'WHERE THINGS COME FROM AND HOW THEY'RE MADE'

The Milan Furniture Fair is over. According to Sight Unseen the documentation of the manufacturing process was evident throughout the show, something M&I was pleased to hear:

'The only trend worth writing home about was the diaristic glimpse into process that so many designers chose to offer this year, supplementing their finished products with sketches, models, and real-time demonstrations. Droog, Tom Dixon, and the Belgian gallery Z33 turned manufacturing into a spectator sport, churning out saleable objects on the spot, while the young Berlin duo Studio Hausen decided to forgo actual products entirely, outfitting their Satellite booth with a vitrine full of experimental bits and bobs from recent research projects. Certainly in some cases the conceit helped mask a lack of new production pieces, an economic consequence that plagued the fair in general, but mostly it celebrated curiosity, storytelling, and a growing interest in where things come from and how they’re made.'

(Photo from Sight Unseen)

TALES OF THE UNSKILLED

Two stories have caught the eye over the last week or so. The Financial Times reported that luxury goods houses are lamenting the lack of skills amongst workers. Meanwhile, Katie Allen in The Observer wrote about politicians competing to support the manufacturing sector. Allen's article touches on the lack of skilled workers in the UK today.

Picture credit: Humphrey Spender/Getty Images

(Employees at the Austin car factory in Birmingham in 1939.)