Tinycottons headquarters in Barcelona

I struggle to believe how long it has been since I have been posting regularly here on facing north with gracia: these last 365 days (more or less) have been so intense from so many points of view I was left with little time and little energy.  Though my research haven't stopped, I felt I couldn't find that post that managed to kick my blogging off again. Do you think I had a sort of blogging blues? LOL.

Then yesterday I had the immense pleasure of visiting Tinycottons new showroom and offices and meet its founder, Barbara Bruno: my encounter with the brand happened in Instagram several years ago, at a time I had no idea of having babies. I loved their cool and minimal graphics and easygoing pieces: they looked confy and perfect to dress a life full of fun. I visited their first flagship store in Rambla de Catalunya last year and I knew the upcoming showroom would have been perfect for FNWG: we share a love for all-white spaces, natural wooden and functional furniture and minimal interiors. During my visit I managed to shot some pictures to share with you: I hope you enjoy as much as I did!

The showroom is located in the lower Via Augusta, close to Diagonal and next to one of the creative spots of the city, Carrer Seneca. The space is completely white, capturing the beautiful Mediterennean light coming from the big windows. Here, the display is kept at its minimum: low plywood cupboards are used to showcase some of the most iconic pieces from their "Botanical" SS16 collection. The same module is used also for the big ones inside, creating a cohesive sense of the space.

Along with pieces of their collection, Tinycottons decided to populate the showroom with a selection of their favourite design pieces for kids and their spaces. 

And here it is a close up of Tinycottons "Botanical- a very bold and crazy  garden story", to me just the perfect outfit for any Urban Jungle Bloggers' baby out there.

All pictures by facing north with gracia.

BLOGGERSTOUR AMSTERDAM | The seductive universe of Moooi

Unique and iconic are probably the two adjectives that fit best Moooi universe. The venture was founded in 2001 by world famous designer Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers who had a vision: to create a collection of beautiful and unique obejects as stated by the very name of the company ( mooi means beautiful in Dutch).

With Wanders as art director, Moooi started to create a portfolio of works from both national and international designers, such as Studio Job, Nery and Hu or acclaimed Spanish Jaime Hayon. The style Moooi proposes is exclusive, playful with a touch of past times elegance that reminds of old palaces atmospheres. But Wanders' playfulness add a light touch to the whole collection, in an "antique meets modern" mood.

Moooi Amsterdam. Images by Susanna Vento

During our last Bloggerstour in Amsterdam, we had the chance to spend a whole afternoon at their 700 m2 space in the colorful district "De Jordaan", known for its tiny picturesque boutiques, stores, restaurants and art galleries in the heart of Amsterdam. Guided by Laura Ramos Bello-Kluit, the company’s winsome PR and Events coordinator, we could explore the store and discover how different designs came to life. Laura also organized for us a lovely challenge: each of the  Design Bloggers United was given one of the iconic Marcel Wanders' vases and invited to represent on it one of our fellow companions. 

Let's see if you can guess which one was mine, an unique collaboration between Allan Torp and Wanders!

The visit moved after upstairs for a superb surprise: a tour in the very Marcel Wanders Studio. It was great to see how the space was bustling with young and creative creative minds working in the most interesting projects, from interior designs to unique  pieces. We had a chance to go through a presentation of Wanders' most interesting works that, even of far from my personal taste, were in the overall extremely interesting. There were so many layers of history and research behind each of them that was almost unbelieveable how they managed to put all them together in a very coherent project: the result ccouldn't but be rich in both sense and output. 

All images by Susanna Vento

PLACES | Stunning shop in Glasgow

I love the interiors of this store in Glasgow. Designed by Spanish Tomás Alonso for the shoes brand Camper, it shows how a limited selection of materials can be used to create a space with a strong, unique character. The whole retail design is based on the combination of few elements: the 10x10 white ceramic tiles, the white powder coated steel and the white American oak of the furniture. Handmade lamps produced in Italy complete the picture.

The Camper shop in Glasgow is the third collaboration between the brand and the Spanish designer and reflects  Tomás Alonso's approach based on functionalism, minimalism and a close relation to everyday objects.

I find the visual geometrical patterns created by the variation of the tiles very interesting, what do you think?

Photography | Sánchez y Montoro

*** Get a chance to join FNWG GIVEAWAY here!  ***

 

PLACES | A special plant store in Australia

 

For today PLACES, I invite you to come to visit Loose Leaf, in Collingwood, Melbourne. A poetic plant store that opened its doors just a couple of months ago thanks to partners Wona Bae and Charlie Lawler. The shop is actually a multi-functional space designed to allow space for Wona sculptural creations and workshops ( a must-have for any plant shop nowadays). After educating herself in both floral art and fashion in Korea where she originally comes from, Wona Bae decided to move to Germany to improve her skills. It was here that she met Charlie and decided to go back to Australia to pursuit their dream.

The shop is located in what used to be an old warehouse. In my opinion, this kind of industrial locations are the perfect background for a plant shop for the airy indoor space they usually have and the minimalistic rawness of the space.

Wona Bae's creations mixed together the essential art of Kokozi (Korean style Ikebana), the natural sculptural techniques I honed in Germany with master florist Ursula Wegener and the incredible local material available in Australia. The result is something unique, like this baskets that remind of the world-wide famous kokedamas but are actually a hand-woven pots.

