It has been almost 6 months, but the aftertaste and impression left at one of the largest interior design exhibitions in the world – Salone del Mobile 2022 – is still intact. Lucky to be accompanied by the exclusive global interior brands that Italian Atelier is collaborating with, I had the opportunity to work and enjoy special working days and unforgettable experiences in the “design capital Milan, Italy”.
After months of having to stop all activities due to the influence of Covid 19 epidemic, finally, the summer of 2022 has returned, bringing bright sunshine and fiery emotions in me. Things become even more special when one of the largest interior design events in the world, Salone del Mobile, is back on the most sunny summer days in the “design capital” Milan, Italy. My current job at Italian Atelier has brought me here and there were so many stories to tell about a long, challenging but inspiring and meaningful journey that I have enjoyed so much when walking around Milan.
Like a diary that has been “hidden” for nearly 6 months, with me reviewing the memories with rich aftertaste and immersing once again in the colorful world of Milan interior design, as well as following what I did to fully enjoy one of the world’s largest furniture exhibitions here.
Present at Salone del Mobile 2022 – special emotions after Covid 19 pandemic
05.06.2022
Salone del Mobile lasts for 1 week, from June 7 to 12. Just finished a tour around Southeast Asia, so I bought a plane ticket from Indonesia to Bologna – the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region. To keep up with the event, tonight, my whole team had to drive from Bologna to Milan. Arriving at 11pm after 4 hours of rocking in the car, we finally arrived at the “capital of fashion and design”.
In the dark night, I was still able to realize the unique and unmistakable transformations of this place. Coming back after 2 years of being affected by the Covid 19 epidemic, even though I was very tired, I still felt strangely excited: “Ah, it took me 2 years just to wait for this moment. “
06.06.2022
This morning, I had to get up early to go to 10 Corso Como to conduct the interview as scheduled with Alessandra Facchinetti. I am very excited, because working in the design industry, I have always been fascinated by the talent and great creativity of designers, including Alessandra Facchinetti. Circle collection of Editions Milano – Asian beauty hidden in meaningful multi-layered circles – was created by her. She was also a creative director for Gucci (2004-2005), Valentino (2008-2010) and Tod’s (2013-2016). Well, maybe I’ve already met my idol, so I’m a little nervous.
The interview lasted until 12pm. We had time to share interesting stories about Alessandra ‘s profession, endless passion, and her boundless creativity and inspiration hidden in each design.
Goodbye Alessandra, I returned to Salone. Today was the day to set everything up, and my duty was to preview the stands of each brand before guests entered, let the team do the filming, take photos for data, and produce exclusive footage before the main meeting. I also played a “diplomatic” role in the team, going with my partner to greet the brand representatives that our company is cooperating with will be present at Salone, and at the same time knew each position to understand the way, so that the steps the next day would not be messed up.
Usually, brands would have small training sessions on 6th or early morning of 7th, so that the representatives could once again master the spirit of each product. At this time, my team was also divided into who stands on which stand, alternately changing how to ensure that we would take care of all brands, as well as customers presented at the fair. Depending on the announced training time, I must be present to prepare for everything to go as smoothly and as planned. And yet, I also wanted to listen closely to the beautiful collections, from the people who know them best. I wanted to be trained by all brands, so my job was also a bit heavier, but for managers, they would be divided into 3-5 brands to focus on development.
Even though I was busy, with a lot of photos, videos and footage sent to the Marketing team at home, I still managed to give myself a break to closely observe Salone’s transformation. Although it is only in the setting up stage, the atmosphere was already very noisy and busy. Not only me, all brands were working at full capacity to bring the most unique and special design party. It’s been a long time since I’ve had this feeling, joyful, happy after 2 years when everything was frozen by the epidemic.
After everything in Salone was cleared, I continued to return to 10 Corso Como to meet Roberta. We continued to have a small chat & see the booths and exhibitions that were being prepared here. If you didn’t know, Salone del Mobile was not just an exhibition, a fair in only a certain area. It was spread almost throughout the city of Milan, making it a real catwalk of interior design.
