In Katowice, Poland, a house from the 1970s has undergone quite a renovation, thanks to architect Grzegorz Layer. Spread across 225 square meters (approximately 2,422 square feet), this terraced house has been meticulously redesigned to embrace a contemporary, open-plan layout while paying homage to the classic aesthetics of 1970s Polish modernism.

The comprehensive renovation involved a myriad of changes to the structure. A new staircase was integrated, the ground floor’s level was lowered, internal walls were completely removed, windows were enlarged, and the roof was raised. The result is a spacious and versatile interior that can be easily configured to accommodate various functions.

The expansive ground floor encompasses an entryway, dining room, living room, and a kitchen featuring an island with an extended bar table for casual meals. The only enclosed spaces are a pantry and bathroom, cleverly hidden within a built-in structure painted a vibrant green color.

Large furniture pieces, reminiscent of the iconic meblościanki or “furniture-walls,” keeps the layout organized while emphasizing the home’s geometry. Warmth is infused inside through the use of wood finishes and fluted decorative details, subtly nodding to the wood paneled walls that were popular in the 70s. Light concrete floors provide the perfect canvas for the curated pieces of furniture and accessories.

The color palate on the main level combines white walls and black elements, with soft green details used in moderation.

Steel columns and beams remain exposed to visually suggest the division of spaces on the main level into zones. Lighting plays a pivotal role in enhancing the atmosphere throughout with arranged technical fixtures coexisting with design-driven lamps that echo the time period that the home was originally built.

A new staircase is flooded with natural light while providing access to the upstairs and rooftop terrace.

The second floor is designated as a private area, housing bedrooms, bathrooms, and an office. The redesign of the open staircase, complete with a glass ceiling, allows the spaces on both floors to blend seamlessly, creating a harmonious flow throughout the house.

Photography by Grzegorz Layer.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.

Depending on whom you ask, Valentine’s Day is a consumer holiday, nothing but a vehicle to facilitate the sales of chocolate, jewelry, and flowers – for those wondering, I prefer dark, diamonds, and dried roses. But to others, it’s an opportunity to let Roman mythology’s winged cherub and god of love inspire passion or romance in the victims of his celestial bow. And retail therapy might just be what you or your loved ones need to heal those wounds. So consider this gift guide Cupid’s quiver of arrows, curated to have you falling for contemporary design through the month of February and beyond.

Buy yourself flowers with this expansion on the previous edition for the Flower series within the LEGO Icon sets, which can be enjoyed by collectors and kids alike. This alternative flora is particularly low maintenance and includes a dozen roses in three stages of flowering with four sprigs of baby’s breath accents.

French perfumer Diptyque returns this season with another iteration of two classic scents, Baies and Roses, repacked with special edition graphic patterns that complete one another when paired. The same goes for the fruity and floral fragrances that conspire to conjure a fragrance that is equal parts seductive and sweet.

It’s encouraged to practice some self love with the deliciously deco, wildly contemporary, small burgundy Diamond Mirror by Reflections Copenhagen. A useful piece of ornamentation, it effortlessly flirts with being an object of utility and brilliant decorative element. It can be mounted horizontally and vertically.

B&O’s Beosound Explore Ferrari Edition is engineered to make your heart race. This waterproof speaker is prepared for almost anything – indoor and out. The rugged design, rich color, and compact size make for an incredible vehicle for sound. Try cruising with Mika’s Love – EP or Lana Del Rey’s Honeymoon LP.

Tortuga tapped designers Alberto Gobbino Ciszak and Andrea Caruso Dalmas to create the Dumbo Book Ends. These pairs play well together and separately to accommodate a variety of literary tastes and library needs. Small Wildflower is just one set of 15 styles and three sizes offered in this iconic metal form.

Aptly named, the Flowerpot Table Lamp by Verner Panton for &Tradition is an adorable bedside companion. The portable LED luminaire is made from recycled material, comes in eco-friendly packaging, and is recyclable at the end of its life – but this timeless design won’t rot on the vine. Take a taste of Tangy Pink, one of 14 finishes.

Block Shop’s Poiret Robe grounds the traditionally floral pops of fuchsia pink and soft linework in a field of Kelly green; the same leaves celebrate the bloom. The super soft, 100% certified organic cotton is hand block printed by 5th generation master printers in Jaipur, the capital of India’s Rajasthan state.

