It has been called "the most important design fair in the world" and has the whole of beautiful Milano buzzing with people connected to the interior design industry. While the trends and exhibitions are ever changing, some things are certain to happen every year.

Your feet will be sore and tired
You will have more invitations than time to party
You're an eternal time optimist and constantly underestimating the distances between events
You will long for Italian food and springtime as soon as you get back

Here are a few of the highlights from my 3 day trip to Salone del Mobile in Milan last week.

Furniture Fair, ReportsMaria Hole20. april 2016Salone del Mobile, Milano, Furniture Fair, Milan Design Week, highlightsKommentar

Oslo Design Fair 2016 - The return of cozy

After several weeks of planning and intense days of setting up the stand at Oslo Design Fair we were ready to meet with the industry to present some of the best of the Spanish design scene under the collected name of the Noes agency, bringing "hot design to cold climates".

The reception was awsome and as always - I am grateful and excited to work alongside so many talented people in an industry with such a good atmosphere. The report, however is a little delayed due to all the afterwork and follow up's from the fair. From the mind of a fresh business owner; much work is good work! Thank you so much to all of you for stopping by, for your feedback, for your cheers and for your orders. Hot design to cold climates!

Here are links to some of the mentions and reviews from the fair. Big thank you for your visits!

A New Type of Imprint

Paradis Interiørarkitekter

2 at home

Thereseknutsen.no

Click on the gallery below to see more pictures from the stand.

Furniture Fair, ReportsMaria Hole3. april 2016Oslo Design Fair, møbelmesse, LillestrømKommentar

Designspirit lanserer Treku i Stavanger

I Hillevågsveien 101 rett utenfor Stavanger sentrum ligger et knall rødt hus langs veien, og på vinduet står det skrevet i klartekst; bare god design!

For english summary; see below the gallery!

De fine jentene i butikken Designspirit har en helt fantastisk innstilling til jobb, og hvis du skulle være i tvil om noe går eller ikke, så ordner de det uansett! Med en portefølje som består av både etablerte merkevarer som ByLassen, Tom Dixon, Muuto, Hay, Caneline og Kähler, klarer de å mikse ikoniske klassikere med friske pust og merker med produkter som ennå er nye for øyet. Med glans! Noen få av disse er Teixidors, Omelette -ed, Voltasol by Livingthings, Pott med de nydelige lampene, og sist men ikke minst; modulmesterne Treku.

Fredag 23. Oktober var dagen da Noes lanserte Treku hos Designspirit som første etablerte forhandler i Norge. Det har vært en glede! Sjekk ut galleriet for flere bilder fra den fine butikken i galleriet! Følg også med i nær fremtid for om noen få strakser lanserer de også helt ny nettbutikk, profil og nettsider. Spennende!

The 23. of October Noes along with Designspirit launched Treku at the first established dealer in Norway! The shop is a beautiful mix of playful Scandinavian style, curated in an innovative way, mixing iconic classics with new design from up and coming brands. Noes is represented with brands like Teixidors, Omelette-ed, the beautiful lamps from Pott, and not the least, the modular masters - Treku. Thank you guys for hosting the event! It has been a great day, and there will be some beautiful pieces popping up in Stavanger homes in the near future!

News, Reports, Field trips, BrandsMaria Hole23. oktober 2015Treku, Designspirit, dealer, lansering, launch, collaborationKommentar

Hot design to cold climates!

The wall was painted in the color "tåkedis" from Jotun. A calm background for the selected products from sunny Spain.

Noes reports from Interiør og Boligmessen

Noes was one of many exhibitors in the public trend & interior fair in Bergen last weekend, and what a reception we got! The goal of the curated exhibition was to introduce a selection of brands and products to the Norwegian audience, and to show that although there might be significant cultural differences, modern Spanish design has a lot of similarities to traditional and modern Scandinavian design culture.

Situated right next to the entrance where people lined up to get their weekend passes, Noes had prime location in the renown building central in Bergen city. Almost 10 000 people visited the fair during the three days 16.-18. October and some even spent more than one day there!

The different brands represented on the stand blended in and stood out at the same time. Noes is proud to be the official design ambassador of RED for Spanish design in Norway.

The theme of the fair was "Handmade is the new black", and focused on traditional techniques and natural materials in modern interiors.

Attention to details, traditional production methods and modern design combined with high quality materials is a common ground. In the cool, monochrome nordic homes, Spanish modern design can bring warmth in many ways. Textures, warm terracotta tones and slim shapes should have an easy adaptation process in the cold north. Here the seasons dramatically change and the houses are built to let in the light and keep out the cold - somewhat the opposite of the needs of a Spanish home. Still, the similarities are more than you might think.

The beautiful handmade ceramic mugs with wooden handles from Matimañana were a big hit on the fair Interiør og Boligmessen.

Soft handwoven textiles for the cold Norwegian winter. You need one, at least!

All you need is light! The beautiful handmade lamps from Pott drew a lot of attention to the stand.

The overall response from both industry and public, was overwhelmingly good. "A fresh look", "sleek, yet cozy", "something completely different from everywhere else" and "refreshing" were some of the feedback we got this weekend. Meeting the buyers in person, along with a well represented industry turned out to be a great way to introduce spanish design to the Norwegian audience. Although Noes does not distribute directly, but is purely working as an agent to represent the different brands, all of Spanish origin, the event still brought some valuable insight to what the market needs.

The puzzle pot system MaCeTa by Pott were a hit! It was changed several times a day during the three day fair, just to demonstrate the various constellations you can build with it.

We presented hot, modern terracotta from Pott, sleek and sophisticated modular furniture from Treku that made people download the Aura Sketcher and start designing their own. Teixidors' beautiful handwoven plaids and ponchos were a "must touch" area at the stand while the rolling flowerpots Voltasol by Livingthings kept people posting to instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #noesdesign. The twig lamps "Nuus", the birdcage lamp "Pyo" and the cute "Kuuaks" (cement ducks) from Denoe went straight in to some stylish Bergen homes. While people kept touching and dreaming of "Sponge" lamps, "Eiffel" stools and ceramic mugs by Matimañana. The mirrors from Omelette -ed reflected the light and the atmosphere and the limited edition lamp and office objects by Obvious impressed the people on the west coast.

Big thanks to the awesome crew behind the fair, and to all the amazing people that stopped by and made the stand come alive with interest for the stories, love for the products and all sorts of questions and enquiries. And not the least, friends and family that made it all possible through hours and hours of helping out!