Allmilmo USA Corporation, the first established European cabinet manufacturer in the United States, is heading South. They’ve elected Michael Garofalo to represent Allmilmo’s high-end line of cabinetry in Florida. The newly exclusive remodeled showroom, located at the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA), will service the southeast corridor with the latest in kitchen and bath design.

Allmilmo’s opening celebration is scheduled for July 29^th during a building-wide open house at DCOTA called, “Design of Entertaining.”  The showroom is located on the third floor of the DCOTA ‘C’ Building (Suite C-362).  Check it out over lunch…we heard that Jouvens Jean from SAWA Restaurant will be preparing a falafel and truffle tahini dish from 12 until 1pm!

And this is just the beginning…the official opening celebration will be held this Fall…more details to come!

We always love when House Beautiful takes over Rockefeller Center.  Built in a matter of days, the “Kitchen of the Year” (July 19 – 23) transforms the plaza by bringing the pages of House Beautiful to life and giving visitors the opportunity to experience the ideal American kitchen in person. While not every New Yorker might be able to fit it in their apartment (no matter how hard we wish), we can all certainly take home some design and culinary inspiration from this amazing installation. This year’s space was designed by Jeff Lewis, star of Bravo’s Flipping Out. Dream of Californication (Jeff’s vision of the modern lifestyle)…this fully functional, 1000 sq ft kitchen has been serving up design treats all week…from tastings and cooking demonstrations to tours and presentations.

The 2010 House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year features innovative components from a host of partners, including Benjamin Moore paint and stains, Bertolli pasta sauces, Calvin Klein Home accessories, CaesarStone countertops, The Container Store kitchen and storage solutions, Design Within Reach furnishings, Dial Soap, Home Made Simple cleaning products, a Jeff Soderbergh dining table, Jenn-Air appliances, Kate Spade tabletop accessories, Kohler faucets and sinks, KraftMaid cabinetry, Kravet fabrics, Mohawk flooring and carpet, Nature’s Pride bread, Restoration Hardware outdoor furniture, Sunbrella awnings and outdoor fabrics, SunBrite outdoor televisions, Toblerone chocolate, Truvia natural sweetener, and Walker Zanger tiles.

The Kitchen of the Year will be open daily through Friday, July 23.

“California has long epitomized a modern lifestyle that many Americans dream about. Jeff is bringing his vision of a contemporary kitchen to the heart of New York City,” said Newell Turner, editor-in-chief.

“My personality is reflected in my design. I don’t like clutter or confined spaces, and I need things to be clean and minimal,” said Lewis. “I wanted this kitchen to reflect my lifestyle and how I entertain. It leans more modern with a mixture of natural elements for warmth. The result is a sophisticated multi-functional living space.”

The kitchen also boasts and additional 1,000 square feet of outdoor living space in the form of elegant decks fully furnished for entertaining.

Previous Kitchens have celebrated the styles of Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa) and noted kitchen designer Christopher Peacock.

One of the things on our design radar next month is the 7 W New York Gift and Home Textiles Market® (August 13 – 19) and NYC Baby & Kids Fair (August 16 – 18) – great events for the trade and especially gift and baby and kid product buyers. As usual, the building has a stacked schedule of great events that are both fun and invaluable to attendees.

Highlights:

The market experiences a British invasion on the first Friday of the show as the UK Trade & Investment of the British Consulate-General NY will host a Uniquely UK – Preview Reception (7 W Reception Suite • C102) from 4-6 pm. On display will be a selection of top-notch giftware from across the pond. We hear yummy British delicacies will also be on offer.

One of the hottest trends in the retail business today? Pop-Up Shop retailing. Pop-Up Shop maven Christina Norsig has chosen 7 W to kick-off of her ground-breaking new series, Pop-Up Shop 101 which will be on Saturday at 4 in 7 W’s event suite. An outgrowth of Norsig’s extensive experience launching numerous successful pop-up stores, Pop-Up Shop 101 is a multi-tiered platform of programs and services that provide practical, step-by-step guidance to retailers and landlords looking to kick-start their own pop-up ventures. Post presentation, attendees can fête FIT students’ contribution to an impressive Pop-Up Shop Gallery. The special exhibit is made up of product assortments and visual merchandising and marketing plans — all based on 7 W products.

On Monday at 1pm, past nominees and winners of the Retail Excellence Awards will take center stage in the 11th floor event space to discuss what it takes to be an award recipient. Topics covered will be store design, marketing, visual merchandising, and use of the internet to have an award-winning business.

Throughout the show free Facebook/Twitter for Business tutorial sessions will be on offer in the 7 W Buyer’s Lounge. Also, Tech- savvy attendees can now “check-in” to 7 W as they are now officially on Foursquare.

If you’re a designer registered with Kravet and Lee Jofa through e-designtrade.com, you’re in luck. You can check stock, order memo samples and check the status of your orders at any time right from your phone. Contact information and an interactive map of store locations around the globe can be viewed using eDesign Assistant as well.

