Author: danieldcnyc

The Earth Is Our Home

ECO Solidarity, a collaborative project by EUNIC NY, the European Union National Institutes for Culture, was awarded the ICFF Editors’ Award, one of the design industry’s premier accolades. Presented by WantedDesign Manhattan, the project introduced leading designers and studios from nine European Union countries showcasing transformative solutions as collective response to the global climate emergency through acts of innovation and intervention by design.

The ICFF Editors’ Awards are judged by editors from invited design media and recognize the top designs in 12 categories. ECO Solidarity, which brought together a diverse group of design practitioners whose work explores radical sustainability in architecture, urban planning, product design and development, energy and waste, received the award for Best Booth. The exhibition was designed and curated by Deborah Wang, architect and artistic director of DesignTO, based in Toronto, Ontario.

“We imagined the exhibition as a choir of voices,” explained Deborah Wang, “It was a challenge and pleasure to assemble the collective voices of visionary designers to address the pressing issues of our time.”

“Thanks to the collaboration between the members of EUNIC New York and the support of EUNIC Global, the project presented at WantedDesign Manhattan brought representatives from the emerging generation of European designers who are taking a personal responsibility to climate change by finding innovative and out-of-box solutions to environmental concerns,” said Miroslav Konvalina, President of EUNIC New York and Director of Czech Center New York. “These designers push the boundaries in their respective fields and carefully consider the full life cycle of their products. I am very pleased that the exhibition was recognized for outstanding work and that the two talks found a receptive and engaged audience in New York.”

“All designers united in ECO Solidarity reach out beyond the field of design, to science, economy, and other disciplines, to redefine what sustainable design is, to humanize the industry’s buzzword “green” or “eco-friendly” by demonstrating that a closed-loop economy with maximum use of waste is realistic with practical solutions and meaningful, ready-to-implement, aesthetically alluring products,” added Izabela Gola, Visual Arts and Design Curator at the Polish Cultural Institute New York, initiator and co-curator of this project. “The role of cultural diplomacy in this day of age, when the Earth’s life-supporting systems on which we fundamentally depend are in jeopardy due to our human mistakes, is to raise awareness and sensitivity around the key environmental issues, to provide space for thought and dialogue, to inspire, and to educate.”

Participating designers and studios included: EOOS NEXT (Austria), Herrmann & Coufal (Czech Republic), Livable Platform (Flanders, Belgium), MOYA Birch Bark (Germany), AHA Objects (Malta), NASDRA Conscious Design (Poland), SUSDESIGN (Portugal), Atelier Ad Hoc (Romania), crafting plastics! studio (Slovakia).

ECO Solidarity was initiated in 2020 by the Polish Cultural Institute New York in partnership with WantedDesign and joined by eight European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC NY) institutions in 2021, including the Austrian Cultural Forum New York in cooperation with Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and Vienna Business Agency,Delegation of Flanders to the USA , Czech Center New York, Goethe-Institut New York, Arts Council Malta in New York, Romanian Cultural Institute New York, Polish Cultural Institute New York, the Consulate General of Portugal in New York/ Camões, I.P., Consulate General of Slovakia in New York, and the European Union Delegation to the United Nations.

Daniel Quintanilla

Runway Earth

Fashinnovation, the global platform that promotes connection via Technology/Innovations & Sustainability for the Fashion & Lifestyle Industries, presents a “Dinner Series” with partner Spring Studios in NYC. Programmed to happen every other month, the dinners are for 25 selected guests, from the fashion, technology, business and design worlds, discussing specific relevant topics for the industries and promoting positive change for all the sectors.

The 2nd dinner – following the kickoff around the Metaverse in March – took place on May 12th from 5:30 PM to 8 PM at Spring Studios, where the main topic will be sustainability for the fashion industry and contributions from the industry for environmental preservation.

