SaloneSatellite: “design, innovation + craftsmanship”  responds to the growing need felt by young designers for an integration of artisanal tradition with the new possibilities offered by modern industrial design and production.

The world’s foremost incubator of design talent, the SaloneSatellite, returns as the reference point for young people wishing to enter the world of design.

For 17 years, Satellite has been a global point of reference for designers under 35 from all corners of the world who want to be known, as well as for entrepreneurs on the hunt for new talent.

650 participants, 16 international design schools and 4 artisanal workshops moved to a new location this year within the Milan Fairgrounds, with admission free for the public for all 6 days of the Salone.

The 17th edition of the international showcase dedicated to the design stars of the future inaugurates its new location in Pavilions 13-15 of the Milan Fairgrounds, Rho, a more functional location both for access through Cargo 4, reserved for free admission, and for its proximity to the South Gate and the Service Center, which houses the Executive, Administrative and Press offices of the Salone del Mobile.

Access for those already inside the fairgrounds is now through EuroCucina, which shares Pavilions 13-15 with the SaloneSatellite. The new location also generates synergy with the major international exhibition of built-in appliances and high-end ventilation hoods, FTK (Technology For the Kitchen), situated in nearby Pavilions 9-11.

Together, the two events – which illustrate the state of the art of future creativity and built-in technology, respectively – present innovative new ideas that are also in tune with the rest of the product categories on display at the Salone.

The new participants were chosen by a prestigious Selection Committee comprising –

The particpants in 2014 are 650 young designers – 45% of whom are returning for the second or third time – from 32 countries and 5 continents.

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They are joined by 16 design schools

6 of them here for the first time – Lund University School of Industrial Design, Sweden; École Cantonale d’art de Lausanne, Switzerland; L’École de Design Nantes Atlantique, France; Köln International School of Design, Germany; Politecnico di Milano-Scuola del Design, Italy; Royal College of Art, Design Products Programme, Great Britain

10 have presented before – Appalachian State University, Furniture Design Department, USA; École Des Arts du Bois Pierre Vernotte, France; Istituto Marangoni School of Design, Italy; Moscow State Industrial Art Academy S.G. Stroganov, Russia; Polo Formativo Legnoarredo, Italy; Tu Graz, Institute of Spatial Design, Faculty of Architecture, Austria; Universidad de Navarra, Spain; Università degli Studi di Trieste-Dip, Department of Engineering and Architecture, Italy; University of Oregon, Product Design Program, USA; Putra University, Malaysia.

Marva Griffin, the original curator of the Salone Satellite, who has always looked after young designers with almost maternal sensitivity.

After several years in the design industry and major collaboration contracts, Marva discovered her vocation as mentor in 1998, the year in which she was asked to manage the Salone Satellite.

The list of young persons launched by the Satellite is lengthy. In every project she discovers something positive; she knows that the future belongs to the young and she is the throbbing heart of the Salone Satellite.

The Artisanal Workshops

After the success of last year’s edition, the Artisanal Workshops return to help both participants and visitors understand the ‘heart’ of a given product, how they are born, grow and evolve before eventually reaching our homes – to understand how the hand creates what the mind invents, by way of material.

The Textile Workshop is the realm of Giuseppe Parolo, son of a weaver, who after a lifetime dedicated to weaving has taken up the old family loom in a quest to revive this noble tradition in Italy.

In the Ceramic Workshop, Sergio Scognamiglio, who lives and works in Vietri sul Mare on the Amalfi coast, presents this ancient material that bridges tradition and modernity, making it a perennial challenge for designers.

The Leather Workshop unveils, through the expert hands of Silvio Abbondi, how this material is worked – from the selection of the hide to the cut to the final stitching – underscoring the importance of letting oneself be guided by inspiration rather than the rules of the market.

In the Digital Workshop, run by the young Cosimo Orban with the support of FabLab of Milan, keyboards, mice and new technologies are at the service of the creative process. 3-D printing, computerized milling and many other innovations will educate visitors through concrete experience.