A weekly Saturday recap to share with you our favorite links, discoveries, exhibitions, and more from the past seven days. This week: two new hospitality offerings in Milan that lean into the city’s design heritage in different ways, plus a Stine Goya–curated exhibition (above), the perfect rugs for cozy ski chalets, and a comfy task chair that’s on this writer’s Christmas list.

Design Tide Tokyo

Daisuke Yamamoto

Yuri Humiro

Yuki Hidano

Kuo Duo

Kodak Iwamoto

Rikuo Takata

Sakura Momma

Hiroaki Kawanami

Aatismo

This year’s edition of Design Tide  in Tokyo just wrapped up, returning with a bang after a 12-year hiatus, and Jill and Monica were honored to be chosen as part of the team of directors for the event. As expected, there was an insane amount of talent on show from emerging Japanese designers, many of whom are experimenting with color, shape, and material in fun and innovative ways. For example, studio Aatismo filled the gaps in pumice stone tiles with bright blue material to strengthen and enliven their surfaces, and Daisuke Yamamoto created a chair from angled planes of lightweight gauge steel that were given an iridescent finish using an electrolytic treatment. The Point Line Plane shelving unit by Hiroaki Kawanami, comprising a square grid of shelves criss-crossed with blue thread, is so minimal that it appears two-dimensional from the right vantage points. Sakura Momma made a beautiful interpretation of traditional Japanese armor by sewing together thin transparent fabric with wire, while Yuki Hidano applied resin to woven cotton material that expands and hardens into pleated vessels, and Yuri Himuro created a lenticular blanket that presents different colors depending on the viewing angle. We also loved the geometric wooden tables patterned with ink by Rikuo Takata, the ultra-streamlined Arrow lamp by Kodai Iwamoto, and Kuo Duo‘s collection made from wood dyed with Semi ink.

Interiors

A new addition to Milan’s culinary scene that we’ll be bookmarking for Salone in April, especially since it’s only a block away from Bar Basso! Sandì occupies a 1960s bakery on Via Hayez, which has been renovated by BB Studio. The vegetable-heavy menu is based on chef Laura Santosuosso’s childhood in Emilia Romano, and her classic family recipes have been updated with contemporary twists. Many of the design details – like the terrazzo flooring, dark walnut paneling, and veined stone — are quintessentially Milanese, but these have been pared back somewhat to create a relatively minimalist interior. A wall of fluted polycarbonate panels framed in blackened brass covers the back wall, and includes a central hatch that swings open when needed. The stracciatella-style stone is employed for countertops, shelving and wall paneling, while a corner storage unit with curved shelves is built from brushed metal. Folded circle sconces match the cream-colored walls, and flowers presented in minimal metal-tube vases add finishing touches. Photos © Claudia Zalla

Also newly opened in Milan is The Wilde, a private members’ club inside a 20,000-square-foot modernist villa on Brera’s Via dei Giardini. Designed in 1954 by Carlo De Carli and Antonio Carminati, the building has been brought back to life by Italian designer Fabrizio Casiraghi using plenty of local materials and products. Pink-lacquered wood, velvet and travertine interplay with walnut furniture and an eclectic art collection displayed throughout. The club includes three restaurants, a cigar lounge, a rooftop, and private event and dining spaces for members to enjoy, as well as a wide variety of programming and activations. Following this inaugural location, there’s also plans for clubs in New York City, London, Los Angeles and more, so watch this space! 

Discoveries

For all of us ready to get cozy, Beni Rugs has launched its Chalet collection of fluffy thick-pile carpets that are perfect for the Alps and Aspen alike. The warm tones of the wool rugs were chosen to complement the wood-forward interiors found in mountain resorts, such as the one in Gstaad owned by art collector Emmanuel de Bayser that’s shown in the editorial photography. Like all of Beni’s products, the carpets are crafted in Morocco, but these specifically feature motifs and emblems that you might find in historic Swiss chalets. The overall vibe is cozy luxury, and makes you want to curl up beside a roaring open fire.

Calico Wallpaper’s latest collaboration is with Joe Baker, an artist of Lenape descent, and is named Unami after the Native tribe’s dialect. His imagery for the wallpaper is based around the blossoms of tulip trees, which hold special significance for the Lenape. The foliage is “strangely tropical in appearance” with pale yellow, orange and citron green petals, which Baker has interpreted through gestural paintings and various colorways, and then layered with hand-applied metal leaf paper. The wallpaper complements his installation that’s part of Making Home, the Smithsonian Design Triennial exhibition currently on show at the Cooper Hewitt museum in New York.

Knoll has launched a 1973 task chair with pillow-like upholstered seats and backs in a “remastered palette” of colors and fabrics, and after using a plastic dining chair in my home office for the past year (don’t @ me!) I’m really hoping Santa will leave one under my tree. The Morrison Hannah was designed by Andrew Morrison and Bruce Hannah as an easy, comfortable, flexible option to fit into any environment, and the chair has now been upgraded with better foam and a wider range of tilt for an even more enjoyable sitting experience. There’s four models, six frames, and a range of textiles and leathers to choose from.

Exhibitions

The latest exhibition at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg has been curated by none other than Danish fashion designer Stine Goya, who delved into the museum’s collection and hand-picked works that resonate with her practice, and “form a story of separation, longing, dreams and desire.” Eschewing the typical art history slant of museum exhibitions in favor of a narrative based around aesthetics, sensory stimulation, and personal preference, the Kunsten hopes to make its collection more accessible and draw in new audiences. The scenography for Goya’s curation is bright and pastel-hued, with some pieces displayed behind thick cream curtains held open by tie-backs, and others mounted on pale-pink walls. More than enough to get us through the door.

Last month, a wide range of vintage vessels sourced by Brooklyn-based Past Lives found their way to Cuff Studio’s Melrose Hill gallery, where they were exhibited amongst the brand’s contemporary furniture and lighting. The selection of pieces curated by Past Lives founder Carly Krieger ranged across Art Deco, 1970’s Italian, mid-century Scandinavian, and Japanese ceramic items. Several pieces from Svenskt Tenn caught our eye, including a pair of 1930’s pewter vases with scalloped handles that we’re utterly obsessed with. Titled Sustainably Styled, the exhibition is closing this weekend.