More of an homage than pure imitation, Boobooclay’s Kitchen Ravioli Spoon Rest is a one-of-a-kind ceramic piece of functional art imbued with the same love that goes into making its edible counterpart. Imperfections are avowed, making them more delicious in a way that something only handmade can do.

Chef Divya Alter, along with her husband and business partner Prentiss, made Ayurvedic food accessible to NYC restaurant patrons, and now to those dining in their home. This care package includes a nourishing Jaggery Rice, decadent Rose Hot Chocolate Mix, and delicious Buckwheat Cake Mix that will satisfy your sweet tooth while grounding your gut.

For those who embrace the slow burn and appreciate something handwritten over a text, consider the Love Note by artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon. This 4-pack of cards, at 3.5″ x 4.875″, features beautiful letterforms printed in opaque red on premium (tree-free) cotton paper and paired with pink pointed envelopes.

Alessi reinterprets the classic pet bed with Tacaban, an ultra mordern teardrop-shaped form with a high-contrast cushion and corresponding toy suspended from the top. Unlike most pet products, its chic design and neutral color lends itself to a variety of interiors and allows for it to be celebrated rather than hidden away.

The Mano series, available in small and large, is not to be confused with decoration. This “objet d’art” helps collectors live beautifully. Crafted in pure white porcelain, and based on designs by the late architect Gio Ponti, this powerfully minimal sculpture makes for a timeless addition to any well-informed interior.

This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. A regular contributor to titles under the SANDOW Design Group, including Luxe and Metropolis, Joseph serves the Design Milk team as their Managing Editor. When not practicing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design. The New York-based writer has also contributed to exhibitions hosted by the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture and Architectural Digest, and recently published essays and collage illustrations with Proseterity, a literary publication.

The Gordon flash drying electric towel rail’s yesteryear sci-fi reference may elicit a knowing smile, but this stylish finned piece of hardware promises to be a welcome addition in almost any modern bathroom today. Its offering of relief during the teeth-chattering cold months makes a dry, heated towel feel less like a luxury and more like a necessity.

Hand assembled in Birmingham, England, the Gordon is offered in two sizes – 4 or 8 rails, and an alternative Loop edition with curved ends – capable of drying four to eight towels at once. Regardless of size, Gordon was designed following Eskimo’s original ethos devised in response to the eyesore necessity of on-wall radiators. In setting out to save “the world from the ugly and impractical saboteurs of interior design” they’ve extended their efforts into the bathroom.

Gordon is advertised to use one third of the energy consumed by a standard powered towel rail, with its vertical form factor drying the entire length of the towel, which eliminates damp pockets due to its larger surface area in contact or close proximity when a towel is hanging.

While you could install any Gordon towel rack to operate in a constant state (the rail needs to be hardwired professionally), ideally the fixture is paired with an Eskimo controller wall unit and timer switch to keep energy use at a minimum. The timer unit boosts output for durations of 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours before automatically shutting off – sufficient time to dry bath towels after use.

The Gordon’s contemporary fluted design is constructed from 100% aluminum and IP 44 Rated, and designated as splash-proof (but not fully waterproof). Eskimo recognizes that durability and dependability are priorities when homeowners are installing anything permanent. Thankfully, they guarantee the aluminum material construction of each Gordon with a lifelong no corrosion warranty. Paired with a 10-year warranty for the rail and 2-year warranty covering the heating element, the Gordon is engineered to keep towels warm and dry without the inclusion of any liquids inside its vertical housing.

Eskimo offers the Gordon in a palette of six different colors, with the options to color match their electric towel rail to any hue for an additional fee and a three week lead time.

Starting at around $375 USD for the smaller 4-towel edition, the Gordon is priced competitively as other standard, non-designer options, and Eskimo thankfully ships 110v internal component equipped towel rails compatible with US and Canadian standards.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Cold, dreary days are nice to enjoy if you’re planning on cozying up inside but not as much fun if you have to leave the house. Enter: the SHED RAIN Artist Series. The Portland-based company is brightening up those damp days with their capsule collection of umbrellas designed by three favorite artists: Lisa Congdon, Studio Proba, and Katie Merz.

The umbrella shades reflect each artist and their unique signature style. Alex Proba of Studio Proba used her Field Study design to cover her canopy with organic shapes and vibrant colors. This emotive pattern packs a visceral punch to fight gloom often associated with gray skies.

Lisa Congdon’s umbrella serves as a reminder of brighter days ahead with its bright, taxi yellow lining, a handle of the same hue, and illustration titled Where The Magic Happens. The messaging is transmitted without ever saying a word.