The guests were Norma Kamali (Founder & Creative director), Brana Dane (Model & Founder), Hayley Segar (Founder & Influencer), Sinead Bovell (Model, Tech Leader & Founder at WAYE), Keith Lissner (EVP at Vera Wang), Abrima Erwiah (Co-Founder, Studio One Eighty Nine), Rana Sidahmed (Senior Director, Avery Dennison), Marci Zaroff (Founder), Martu Freeman Parker (Director, Mana Fashion), Enzo Barraco (international Photographer), Gary Wassner (President, Hilldun), Gabby Hirata (President/CEO, Diane Von Furstenberg), Kika Hazan (entrepreneur), Ariane de Vos van Steenwijk (DVF), Kerry Bannigan (Founder & CEO at Conscious Fashion Campaign), Giuseppe Stigliano (Global CEO at Spring Studios), and Fashinnovation’s Founder, Marcelo Guimarães, and Co-Founder, Jordana Guimarães.

The event also presented the special “Galapagos” installation by international photographer Enzo Barraco. The main goal of the Dinner Series is to promote a close contact between today’s leaders from diverse creative industries, in order to trade strategies, knowledge and unique experiences that will clear the path for the future of fashion.

About this new dinner series, Fashinnovation’s Co-Founder, Jordana Guimarães states: “it’s a privilege having the chance to meet personally with so many important decision-makers from the fashion and innovation sectors, to discuss such an important and time sensitive topic as sustainability. The Dinner Series – in partnership with Spring Studios – is generating opportunities to debate relevant issues for our present – and future – with the leaders and change makers, that we can then share it with everyone so that we’re all a part of the change”.

Some of the special quotes from the guests registered at the second Spring Salon dinner:

Norma Kamali (Designer & Founder):

“Fashinnovation dinners are an inspired meeting of creatives enjoying the celebration and exchange of innovative ideas in a beautiful setting”.

Allow yourself to make some sh*t that can be terrible, but in terrible there is something. Because bad doesn’t always mean not good, it means that there’s an idea there that still can be massaged or put aside for a few seasons and then look at it again like ‘Wow this is really good!’I am constantly thinking about ideas. I am constantly saving things or having things developed or coming up with ideas.”

Brana Dane (Model & Founder):

“The dinner is a great way to delve deeper into the niche issues related to fashion. Being involved in the intersection of sustainability and fashion, myself, it was a rare opportunity to take the temperature of the top leaders in this focused area. Due to the intimate size of the dinners you really get a chance to get to know every single person and as a result real connections are made. Norma was an inspirational guest speaker during the dinner and so willing to converse about the nitty gritty of fashion. I think we should do more dinners like this in fashion to encourage innovation and community”.

Marci Zarof (Founder & CEO):

“I am thrilled and grateful that Fashinnovation and Spring Studios are co-creating this fabulous dinner series—to foster creativity, connection, community, collaboration, and consciousness—the DNA of the ECORENAISSANCE”.

Sinead Bovell (Model and Founder):

“The Fashionnovation Sustainability dinner was an evening filled with co-collaboration, ideation and passion for building a more sustainable fashion ecosystem. With guests from all different aspects of the industry, the doors were opened to learning from new perspectives and cross-pollinating ideas. A critical step in redesigning the industry”.

Hayley Segar (Founder):

“In my years of going to industry events, both as a content creator and now fashion entrepreneur, I have never seen anything like what Fashinnovation is doing; purposefully connecting people at all stages & levels within the fashion industry to inspire collaboration, mindful discussion, and creation of community. The entire team is so warm and is the perfect set of people to achieve what they are setting out to do for the industry. I adore their team and their mission! Thank you Fashinnovation.

“Kerry Bannigan (Founder & CEO at Conscious Fashion Campaign):

“Community is at the core of Fashinnovation. In this dinner series collaboration with Spring Studios, the partnership is bringing together voices of change and industry leaders to engage how fashion and technology are driving our sustainable today and beyond”.

Giuseppe Stigliano (Global CEO at Spring Studios):

“Last night the Spring X Fashinnovation dinner was another important milestone in our partnership. 25 fashion executives, activists, designers spending time together as friends, discussing about how the industry should reinvent itself. Simply amazing! At Spring we believe that diversity in thoughts, opens minds and inspires progress”.

