Monday, Sep. 11, 2006
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By Caroline Tell, Betsy Kroll
DECOR
Target's Latest Design Coup
DESIGN-HAPPY wunderstore Target has brought yet more affordable home-decor must-haves to the market this month with the introduction of a new collection by Victoria Hagan, a New York City--based interior designer. Victoria Hagan Perfect Pieces features tabletop accessories and furniture inspired by Hagan's love of country style, including signature details like brass fittings and studded nail trims. In-store products include mirrors and pillows, while target.com carries other items like trunks and coffee tables. The name of the collection comes from Hagan's idea that small changes with small pieces can make a room perfect. "We call them 'perfect' because in many ways that's how they seem," she says. "Small, affordable jewels can instantly transform a room into something special." Perfect Pieces range from $8 for a bud vase to $180 for a set of nesting tables.
REVIVAL
Small Is Beautiful
In today's inflated real estate market, a compact and practical kitchen can be hard to find. There's no need to get out the hot plates, though, now that Italian design firm Boffi is reissuing the Minikitchen, a full-functioning portable kitchen measuring just under 18 cu. ft. Designed in 1963 by Joe Colombo, the Minikitchen operates like a freestanding trolley, complete with swiveling wheels and block brakes. Updated in white Corian, it features such standard kitchen components as a mini-refrigerator, cutlery drawers, pullout counter and cooktop. Futuristic in design yet practical in performance, the Minikitchen is a welcome addition to any culinary-challenged apartment. For more information, visit boffi.com
EXECUTIVE WATCH
Matteo di Montezemolo
PRINCE CHARME In 2003, a year after his father Luca Cordero di Montezemolo founded Charme Investments, Matteo, now 29, began acquiring brands for the firm, which has become one of Europe's largest private equity groups.
ALL IN THE FAMILY Matteo is managing director of Charme and co-chairman of Poltrona Frau Group, which comprises Italian furniture giants Poltrona Frau, Cassina and Cappellini. Annual turnover is approximately $300 million.
BEYOND FURNITURE Charme relaunched the historic Scottish cashmere label Ballantyne in 2003. The company repositioned the brand, creating a fresher ad campaign and opening three flagship stores.
GROWTH Matteo hopes to enter the Chinese and Russian markets while maintaining an otherwise global leadership in the high-end furniture market.
EXHIBIT
"Modernism in American Silver: 20th-Century Design," which opens at the Wolfsonian museum in Miami Beach, Fla., on Nov. 10, will offer visitors a unique take on more than 200 influential works by designers like Eliel Saarinen and Elsa Peretti, as well as historical artifacts. Blown-up advertisements will accompany the pieces to illustrate how taste has been influenced by and created for the American public.