Saturday in Design | Melbourne, 2010.

In front of Stylecraft showroom on Flinders Lane.

Gorgeous paper installation byRMIT Interior Design students inside Stylecraft showroom called “Floating Form”. The students had a strict 6 week lead-time and a $2000 budget to work with. The installation consisted of 1200 hand folded ‘chatterboxes’ which linked the two showroom floors and it cost just over $1200. Incredible what a little bit of imagination {and a lot of love!} can do, right? Well done guys – I though that this was one of the best things at SiD this year.

Stylecraft launched a few new products which I really liked, including this lovely 1950s adaptation chair called Babela, designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. Frames available in white, black, grey, natural and walnut. Stackable up to 10 pieces and it’s quite reasonably priced. Love!

One of my all time favourites – Jielde LOFT floor lamp by Jean-Louis Demecq from Euroluce. Those colours are just so delicious.

InterfaceFLOR exhibition at Zambesi titled Dekonstrukt/Rekonstrukt. Top “The Stuggle” by Woodhead. Bottom – I don’t remember, sorry! Please let me know if you do and I will amend.

More from InterfaceFLOR exhibition at Zambesi. Top left – Y2 architects. Top right – “The space we inhabit” by Geyer. Bottom two installations byWhitehouse.

More from InterfaceFLOR. Top two – “The Other I” by Space Left. Bottom left by Trout Creative. Bottom right by Moth Design.

Some pics from HUB furniture. Ok, so this is technically cheating as HUB didn’t participate at this year’s SiD but I still love their showroom and couldn’t resist posting these images. I blogged about their Sydney showroom right here. Beautiful cast glass BOCCI pendants in top left image – swoon.

More eye candy from HUB – super awesome Bitossi ceramics (Rimini Blu range in top image, to be exact).

Saturday in Design is an annual trade event for design industry professionals which alternates between Sydney and Melbourne each year. This year it was Melbourne’s turn and I found myself with a perfect excuse to visit one of my favourite cities in the world and mix work with pleasure. Awesome.

I had every intention to visit as many of the 60 odd participating exhibitors and showrooms, but I found myself extremely distracted by the social aspect of the event – I was constantly bumping into colleagues, friends and suppliers from all over the place, many of whom I hadn’t seen in ages. This caused me to move at a glacial pace and as a result I’m bringing you a somewhat dodgy and half-assed coverage of Saturday in Design and whatever little stuff I managed to see.

Overall the event seems to have been very well received by both visitors and the suppliers, although I have to say that I was personally left feeling quite underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong – I had loads of fun and there was plenty of buzz around the place, but perhaps Milan is still very fresh in my mind and I’m (unfairly!) comparing this event to Salone del Mobile. I know, that is NOT a done thing, and I sounds like a complete tosser, but I can’t help it!

My favourite thing was the InterfaceFLOR exhibition at Zambesi titled Dekonstrukt/Rekonstrukt which was done in collaboration with 10 leading design firms who reinterpreted the carpet into amazing art installations. Clever people. It’s my thing, you now.

Living Edge showroom in Richmond also housed a selection of Cadrys rugs on the day, shown in top image. Bottom two images show Established & Sons lighting, furniture and accessories. How excellent is the green, grey, white and yellow(trace) colour combo.

Top left – Living Edge cork chair competition finalists (isn’t it time for a new concept guys? Just sayin’?) Top right – one of the Launch Pad finalists was the Legless Stool by Josh Carmody. Remember Josh? He was the very first person I interviewed on the blog a few months ago (you can read the article right here). Awww, I feel like a proud mum for some reason. Bottom left – Arras workstation by Herman Miller. Never thought I’d be blogging about a workstation, but I thought this one was pretty nice. Bottom right – this images is here to balance the workstation on the left. Work and play… Get it? I know, I’m so mega ghay!

Poliform had the most delicious looking food table. Yum. Love the simple lights in the top left image – although we’ve all seen this sort of thing a million times, I never seem to tire from it.

Accessories at Space furniture showroom. Top left – I ache for these  Alexander Girard Wooden Dolls for Vitra. Extreme love. Top right – ceramics by Moooi. Space also ran a competition where you could win your own Foscarini Twiggy Lamp.

Foscarini light installations at Space.

Diesel with Foscarini lighting, launched in Milan earlier this year and more prettiness from Space, including the youngest trade visitor Jimmy. Isn’t he the cutest? Love your work Will & Jane!

These two photos are here just because I really, really, ridiculously love Melbourne and everything it has to offer, from grit to glamour. Such a fantastic city. Extreme love!

All photos by Nick Hughes.