Martu Freeman Parker (Director, Mana Fashion):

“Thank you so much for inviting us to such an amazing event. I met so many extraordinary people last night. I absolutely appreciate your gift of connecting people which builds community”

Abrima Erwiah (Co-Founder, Studio One Eighty Nine):

“I had an amazing time. What I love about you and your events including last night’s dinner is that they are filled with love and with optimism. You create safe spaces and encourage dialogue and encourage a cross networking of people with the vision that you hope that they will come together to solve critical social issues. But your baseline is always positive. That resonates with me. I have been to your online events during the pandemic, to your in-person events internationally and domestically and I always get the same feeling. It was a brilliant idea to host a small intimate intentional dinner. And I’m thrilled it’s the first of many. Congratulations! You are a guiding light.”

Next Spring Salon dinner is scheduled for July 21st, at Spring Studio’s restaurant and produced by FASHINNOVATION.

Daniel Quintanilla

Knowledge Is Power

Down in Lower Manhattan today, Daniel plus Lauren along with notable home decor publications were invited to the Casa Brasil Q&A curator breakfast in collaboration with ApexBrasil and the ICFF/ WantedDesign furniture trade show taking place right now to learn more about beautiful pieces designed and manufactured in the country of Brazil, all making their way into the United States as consumers seek out a new home experience while enduring the new challenges of everyday life such as Ukraine, Row V. Wade, supply chain issues thanks to COVID19, and inflation.

For those who are lucky enough to emerge from the last two years of the COVID19 pandemic filled with lockdowns and restrictions, consumers are in search of a fresh new look for their homes as they look ahead to more optimistic times, they escape to a much more simple experience that’s inspires easy living, but more about telling the story behind what it takes to make such a simple concept of a dining room table, where you first realize it could’ve been thought of by you, but the process, details, and the layerings behind a simple furniture concept will quickly make you realize it’s not that simple to think up.

The Casa Brasil space in lower Manhattan should not be thought of as space with Brazilian furniture, but a lounge that feels like home with hundreds of participating Brazilian furniture designers who make the Brazilian home experience as real, and as comfortable as possible, utilizing natural wood, leather, and stone to inspire an idea that seems simple to create, but takes layers such as which raw material best suits a table, chair, or dresser, figuring out the aesthetics of building your piece of furniture, which price point fits a designer’s idea, and if there’s a large enough market for it to produce and sell.

Layers to create and manufacture simple apparently are not easy, but it is very important that the story behind what you buy stresses why you made this beautiful piece of furniture in the first place, what inspired you, who, what, when, why, and how you got inspired to create a drawer that represents a sculpture, that’s also where Brazilian roots come in because it’s important to know the Brazilian culture and heritage behind this simple piece of beautiful furniture that tells a beautiful story.

The story and experience that Brazilian furniture brings to New York City thanks to Casa Brasil now play a new important role in emerging from the COVID19 pandemic, to now what your life will be like post-pandemic, how this one piece of Brazilian furniture that took precedence during lockdown will now help you move forward in your life, whether you decide to go back to the office and need that beautiful coffee table to welcome you home every night which contains sculptures from Artisans in the state of Alagoas that’s rich with culture, or you permanently stay working from home and you want these artifacts and layers of Brazil to keep you productive and happy as possible.

Daniel Quintanilla

Earth At Hand

Today’s highly attended ICFF + WantedDesign furniture style event at the Javits Center here in New York City contains hundreds of top vendors from around the world, answering the call to give consumers much-needed remodeling ideas for their home, include consumers who’ve become more conscientious about where their furniture’s sourced, the ECO Solidarity initiative here at ICFF answers the call with furniture makers who’ve played a leading role in manufacturing furniture that’s eco-friendly, including SUSDESIGN Studio & Consultancy who’s already played a pivotal role with the Portuguese government with the European Union.

Tree waste, otherwise known as excess debris, limbs, dead trees, dead wood, or waste in the forest has a very bad wrap, because it’s the culprit to wildfires out in California and other parts of the world, but reduction in tree waste can not only reduce or eliminate wildfires, but be used to make 100 percent sustainable furniture like the chair you see above, made up of all kinds of forest materials like eucalyptus and cork, cork the leading source material in Portugal, also producing beautiful pieces of furniture that celebrate waste reduction in the forest, leading to less or no wildfires.

