Street in Manhattan. On every Friday throughout the year, The Met Breuer is open until 9 p.m.

Exhibitions on view at The Met Breuer this summer are: Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible(through September 4) and diane arbus: in the beginning (July 12–November 27, 2016).

For more information on these exhibitions, please visit metmuseum.org/exhibitions.

Full schedule of public hours at The Met Breuer

MetFridays Hours

When: Every Friday evening

Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, open until 9 p.m.

                    The Met Breuer, open until 9 p.m.

                    The Met Cloisters, open until 7:30 p.m., May 27–September 5

At Neocon 2016, Metropolis debuted five new talents who are developing key designs for the future, in a curated installation.  An architectural adventure, a weaver, an artist, lighting makers and a pair of experimental neo-traditionalists—all formed part of this inaugural class. If you missed this group of innovators at the Mart read below for or recap and also check them out in the June issue of Metropolis June.

Photo Credit Jessica Pierotti

1.
ASSEMBLY
 Pete Oyler, Nora Mattingly

Assembly Design is a studio that creates high quality furniture and objects with a forward-thinking aesthetic; employing both traditional and experimental techniques, our work is fresh, thoughtful, and made with care. Displaying L2, 2x Glass Vases, 2x Glass Bowls (Sm)

Photo Credit Jessica Pierotti

2.
DAMM 
Robert Zurn, Brenda Zurn

DAMM makes well crafted, original, hand- made objects and believes honest elemental materials and a thoughtful aesthetic speak for themselves. Displaying Theorem, Fovea, Myron, and Untitled

Photo Credit: Jessica Pierotti

3.
DESIGN WITH COMPANY
 Allison Newmeyer, Stewart Hicks

Design With Company is a Stewart Hicks and Allison Newmeyer architectural adventure. Displaying New Talent installation design

Photo Credit: Jessica Pierotti

4.
HERRON
 Dee Clements

Herron is a Textile Brand + Weaving Studio in Chicago that focuses on bold, graphic hand woven rugs, blankets, pillows and wall hangings by marrying an artistic process with ethical responsibility.
Displaying Primary + Secondary Rug, Sunset Blanket (Natural)

Photo Credit: Jessica Pierotti

5.
STEVEN HAULENBEEK

Steven Haulenbeek is a multidisciplinary artist and designer concentrating in process-based, material-driven furniture and objects. Displaying Seed Bowls, Ice-Cast Bronze
Side Table, Ice-Cast Bronze Vessel

Photo Credit: Jessica Pierotti

The 15th International Architecture Exhibition- La Biennale di Venezia, which began May 28 and is on display through November 27, 2016, is in full swing. This year’s theme, Reporting From the Front, is directed by Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, who is best known for social-housing projects. The exhibition is laid out in a unitary sequence from the Central Pavilion to the Arsenale, which includes 88 participants from 37 different countries. The major concepts and messages that the theme expresses include awareness, perspective, need, opportunity, and choice, encouraging architecture to make a make a difference.

This year, the United States Pavilion presents The Architectural Imagination, an exhibition of new speculative architectural projects designed for specific sites in Detroit, Michigan. The project is co-curated by Cynthia Davidson, executive director of the nonprofit Anyone Corporation think tank in New York and editor of the international architecture journal Log, and Mónica Ponce de León, dean of Princeton University School of Architecture, founding principal of MPdL Studio, and former dean of University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, who the U.S. Department of State chose to organize the exhibition.

Together with an eleven-member Detroit advisory board, the co-curators picked four sites including vacant land along the Dequindre Cut near Eastern Market, an abandoned light industrial building and its paved surroundings in Southwest Detroit/Mexicantown, a massive U.S. Postal Service sorting facility and vacant block on the riverfront, and the abandoned and decrepit Packard Automotive Plant. Although they are specific sites, the curators want the ideas expressed by the architecture to become a model for other post-industrial cities facing similar practical challenges.

