Artemest and TED Milano Create a Sleep No More -Worthy Design Event During Salone
On view through April 14 during Salone del Mobile is a unique collaboration between Artemest, the e-tailer of Italian artisan goods, and design resource TED Milano. This is the second partnership for the two design brands, and is housed in TED Milano’s 1930s two-story villa at Via Giovanni Randaccio 5 in the city’s chic Sempione neighborhood. “Living Objects,” which will be open throughout the week from 11 AM to 8 PM, showcases Artemest-designed interiors in the landmark structure. “Each and every piece of furniture, lighting, wallpaper, and decor made by Italian artisans is for sale,” Marco Credendino, co-founder and CEO of Artemest, tells AD PRO. Credendino and his partner, jewelry designer Ippolita Rostagno, wanted to create a complete design space to show off these artisanal pieces in an interactive way through vignettes. “Visitors will be both audience and guests in this visual delight of a dream-like home setting,” says Rostagno.
Visitors will enter on the first floor via an entryway leading to a living room, library, bedroom, dining room, and terrace. Downstairs is a screening room and game room. The interactive, performative, and technological element comes into play as actors, performers, and dancers from the Milan-based theater company MoveOn depict private familial situations in the various rooms. “The idea behind ‘Living Objects’ is to literally bring art to life by mixing theater, music, cinema and, of course, design,” says Credendino. “The main objectives were to show the human and product interaction and to represent different ways of art coexisting with design.” This is the first time the duo has created a full home interior project inspired by the immersive theater show Sleep No More, which has run for years at the McKittrick Hotel in New York City. “This is something completely new in the design realm that is always more focused on the products than the use of them,” explains Credendino.
Every single item in the home is available for purchase and the space is open to the public all week. Visitors can scan a QR code, pull up the product page on their mobile phone, and order online on the spot—no human interaction required. Or, they can use Artemest’s app. “Technology has always been the perfect way to get closer to our audience and allow international art and design lovers to find unique, one-of-a-kind, handmade products,” says Credendino. “Having people come to Milan from every corner of the world, we felt that Milan Design Week was the perfect time to execute the idea we have been thinking for a long time.” The team has already received requests to bring the experience to other cities, and is thinking about a United States tour. “We would love to become the ambassadors for exceptional design product,” Credendino says.
