NEW010 wraps up

NEW010, a collaboration between Nexus Designs and ACCA, wrapped up in style with an industry event that coincided with the launch of Vogue Living's May/June issue. Vogue Living Senior Editor Annemarie Keily was joined in discussion with Hannah Mathews, Danielle Midalia, Susan Jacobs and Lou Hubbard. Over 300 guests enjoyed canapes and refreshments whilst reviewing the seven artist-designer installations that made up the exhibition.

A big thank you to the NEW010 exhibition supporters: Liquid Lines, Dulux, Stylecraft, Euroluce, Boyac, Forbo, Viridian, Vogue Living and Hugo Michell Gallery.

Vogue Living featured the event in the latest July/August issue. These images, taken by Natalie Nowotarski are shown below, along with installation shots by photographer Chris Capurro.

Hannah Mathews, Danielle Midalia and Susan Jacobs.

Guests listening to the panel discussion.

Bethanie Ereaut with Eve Sayer.

The team from Euroluce admire Alicia Frankovich's Medea.

Geoff and Lindy Midalia with Lou Hubbard's Dead Still.

David Lloyd Jones, Juliana Engberg and Michael Malignaggi.

Fiona Connor's installation, What you bring with you to work.

Susan Jacobs' Being under no illusion.

Interior view of Susan Jacobs' installation, designed by Nexus Designs and constructed by Liquid Lines.

The upside down garden by Alicia Frankovich, titled Medea.

Arlo Mountford's work, Don't bite the horse's mouth where you eat, my friend.

Harley's Milan Adventure...

Marcel Wanders and Phillipe Starck are two designers that stamped their mark at this year's Milan Furniture Fair. Patricia Urquiola is another.

Wandering the various halls at the fair and the streets of Milan you could not help notice their names popping up everywhere.

The word ubiquitous truly applies to these three designers.

They continue their dominance within and outside the furniture industry, stamping their unique designs on so many products. Urquiola is designing bags for Ferragamo and baths for Agape with both Starck and Wanders designing crystal objects for Baccarat.

Phillipe Starck's Magic Hole collection is a slightly different approach for Kartell as well as Piero Lissoni's Audrey chair which is made of a die-cast aluminum frame, meaning it's a single continuous piece of metal with no seams. This is quite a departure from their transparent and coloured polycarbonate pieces we are so used to seeing from Kartell.

Kartell has also engaged Starck to extend the Ghost Buster's range with a Night Table and Dresser.

Other new items by Starck for Kartell include the Super Impossible Chair, the King Top, Tip Top and Top Less table collection, the polycarbonate chair Masters as well as the Tic et Tac clock.

Starck developed the Mi Ming chair for XO, a very interesting chair that looks like a cross between Hans Wegner's classic Wishbone chair and the Louis Ghost range.

Marcel Wanders has been just as prolific in creating designs for many manufacturers including XO - The Eden collection consisting of tables, chairs and stools and the Babel chair.

Magis engaged Wanders to create the Sparkling chair produced from plastic using a blow moulding technique. It's transparent form and rounded legs remind us of soda/mineral water bottles. It's a fun chair with almost cartoon like features. The Cyborg chair is another of Wanders creations for Magis, as well as one chair I particularly liked - the Troy chair, with a unique motif applied to the seat and back sections (the motif derived from ancient Greek mythology). It is available with a translucent plastic or wooden back.

Patricia Urquiola's Comback chair for Kartell is reminiscent of a classic Windsor chair but with a contemporary context. This single moulded chair is made from batch dyed thermoplastic technopolymer.

Other Urquiola designs include The Bend sofas for B&B Italia, the Scriba desk for Molteni & Co and the Manga rug series for Gandia Blasco.

The Fergana collection for Moroso illustrates the extensive research undertaken by Urquoila. The textiles used for this design combine ancient weaving techniques from Uzebekistan with modern European industrial manufacturing techniques. The sofa is not intended to be placed against a wall but as an island, which is traditional for Uzbekistan seating.