For those wanting a more neutral option, Katie Merz’ Brooklyn Bank pairs a white lining and handle with hand-drawn illustrations – her signature graphic patterns, which mix graffiti with blueprints – on a black canopy top.

Beyond the artful shades, SHED RAIN might make you want to replace your ordinary umbrella for one of theirs. The 48-inch arc provides more than enough coverage for one or two people and its genius Reverse Close feature means that the water stays away from you when put away, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally brushing up against wet canopies. The frame is made of fiberglass and steel and the canopy is double layered with 100% recycled polyester fabric, ensuring durability for even the most torrential downpour.

Lisa Congdon’s design is currently available here, while Studio Proba’s model launches February 21, with Katie Merz’s version following on March 20.

To buy your new artist-designed umbrella, visit shedrain.com.

As the Senior Contributing Editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She’s probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.

At this year’s Maison&Objet show, French designer and ceramicist Alan Louis unveiled a new body of work featuring furniture and lighting made from chamotte stoneware. Louis, who started working with ceramics fairly recently in 2021 when he created his eponymous brand, is moved by the possibility and uncertainty of clay. “When we plunge our hands into it, thoughts flow from the mind, creating images, shapes, which slip into the fingers and infiltrate the material. Ideas materialize live. It’s magical,” the designer shares. With his latest release, Louis explores the beauty in dualities, where opposite design expressions come together to create an unexpected object.

The collection consists of benches, tables, consoles, and lamps that, with the exception of a few pieces, marry minimalist forms and spiked embellishments that are reminiscent of the medieval ball flail. For the objects without pointed adornments, the theme of opposition still continues. Whether it’s a side table comprising a stacked spherical base with a jagged top or a bench featuring soft boucle upholstery in contrast with the hard ceramic stoneware, Louis continues to challenge what the preconceived ideas of objects – especially ones made of clay – should look like and present the possibilities of what they can look like.

Jùpiter Beige Bench

Cabo Bench

Ponte Bench

Mão Bench

Mercúrio Bench

Rei Table

Joia Table

Mercúrio Table

Jùpiter Table

Titã Table

Soho Table

Apollo Table

Terra Table

Rei Pedestal Table

Rei Pedestal Table

Isto Lamp

Ista Lamp

Jùpiter Hanging Light

Jùpiter Wall Light

Hadès Wall Lamp

Alan Louis

For more information about Alan Louis, visit alanlouisparis.com.

As the Senior Contributing Editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She’s probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.

Tokyo-based French architect, artist, and designer Emmanuelle Moureaux is known for her 100 Colors installations that take visitors on a sensorial visual journey. After her first project in 2013, Moureaux went on to design 49 more iterations for the series (including The National Art Center in Tokyo), with her latest installation created for Italian luxury brand Bulgari. Celebrating the 75th anniversary of its iconic symbol, the Serpenti, Bulgari collaborated with contemporary artists from around the world to commemorate the occasion. Moureaux is one of the artists selected for the Tokyo collaborations.

For her 50th installation of 100 Colors, Moureaux created an immersive space that explores the concept of infinite colors, a nod to the Serpenti and a symbol of eternity. Visitors walk through a long and narrow path where 100 cascading hues seemingly continue on forever.

The installation is made of 347,100 Roman numerals printed on 100 large transparent acrylic panels that are spaced approximately 16 centimeters apart from one another. The first layer starts with the Roman numeral I and increases with the additional symbols of V, X, L, and C, as visitors make their way through the space. As the colors visually gradate, so do the numbers. With each step, the expression of the design changes to evoke the awestruck wonder of an infinite journey, one that reflects Bulgari’s future in the years to come.

Emmanuelle Moureaux

Photography by Daisuke Shima.

As the Senior Contributing Editor, Vy Yang is obsessed with discovering ways to live well + with intention through design. She’s probably sharing what she finds over on Instagram stories. You can also find her at vytranyang.com.

Established in North East England in 2014, the NOVOCASTRIAN brand is reknown for its metal work and craftsmanship, as well as an immense pride in their shipbuilder and coal miner ancestors of the industrial revolution. Founders and brothers, Richy and Paul Almond, seek to reimagine the age-old craft in today’s modern world through the use of raw, honest materials that are handmade into lighting and furniture suited for everyday life. Their latest collection of unique tables, The Hagstones, are made in collaboration with Britannicus Stone and include an interesting backstory.

