The design show season is upon us once again with a dizzying number of fair destinations tugging at our attention from every direction. Last week kicked off with our first exclusive HD video interview for BKLYN DESIGNS and concluded with a wrap-up of the best exhibitors showing at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show. Now 3rings is gearing up for focus on new work at Salone Internazionale del Mobile, April 22-27. We hope your eyes are hungry because this is a bona fide feast of the freshest designs out there!

Erbario Collection. Manufactured by Missoni Home.

1. Hands down of the most popular pre-Milan favorites has been Richard Hutten’s nebulous sculpture of an armchair. The Cloud Chair was created in a limited edition for Ormond Contemporary Editions as special commission for Salone 2009. Our staff is digging this piece for the seamless fusion of specious opposites – it is all at once buoyant yet heavy, cleanly minimalist yet effervescent and formally organic yet still obviously an industrial product. This one gets a serious Wow.

Cloud Chair. Designed by Richard Hutten for Ormond Contemporary Editions.

2. Another buzz-garnering furniture design has been the newest Cactus Garden and Erbario Collection by Missoni Home, a domestic extension of the eponymous fashion label. A series of outdoor loungers, armchairs, poufs and rugs, we are applaud Missoni Home for the company’s fearless use of bold forms, bright colors and inventive marriage of contrasting patterns.

Cactus Collection. Manufactured by Missoni Home.

3. One of my enduring favorites this month is Pierre Paulin’s Flower Fume Chair for Magis, a seemingly delicate armchair that calls to mind the elegant curvature of a musical instrument. A seductive seat indeed.

Flower Fume. Designed by Pierre Paulin for Magis.

4. In contrast to the beautiful fluidity of Paulin’s chair is the starkly industrial Screw Table designed by the brilliant Brit Tom Dixon. Available in two sizes, the Screw Table is that supremely functional, infinitely adjustable table everyone wishes they had.

Screw Table. Designed by Tom Dixon.

5. And last but not least, there has been quite a bit of “hoopla” for Frenchman Arik Levy’s Hoop Sofa designed for Italian design house Living Divani. A set of plush colorful cushions which rest neatly upon a smartly structured wire frame, the Hoop Sofa is a refreshing outdoor design idea for anyone looking to outfit their patio or poolside.

Hoop Sofa. Designed by Arik Levy for Living Divani.

Stay tuned for more design intelligence next week, starting Monday with the second in our series of exclusive HD video interviews in anticipation of BKLYN DESIGNS 2009 and more of the future flavors of Salone in April.