At 19:30, the whole team stopped for dinner after the first day of full-time work. The sky was still bright. After that, everyone went home to rest, but my partner and I had to go back to change clothes and go to a dinner party (this party only included cocktails and snacks, so we needed to recharge first. Both were very tired, but the work couldn’t be done because of fatigue.
When I returned, I met two very old women. One reason beauty buffs like me are “falling in love” with this city is because you don’t have to walk into a studio or a runway to see beauty. They were dressed extremely liberally, young, elegant and sophisticated. This scene lifted our spirits, made me forget all worries and fatigue after so many activities today. All the energy, creativity and excitement seemed to be filled.
Days of “burning hard” with work
07.06.2022
The first day of the exhibition officially took place, which was also the beginning of a series of days that needed to be highly focused, non-stop for our whole team. All must wake up at 8am, so that at 8:30am, we would depart from the apartment to the fair (we moved in a car with more than 10 seats).
Today, we had our first training with GTV.
After listening, we spread out in directions to carry out the assigned tasks. There were a few Asian guests present, and our guests were mainly Indians, Indonesians, Vietnamese, very little Chinese (however, this guest only visited a little bit due to several factors related to the pandemic). There were many different brands, so we had to divide the calendar and arrange it to suit the wishes of each customer. This year, the number of guests that we needed to take care of was not too much, so the team was large enough to disperse throughout all days. The situation was therefore “easier” than last year, when in one day we had had up to 6 big wholesale customers, not to mention the VIP guests must had me, my partner and a manager to follow to support.
This day was when visitors flock to Salone the most. By arrangement, I would stand at each stand for 1-2 hours, conveniently covering the neighboring halls. Similar to my partner, we had a division like this to get an overview of the number of guests, the quality of each stand, and saw if we could help.
And yet, we also needed to rely on the position and plan finalized with each brand to arrange a specific schedule. For example, at 2pm, I had to pick up guests at Editions Milano – the brand was located quite far from the halls I was assigned. Therefore, I had to find a way to travel on time and the right way of taking care to not be late for the brand appointment.
For me, it was quite an exhausting day, because customers came to ask a lot. Because I had been trained and thoroughly researched the overview of all brands’ activities, even if I stood at any brand’s stand and had customers who are not in my territory, I would do my best to help answer.
Tonight, we continued to participate in a rather interesting party of LondonArt. This was a hearty dinner under magical lights. and we had a memorable dinner with LondonArt – Gala Dinner. I was extremely impressed with the luxurious space and many well-known guests attending. What a perfect and emotional dinner was!
08.06.2022
After the first day of Salone was quite hard and exhausting with the whole team, a long sleep at the apartment helped me restore my energy and ready to start the next day with the most “battle” spirit. The activities at Salone were still going on with the intensity of yesterday, I still got up early to visit each brand, observe the halls in the middle. Especially, we also tried to have a coffee with brands.
Besides, I also have an interview schedule and a small appointment with Patricia Urquiola – a Spanish designer with an incredible career in the design field. She impressed with artistic style on the alternation of local cultural knowledge, or a unique integrated living space that still offers comfort and convenience. This well-established designer has cooperated with plenty of luxury design brands: Louis Vuitton, Editions Milano, Alessi, Axor-Hansgrohe,…
As always, I was still amazed with the interesting, bold and artistic sharings of designers who brought their creativity in design to the world.
“Sublimation” in each artistic beauty from the world’s leading brands
09.06.2022
One special thing that you probably don’t understand (or know but don’t fully understand), I am a beauty addict. Itis also a great motivation for me to pursue and dedicate my whole life at Italian Atelier. On this trip, I really had the opportunity to fully enjoy the unique and amazing design beauty, which I have not had the opportunity to witness with my own eyes for a long time.
After 2 hard days going back and forth at Salone, today, I had the opportunity to indulge my love of beauty that has always burned in me with a morning visit to Armani/Silos. This is my 2nd time visiting Armani Silos, and it never disappoints me. The unique and haughty beauty was evident in every design product, combined with the skillful layout, making every visitor say “Wow” as soon as they enter the exhibition space.
Talking about myself, I was actually a little quiet, because I was too overwhelmed by the breathtaking beauty of the delicate, artistic and elaborately adjusted design products here. In particular, the new Armani/Silos collection displayed proudly made me really understand what true artistic beauty was, it made me immersed and fascinated in every detail. It was indeed “a space in which to design the future while capturing the changing times, lifestyles and cultures”.