Other Moroso collections designed by Urquoila include Silver Lake, Rift, New Spring and Klara collections.

One can only imagine what impact and creations these three extraordinary prolific designers, Starck, Wanders and Urquiola will have on next year's Fair?

Nexus in Milan - it's that time again!

Harley Anstee, our Managing Director, will represent Nexus Designs this year at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (International Furniture Fair) in Milan, Italy. Check back soon for a report on the latest trends in colour, furniture, product and all things design!

NEW010: A Nexus Designs & ACCA collaboration

Early last year Nexus Designs approached the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, ACCA, with a proposition to create an exhibition founded on the principle of collaboration. ACCA’s annual NEW exhibition series offers selected artists the means and support to create a new work and have it shown in their exhibition galleries. This year, with Nexus Designs as the Collaborating Design Partner, NEW has been reinvigorated.

Nexus Designs' re-branding of the NEW logo.

Nexus Designs have turned ACCA’s galleries into seven individual sites, each with their own new intervention. Elements of the internal architecture have been peeled back, other parts squeezed, some lowered and others raised in a way that makes the galleries new and unexpected. The seven selected artists, in collaboration with Nexus Designs, ACCA and a variety of industry specialists, have responded to the spaces to produce an ambitious and exciting series of art installations.

This special 2010 edition of NEW recognises the fruitful exchange of ideas and skills that are often assembled in the design process, but which sometimes remain unacknowledged. So what does happen when artists, designers, curators, manufacturers, a horticulturalist, a physicist, and an eco-friendly builder collaborate? Come and find out.

NEW010 runs 18 March to 23 May, 2010

Exhibition Opening on Wednesday 17 March,

6.00pm to 8.00pm

Australian Centre for Contemporary Art,

111 Sturt Street, Southbank

A model of the gallery reveals an interesting 'spatial narrative' used to design the exhibition.

Construction in progress at NEW010.

One of the artist's work arriving at the gallery.

A sneak peak into one of the exhibition gallery spaces.

It's in Vogue, darling...

See Jane's house on page 174 of the November/December 2009
VOGUE LIVING magazine

Bowling for Breast Cancer

Some of our Graphic and Interior Designers recently bowled with Stylecraft for Breast Cancer.

"Since it's humble beginnings three years ago, the annual BFBC event has now raised over $50,000 to assist in research for the prevention and treament of cancers affecting women," Anthony Collins, Managing Director Stylecraft.


Nexus Designs dressed for a good cause as Cowboys and Indians.
Katherine, Danielle, Robert, Sonia, Daniel, Samantha and Milly.

The Stylecraft team dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz.

A Slice of the Big Apple & More

Danielle Midalia, Interior & Graphic Designer, reports on her recent trip to the USA and Singapore, where she soaked up The Grand Canyon sun, met with the Maharam team in New York, fell in love with The Highline and ventured to the Red Dot Design Museum.

It was over forty degrees as we choppered down into the valley of the Canyon, but well worth it. The sights were breathtaking.

Once a dilapidated section of elevated railroad running through lower west Manhattan, The Highline is now a beautifully converted greenway designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro and James Corner Field Operations.

Such acute attention to detail in every element of the park.

After a tour of their inspiring design studio, Pascal Manzari took me to the new Maharam showroom in the D&D Building followed by lunch at his favourite local. A great day.

The team at Maharam, New York.

Making sample selection easy!

Fabrics on display in the showroom.

Sculptural work at the Red Dot Design Museum in Singapore.

The White Rabbit located in the Dempsey area of Singapore and designed by Takenouchi Webb is certainly in my top hospitality 5. As a restored old chapel the restaurant boasts high ceilings, stained glass windows, a retained mosaic floor and lots of attention to detail.

Nexus Designs / AIS Event

More than fifty architectural product company representatives came to hear Harley Anstee and Sonia Simpfendorfer divulge the secrets of how to influence designers on 28.09.09.

Harley and Sonia enjoyed presenting their 9 top tips to an enthusiastic group of AIS' key company reps.

Much thanks to Sally Darling (AIS)