You can also follow Loose Leaf via Instagram. To know a bit more about them, please visit The Design Files where I originally spotted the place. 

PHOTOGRAPHY | Sean Fennessy

PLACES | FNWG and Tonolo Selezioni

I have been asked often where my passion for Scandinavian design comes from and why the atmosphere and interiors of our home are so Nordic. Undoubtedly, both my personal preference for essential, meaningful living and the research I carried out at the Architecture Faculty in Venice shaped my way of understanding design and space. But, it was the possibility to discover Nordic design and share this growing affection with very passionate people that planted the real "seed" in my heart. 

So, here I am, sharing with you one of the "great roots" that made me fell in love with Scandinavian design, many years ago.

Everything happened in this store, not far from my parent's home in Italy, where I used to spend lot of time observing the objects of classic brands like Marimekko, Iittala and Normann Copenhagen almost 15 years ago.

In a way, Tonolo Selezioni was my personal Scandinavian Design museum, with private talks about the meanings and concepts behind the design of the selected pieces. The conversations with the small gang that used to come around the store shaped my understanding of design, sometimes more than the lectures at the faculty. Nobody wanted to teach me anything, so there was no preconceived route to take and my imagination could wonder freely discovering concepts, functions, shapes and materials.

Still today, Federica - the owner - carefully selects the objects that she presents in the shop and creates some of the most refined still life and stylings I have seen. The selection has enlarged during the years and includes new design brands, like Hay, Vipp, AndTradition. It also embraces design in clothing, being one of the few stores in the area having Marimekko dresses. Italian brands are also present with labels like Album di Famiglia -  outstanding children clothing - Some Beautiful Items or 10notforsale, a curated collection of hand-blown glasses that challenge our idea of nature.

Most of the times, inspirations and possibilities come from the most unexpected places. But I have always found that where there is a great passion and this is shared freely, something special always grow. At least, this has happened to me.

All pictures © facing north with gracia

PLACES | Hair salon in Japan

Hair salons in Japan are at their best these days. It is the case of  "kilico." by Makoto Yamaguchi Design: the salon is located in the basement of a commercial building  in one of the coolest areas of Tokio,  Daikanyama. 

The renovation focuses on blending the new and the old by incorporating the traces left by previous owners - the "vestiges" of past time- into the final outcome. To achieve it, the designers decided to adopt an essential approach by simply painting the walls in white and filling the floors when necessary. The result is a unique minimal industrial space, full of character and memories.

To see another beautiful example of commercial renovation in Japan, check this post here.

 

Via Makoto Yamaguchi Design

STOCKHOLM | Part Two

Here it is the second part of the Stockholm Series! So let's take a walk in Södermalm, from Götgatan into the heart of SoFo in Stockholm. As you may remember from what I wrote last week, the district is packed with cool shops and places and you can breath creativity everywhere. My first stop was at the local Hope store, the Swedish clothing brand: the place was visually stunning. I liked the industrial touch of the structures combined with the white tiled walls and the pieces of art used to reinforce the colour scheme of this year collection.

Second stop was Granit where I actually stopped more than once during my short staying after the Blogger Tour, and I never left "alone". hat can I say about this place? I just love it. It was so hard to not buy all the items, like the new light strings (I wish I would have bought the white ones, silly me). The staff was very friendly so I dare to ask if they plan to open internationally delivery soon because I am sure I am not the only one looking forward to it. I have  sweet and bitter news: they will open it to the all the Northern countries this year but nothing is planned before next year fro the rest of us. That means, we will have to go to visit Stockholm to get something: bitter-sweet, isn't it?

As I said, the area has a great number of creative offices and I loved to walk around taking pictures of unexpected scenarios like the one down. And I almost rang the bell when I saw the Skull poster in the window shop in the other one.

One of the places I really wanted to visit in SoFo was Dusty Deco, a shop specialized in industrial pieces with patina and great classics they collect during their travel. Unfortunately it was closed. So I walked to visit GrandPa, a store next door to the cafè and Fabrique bakery I showed last week. Grandpa was founded in 2003 with the idea of offering a different sort of shopping  that could merge interesting products with their special atmosphere. selection Since the founding of Grandpa in 2003 we have offered a different type of shopping. We have always had service, atmosphere and inspiration as our top priority. We often decline strong brands that we don’t feel are up to our standards from a quality, environmental or image perspective. For us, the brands are never more important than the product itself.  Their famous Cyclisten poster can be found here.

The second part stops here but there are two special issues coming soon and one is dedicated entirely to my fellow Urban Jungle Bloggers! 

 

 

 

Pictures facing north with gracia

PLACES | Industrial salon in Japan

Sides Core designed this Hair Salon in Kobe, Japan. The salon is divided into five area: a reception area, waiting area, shampooing room, cutting space and staff room. The space is simple, with a very raw impression because of the concrete floors and the exposed ceiling. The interior in intentionally developed with this minimal palette of materials as a reflection of the concept behind. The owners didn't want the place to look like a hair salon because they wanted people to spend time here, reading books or doing other things. I love multi-functional spaces because there are always unexpected things happening and I have seen quite a few here in Stockholm or in Buenos Aires and they are always my favourites.

Via Dezeen