Milan Design Week: 5 exhibitions and events not to miss

Showcasing collectible design, immersive installations and the finest craftsmanship, ICON shares what not to miss at the world’s biggest design fair from 18-23 April

Finland’s Antti and Vuokko Nurmesniemi are celebrated at Design Museum Helsinki

Designing everything from electricity pylons to circular dresses, the husband and wife duo individually and together played a big part in Finnish design history. Now a new exhibition at Design Museum Helsinki is showing their work to a new generation

Panoptikum Collections and Valery Kuznetsov put a quirky spin on storage design with their new launch BUGS

The Ukrainian studio has captured the industry's attention with their fresh designs and quirky collectible objects

New exhibition Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth is now open

The exhibition places contemporary works in direct relationship to the historic design at Chatsworth, creating unexpected connections between past and present

Marsèll and Carsten Nicolai invite viewers to explore the unknown with new installation Transmitter / Receiver

Originally produced for the Haus der Kunst gallery in Munich, the site-specific installation will return during Milan Art Week next month

Aalto University graduate Irene Purasachit creates practical new products from discarded flower waste

Former Helsinki local Irene Purasachit explores the potential of turning unwanted flowers into environmentally responsible materials

The sixth edition of COLLECTIBLE brings together the best in contemporary design

The international fair for collectible design returns from 9-12 March in a new landmark venue, the Sheds of Tour & Taxis in Brussels

Sabine Marcelis on materials, colour and her major collaboration with IKEA

With a new lighting collection for IKEA, the Rotterdam-based designer’s distinctive approach to material and colour is very much of the moment

Editor’s picks: 10 highlights from Stockholm Design Week 2023

Last week saw the design world take over the city of Stockholm to celebrate the return of the much-loved Stockholm Design Week and Stockholm Furniture Fair. ICON shares the latest news and inspiration

Natural Connections is a playful exploration of materiality and our relation to nature

Now on display at Matadero Madrid, as part of Madrid Design Festival 2023, the exhibition focuses on three sustainable American hardwoods

The essential steps to designing with empathy

The continued success of Finnish design and architecture is empathy, says Hanna Laikola

How young studio Vaarnii is making the most of Finland’s timber resources

The furniture company creates beautifully simple designs using Finnish pine and works with local craftspeople and factories in Finland

The founders of Milan digital gallery Vaspaar share how they bring the art of collecting to life

From Vaspaar, their Milan digital gallery, Andrea Grecucci and Kaisha Davierwalla sell classics of midcentury design to a growing band of discerning collectors

The story of Benjamin Hubert’s LAYER is told in a new monograph

Benjamin Hubert’s design journey has been captured between the covers of a tactile hardback that gives readers an inside view of this complex industry

Clerkenwell Design Week announces new partnership for scaled up return to EC1

Clerkenwell Design Week, the UK’s leading design festival, returns to London between 23 – 25 May 2023 with a stronger-than-ever programme including the exciting addition of Design London

A short history of the Bubble Chair

Eero Aarnio’s iconic Bubble Chair, first designed in 1963, is a clear, ball-shaped seat that hangs from the ceiling

Power Station of Art and CHANEL Culture Fund highlight the art of craft in China

The first season of the Next Cultural Producer programme, and a series of exhibitions, is on view until 5 February 2023

Carl Hansen & Søn launches apprenticeship programme to train future makers

The apprenticeship workshop, entitled The LAB, aims to preserve the quality and craftsmanship of Denmark

Iittala celebrates Alvar Aalto and Oiva Toikka with new collections launching in 2023

To mark Alvar Aalto’s 125th birthday in 2023, Finnish design brand Iittala will be launching a series of new items from the Alvar Aalto Collection alongside its delicate Tundra glassware line by Oiva Toikka

Year in Review: ICON’s top 5 design stories of 2022

Explore ICON's most-read design stories of 2022, including the top graphic designers from around the world to follow and the furniture pieces made from food waste, plus so much more

Self-care brand Reia collaborates with illustrator Charlotte Trounce on limited edition gift set

As the year draws to a close, the collaborative gift set, which is available now, focuses on the theme of reflection and intention