This month at the annual Salone del Mobile in Milan, 12 leading Australian designers presented ,Local,Design“>Local Design – a group show held inside the Teatro Arsenale in the 5 Vie art and design precinct. Among them was ,Shilo,Engelbrecht“>Shilo Engelbrecht; a textile artist born in Cape Town, who now divides her time between Stockholm, London and her parents’ lychee farm in northern New South Wales. Here, Engelbrecht shares a glimpse of her time spent in Milan.
**See more from Shilo Engelbrecht at her Instagram account @shiloengelbrecht
Lunch at Trattoria Madonnina
Lunch at Trattoria Madonnina
“After a huge day installing 5,000 black bricks in Teatro Arsenale we wanted to find a local lunch place to escape the hustle and bustle. Luckily we came across the charming Trattoria Madonnina. We sat outside under grapevines to eat cotoletta alla Milanese at gingham-clothed tables. Bonus points were given for the walls covered in art and film posters.”
Trattoria Madonnina, via Gentilino, 6, Milano
Lunch at Trattoria Madonnina
Lunch at Trattoria Madonnina
Wunderwall opening LaDoubleJ
Wunderwall opening LaDoubleJ
“On the Sunday before design week kicked off, Milan’s most colourful and friendly creatives gathered in a courtyard covered in wisteria for LaDoubleJ’s Wunderwall presentation, a celebration of vintage and print. [JJ Martin](/ JJ Martin) was responsible for the show – and in JJ’s true spirit, the opening was unique and full of joy. Liselotte’s hand-painted ceramics sat among incredible pieces of couture and skirts made in collaboration with Mantero.”
For more pictures from the opening, see [LaDoubleJ.com](/ LaDoubleJ.com).
Sotow studio visit
Sotow studio visit
“Paulo Calcagni makes the most incredible outdoor furniture; everything he makes is beautifully handcrafted from iron. Paulo was showing his new range during Salone del Mobile. We made the most of a visit to his showroom and photographed a few of my new linen napkins alongside his work.”
Sotow Showroom, via S.Marta, 21, Milano, [sotow.it](/ sotow.it)
Bar Basso opening night block party
Bar Basso opening night block party
“To celebrate the first day of our show we visited Bar Basso for a few Negroni Sbagliatos. These were said to have been invented (by mistake) at this exact drinking hole in the early ’70s. We were joined by hundreds of others to celebrate the first day of Salone, including artist Lee Broom, who drove his industrial delivery van all the way from East London to Milano to host a block party and lighting installation just outside the bar.”
Bar Basso, via Plinio, 39, Milano, [barbasso.com](/ barbasso.com); [leebroom.com](/ leebroom.com)
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To market, to market
To market, to market
“I love to pop into the various fruttivendoli when I visit Italy and always discover something new to try. This time it was a special pink radicchio from Verona. Its leaves were pale pink, crisp, tender and perfect eaten raw. It had all the bitter accents of radicchio, balanced with a subtle sweetness. I was also totally enamoured by the melons with Mona Lisa stickers and, of course, the artichokes.”
Knit-su studio visit
Knit-su studio visit
“During Salone I had the pleasure of visiting Susanne Foldal’s studio. Susy has lived in Milan for 12 years but is originally from Norway. Her hand-knitted jumpers and accessories are made with love using natural wool, cotton and bamboo. You can visit her studio, select your favourite colours and walk away with something you’ll treasure forever.”
Studio Maglia & Cuci, via Gian Giacomo Mora 7, Milano, [knit-su.com](/ knit-su.com)