SUSDESIGN’s influence in Portugal has been so powerful, that the President of Portugal, who’s also a member of the European Union, turned to SUSDESIGN to redesign their conference room headquarters using strictly tree waste, leading to extremely beautiful results for world leaders to admire, and take further steps into the Green New Deal based on SUSDESIGN’s eco-friendly solidarity, which also is the driver behind other participants in the ECO Solidarity movement that ICFF has created to move the world closer to zero carbon footprints by 2030.

One of most prominent leaders to attend Portugal and witness SUSDESIGN’s eco-reimagining of their conference headquarters based on circularity was Emmanuel Macron, who’s the controversial President of France, who’s also a strong proponent of the Green New Deal, as well as British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and U.S. President, Joe Biden, all uniting to create a planet with less fossil fuels, and a stronger presence for SUSDESIGN along with ECO Solidarity by ICFF all striving for a greener Earth.

Daniel Quintanilla

Building On Color

Spring is in the air, soon it will be Summer, and crowds continue to grow emerging from the COVID19 pandemic, proof positive today at the Javits Center here in New York’s Hudson Yards with the ICFF + Wanted Design global furniture trade show that’s super-eager for homeowners looking to remodel/ renovate their humble abode with the finest, and most high-end furniture domestically, and around the world, with Mana Sazegara apart of your vision with your new home project.

A good finishing touch, starting point, or even a total room transformation is inspired by people, place, or thing , Mana Sazegara plays a major role where your home economics fit in your remodel plans, Wanderland by Mana Sagegara are colors flowing into commonly architectural monolithic forms sitting next to each other, or placed on top of each other, a collection of three wall pieces and two seat objects, taking you wherever it wants after you’ve taken the first step.

For the individual who is Mana Sazegara, it all started because she use to be an Architect, who’s found that Architecture lacked a vital aspect, color, Mana’s mission was creating furniture taking after her Architectural career where pieces replicate buildings, but now have room to have a play on various colors made possible by Mana Sazegara herself.

Though it’s not about the building replication entirely, it’s all about Mana transitioning into furniture design where there’s more room for playfulness, especially color where all levels of inspiration and expression are allowed to enter into the space, buildings only have one purpose, to create space for Furniture Designers like Mana Sazegara to take Architecture to a new world of representation through furniture, but color playfulness are now the dominant factor where architecture structures pivot.

Your home is all about you, who you are and where you come from, we’ve all got room to break away from modern norms or family roots, each piece from Mana Sazegara has its own identity, so much so that all 5 Mana Sazegara pieces each have its own name because urbanity and social life is the centric idea behind this collection.

Leo – Not your casual bench. Leo gives you love, makes you laugh, and takes good care of you. A people pleaser who brings people together. A match-maker. Leo greets people usually in the foyer of the house, helps them to relax, do their chores, and if they want, enjoy a conversation.

Jaggy – Jaggy is ready to make friends. You can pair Jaggy with another Jaggy, he is extendable in different directions. Comfortable to sit on; stable and strong. With its modular design it can grow with you and your needs.

Alice – Alice is a family of mirrors that all brings something to the table. They are alive and present in every dimension. Showing people things from their own perspective, in different shapes and colors.

Olive – Olive is of Alice’s family. They both live in multiple dimensions, showing you sides of yourself and your surroundings through colorful mediums that you have not experienced. But just like any other siblings they have similarities and differences. Roundy is more easy going on the flaws and more soothing to the eye, complementing your every blemish.

Charlie – Charlie is a collection of modular mirrors from Alice family. They are two separate pieces that have their own character, however when together, they show another side of their personality, while complementing each other.

Individuals in an urban setting are different in-essence and yet keeping each other’s company, being felixible to one another and share many essential charactristics.

Daniel Quintanilla

Alto-Flat, the newest addition to the Archilume family is defined by a strong conical shape.

Friday, May 13, 2022 — Vancouver, BC.

