Mixko, as their namesake indicates, is a  company that mixes multiple unlike things together to come up with completely new meanings. They look at an object like a whistle, for instance, and say, “Hey, if the scale of that whistle were multiplied in size by, like four hundred times, then that whistle would make a mighty comfortable lounge chair.” Of course, their mixing does not stop there.  They mix cartoon bubbles with plates, candles with joysticks, and my personal favorite: dog shit with jewelry. The one item informs the other in such refreshing and revealing ways. But the thing that makes Mixko extra special is that they are so young yet so prolific as to beg the question: what will Mixko be in thirty years when the design mashup matures? My answer is that Mixko may rule the earth at that point.

Sofie Lachaert, designer, active in the promotion of contemporary jewellery and silverware, thinks up, develops and realises many extraordinary objects, installations, exhibitions, both in her galleries in Belgium (Ghent – Tielrode) and elsewhere (f.i. Droog Design, Amsterdam,…). In Milan, she presents a bright green tricycle, a vendors cart, from way back the most authentic and direct way to sell goods, regaining for a few days its traditional function. For this years presentation in Milan, the vendor’s cart carries, among other things, the ingredients for ‘a splash of colour’, including a traditional silver paint box filled with unexpected beauty.
ABC-Authentic Belgian Creativity : Sofie Lachaert

Nedda El-Asmar studied jewellery design and silversmithing. Nedda explores a world of seemingly simple shapes, ideally refined or oddly baroque, mixing classic elegance and a modern approach in a well-balanced, creative manner. Nedda El-Asmar has already won several awards and was elected ‘designer of the year 2007’ by Interieur Foundation/ Weekend-Knack / Weekend-LeVif/L’Express, Belgium. In Milan, Nedda presents a new cutlery set she designed for Eternum/Gense (B/S), a new breakfast set for Royal Boch (B) and a water pipe for Airdiem (F). Her product Appetize for Eternum/Gense and Narghile for Airdiem, won a ‘Henry van de Velde label 2007’.
ABC-Authentic Belgian Creativity : Nedda El-Asmar