Back in October one of our highlights at Vienna Design Week 2011 was the exhibition kidsroomZOOM! Essentially a mid-town Vienna apartment kitted out entirely in furniture for children, we were not only impressed by the objects on display, but by the concept.

Forget adults! We’re doin’ it for the kids! Being the message we got. And one we wholeheartedly approved of.

kidsroomZOOM! originated in Milan, and so this year we not only visited the new 2012 show, but also spoke to curator Paola Noè to find out a little more about the whole concept.

(smow)blog: Obvious opening question, what’s the background? Why the decision to present a designer furniture exhibition specially geared to children and in such a context?

Paola Noè: My day job is as curator of unduetrestella, a contemporary art project for children here in Milan. Two years ago I met Thomas Maitz from Perludi and we created a small kidsroomZOOM exhibition, from which the project has grown. For us it is important to present furniture for kids and art for kids in a real location, in a domestic location. And so last year for the first Milan show, I tried to select works from interesting brands and interesting young designers and created a house for children.

(smow)blog: As curator of the exhibition do you start with the space and think, OK this and this will work well, or do you start with those designers and products you want, and then fit them into the available space?

Paola Noè: It’s a bit of both. Over the course of the year I gather works that I think would be interesting to present. And then when we have the opportunity to present a show I have to consider which of those objects could be presented in context of the space. You can’t show everything that you may want to, but you can try!

(smow)blog: Do you think major furniture producers take children seriously, or can we see this exhibition as an appeal that they should?

Paola Noè: I think there are a lot of brands and designers who do take children seriously. But, for example, here in Italy in its not necessarily the case. Which is strange because in the 1970s here in Milan we had, for example, Enzo Mari or Bruno Munari and so design for children was really born in Italy in the 1970s. But now it’s easier to find really interesting brands in other countries, for example in Sweden, America, Austria, or France.

(smow)blog: You currently show in Milan and Vienna. Would you like to show in other cities or is the six month cycle OK?

Paola Noè: I am always looking for occasions and opportunities to present kidsroomZOOM globally, and am currently, for example exploring possibilities in South America. But it would also be good to find new locations in Europe, but the biggest problem at the moment is the economic situation which makes it harder to organise and finance such an exhibition. And so that is the biggest challenge at the moment.

(smow)blog: And, in that context, the name of the show “We Never Give Up! is that motivation for yourselves as organisers….?

Paola Noè: Organising the second edition of such a show was a lot harder than the first; because of the crises we found it really had to find sponsors and partners. But we thought about children and the future of children. You can’t just think about economic crises. You’ve got to present something else. And so yes we decided not to give up and to ensure that the second edition was realised.

One of the most original, and entertaining, exhibitions at Vienna Design Week 2011 was kidsroomZOOM.

Curated by Paola Noè from Gallery Unduetrestella Milan and Thomas Maitz from Austrian kids furniture producer Perludi, kidsroomZOOM was a delightful, turn of the century, downtown Vienna flat furnished especially for kids.

Adults were allowed in; but hadn’t been considered in the planning of the exhibition.

Featuring works by producers and designers as varied as Thorsten van Elten, Rijada or Nonah, kidsroomZOOM provided a wonderful cross section of contemporary European kids furniture design; and evidence that there are options beyond the cheap tat available in every large furniture store.

The idea with the “kids flat” format was to present the international brands not as competitors, but more as part of unified solutions for creating a safe and creative space for children; a concept that we found as refreshing as many of the products on display.

Aside from old favourites such as MAXintheBOX by Perludi or Duck by Rijada, we were especially taken by the two bright, foam furniture/building block products Tukluk and Kubix.

And of course the somewhat sorry for itself looking Punch’n'Cuddle – a droppy eared figure that invited children of all ages to do both.

In addition to the exhibition itself, kidsroomZOOM also featured a paper toy workshop on the Saturday.

Reading the press material it appears that this was the second kidsroomZOOM; the first having taken place during Fuori Salone 2011, where of course we failed to notice it against the onslaught of other shows.

And so we hope that the organisers repeat the exercise at further design festivals; we certainly found it a successful concept that deserves a wider audience.

We’ll keep you posted.

More details can be found at kidsroomZOOM.com

CASPAR by Perludi @ Designers Open 2010

At Designers’ Open 2009 (smow) first discovered Austrian producer Perludi, who were making their first appearance in Leipzig.

Since when their wonderful MAXintheBOX has been part of the (smow) kid’s collection.

And obviously Designers’ Open 2009 was generally a good one for Perludi, because they came back to Leipzig for Designers’ Open 2010.

On the (smow)blog desk we use a mini MAXintheBOX as a visiting card holder. In real-size MAXintheBOX can be more or less whatever your child wants it to be.

Created some 10 years ago when Perludi designer Thomas Maitz was searching for furniture for his own children, and was confronted by the dearth of child friendly furniture on the market – MAXintheBOX is formed from 2 elements that slide into one another to form an unobtrusive cube.

Separated, each element of MAXintheBOX can be used as a chair, table or storage element.

In addition to MAXintheBOX Perludi were alshowing their new childrens desk “CASPAR” at Designers’ Open 2010.

Height adjustable between 45 and 72 cms CASPAR is conceived as a desk that grows with your child – or indeed as one that can be quickly adjusted depending on which child is currently needing the desk.

CASPAR by Perludi - Detail

The height adjustment is achieved through rubber rings that can moved up or down the leg. The rings sit in pre-cut groves and  provide stable and secure support.

In addition the height of each leg can be set individually – allowing the table to be set at an angle if required.

And because there are no screws or other fixings, the legs can be simply removed and stored within in the table top for simple transport and/or storage.

We’ve seen a few “Grows with your child” desk designs in the last couple of years – CASPAR by Perludi is however without question the least complicated and most user friendly we have seen.

And a wonderful extension to the Perludi range.

MAXintheBOX by Perludi. Click to view the product video