The Alto, Archilume’s classic gem, finishes at its base with a jewel-like transparent element reminiscent of a craftsman’s cut diamond. The new Alto-Flat introduces a flattened lens that dramatically changes the outline of the original luminaire, its’ unadulterated, simplified suspended conical form speaks to a more minimalist architectural design language.

“The Alto-Flat shifts the luminaries’ silhouette to resonate with those seeking more minimalist forms, and a more subtle outline than its sister luminaire.” – Saleem Khattak

The conical housing, fashioned from aircraft-grade machined aluminum in anodized finishes, conceals Archilume’s signature application of total internal reflection optics. The hidden LED technology produces a warm glow range from a full brightness of 3000 degrees Kelvin to a dimmable color temperature of 1800 degrees with 95 CRI. The lower portion of the Alto-Flat luminaire is a transparent acrylic lens with a frosted bottom, emitting a flattering, glare-free light. As with the entire lighting line at Archilume, the Alto-Flat features a micro-canopy allowing it to be installed as a soloist or grouped to form a unique choral arrangement of light.

“At Archilume, we encourage designers to play with light. For us, it begins in the studio. By changing an object’s delineation, we can change the design language to broaden the appeal of the Alto line to suit the unique decorative lighting needs of designers and their clients. “ – Saleem Khattak

Heading to ICFF in NYC on May 15-17th?

Visit Archilume in booth #915 and see the award-winning Ovolo in its live debut, the new Alto_Flat, and the full Archilume luminaire family.

About Archilume

Archilume is an international award-winning Canadian luminaire design studio. With industrial designer, Saleem Khattak at the helm, the studio focus is on forward-moving design – a creative process with an eye on designing future possibilities now. Archilume’s glare-free decorative luminaires are a revolution in the use of innovative lighting technologies and the application of the principle of total internal reflection optics in decorative LED lighting. The brand’s unassuming simplicity masks a design vision that transforms energy-efficient LED lighting into sleek, statement making luminaires. The Archilume lighting line is intended for illumination at counter and bar areas, or clustered in chandelier formations in hotel lobbies, entrances, lounges, and dining areas. The line is versatile offering unique, custom configurations for design teams and their clients.

Designed and manufactured in Vancouver, Canada, Archilume’s environmental commitment engages the use of smaller local production facilities to create an inherently energy-efficient product with a reduced carbon footprint. This business practice contributes to a healthy local economy with high standards of production quality.

Follow Archilume on: LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube

Daniel Quintanilla

Thursday, May 12, 2022 (New York, NY)

Spring is in the air & Fashion Reverie is saying “I do” to bridal coverage in a big, big way!

With the New York Bridal Week just passed, Fashion Reverie, as part of it’s ongoing period of expansion & reinvention, has come out of the gate stronger than ever before in their bridal coverage.

Beginning with an introductory story on the sketches from key design houses with a hint of their inspiration, readers are lead through the behind the scenes thought process inside the design rooms of their favorite bridal designers including Nadia Manjarrez, THEIA, Sophie et Voilà, Sheila Frank, & Mira Zwillinger.

Then the in-depth reporting begins with full collection reviews from the sides of the runways of the following designer collections:

Naeem Khan

Ines di Santo

Sachin & Babi

Mark Ingram

Lihi Hod

Inbar Freiman

Sophie et Voilà

Nadia Manjarrez

THEIA

The editors also covered unconventional bridal choices for those amongst us who may not be the traditional white lace kind of bride. Collections featured in this round-up include selections from Naeem Khan, Andrew Kwon, Danielle Frankel, Reem Acra, & PatBO.

For those pop culture junkies in out there, there’s areview of celebrity wedding fashions as well, where the editors speculate about the bridal fashion choices of those recently engaged celebs including Sofia Richie, Olivia Wilde, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Meghan Fox, & Kate Hudson.

Just to bring the wedding experience full circle, there’s also an intriguing interview/profile of alternative bridal event planner McKenzi Taylor, the founder of Electric Sugar Elopements, an agency specializing in unconventional wedding planning for those who want to “give tradition the ring finger.” 

In traditional Fashion Reverie fashion (pun intended), they dedicated their bi-weekly “Fashion Reverie Talks” episode to the topic of the NY Bridal week.

