Salone di Mobile: Milan

As a first-timer to the legendary Salone di Mobile, I expected chairs, sofas, bizarre designers, groupies, and cocktails! I am pleased to announce that SdM failed to dissapoint in every above-mentioned category. In a 48 hour whirlwind taking me and my colleague Patrycja Pappelbaum from the bustling Zona Tortona, to the tony streets surrounding Milan´s “golden triangle” of shopping, to the infamous Design Miami/ “Craft Punk” production, we saw it all.

Highlights included…

Craft Punk by Design Miami/: Definitely one of the most talked about exhibitions at SdM, Design Miami/ and FENDI´s collaborative effort, “Craft Punk” featured a number of emerging talents from around the world “performing” their craft among thousands of gawkers and new devotees. Aside from the beautiful design itself, the best part of the show was being able to interact with the designers and really speak personally with them as they show the method behind their madness. Among my favorites were Nacho Carbonell and his “Beasts” collection and Siman Hasan with his boiled leather products. Also overheard were a few advance celebrity purchases of Kwangho Lee´s “obsession” chairs. We are extremely proud to have played a part in this exhibit and want to think Design Miami/ and especially Kapila and Victoria for their help! Also a big shout-out to our partners at TheCrane.TV who were on hand to shoot some insightful interview with designers and Wava Carpenter, the Associate Director of Design Miami. (video to follow!)

Bar Straf Happy Hour: As a member of Design Hotels, the Straf proudly excels in fulfilling all of our key brand values- incredible avant garde design, knowledgable and friendly staff, and one of the top “watering holes” in the city. With beautiful people, tasty cocktails, great music, and happy hour snacks, the Bar Straf really does host one of the best happy hours in town. The clientele ranges from chic Milanese beauties and business men, to globe trotting hipsters, and all have a great time. HOTEL STRAF

Taste Lounge/Richard Ginori: The infamous “food thing” located on the Via Tortona included a journey through undiscovered Italian foods from the food design collective, Arabeschi di Latte, and ceramics from the Italian firm Richard Ginori- the oldest and “most famous” italian porcelain manufacturer. Here visitors could pick up a plate and sample a variety of delicacies and gawk at the monumental porcelain wall at the end of the building. As well, the exhibit featured a comfortable reading lounge with a great selection of design, fashion, and lifestyle magazines.

Tom Dixon: In my opinion, the most relevant designer of the period, Tom Dixon showcased several new pieces in the Superstudio Piú. “Minimal, yet timeless” charactarize the designs from Dixon as substantial woods, and thick and memorable textiles coddled seat-testers! Also, the chalkboard was a nice touch and Patrycja and I took the opportunity to mark our territory!

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MAI NEBRI, ETHIOPIA

Mai Nebri, Ethiopia. April 11, 1:30 P.M.

It started with a 140-character tweet on January 8. And a few hours ago, in a remote Ethiopian village, hundreds cheered as clean water shot from the ground. The sight was a familiar one for us, but this well was special. Here’s why.

On February 12, people from 202 cities around the world came together for charity: water using a micro-blogging tool called Twitter. The global event was called Twestival, and was organized in less than four weeks completely by volunteers.

More than 10,000 individual donors contributed just shy of $250,000 - enough for 50 villages and 12,500 people to get clean water. As always, 100% of the money will fund water projects. Overwhelmed by the generosity and passion of the Twitter community, we couldn’t wait to show their impact in real-time and answer the question, “What can this money really do?” So today, with lead Twestival organizer Amanda Rose and the help of satellite partner Evosat, we shot, edited, and posted the first of four daily videos from Northern Tigray, Ethiopia.

Mai Nebri has a heartbreaking story, but today it’s being rewritten. “Welcome to this remote and forgotten place,” proclaimed the 34-year-old village chairman, Guerish. “You have sacrificed a lot to come to this very remote area.” While we had traveled far to visit this community, our long journey seemed trivial compared to the challenges the 500 people here face every day.