It seems like July 14^th is shaping up to be design center day! In addition to firstLOOK at the NYDC, the Washington Design Center is hosting the American Design Day down in DC,.  It marks the debut of The MADE: In America “All American Room.” The setting, meant to foster an American design aesthetic and inspire designers to create rooms that evoke classic American style, was created by Bielecky Brothers, Inc. and a specially recruited MADE: In America team of design professionals.  It will be featured in the AmericanEye Showroom, Suite 511.

Head to the AmericanEye Showroom tomorrow from 10am-5pm to see the debut of The MADE: In American "All American Room"

In June, our team at Design-Calendar decided to add a new section to our monthly e-newsletter, eSPY. Have you seen it?  It’s called the “A-List: Resource of the Month”.  We know its hard to plan an event so we’ve asked our editors to pick a few of their favorite caterers, florists, photographers, you name it.  Each month, we’ll be featuring a new resource.  And if we’re not seeing, hearing, tasting what you are…feel free to drop us a line.  In fact, just the other day we learned about Amanda Smith Caterers, a boutique catering and event planning company based in NYC. A permanent supporter of cultural events, Amanda Smith and her staff have been creating family-style picnic baskets for the past eight years to enhance the summer experience of the Concerts in the Park series.  This year, the New York Philharmonic has chosen these baskets as the ones to offer to their perennial fans.  The NYC concert series starts on July 13. The all-inclusive baskets are $35 and a good fun way to get a taste of what Amanda (and Chef Kathleen McEwan) can do for your corporate or private event!

amandasmithcaters.com

Art enthusiasts, fashion lovers and anyone else who suffers from midweek blues, should plan to be in London soaking up bohemian charm at a FirstWednesdays event. This new initiative in Notting Hill, West London’s creative hub, was launched in May 2010 by Samir Ceric of Salon Contemporary and Deborah Spencer of Wolf&Badger PR. It is held on the first Wednesday of each month  at some of the area’s most exciting art galleries, design shops, studios, fashion boutiques, restaurants and bars, who all come together for a series of late night openings and special events, with most everyone offering exclusive discounts.

The next FirstWednesdays event will take place on Wednesday July 7, from 6pm – 9 pm. This month’s highlights include; a talk from Ben Buchanan about his experiences as in-house photographer at Manhattan’s Area night club during the Warhol era, curator Yvonna Dempczynska’s discussion at Flow Contemporary, and the opportunity to meet current director Claire, great-granddaughter of Oliver Goldsmith, at the chic eyewear boutique. All participating venues will be open until 9pm, with an after-party at the recently re-launched Lonsdale cocktail bar, where free drinks will be offered to flyer holders and the semi-final World Cup game will be screened. Bohemian bistro Bloody French will offer a special FirstWednesdays deal to diners

Click here for more information and full listings.

In conjunction with Tivoli Audio’s 10^th Anniversary they are hosting the Global Design Challenge. Designers, illustrators and photographers are invited to design a poster using their medium of choice and enter to win three cash prizes. The first place poster will also be on a billboard in Times Square and be seen my millions. These exclusive table radios, which hold sophisticated and modern design to high esteem, are sure to encourage some unique posters that evoke the exquisiteness of the radios. For more information visit Tivoli Audio or Designboom.com. If you are enthused by Tivoli then pick up a pen, some paintbrushes or open up Photoshop and put together a poster that includes the new Tivoli Audio model 10 and the Tivoli Audio logo that shows just how you are inspired! And for those of us that are not quite as creative keep an eye out for the winning poster in Times Square.

Tivoli Audio Limited Edition 10th Anniversary Radio

Today’s society is becoming more and more revolved around technology, which has led to the increase in mass production and the need for the “next big thing.”  With so many consumers having exact copies of the same products, people have become more interested in creativity and obtaining the ability to create something no one else has. The lines between consumers and designers have been blurred and more people are looking for new ways to personalize design and increase their sense of individuality. Enter TechnoCRAFT, industrial designer Yves Béhar’s design exhibition that will be making its debut in San Francisco this July at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

This major exhibit will display the current progression of consumers and designers while showing various examples of personalized design. Béhar has certainly done his research, 18 months of it to be exact, in which he studied craftsmen ranging from the everyday person to the very tech-savvy entrepreneur; all people interested in the enhancement of the individualized marketplace  His findings gave him the idea to separate his exhibition into six themes: Crowdsourcing, Platforms, Blueprints, Hacks, Incompletes and Modules. Each of these six categories uses their own specific technique to enable consumers to contribute to the uniqueness of their product.

There is no doubt that social and technological trends have added to the opportunities people have to become more creative. As seen currently, and definitely more in the future, innovative products will lead to a new way of selling.

Aside from showcasing different customizable products, TechnoCRAFT will also play videos demonstrating the various companies’ design processes. An opening performance featuring the Marijn van der Poll DO CHAIRS for Droog among others will provide an up-close display of products shown at the exhibit. If you’re in San Francisco between July 10 and October 3, check out Béhar’s show to see how design is changing for yourself.