An inspiring visit to Design Week Mexico

We recently visited Mexico City and were once again amazed by the creativity, the originality, diversity, and the admirable positive energy that we found everywhere in the city. Design Week Mexico, which was celebrating its 10th Anniversary in conjunction with Mexico 2018 World Design Capital, was particularly rich and inspiring.

Inédito at the Tamayo Museum

We spent time visiting Inédito at the Tamayo Museum and Visión & Tradición at the Anthropology Museum, and the Design House and Diseño Contenido in Parque Lincoln.  We had a chance to visit few of the multiple installations of Abierto de Diseño  in the historic part of the city. We met with many of the design studios we started following in 2013, most of them presenting at WantedDesign over the years. We were pleased to see that Centro University presented at Palacio Postal a synthesis of the Design Under Pressure students’ workshop that we hosted together at the end of September. We were honored (and had a terrific time) to be part of the Inédito Jury, and to review more than 70 independent Mexican studios, designers and makers from all over Mexico as part of the exhibit at the Tamayo Museum. “This year the Inédito exhibit was in true resonance with Mexico’s incredible design community and all the projects will inspire and continue to forge a great design experience. Working with a mix of international jurors with different disciplines within design was an amazing process and a great challenge that will enrich us in the future,” comments Chief Curator Andrea Cesarman.
Here is a selection of our favorites…

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BOISBUCHET WELCOMED YOUNG AMERICAN DESIGN TALENTS – PART 2

Domaine de Boisbuchet is a unique, off-the-wall design destination situated on the French countryside. For more than 20 years, Boisbuchet organizes a series of interdisciplinary summer workshops where students and professionals from all over the world come together for a week of experimental work with renowned designers, architects and artists. WantedDesign for the second year partnered with the organization and with the French Airline company XL Airways to offer the opportunity for US design students to take part in a Boisbuchet’s Summer Workshop. We had a chance this year to have two talented young designers able to participate to a workshop of their choice.

Marlee Vlassis is going into her fourth year in the Interior Design program at RIT. She started her education at RIT in 2011 studying Chemical Engineering, but a few years and a coupleof internships later, Marlee changed her major to pursue her passion for Interior Design. She loves to imagine people in places and how different personalities will respond to a crafted space, and that’s what mainly motivates her designs. The collaborative aspect and connections to new creative people coming from all over the world sharing her passion was a key part of her Boisbuchet experience. Discover what motivates this young and talented Interior Designer.

WantedDesign: Can you give us a quick background about yourself and your path until now?
Marlee: I always did well in math and science growing up, so I started my college career in chemical engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology, and I majored in that for about three years, but as I did my internships, I knew it wasn’t the right fit for me. With only a year left until graduation, I changed my major to interior design, and I am now entering my senior year. I’ve been interning with Staach, a local design firm in Rochester, NY since the beginning of the summer, and that experience has confirmed that following my passion was definitely the right choice.

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BOISBUCHET  WELCOMED YOUNG AMERICAN DESIGN TALENTS – PART 1

Domaine de Boisbuchet is a unique, off-the-wall design destination situated on the French countryside. For more than 20 years, Boisbuchet organizes a series of interdisciplinary summer workshops where students and professionals from all over the world come together for a week of experimental work with renowned designers, architects and artists. WantedDesign for the second year partnered with the organization and with the French Airline company XL Airways to offer the opportunity for US design students to take part in a Boisbuchet’s Summer Workshop . We had a chance this year to have two talented young designers able to participate to a workshop of their choice.

As the first winner of the giveaway, we selected Parker Ives, current student at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, who choose to attend the workshop led by British – Canadian designer Philippe Malouin. This workshop focused on designing a simple design object and producing it locally at Boisbuchet. The selected objects will be part of Boisbuchet’s inaugural product line which will be subsequently sold on the Boisbuchet website.
Parker shared with us what was for him not only an amazing experience responding to his passion of material experimentation and process,  but also a great human and life experience, all that in the beautiful natural setting of the Domaine de Boisbuchet.

WantedDesign: Can you give us a quick background about yourself and your path until now?
Parker: I am currently pursuing my MFA in industrial design at the Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, OR. I have always had an interest in making things but didn’t really discover design until high school where I gained experience in 3d printing and computer aided design. I received my BA at The College of Charleston in studio art concentrating in sculpture. Even throughout my arts degree, I had a habit of wanting to make functional objects and after a while of being out of college I chose to pursue my masters and strengthen myself as a designer by attending the Oregon College of Art and Craft where I’ve really been able to explore and experiment in design with different materials and processes while working to establish my thesis.

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Design Schools Workshop 2018

Since it’s inception, WantedDesign has been dedicated to supporting international design education. The Design Schools Workshop, a collaborative project-based  initiative, is now in its 7th year and is deeply embedded in the DNA of WantedDesign. It brings together students from different international design schools, who participate in and are inspired by both WantedDesign Brooklyn and Manhattan, part of NYCxDESIGN, the city’s global celebration of design. It successfully promotes schools, fostering the international network between young designers and initiating partnerships between schools and manufacturers.

The event took place from May 19 to 22, comprised of 32 students from seven U.S. and International design schools: Aalto University (Finland), Art Center College for Design (Pasadena), Centro (Mexico), Strate Ecole de Design (France) and Pratt Institute (Brooklyn), Appalachian State University (North Carolina) and The Strzeminski Academy of Art Lódz (Poland). Art Center College of Design’s Professor of Environmental Design, James Meraz and Faculty Chiara Ferrari led the 2018 workshop. Students worked around the theme of Future Heirloom in a dedicated space at Industry City with 3D printing sponsor Shapeways, with  Filzfelt and Artefacto. They presented their final work at WantedDesign Manhattan on May 22 for a jury of design industry professionals. Congratulations again to the talented students, faculty members and partners. Read the report from media partner Core77.

Students from the Strate Ecole de Design in France were brought to New York for WantedDesign and NYCxDESIGN courtesy of French airline, XL Airways.

Q&A with Gabriela Ravassa of Lixil and DXV

LIXIL was a sponsor for the #DMMTalks by Design Milk and Modenus during WantedDesign 2018. To get a greater insight into the brands, designs and inspiration, we want to share a Q&A with Gabriela Ravassa, Senior Industrial Designer at LIXIL Americas and Lead Designer for DXV.

DXV is a portfolio of luxury bath and kitchen products that reimagines the most influential design movements during the past 150 years: Classic (1890-1920), Golden Era (1920-1950), Modern (1950-1990), and Contemporary (1990-Present). The brand has been recognized with more than 15 product innovation and design awards in the past four years. DXV is part of LIXIL, a global leader in housing and building materials products and services.

WD: How would you describe what the DXV brand represents?
At DXV, our vision of luxurious design, sophistication, and elegance is shaped by the most timeless yet distinctive design movements of the past 150 years. Taking cues and inspiration from these eras, we challenge ourselves to reimagine them while elevating the experience of everyday living. Every piece in our DXV portfolio is handcrafted with the promise of enduring quality and timeless design.

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