Like so many in this harsh region, Mai Nebri’s women and children walk more than 5 hours every day for unsafe water. Some of the women had deformed backbones from carrying 40 pounds of water. A hyena attack recently claimed the life of a child on her way to the water hole at 4 a.m., and waterborne diseases like bilharzia and diarrhea are common. Many of the girls here don’t get a chance to attend school and instead have to fetch water.

Seven-foot tall Nato Mohammed, who village elders told us was the 2nd tallest man in the nation, said softly, “Without water, there is no life.” With the drill rig and support trucks only a few feet behind him, he spoke with a smile, “You have brought life into this community.”

Watch today’s video here, and join us over the next three days as we post daily videos from Ethiopia. We’ll be back in Mai Nebri on Tuesday the 14th to see the pump installed, and share with you the celebration of new life and opportunity for our new friends here.

* * *

charity: water’s work in
Ethiopia would be impossible without our local partner, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation. Through this partnership, charity: water has funded more than 300 water projects in four regions of Ethiopia and provided more than 120,000 people wth clean and safe drinking water. Learn more about Glimmer here.

Follow charity: water on Twitter: @charitywater

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ITB: BERLIN

From March 9-15, Berlin was the center of the travel world with both the International Hotel Investment Forum and ITB taking place in our hometown. Hundreds of thousands come annually for these fairs which highlight the latest news, advancements, and products for the travel and hospitality world.

Design Hotels™ used ITB as the launch point for the public unveiling of the Made by Originals campaign via a press event on Tuesday at the Delight Studios, its stand at the actual ITB, and the annual Design Hotels™ ITB party at Cookies Cream.

Hotels that were present with Design Hotels™ during ITB included the new Romeo Hotel (Naples), Sanctum Soho (London), The Vine (Portugal), the Library (Koh Samui, Thailand), Ceres am Meer (Rügen), East Hotel (Hamburg), Alila Group (Asia), Hospes Group (Spain), Almyra (Cyprus), Como Hotels (worldwide), Factory Hotel (Münster), Aguas de Ibiza (Ibiza), Casa Camper (Barcelona), The George (Hamburg), and the Choupana Hills Resort (Madeira, Portugal)

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CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

A Story by Esther Havens, Nicky Yates and Becky Straw.

“We saw you fly in,” the villagers told us, pointing to the sky. We’d arrived in Central African Republic (a.k.a. CAR). Since there’s only one flight in and out of the country per week, we knew they meant it. CAR is one of the poorest countries in the world, landlocked in the dead center of Africa.

Traveling 12 hours deep into a lush rainforest on narrow dirt roads, we bumped up and down violently in an SUV to a region that’s home

to the African elephant, silverback gorilla, black mamba snake and also a forgotten people – the Bayaka Pygmies. The Bayakas are considered outcasts of society because they live in the jungle, often being viewed by others as “animals” of the rainforest.

Pulling up to a village known as “The End of the World” because it’s literally where all roads end, we saw mothers feeding their babies next to small domed huts. Children played with wooden toys and practiced throwing spears. The tallest of the Bayaka Pygmies stood only about five feet tall, and almost all had unique facial markings, scars and sharpened teeth, which represent beauty to them. When we asked them “What is your age?” or “Ngu tti mo ayeke ok,” in the local language Sambo, the Pygmies couldn’t answer. Most had no idea how old they were. We found quickly that the more appropriate question was “How many children do you have,” which they were proud to answer. A typical mother here had about 8 children, and saw 4 of them die prematurely from water-borne disease or malnutrition.

We were greeted with huge excitement, and two of the young girls, Jasmine and Carol, led us on a 15-minute walk down rocky paths to the polluted springs where they formerly collected water. We winced as they walked into the water and took a drink, eagerly showing us what it used to be like here. They both suffered frequent stomach pains from drinking it but had no choice. We also met Bertin and Goze, two 10-year-old boys who barely had any toes left.

They suffered from a common disease that affects the majority of Pygmy communities – “jiggers” or parasitic fleas that bury in the skin, lay eggs, and eventually eat away at the skin. They are eliminated simply by washing the feet with clean water. But clean water hadn’t ever existed here before.

