It is almost time and tomorrow the shutters come up at Cersaie 2008, the most important ceramic trade-fair in the world. The spacious DesignTaleStudio and Refin stand catches the eye in hall 36, an open and strikingly colourful stand displaying the new collections of the R+Evolution series by Karim Rashid (who, not by chance, is also the designer of the stand).

Tomorrow, we will publish some images of the stand. As a teaser, enjoy the slideshow showing the countless possible combinations of decors and cladding available in R+Evolution.

Karim Rashid sent us a short video in which he explains his new R+Evolution collection for DTS. As well as watching it on our home page, you can watch it on the designtalestudio channel of YouTube.

As already indicated in the press release on Refin’s website, the forthcoming trade-fairs, 100% Design London and Cersaie will see the launch of a new collection designed by Karim Rashid: R+Evolution. A ceramic series with the unmistakable “Karim-look”, extra-colourful and extra-modern wall cladding for extra-cool interiors.

Let’s start previewing the collection with this minimal-chic bathroom, divided into two inter-connected areas. All ceramics are in 30×90 cm size.

Francesca Donadio is a painter from Oriolo (Cosenza) who works in the field of abstract, figurative and sacred art. The work she sent us, called “Abstract landscape” is suited to adaptation as a ceramic picture, perhaps in spaces that need to be “heated up” by a decorative element of nostalgic yet lively tones. A similar use to that of the first Pareti d’Autore DesignTaleStudio.

A look at Francesca’s website (http://francescadonadiooriolo.spaces.live.com/) has led us to identify two other works which could be very interesting for a hypothetic reproduction on ceramic: Two Kings and Fumatori: il bianco e il nero.

Do you also like the work of Francesca Donadio? Leave a comment and, why not, send us your personal creative project.

On Sunday April 20, Trascreativity at the Triennale in Milan will see the presence of Krizia (Mariuccia Mandelli), one of the most famous names of Italian fashion. After Elio Fiorucci ( a guest at the 2007 edition and returning this year on the opening day on Wednesday) and Vivienne Westwood, another famous fashion designer who created a ceramic slab for DesignTaleStudio. Below are details of her original drawing: believe us, the transgressive effect is assured!

To see the ceramic slab and to meet Krizia on April 20, you can request your free invitation.

At the end of her first ever catwalk show, staged at the Palazzo Pitti, Mariuccia Mandelli, Krizia (a name borrowed from Plato’s dialogue on feminine vanity) distinguished herself by winning the Fashion Critic’s Award. Her fashion is based on research, creativity, project and design, founded on a neat geometry but also rich in references and precious details. Every single fashion collection by Krizia has an animal as a lucky charm, with an increasing aggressiveness and a sort of jungle which has now become a ritual: Krizia’s zoo. Her fashion is also influenced by modern and contemporary art, a constant search for new materials as well as her famous plissé. Krizia, whose endorsements range from perfume to wine, has flagship stores all over the world as well as many franchise boutiques. In Japan alone there are 202 Krizia boutiques and 600 points of sale. Bestowed the honour “Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana”, she has been awarded with international prizes and dedicated exhibitions in the most renowned museums in the world, such as the Musée des Arts et de la Mode, Paris; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. Mariuccia Mandelli supported the rebuilding of the La Fenice theatre in Venice and the Tourné del Piccolo Teatro in the USA for the Olympics in Los Angeles, since 1985 Spazio Krizia has hosted a series of cultural events with writers, artists, designers, musicians such as Doris Lessing and Ingo Maurer in attendance.

Recently Krizia have introduced the new autumn-winter 2008-09 collection, caracterized by wiggly shapes sinuose and big volums. They have spoken among others Blogosfere Style & Fashion and LuxGallery.

The architect and designer Mario Bellini has always been a creative mind playing with provocation. Let’s think about his “Kar-a-sutra” ,a car concept he designed for the MOMA in New York in 1974 which has recently been rebuilt for an exhibition on the 70s at the Triennale in Milan, for which he has organized the setting. Bellini will be our guest in a no-holds-barred meeting with the journalist Roberto D’Agostino in the afternoon of Saturday, April 19, inside DesignTaleStudio’s Trascreativity set, opposite the Triennale.

To meet Mario Bellini on April 19 at the Triennale, you can request your free invitation.

Milan-born Mario Bellini is one of the most renowned designers in the world. His work ranges from urban and architectural drawings to furniture and industrial design. His career as a designer started in 1963, as an industrial design consultant for Olivetti, for which he designed typewriters, calculators, computers and video appliances with special care given to the user’s needs, even if Bellini believes that ergonomics is just a starting point as man is more complex than a mere series of measurements. Amongst his products, the Divisumma 18 calculator in particular, will be remembered for its tactile feel and the plastic coloured carter covered in a rubber membrane. Another revolutionary product was the Yamaha ’73 cassette-recorder with its typical wedge-shaped design. During his career, he has collaborated with many Italian and international companies such as Artemide, B&B Italia, Cassina, Yamaha, Renault, Rosenthal, Vitra. Moreover, Bellini has been a consultant for Renault and Editor in Chief of Domus magazine. He was awarded the Compasso d’Oro as well as many other international awards and some of his work is permanently on show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Since the 80’s, he has predominantly worked as an architect in Europe, Japan, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Who better than Vivienne Westwood could personify the concept of “transgressive creativity”? In the world of fashion, Vivienne Westwood has been a symbol of impartiality, provocation and desire to break conventional concepts. Her ceramic slab prototype designed for DTS confirms this approach, she will be present to show her work on April 17 at the Triennale during Trascreativity.