In order to select the architects, Davidson and Ponce de León issued a nationwide call for expression of interest in producing state-of-the-art architectural proposals for Detroit. With over 250 responses, Davidson and  Ponce de León selected 12 teams: A(n) Office, Detroit (Marcelo López-Dinardi, V. Mitch McEwen); BairBalliet, Chicago and Columbus, OH (Kristy Balliet, Kelly Bair); Greg Lynn FORM, Los Angeles (Greg Lynn); Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects, Atlanta (Mack Scogin, Merrill Elam); Marshall Brown Projects, Chicago (Marshall
Brown); MOS, New York (Hilary Sample, Michael Meredith); Pita & Bloom, Los Angeles (Florencia Pita, Jackilin Hah Bloom); Present Future, Houston (Albert Pope, Jesús Vassallo); Preston Scott Cohen Inc., Cambridge, MA (Preston Scott Cohen); SAA/Stan Allen Architect, New York (Stan Allen); T+E+A+M, Ann Arbor, MI (Thom Moran, Ellie Abrons, Adam Fure, Meredith Miller); Zago Architecture, Los Angeles (Andrew Zago, Laura Bouwman).

In the fall of 2015, the teams walked their project sites, and throughout the year have worked with community leaders and citizens to discuss each site’s aspirations and ideas before beginning their projects. Three architect teams were assigned to each site, whose purpose of the project is to demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness within the area. The architecture serves as an idea and makes visible hidden possibilities within the sites. The architects proposed programs and forms for the sites not as fixes for Detroit but as provocations for convening public conversations about the design challenges that face the 21st-century city.

Ponce de León’s design for the pavilion is a series of column signs announcing the exhibition in Detroit’s eight most commonly spoken languages. The 248-page cataLog, edited by Davidson, is available at the United States Pavilion and the bookshops inside the exhibition venues. The exhibit also includes 20 postcard views of Detroit, which Davidson and photographer Camilo José Vergara selected from the 463 entries to “My Detroit”, a postcard photo contest that the curators held last fall. These free souvenir postcards, many featuring images by Detroit photographers, each tell a short story about the Motor City.

The exhibition has been divided into four rooms – one for each site – and is a compilation of physical models, drawings, renderings, and various process work. Architect Greg Lynn even uses the Microsoft HoloLens in order to conceptualize and showcase his education center redesign of the Packard Plant, which has been abandoned for a half century. Other speculative projects ranged from a governmental center to house some 68,000 refugees by Andrew Zago to a vertical botanical garden by Stan Allen Architect. The exhibit will travel to the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit in February 2017.

For more information about The Architectural Imagination, visit www.thearchitecturalimagination.org

The Architectural Imagination, 2016. Packard Plant. Photo by Salam Rida.

The Architectural Imagination, 2016. Dequindre Cut. Photo by Salam Rida.

AJ Madison just announced the official launch of the AJ Madison Kitchen Design Group. The company is recognized as the industry’s foremost appliance authority, and offers an unrivaled selection of top rate appliances as well as customer service. The AJ Madison Kitchen Design Group will work with the design community through a new state-of-the-art appliance showroom in Brooklyn, where clients can experiences 60+ appliance brands in person.

AJ Madison and Miele, a manufacturer of high-end domestic products, is pleased to host a Riedel Wine Glass tasting workshop on Tuesday, June 7 (that’s tomorrow!) in order to introduce clients to their new flagship showroom. While presented with some of the newest and high-end domestic appliances at the showroom, guests will also learn about the relationship between the shape of the glass and the perception and enjoyment of wine.

Each participant will receive a complimentary Riedel Veritas Tasting Set that includes 3 glasses. The event is 21 and over. Count us in!

For more information go to: https://www.ajmadison.com/appliances/events/wine-tasting-event-june-2016

Date:

Tuesday June 7, 2016

Time:

6:00-8:00pm

Location:

AJ Madison Showroom

3605 13th Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11218

ICFF is only two days away! North America’s platform for global design is in its 28^th year and will feature more than 750 exhibitors of furnishings, textiles, and accessories for residential and commercial interiors from across the globe

For four-days from May 14 – 17, 165,000 net square feet of the Javits Center in New York will come alive with more than 32,000 interior designers, architects, retailers, representatives, distributors, facility managers, developers, manufacturers, store designers, and visual merchandisers, all under one roof. The general public are invited to attend ICFF on its final day of Tuesday, May 17.

Contingents from the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Brazilian Furniture, British European Design Group (BEDG), Ceramics of Italy, Design Philippines, Furniture New York, The Furniture Society (U.S.), Inside Norway, Interiors from Spain, HO.MI New York and Portugal Brands attend the show annually making this a truly global fair in the heart of New York City.