10.06.2022
Quite surprising because I have patiently recorded my work diary during the past few days. Perhaps due to the incredible excitement after the delay due to the epidemic, as well as the desire to fully record my special emotions here.
Today, my team and I continued to have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of Missoni and explored a few other showrooms in the city. As I said, Salone del Mobile existed in every corner of the city, bringing the contemporary breath of each interior design item everywhere. Here, I let my teammates shoot around, take the most beautiful and special footage for documentation.
After that, I stayed until the afternoon to have an appointment with the client and continued to have a small interview with the designer Marcantonio Raimondi Malerba – the owner of the transformation of bioplastic from bagasse into unique and creative interior products. and eco-friendly for SLIDE. Meeting with famous designers like this was not easy, and this was also an opportunity for me to learn and increase my abilities, knowledge and vision.
Since Salone’s main exhibition area was located outside the city, that day is the first day that I have moved to the center of Milan. After completing all the important tasks, we took time to stay around the center and get a comprehensive impression of what is called the “design capital of the world”.
11-12..06.2022
The last 2 days of the special journey with Salone del Mobile, were also the aftertaste I dedicated to my diary. I still went with everyone to the fair, and stayed in the fair for about 1 hour. After that, we entered the downtown area for a walk, visiting art galleries and showrooms of other famous brands (Fendi, Versace, Dolce&Gabbana,…). I was happy to call this activity “exploring the market”, as well as preparing to shoot so as not to miss the beautiful and impressive images here.
I was quite satisfied because I had the opportunity to admire the Fendi Pop-up bar, the exhibition event of Dior, of Louis Vuitton – VIP Tour. Although I had visited the design spaces many times, I was still surprised and captivated by the magnificent beauty, elaborate and extremely sophisticated investment of these brands.
In particular, I was extremely happy that Louis Vuitton recognized me working for Italian Atelier. It was so surprising when he said he has been a fan of our company. And then, we had a great conversation and discussion to find a way to cooperate in certains market, with certains collection. We also had an appointment at Maison&Objet in January 2023 to discuss this collaboration further. A great experience and impression, also a knot that made me more confident in the journey I had chosen.
Unfortunately for this trip, I missed the Hermes showroom, and had to make an appointment with this brand for another occasion.
After that, I stayed in Milan until the 14th, to have a closing meeting with big brands like Armani.
“Beauty is immutable, human creativity is boundless”
My diary has paused to update content, waiting for new things in next year’s Salone season. However, as I write these lines, I still have the same feelings of excitement and anticipation as the early summer days full of brilliance and full of aftertaste of 6 months ago.
This is the first Salone del Mobile to return to normal, unaffected by the Covid 19 pandemic. People seem to have forgotten the negative consequences of Covid 19 and adapted it very quickly.
One thing that I have observed and that is a great lesson for me is how to survive, face and respond to the effects of the pandemic. You will be immediately forgotten, if you do not learn to innovate and develop your “brainchild”. Famous global brands have for themselves new materials and new solutions to make themselves impressive and outstanding in the new normal. Each innovation of each brand has impressed me greatly, helping me to learn the truth of being ready to face all possible situations and events. Pandemic is a specific case, although it affects a lot of businesses, they all keep an extremely optimistic and patient attitude, focusing on creating new materials and innovative ideas to bring a completely different look. when coming back. That is the most appropriate affirmation for the saying “Beauty is immutable, human creativity is boundless” in all cases.
This exclusive trip also brings me the honor to interview with talented designers, learn a lot of knowledge and understand what limitless creativity is. For the first time, Marcantonio helped me understand that bagasse should not be thrown away, but should be used to make environmentally friendly recycled plastic materials. In addition, the special story of Riva 1920 also made me “fascinated”. To me, these are the two most impressive innovations, besides a series of special innovations gathered at Salone del Mobile 2022 this year.
Closing the colorful pages of my diary, I return to reality, continue to work hard to write more beautiful memories on a unique adventure in the design world, that I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to enjoy, not just once, but many times over.