Here are details of the original drawings. To see the ceramic slab and to meet Vivienne Westwood, you can request your free invitation.

Vivienne Isabel Swire married Derek Westwood when very young. In 1971 she began designing clothes and she opened her first shop in The King’s Road. Her fashion became synonymous with the Punk movement and she was arrested for hosting a catwalk along the banks of the Thames with Sex Pistols during the Queen’s Jubilee. In 1982, she became the first British fashion designer since Mary Quant to host a fashion show in Paris. She designed the ‘Statue of Liberty’ corset, the first corset to be introduced into outerwear.

The American editor John Fairchild included Vivienne, the only woman, in his list of the top six fashion-designers of the world. She was appointed professor at the Applied Art Academy in Vienna and at the Berliner Hochschule der Künste. She was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth II, she married Andreas Kronthaler and created the Mac Andreas tartan, which appears in the official archives of the Lochcarron Museum. British TV dedicated the show Painted Ladies, a documentary film about the relationship between fashion and art, to Vivienne. Amongst other honours, Vivienne Westwood’s creations were also awarded a place in the Victoria & Albert Museum, the most important exhibition dedicated to a living British designer which then also went on to open in San Francisco and at the Palazzo Reale in Milan. Vivienne Westwood Ltd has more than 20 collections, 30 flagship stores, exports to over 86 countries and is present in 700 points of sale around the world. Vivienne Westwood is one of the most influential deans of world fashion.

Let’s start with the list of the guests who will be present at the forthcoming Design On Stage “Trascreativity” at the Triennale in Milan with Alessandro Mendini, who will be present on April 17, introducing the audience to his ceramic slab project for DesignTaleStudio. Below are details of his original drawings, a creation which is a composition of six slabs in 60×120 cm size.

To see the ceramic slab and meet the designer, you can request your free invitation.

Architect and designer, Alessandro Mendini is considered one of the foremost design masters of today. In 1989 he founded the Mendini Atelier in Milan and he has designed objects, furniture, planned spaces, installations, buildings always adding a personal touch. The Editor in Chief of magazines such as Casabella, Modo and Domus, various monographic volumes on his work and on his partnership with Atelier Alchimia have been published and translated into many languages. His main interest is neo-modern and contemporary design, and he is a design consultant of international repute, whose collaboration for international brands such as Alessi, Philips and Swatch as an image and design consultant has led to the creation of world-wide famous products. He is an honorary member of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, he has been awarded the Compasso d’Oro for design, the Architectural League prize of New York as well as Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France. A Professor of design at the Hochschule fur Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, he has organized many exhibitions in Italy and abroad. His work can be found in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. His architectural projects include, Alessi’s house in Omegna, the Bicchieraia theatre in Arezzo, a memorial tower in Hiroshima, Japan, and the Groningen Musem, Holland.

The March issue of Casamica magazine contains a special insert entitled “Walls like pictures” dedicated to artistic ceramics for walls in which DesignTaleStudio’s Pareti d’Autore have been given a lot of editorial space.

Recently, we have been talking about interior designers who are still tied to a stereotypical vision of ceramics, a standardized material for floors, walls and every-day items such as vases, cups, small sculptures. In this sense, it is really pleasing to see that our innovative concept of “ceramic picture” is increasingly capturing the attention of journalists as well as that of the public.

Yesterday, we all awoke to some sad news: Ettore Sottsass, the dean and guru of Italian design, died as 2007 was coming to an end.

At the very time President Napolitano was giving his final year’s address to the Italian people, appealing to the Italian creativity, Sottsass passed away, and with him one of our greatest contemporary creative talents, an all round talent who was able to test himself constantly with modernity, to recreate himself and to be able to pit his wits against the greatest talents of the new generation. As were, at different times, Michele De Lucchi, Andrea Branzi, Matteo Thun and Aldo Cibic, to name but a few of the main “sons” of Sottsass.

We are pleased to remember that ceramic was one of the main materials Sottsass used to express himself: so, in this sense, it is worth remembering the longstanding partnership he had with Bitossi in the ‘50s and ‘60s, geared especially towards the creation of the vases and design pieces, that launched him towards the very summit of Italian design.

The links below may be of interest:

• Sottsass’s profile on Wikipedia and Design Addict
• A gallery of his work on Flickr
• Three interviews for Panorama, Rai Educational and Archimagazine
• The exhibition to celebrate his 90th birthday, Vorrei Sapere Perché, in Trieste, which runs until March 2008; and, less we forget, Ettore Sottsass – Work In Progress, held in London last Spring and which is the subject of the video at the start of the post, and the Design Museum at the Triennale in Milan
• The first reactions to the news of his death by some Italian bloggers: Designerblog, Designbuzz, Alfonso Fuggetta, Aurelio Valesi, Design Blog Sociale.