If It's Hip, It's Here (Archives): Milan's Salone Internazionale del Mobile

Islands Caesarstone raw edges hero IIHIH

As part of their ongoing commitment to creating new platforms for design, Caesarstone has collaborated with London design studio Raw Edges to produce Islands. The brief was to re-examine the domestic environment and the use of surface. With their signature creativity, Raw-Edges transforms the surface into the structure itself. Available in a range of sizes and proportions, Islands is designed for different functions within the home.

caesarstone raw edges islands kitchen ganged 1 IIHIH

caesarstone raw edges islands kitchen ganged 2 IIHIH

Veering away from the common modular system, Islands reshapes the typical interior arrangement by positioning the working surface as the binding element of its design. A display of cabinetry, appliances or separate units is slotted into voids within the surface itself instead of being placed atop or around it. Islands offers a new take on a variety of domestic spaces: kitchens, bathrooms and spaces whose surfaces answer more emotional domestic needs such as a space to play and a space to display objects.

caesarstone raw edges Bathroom Island IIHIH

caesarstone raw edges islands aquarium ganged IIHIH

Raw-Edges investigates the interaction between different sizes, materials, colours and textures within the interior space. Inspiration is drawn from Caesarstone's Classico collection and in particular from its 2014 Supernatural designs, whose countertops star as the focal point of Islands. The surfaces' strength, durability, textures and natural looking designs complement the different materials from which the separate units are made, such as reclaimed wood, terracotta, glass and other materials found in a domestic environment. The design celebrates the daily function, origin and importance of the units which are commonly hidden away behind a unified façade.

caesarstone raw edges islands planter ganged IIHIH

caesarstone raw edges islands ping pong ganged IIHIH

Raw-Edges founders Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay describe Islands as: “a great opportunity to experiment with everyday areas like kitchens and bathrooms. We always strive towards the alternative, the humorous and always question the traditional approach to design.” They add: “If in a common kitchen the surface is only a top layer that covers the kitchen units, here we would like to propose the surface as the core of the kitchen which holds the different elements together in quite an unexpected way.”

Eli Feiglin, VP of marketing at Caesarstone remarks: "Caesarstone is continuously seeking new and creative ways in which to reaffirm its position as a global trendsetter and leader in the industry. We are proud to work with a designer who rethinks the domestic environment, explores the surfaces' unique properties and who may enhance them with a creative exploration of colours and materials."

The following video was created with miniature models:

Video credits:
Client: Caeserstone
Designers: Yael Mer & Shay Alkalay
Scale Models: Raw Edges Design Studio
Production: Seeing The Brick Motion Studio
Director: Maarten Vranken
DOP: Gunter Blokken & Maarten Vranken
Animators: Maarten Vranken & Jan Kegels
Music & SFX: Jeroen De Meyer
2014 © Seeing The Brick Motion Studio

Caesarstone will present a further exploration of Islands with an interactive installation focusing on food and dining within the domestic environment.

• Islands by Raw Edges for Casaerstone will be presented at Palazzo Criveli Via Clerici 5, Milan
• Opening times April 9-13, 10AM - 6PM,
• April 8- late night preview 10AM - 8PM

info and images courtesy of Caesarstone, and the Instagram photos used in this post are from from the preview at the Interior Design Show in Toronto and are courtesy of Caesarstone CA.

Caesarstone
Raw Edges

So many great journalists and bloggers covered the Milan Furniture Fair /the Milan Salone Mobili / Milan's Salone Internazionale del Mobile/ Milan Design Week or whatever you prefer to call it. It would be redundant and pointless for me to do the same, so here are links to some of the round-ups, slide shows, video diaries, Flickr albums and more.

First of all, what is it?

The Salone Internazionale del Mobile together with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition, returns - from 16th to 21st this year – at the Milan Fairgrounds at Rho with a huge range of superlative exhibits. This event that is unlike any other, anywhere in the world, is not just the leading event in the home/contract furnishing sector at global level, but also a matchless occasion for an international meeting of minds – not to mention business, image and communication.

As always, there is an infinite variety of goods on offer. The Salone Internazionale del Mobile, together with the International Furnishing Accessories Exhibition is a showcase for excellence covering all types of domestic furnishing, from single pieces to coordinates, and every conceivable style, from classic to design to modern, not to mention trendsetters.

Beside the excellence of the commercial offering, the huge variety of new products, the choreographed display stands and the faultless arrangements that ensure that any visit to the exhibition complex is rendered easier and more user-friendly, I Saloni have put together an unmissable range of collateral events both at the exhibition centre and in the city.

The greatest surprise will be the event set against the backdrop of the of the Sala delle Cariatidi at Palazzo Reale, in which an internationally -renowned artist and an icon of Milan's and Italy's cultural heritage par excellence will take part, as well as one of the most famous works of art in the world.