Not only a fair for exhibitors and visitors to launch new products or receive inspiration ICFF offers more with talks and education to awards. If you are a first time visitor or need a quick reminder, here’s our synopsis of what to expect:

Education:

The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is the ICFF’s education partner and will once again offer CEU-approved programming for all design professionals. Positioned on the show’s third floor (booth 3888), ASID at ICFF will bring together thought leaders and industry experts to present insightful content.

The tracks will include six sessions for designers on Saturday, May 14, and Sunday, May 15, with student programming on Monday, May 16. These six sessions will provide designers and architects a total of 0.6 CEU (pending IDCEC and AIA approval). Topics range from business practices to the impact of design on the human experience. Alongside these educational sessions ACTIVATE, the student experience presented by ASID, will help students kick start their interior design career with the opportunity to learn how best to engage with the profession and industry at trade shows from a curated tour of ASID National Industry Partner booths guided by professional designers, as well as the opportunity to build their network and receive one-on-one feedback on their resume and portfolio from industry professionals.

ICFF Talks:

Positioned right on the show floor, ICFF Talks features panels of industry leaders discussing changes, new introductions, materials and trends in the interior design world. Topics ranging from Designing for Small Spaces, The Advantages of a Good Design Network to Retail Stores for Today’s Savvy Shopper.

 Moderated by the editors of leading industry media such as Interior Design, Azure, Dwell, Metropolis, Surface, Wallpaper, Architizer and Interni a wide range of topics are addressed.

A full selection of the talks can be located here.

ICFF Editors Awards:

ICFF brings together the industry’s top editors to choose the best of the best of the year’s design crop.  On the opening day of the show, nine editors explore the exhibition floor looking for the most standout designs in the categories of furniture, seating, flooring, lighting, accessories, materials, wall covering, kitchen & bath, outdoor furniture, and booth design to put their stamp of approval.

Tickets and Registration:

 Trade:

• On-site registrants will be charged a $60 admission fee.
• Non-exhibiting Manufacturers are also welcome to attend the show for a $100 fee and onsite is $150 admission fee.
• Children must be accompanied by a registered attendee and will be charged a $60 admission fee.

Register here.

General Public:

Tickets may be purchased on-site (by credit card only). Tickets are $60 per person and nonrefundable.

DATES AND HOURS:

Trade

Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Monday, May 16 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

 Trade and General Public

Tuesday, May 17 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

LOCATION:

Jacob K. Javits Convention Center

(11th Avenue at 38th Street)

New York City

For the first time, designjunction, based out of the UK, will partner with Dwell on Design for NYCxDESIGN. The show will take place within the warehouse-style ArtBeam venue in New York’s cultural hotspot, Chelsea and is a must see during NYCxDESIGN.

The collaboration between designjunction—which launched in the US in May 2015—and Dwell on Design, will bring together 30 of designjunction’s premier European design brands along with Dwell on Design’s industry-renowned talk program – curated by Dwell magazine’s editor-in-chief and executive Vice President of content, Amanda Dameron – where industry experts and thought leaders from all sectors of the creative industries will ignite conversation and spark debate on the future of design.

Visitors can experience a pop-up workspace by WeWork and a cafe featuring new designs from Muuto and Vitra. Meanwhile on the speaker schedule is everything from fine dining, driverless cars to the art of boredom. Speakers over the 3 days will include Caroline Baumann, director of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museums; creative husband-and-wife duo Dorothy Cosonas, creative director of KnollTextiles, and Tim deFiebre, furniture designer and a former assistant to the late Ward Bennett; Paulo Kos of West Elm and Devin Vermeulen of WeWork to name but a few.

The Keynote speaker on Friday, May 13 is legendary graphic designer Bob Gill who will make his last speaking appearance, on his perspectives on art and design over the past 65 years.

Ahead of designjunction on May 11, 6.30pm – 8.30pm join A|N, designjunction + Dwell on Design and multiple showrooms in the Flatiron District for a night of cocktails and design!  Register here.

designjunction runs from May 13 – 15 at ArtBeam, 540 W 21st St, New York, NY 10011