He Furniture expo It is one of the largest and most important furniture and design fairs in the world.. Held annually in Milan, Italy, it is a prominent event on the international design calendar.
The fair presents a wide range of interior design productssuch as furniture, lighting, accessories and textiles, and includes both established designers and new talents.
This edition took place from April 16 to 21 y several Argentines shone with their creations. Below are some of the most notable references.
A community project
Driven by its desire to combine rural development, the preservation of cultural identity and a business vision, the textile designer and anthropologist from Jujuy, Magdalena Sánchez de Bustamanteimmersed herself in the Andean communities, fusing her passion for textiles with her social commitment.
In this process, he closely observed the economic vulnerability of indigenous families and the risk of new generations abandoning the ancestral traditions of spinning and weaving. This is how it was born Illari Puna, a project rooted in the heart of northern Argentina, which this April was present at the Fuorisalone of Design Week in Milan.
Los indigenous peoples of the Altiplanowith whom the brand works, have developed knowledge that allows them to live sustainably in areas of extreme aridity.
They are expert weavers and breeders of camelids, especially llamas, animals adapted to these regions that consume little water and feed on natural pastures. The flame fiber It became the main raw material for Illari Puna products.
Due to various causes, indigenous families live in a situation of structural poverty that gradually forces them to abandon their ways of life, losing valuable knowledge. Since its signature, Magdalena assumed the commitment to support these families so that they can generate a decent income, a project that has changed their lives.
“In Milan we presented a new collection of rugs, ponchos, blankets and some products in Vicuña with new designs. That is the part of the collection that is called Sacred Threads because we continue with the ancestral work of women weavers. A work that is about recovering, rescuing yarns with shapes that are being lost, among which embroidery and ancestral techniques stand out”explains Sánchez de Bustamante. “As for upcoming projects, I am opening a space in La Aldea in Pilar to be able to start working in Buenos Aires and have a point of sale there,” concludes the creator of Illari Puna.
Tribute to a classic
Santiago Carot is an Argentine businessman, creator and co-director with Raquel Astorga of the brand Carot, a firm that specializes in equipment and interior design.
Born in Córdoba in 1975, he discovered his vocation at a young age when he participated as an exhibitor in the Architecture and Decoration exhibition “El Portal del Hospital de Niños de Córdoba”. For 10 years he accompanied his mother in these exhibitions, a space that also allowed him to get to know the camaraderie between architects and designers. These experiences led him to begin his studies in Architecture, and thus he came to His true vocation: interior designa before and after in his career.
Since 2002 with its brand, Santiago has designed and built furniture in 3 production linesmaintained his activity as an exhibitor and showed his capacity for analysis, creativity and passion for interior design for homes, offices and businesses, becoming a reference for the sector.
Carot is active mainly in Argentina, especially in the city of Córdoba, where it has obtained various recognitions over the years for its ability to merge aesthetics with functionality and create spacious rooms that transform.
After attending Milan Design Week as a spectator for years, this time Santiago Carot participated as an exhibitor for the first time with a coffee station inspired by the Bialetti Moka coffee maker.an experience that marked a turning point in his career.
Much more than a design
Cecilia García Galofre, textile designer and Master in Business Management (MBA), has forged a professional career in the world of fashion and interior design. With training in Textile Design from FADU and an MBA from IAE Business School, Cecilia combined her passion for design with a business vision that led her to fashion textile consulting for 10 years. During this time, she traveled throughout Europe and the East in search of unique trends and products that enriched her experience and creative vision.
Four years ago, Cecilia decided to embark on a new project: Konqrit, a brand of signature pieces made with concrete and artistically intervened.
Arose from his personal need to find original parts For your home, this firm represents the culmination of your career and your passion for interior design.
The process of creating Konqrit was a challenge that involved much more than simply designing products.
For create a unique bathtub, Cecilia needed a special containment mold to work the concrete. After months of searching, she found Rodolfo “Rudy” Schiebold, a skilled German naval carpenter, who was able to make the mold with precision. With the mold ready, she began the product development stage, which involved numerous adjustments, material testing, consultations with professionals and working with artisans.
The objective was to create pieces resistant, durable and with a different design. In addition, research was carried out to achieve original bi-color effects on the market and the finishes were perfected to achieve the soft touch characteristic of Konqrit pieces.
At SaloneSatellite, García Galofre presented a bathtub from the Bahía Grande model, “Konqrit Nro IX”, which combines black and white in a fluid and suggestive way. This color effect, along with others such as the blurring, the marbled and the batik, are exclusive to the brand and they add originality to the pieces.
Furthermore, he presented a intervened design by the Argentine artist Catalina Ruiz who evokes naturalistic painting with soft brushstrokes and monochrome tonality.
The Catamarca native who conquered the world (of design)
Cristian Mohaded He was born in Recreo, Catamarca, studied Industrial Design, graduated from the National University of Córdoba (FAUDI), and is one of the most recognized designers in Argentina worldwide. Roche Bobois, Galería Serge Bensimon, Habitat, Malba, Durban, Nosten, Ilo, Luola, FV and Novum are some of his clients. Currently, is dedicated to the development and design of lighting products, furniture and objects for national and international companies.
In 2018 he was selected for the organization of Salone Satellite as a Rising Design in Latin America / Emerging Design, and this 2024, he participated in two different projects.
First, the Big George sofa he created for Mooi. A soft, genuine and imposing design, where its luxurious curves invite you to immerse yourself and experience the warmth of this piece created by the Argentine designer.
Their second project is Oasis, a room divider produced by Khous artisans and Miguel Álvarez Hausmann, which celebrates the qualities of Al Khous, the art of weaving palm leaves, one of the oldest local practices. This creation by Mohaded could be seen at AlUla Design Space, where pieces by other designers were also exhibited.
