Milan furniture fair - Salone del Mobile.

We began the trip by visiting various satellite shows of the Fuorisalone, starting with the Wallpaper* Handmade view. We followed this with a wander around Spazio Rosanna Orlandi and then took a look at the room installation by Hay at the Pelota. We finished with an evening drinking cocktails and eating ice-cream at the Hem Social for the launch of Max Lamb's enamel 'Splatter' stool. It was here that we bumped into friends from SCP and had a good ‘catch-up’.

Other cultural highlights included the 'Women in Italian Design' exhibition at the Triennale Design Museum: a new history of Italian design in the feminine. The 'Subtle' exhibition was an exquisite display of the delicacies of paper as a medium. Another highlight, well worth the long walk to the furthest end of the Lambrate district, was the Eindhoven College installation, focusing on ‘Touch’: an array of experimental pieces using yarn, fleece and organic materials. The thought-provoking introduction by Ilse Crawford addressed many questions and issues relating to our senses.

The trip finished with a dash around the official Salone exhibition, taking in stands such as Moroso, Kvadrat, and Missoni. We squeezed in one last quick 'aperitivo' at the station before heading to the airport. Overall the trip was wonderful and well worth the aching feet, and we've returned full of exciting visual stimuli and recharged batteries, ready for a busy few months designing collections to launch later this year and in 2017!