Watch the 13th episode of their 2nd season at this link.

The tagline for Fashion Reverie has long been “Taking you from the front lines of fashion to the front row,” but in the light of the focus on NY Bridal in the past few weeks, Fashion Reverie is taking you down the aisle of fashion as well.

Ever wonder where celebrities like Cardi B & Flo Rida go for world renown cosmetic care? 

Check out “Angela Kogan Celebrates 10 Years of PERFECTION” up now on Daniel plus Lauren.

Daniel Quintanilla

Build, Not Sorry

Not too long ago at the end of April, Kristin Cavallari marked 5 years that she’s had her wildly successful Uncommon James brand of jewelry, skincare, and kids wear where it’s been nothing but white hot from day one, plus Kristin has 3 UJ stores in Nashville, Tennessee, Chicago, Illinois, and Dallas, Texas, all deemed proven winners with her fans, entrepreneurs, and the fashion industry.

Kristin realizes as she gets older, everything in her life has been building blocks where everything starts to make sense, leading Kristin to create Uncommon James in the first place, that’s why Kristin is thankful and proud of all the work she’s done with Uncommon James professionally, and that none of this would be possible without loyal consumers like you.

Ever wonder where celebrities like Cardi B & Flo Rida go for world renown cosmetic care? 

Check out “Angela Kogan Celebrates 10 Years of PERFECTION” up now on Daniel plus Lauren.

Daniel Quintanilla

Lead By The Numbers

Today was a monumental day for the Tony Awards as nominations were announced this morning for what will be the 75th Annual Tony Awards on Sunday, June 12 at full capacity at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, where “Six: The Musical” leads with 8 nominations, including Best New Musical.

“SIX: The Musical”, which has been a mainstay here on Daniel plus Lauren during the COVID19 pandemic, going through enormous starts, restarts, and cancellations both in the U.K. and here in the U.S., reaps the last 2 years of mountain climbs that was the theater shutdown with nominations in Best Original Score, Best Direction Of A Musical, Best Costume Design Of A Musical, Best Lighting Design Of A Musical, Best Sound Design Of A Musical, Best Choreography, and Best Orchestrations, all celebrating the spirit that is Broadway, and all the interest of dance and costumes that Daniel plus Lauren loves.

Thank you to @TheTonyAwards for 8 nominations, including Best Musical. We are absolutely honored & so grateful. To our unshakeable #Queendom who has stood by us every step of the way, we love you! 💜 #SIXBroadway pic.twitter.com/oWIMCJHI0F

— SIX on Broadway 👑 (@SixBroadway) May 9, 2022

Notable nominees for this year’s Tony Awards include “For Colored Girls Who’ve Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf” for Best Costume Design of a Play, Best Lighting Design, Best Sound Design, Best Direction, Best Choreography, Best Actress (Kenita R. Miller), and Best Revival of a Play.

Surprisingly, those notably not nominated for Tony’s were the Broadway Revival, “Funny Girl”, along with its budding lead Actress, song, and dance girl, Beanie Feldstein and Jane Lynch, also snubbed was Actress, Katrina Lenk in “Company”.

Ever wonder where celebrities like Cardi B & Flo Rida go for world renown cosmetic care? 

Check out “Angela Kogan Celebrates 10 Years of PERFECTION” up now on Daniel plus Lauren.

Daniel Quintanilla

Mothers Of The World

Lauren Conrad, along with her friend, and business partner, Hannah Skvarla, kicked off Mother’s Day a day early on Saturday by holding a fundraising luncheon for The Little Market, a place where global artisans can sell their very own artisan goods, and are able to make a livable wage to support themselves, and their families.

Lauren and the entire team of “The Little Market” are entirely grateful for all the amazing women who are involved in this very unique community, all wouldn’t be possible without their input and support, Lauren also believes she and “The Little Market” can make a generational change for women and mothers in underserved communities locally, nationally, and globally.

Ever wonder where celebrities like Cardi B & Flo Rida go for world renown cosmetic care?

Check out “Angela Kogan Celebrates 10 Years of PERFECTION” up now on Daniel plus Lauren.

Daniel Quintanilla