Five whole years (and two children) since my last visit – I came back to haunt my favourite design destination. A year before, in March 2013, I was having a phone conversation with the director of Secondome:

“Are you coming to Milan?”

“Well, I am actually very pregnant so I won’t be there this year.”

Then conversation moved slightly from the purely business agenda and I watched on the design news unfold hoping to go back one day.

Fast forward to last winter – still on maternity leave – I enlisted a friend to join me on my Italian adventures. We found a cheap flight from Bristol and booked an affordable yet well located room on airbnb.

By the time we had to travel, I was in conversations with a new client about a new contract, so I could not say much about it. Talking about the kids was not allowed, both a scary and exciting prospect. These were my game rules to enjoy Milan:

• meet with existing contacts
• have a must-see list of 10 events
• accept to miss more but to see better
• come back with a more cards than brochures
• go to the smaller events and partially ignore the bigger ones
• use social media daily
• capture thoughts and write a blog draft before leaving Italy.

Since coming back my focus is on fulfilling my new contract and blogging has taken a back seat. But I have had plenty of time to think about how to best recount my fifth trip to Milan. I will publish at least four more posts that offer a reflection on what I find so special about the Salone and how it impacts Milan and the rest of the furniture, product and interior design industry.

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