Meta, which is bankrolled by the British auction house Mallett, made its much-hyped debut with seven pieces created by high-profile designers. Tord Boontje created a cabinet that was covered in glass leaves and fitted with a bronze coat tree inside fashioned by master craftsmen from around the world.
A multi-room dream house for the Dutch collective Moooi offered a little Marcel Wanders-lust. The designer showcased Couture, his line of wallpaper for Graham & Brown, and Wanders-designed carpet tiles sported tartans and flower prints. Upholstery even bore his likeness.
Around the corner one could find Maarten Baas, who gained acclaim with his collection of charred antiques. He now has Chinese woodworkers carving elm in the shape of those cheap plastic chairs on so many patios.
Holding court in an auto repair shop, he displayed one of his newest pieces for the British firm Established & Sons. Looking like a Ms. Pac-Man had morphed into a dresser, the design is defiantly odd and cute, like a piece from the 1970s movement Memphis had been fished out of the dustbin and rehabbed.
"Perfection is smooth and symmetrical and straight," Baas said, sipping a highboy as reggae music blasted around him. "I really believe in the opposite, using intuition and having room to play. Spontaneity is missing in so many rationalized products that go from a sketch to a drawing to a computer rendering to a prototype, and at the end there is no heart and soul anymore."
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david.keeps@latimes.com
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Five more design notes from Milan
Cool colors: Orange and red aren't quite dead, but the trendiest hues -- purple, green, silver, even pale magenta -- have a blue streak. The color of the season falls somewhere between turquoise and cobalt, as shown on the Fly chair by Arco.
Spring awakening: Antlers and wintry forest creatures have been replaced by trees, butterflies, mushrooms and daisies, often rendered with "Brady Bunch" cheeriness. The motifs can be found on rugs, clocks and lighting fixtures. One cute example: Donna Wilson's TreeHug, a tall beanbag trunk and branches covered in knitted lamb's wool, available through Case Furniture.
Ethnic diversity: Just when you think you've seen every native pattern interpreted for home decor, Edra rolls out Francesco Binfare's platform cushions in Korean fabrics and Moroso showcases a Nanook collection that takes its inspiration from the geometric graphics of the Inuit culture.
Surrealism: Zana's Dama bedroom suite includes dressers and nightstands with drawers that evoke Man Ray's famed eyes. British designer Jake Phipps' Jeeves & Wooster pendant light shaped like a black derby was a tip of the hat to Rene Magritte; available through Hidden Art Shop.
Lighting with less: Over-the-top crystal chandeliers also lightened up. Brand van Egmond's Floating Candles are metal fixtures cast as melting wax chamber sticks, and Meta's lantern is one giant crystal made with 24 glass panes set in a silvery metal called paktong.
-- David A. Keeps
