On the road to Milan Design Week 2024
ONE WEEK ABOUT Milan Design Week 2024
Day 1 – report by David Heldt
A week before the salone starts, the design objects are taken apart and packed in bubble wrap and in crates. Insurance is taken out, packing lists drawn up for Swiss customs, vans rented. But if it doesn’t fit, is too heavy or own transport proves too expensive, what then? People ask around for extra space with colleagues, a place is always found via via, weights and measures are exchanged, and the valuable objects are exchanged with designers we often did not know before transport. In our case, a number of boxes went with Dirk van Duivenboden, just in time because the car drove off immediately after loading.
Here the tables, chairs, vases, and rugs begin a journey across Europe, through the beautiful Alps on their way to promised fame and success. We ourselves drove across Austria in two fully loaded box vans, in both vans listening ‘met de vlam in de pijp door de Brennerpas’.
Dirk was ahead of us and our boxes with the Montis furniture in them were there in our space, as well as crates by designers we didn’t know. Adventurous design, but now momentarily lost. Then the search for the owner begins, again we meet new people. In a short time, the Dutch design community becomes even closer. In the course of the day, people walk into our space to collect the lost boxes; a great opportunity to invite each other especially to drop by when the doors open on Tuesdays.
And now, as I write this, we are an hour before opening time. All the puzzle pieces have been put in place, all the objects have been traced and reunited with their owners. Tonight the opening party at SOLIDIFIED.
Photos: David Heldt, co-founder GLUE Amsterdam