Spazio Rossana Orlandi | Milan 2010.

Needlepoint taxidermy by Frederique Morrel was seriously mind blowing.

Entry to the Spazio on the left, and the super cool Rossana hanging in the courtyard. I’m so glad that my friend and partner in crime who took this photo, Mark Leib, has no shame and he just went for it. Thanks Marky for the killer pic! Seriously, how awesome is Rossana. I love her style to bits.

Man, I have to be the slowest blogger ever to report on Milan Design Week! Sorry guys – my jet-lag is a complete shocker and I’m really struggling with beating my cold. But enough with excuses. I will do my best to make your wait worth while, so I decided to kick off my report by telling you about my favourite Milan moment(s).

Spazio Rossana Orlandi was on top of my list during this trip to Milan. I remember that it came on my radar just after I last visited the city in 2007, and I was annoyed that I hadn’t heard about it earlier and that I didn’t get to visit it back then. Since that time, many other people have recommended it and I’ve also seen it mentioned in a few design guides and books. I figured – all this fuss couldn’t be for nothing.

And let me tell you… I was absolutely blown away. Hard. This would have to be one of the best things I’ve ever seen and experienced in my life. It may be a massive call, but I stand by it. I was so impressed, that I went there not once, but twice. And that really says something considering how much there is to do and see in Milan during the design week.

The central courtyard at Spazio Rossana Orlandi with a revamped Volkswagen by Bokja Design, which was being auctioned for charity.

Various bits of fabulousness at the Spazio. I though that the wooden animals in top left image were hilarious. I know, I need to grow up! Top Right – lacquered timber by Piet Hein Eek.

Rossana is a true innovator. She is famous for scooping up exclusive lines from small designers with big talent. It is so easy to see why her Spazio has become a must on the Milan design circuit. This former factory is so much more then just a showcase for everything from high-end sofas to plastic forks and coloured toilet paper.

It is also a laboratory for emerging designers.

A nucleus of genius!

Concentration of pure awesomeness!!

The central courtyard is a feast of foliage, found objects, iconic and vintage furniture and good food. This year there was an old Volkswagen near the entry which was transformed by the design studio Bokja with an international patchwork of brightly coloured fabrics. Courtyard’s entire back wall was covered with an installation of 3D old embroidery by the French artist Frederique Morrel, who made an effort to highlight the dying art of needlework. Not only is the courtyard simply stunning, it was also brilliant for people watching and spotting design celebrities, such a Patricia Urquiola. But despite being by far one of the coolest places to hang out in Milan, the overall atmosphere was quite relaxed, unpretentious and so natural. And this is precisely what I loved about the Spazio the most.

Super beautiful Bocci light installation.

Top image – beautiful installation by a German designer Alexa Lixfeld. Oversized knits by Christien Meinderstma in the bottom right image. Bottom left – I can’t remember. Oops!

Top – Restart 10 by Maurizio Navone gets a big yes from me. I especially love the gorgeous table lamp on the far left. Bottom Left – I loved Constance Guisset‘s Duplex birdcage/ fishbowl. Bottom Right – Vertigo pendant by Constance Guisset.

Top  – Fabric vegetables by Scholten & Baijings. Aren’t they just incredible?! Bottom – Autarchy installation by Studio Formafantasma. This collection includes pots and lamps made of flour, agricultural waste and limestone. Amazing.

Even the corridors and the office space looked like an installation/ old movie set.

Above – Conversations installation by Bokja Design. Below – Piet Hein Eek’s installation and exhibition.

There is a maze of spaces which lead off the central courtyard that play host to installations by emerging and established designers. I gasped a lot and often. Around every corner there was yet another surprise in this visual wonderland. {I felt a little bit like Alice!}

I’m guessing by now you all realise how much I loved this place, right? And just as I thought it was over, I climbed up a narrow steel stair all the way to the top floor and there it was… *queue angelic “laaaah” sound*… {I really hope this doesn’t get lost in translation}… The most incredible, visually arresting retail space full to the brim with the most amazing things you could ever imagine.

It was a riot of texture and colour. Pure visual ecstasy! I died! And then I died again!!

Rossana – you are a dead-set legend. I want to be you when I grow up.

That’s all.

SPAZIO ROSSANA ORLANDI
Via Matteo Bandello 14/16
20123 Milan, Italy

Retail space above – it’s seriously awesome! This riot of color and texture seems to perfectly embody Rossana’s unprecious more-is-more philosophy. Extreme love!

The cafe was closed both times I visited so you’ll have to excuse the reflections in the photos as I took them through a glass door.