The girls next led us eagerly to see a charity: water well that was recently completed here at the “The End of the World.” We couldn’t wait to see the crystal clear water streaming out of the new pump. A few minutes later, we watched as the village kids gathered around and pressed the well’s foot-pump up and down, making a game of pumping water. Clean water was now available for the whole village, including the new school where Jasmine and Carol will have the rare opportunity to get an education.

Since gaining its independence from France in the 1960’s, four civil wars have ravaged the country, and small groups of rebels still live in “the bush,” pillaging villages and harboring war criminals from neighboring countries. Unemployment (at 90%) and disease rates are among the highest in Africa.

Yet amidst the turmoil, clean water now flows to “The End of the World” and other Bayaka and Central African villages due to the generosity of charity: water donors and men like Jim Hocking, who heads up local partner outfit Integrated Community Development International (ICDI) with a passion and love for CAR. Through 80 Central African staff members, ICDI delivers water, sanitation, microfinance, orphan care, and agricultural services to CAR.

For the past two years, charity: water has worked through a partnership with Living Water International and ICDI to fund 178 water projects, bringing clean water to over 200,000 people here. charity: water has been able to give 1 out of every 19 people in Central African Republic access to life’s most basic need.

Though Jim Hocking has been evacuated three times, held up by rebels twice, suffered malaria, typhoid, rabies and skin cancer, he is intent on continuing to develop and equip national staff so ICDI can continue to work through periods of social unrest, even if he has to flee the country. When it might be unsafe for us to travel,” Jim says, “My team can.”

Though this past year has brought various challenges to our own country in the form of mortgage woes, economic instability, and rising employment rates, we learned a lot from this unassuming man with a quick wit, contagious smile and unswerving devotion. We learned to keep going, to keep serving, even when the road is rough. Literally.

One day, it took 18 hours to see two water projects because the “roads” through the jungle were so terrible that they ripped two of our “ultra-durable tires” and overheated our radiator. With each setback, Jim would merely stop the car; lift his thermos, and joke, “All right, I think it’s a sign we need another coffee break.”

Despite rampant insecurity, we found gradual change happening in CAR. We found people working in harsh, uncertain conditions to improve lives in their communities and country. We found out how our wells made villages healthier, allowed children to go to school for the first time and helped gardens to flourish. We found forgotten yet proud families. We found hope.

For our team at charity: water, helping 1 out of every 19 people feels like a good start in a forgotten country of 3.8 million. But like Jim, we’ve set our sights on the other 18 and won’t stop until everyone here has access to clean and safe drinking water.

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DESTINATION: INNSBRUCK

Modeselektor and James Yuill Kick-Off Electronic Beats 2009 Live Events

Descending into the depths of Tyrol, it seemed one false move from the pilot and we would get an uncomfortably close look at the Austrian mountainsides. But alas, we landed without even a bump.

Touching down in Innsbruck, we were immediately plunged into a winter wonderland. With its fairy-tale hybrid of Gothic and Baroque architecture and surrounded by the snow-tipped Alps, Innsbruck was the destination for the first Electronic Beats Live Event in 2009 on January 29th.

We were stoked to be apart of it and planned smashing DJ sets to warm up the crowds before James Yuill, headliner Modeselektor and then again to finish off the night.

The Stadtcafe in the heart of the picturesque Old Town provided the perfect location for the vibrant crowd. It was an international mix of people thanks to it being on the eve of the Billabong Air and Style Show that would be taking over the town for the weekend.

After we got the beats going and the crowds on their feet, emerging star, James Yuill took the stage with his unique blend of acoustic, folk and electronic sounds. This was the first time James had been to Innsbruck and he was looking forward to performing to a new audience.

The room was electric and everyone was ready for more by the time Modeselektor stepped on stage with matching T-shirts displaying their iconic ape image. As they launched into an energetic hour and a half set of favourites from their previous albums, the room was pulsating and the fans completely in awe.

Highlights of the Live Special in Innsbruck can be viewed on EB TV along with a special behind-the-scenes feature on Modeselektor including exclusive footage and interviews. Electronic Beats will be announcing the next live music events soon so stay tuned to the website for more news.

That’s all from us. Back on the plane and back to Berlin for now.

– DJs DSB (Dirt/London) and CDB (EB/Berlin)

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