Kitchen delight: Gorenje designed by Karim Rashid

Our apologies for a very straightforward title, but how better to describe a collection of luxury kitchen appliances when two of our favorite names unite to produce this colorful kitchen collection, which makes your kitchen become a favorite living space in your home (if that's not yet the case).

After very successful cooperation with Ora Ïto couple of years ago (we blogged about this here) , our favorite kitchen appliances provider Gorenje has presented a Brand New Star design collection at this year’s IFA, Berlin, signed by the king of color himself, Karim Rashid.

As Gorenje puts it, Gorenje collection designed by Karim Rashid is a minimal fusion of functionality, technology, interactivity, and purity. The full length handle is both the visual and the interaction focal point of the collection.The vertical LED light stripe allows several colour versions, providing the option to adjust the appearance of the appliance to one’s current mood, or indeed one’s lifestyle.

"I have wanted to design appliances for ages. It was a great exercise in rethinking the banal. Too often we are relegated to tired archetypes. Design is about shaping contemporaneity. Design is critical to our environments, to our daily experiences, our products, our everything,” comments Karim Rashid who has designed products ranging from vacuum cleaners to furniture, children’s toys to luggage, to television, to perfume bottles, to lighting. He also designs spaces – hotels, clubs etc. and – from now on – Gorenje household appliances which, incidentally, he is using himself.

“Over the past years Gorenje has proven to be a company that has a strong interest in contemporary design. I have been following and appreciating their successful collections. When they contacted me to design the new Gorenje collection it took very little discussion to get the project started. I knew the company also because I do a lot of work in Eastern Europe and have an apartment in Belgrade with Gorenje appliances.” Check out how he re-designed traditional Majik restaurant in Belgrade.

Majik restaurant in Belgrade by Karim

Switch Restaurant by Karim

World Lounge by Karim

With additional new collections Gorenje Simplicity and Gorenje Retro (about this one some other time), effectively combining smart technology, excellent design & style, care for the environment, high quality and great value, Gorenje really does inspire. We are shure that Gorenje designed by Karim Rashid will be a success, and we are looking forward to what their future step will be.

Oktober, Gorenje and Ora-ïto on Russian Fashion Week

If you haven't heard about Slovenia yet, you should start looking out for it. Only 2 mio country, but with 4 NBA players (Mexico with more than 105 mio people has only 1, and Spain the world champion has 5), 5 olympic medals this year, and so many great fashion designers, creative people and such a cool wibe.

My fav Slovenian fashion brand is Oktober. As its name holds some nostalgia and 'revolution', it indeed signifies a real romantic revolution. Together with one of the best home appliances provider, Gorenje, they do some really cool stuff.

Like last year, also this year they were winning over Russian lovers at Russian Fashion Week in Moscow. Gorenje presented theit new collection of home appliances, Gorenje Ora-Ïto White. Their models were wearing white Oktober dresses, so as DJ SHE, one of the most famous Russian DJs.

Selling architecture that sells

The Institute Big in Ljubljana, Slovenia, hosted its first Architectural Conference at the end of May. The theme of the event, titled 'Selling Architecture that Sells', was Nordic architecture and its approach to commercial structure architecture. Six architects from North Europe presented their unique views concerning the optimum relationship between commercial architecture and quality. They were thinking aloud how to create architecture, tailor-made for the customer, and at the same time avoid the common mediocre.

Ilka Terho (Valvomo Architects) presented the recently completed project, renewal of law firm office interior of the Krogerus Attorneys Ltd in Helsinki, which departed significantly from what is considered the typical image of a law office. Mahogany made place to clear cut white surfaces which tend to make a strong impression on any customer with its unique design and aggressively direct allocations.

Andrew Griffin presented a residential compound by the JDS architects in Orestad in Denmark. Balconies in form of disharmonious triangles protrude from smooth surfaces, as the bow of Titanic.

The Conference hosted as lecturers also Boštjan Vuga (Sadar Vuga arhitekti, Slovenija), Teemu Kurkela (Finland), Andreas Lyckefors (Sweden), Adnan Harambasic (Norway), and Dorte Mandrup-Poulsen (Denmark).

Large number of Slovenian architects and architecture enthusiasts who had attended the Conference proved that Slovenia is ready to meet new architectural challenges. Gorenje, international producer of high-quality household appliances with Slovenian origin, tends to support these challenges with its contribution to superlatives in design and innovative approaches.

SmarTable from Gorenje is the product whose appearance and innovative technological solutions represents new dimensions of flexibility and a real magnet for customer individuality. It had enchanted the visitors of the Observeur 08 Exhibition in the Paris 'Cité des Sciences', where it had been exhibited among 211 most creative and innovative products of industrial design selected by the international expert board. The exhibition was visited by over 200,000 visitors who had evaluated the exhibited products and selected those that provoked the strongest impressions. The prestigious SmarTable from Gorenje was ranked very high and took second place – this uniquely designed table with remotely controlled integrated refrigerator figures as a world innovation.

We’re looking forward to seeing and selling more architecture that sells, and me, personally, Slovenia being a part of it.

Uroš Belantič for pret-a-porter

One of my favorite designers, actually, my favorite designer worldwide is Uroš Belantič. I met him 11 years ago, when i was in my student days working a part time job in a Chinese restaurant in old town centre of Ljubljana, Slovenia. I immediately fell in love with his sensibility and attention to details. At that time he was creating for a Slovenian brand Vodeb, and later he established his own brand Oktober and created a romantic revolution.

He cooperated with different companies, one of those is Gorenje, Slovenian - international top producer of home appliances, for whose Swarowski kitchen collection he created one of the most attractive aprons I've ever seen and tried on. This apron is a hit also in Russia, and among others Jade Jagger has it too. For Gorenje he created also a very cool T-shirt Hot & Cool – when sensing your body heat the ‘heaters’ on the T-shirt start glowing, and a luxurious shopping bag.

We have been able to see his creations on Hollywood stars as Carmen Electra for example. Uroš’s impressive work was spotted also by Faycal Amor, owner of French prêt-a-porter fashion brand Plein Sud, who invited Uroš to become a part of his creative team with the aim to refresh the brand image and give it some new ideas and freshness, which I’m positive Uroš will be able to achieve perfectly. Uroš, who is a design and brand consultant for Plein Sud, currently works on three collections, all in highest price range, compared to Armani, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana. He is working on the main collection and jeans collection, currently creating collection Plein Sud Spring/Summer 2009, which will be presented first time to business partners / buyers at the end of June, and we will be able to see to collection on prêt-a-porter fashion market at the end of September. I’m already looking forward to it!

Some of the designs from Oktober Fall/Winter 2008/09 collection that persuaded Faycal Amor Uros is the designer for his brand: