On Wednesday we officially launched the private beta of Thinglink and opened the Design in the Wild photo contest at a press event here at the Milan Furniture Fair. The interest has been almost overwhelming, and there's currently still a backlog of about 1,000 invitation requests. Please be patient if it takes me a few days to get back to you!
If you have fabulous photos of design objects in striking real life settings, submit them to the contest before June 1st. The grand prize is a true design classic, an authentic Pastil chair designed by Eero Aarnio in 1968.
Meanwhile, the demo stand has been up and running at Zona Tortona, and I've had conversations with many designers, photographers, journalists and design enthusiasts there. Thanks to Eero Aarnio and the furniture maker Martela, who set up Thinglink at their pavilion.
Eero explained to me how important it is to him that people understand the historical perspective of his designs. It inspired him to go back to the photo archives of his early work and upload a selection to Thinglink. If you're browsing the site, look for these jewels of 1960s product photography (like the one of his daughters, left) on his profile.
This morning I was a guest at the TV studio of ZonaTortona TV (I'll post update when the video is available online), and I just got back from the opening of an exhibition by designers Harri Koskinen and Kristina Lassus. Their new collections will also be on Thinglink soon.
Tomorrow I'll be meeting journalists and bloggers at our stand fom 10 to 11 am. Then I'm heading to the sprawling main exhibition to spot more interesting products and designers. Stay tuned for a summary of the finds!
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