Nendo gains weight in Milan
The annual design superfest known as the Milano Salone was held earlier this month in Italy, and although Oki Sato is no stranger to the event it was an especially grand year for the designer and his firm Nendo. Showing no less than a dozen projects, which were displayed in various forms and as parts of a variety of booths (and makers) throughout Milan, Nendo's products represented brand names such as Swarovski, Flaminia, Arketipo, Tectona, Plastecnic and Boffi. Sato even presented a private exhibition titled "Chair Garden," which featured a large installation based on the idea of "furniture that grows." He also introduced a Clear Perfume Bottle for 1% products and the ultra-thin Wire Chair, an evolution of his earlier Cord Chair for Maruni, not to mention a few items for Nendo's design project 361°Ichido, including Period, Comma and Quote paperweights (¥3,675 each or ¥10,500 for the set), a collaboration with the Toyama Prefecture-based aluminum casting specialist Takada Seisakujo.