These tables are inspired by – and named after – perforated stones found on the beach that have inspired folk history for centuries. Lore has it that those lucky enough to come across a hag stone will be protected against evil spirits, connect with late family members and their knowledge, and have an enhanced spiritual experience. Your life’s path will be clear to you, as only good things can pass through the hole of a hag stone. Do the tables have the same energy about them?

The Hagstones tables bring together a rare selection of marble that’s sourced from across the British Isles paired with NOVOCASTRIAN’s signature sculpted metal finishes. Each one-of-a-kind table holds onto tradition while pushing the boundaries of modern innovation. Choose from five sizes, or bespoke upon request, as well as 24 British stone tops and a range of NOVOCASTRIAN’s patina legs.

To learn more about NOVOCASRIAN x Britannicus Stone’s The Hagstones tables, visit novocastrian.co.

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she’s likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.

Good things come in tiny packages with the updated Scoop Lamp, by artist Analuisa Corrigan for ethical home goods fabricator Wooj. But the implications of bringing this formerly one-off ceramic sculpture to market by way of 3D-printed, recycled plastic is far greater.

The first iteration of this timeless design – a petite spherical base with a classic lampshade hovering atop just hiding the orb’s crest – was a maquette for the concept of a larger table lamp made solely out of concrete, which debuted at Corrigan’s 2022 Stroll Garden Gallery installation in Los Angeles, California, where she designed and built a living room vignette entirely out of concrete. Scoop’s playful size, the public’s positive response to it, and a shared ethos with the artist garnered the manufacturer’s attention.

“They’re a small team of lovely, creative, and talented people passionate about bringing sustainable and accessible lighting into the home,” Corrigan says of the collaboration. “They care about their process, products, and customers in such a genuine and honest way, which I’m not sure I would have found in a larger, mass-production lighting company.”

In the shift from ceramic to 3D-printed plastic, the luminaire achieves added durability and functionality with this new material language and production methods. Of note, all of Wooj’s designs are made to order, 3D printed, and hand-assembled in their Brooklyn, New York studio. Working with a few third-party suppliers, the company is able to procure PLA plastic from food trays and other forms of packaging in ready-to-print filament spools – with aspirations to melt down and re-recycle their own manufacturing waste in-house.

The function of its fabrication informs the fixture’s design, articulating a unique seam that runs up the object from base to shade as the printer extrudes a layer of filament, stops, and then moves to the next layer. “The presence of a seam was necessitated by the type of print but the shape is an homage to our signature pattern and logo. Since the Scoop is such a smooth form, we knew the seam would be visible and quite prominent,” Wooj says. “We were intent on making sure this design was enhanced and not just enabled by the properties of 3D printing, so turning a necessary part of production into something beautiful and playful made the product much more unique.” The now iconic squiggle was hand drawn, refined, and incorporated into the process, imbuing the artifact with the tactility of Corrigan’s craft.

Squatting at only six inches tall and available in two soft hues, eggshell and blush, the final piece is deceptively simple and slightly ethereal casting a warm glow that takes the edge off its contemporary material choice. But the research and development to arrive at such a nearly flawless furnishing is far from minimal. It takes surgical precision, perseverance, and a certain level of dignity to execute contemporary home goods that enhance spaces rather than add to clutter.

When asked about future concoctions, Corrigan hinted at the potential for another serving: “Let’s just say we’re workshopping recipes for some new Scoop flavors.”

For more information or to order the Scoop Lamp x Analuisa Corrigan, visit wooj.design.

With professional degrees in architecture and journalism, Joseph has a desire to make living beautifully accessible. His work seeks to enrich the lives of others with visual communication and storytelling through design. A regular contributor to titles under the SANDOW Design Group, including Luxe and Metropolis, Joseph serves the Design Milk team as their Managing Editor. When not practicing, he teaches visual communication, theory, and design. The New York-based writer has also contributed to exhibitions hosted by the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture and Architectural Digest, and recently published essays and collage illustrations with Proseterity, a literary publication.

The Nomvdic P2000UST-RGB is both a mouthful of a name and a bit of an outlier in the realm of home theater. Most ultra short throw projectors – like the LG CineBeam or the recent Benjamin Hubert designed XGIMI Mira – aspire toward a tastefully modern presence intended to blend into the home. But the California-based Nomvdic offers a boldly conspicuous design paired with an array of top tier features optimized to deliver a 100-inch 4K home theater experience from less than 7-inches away.

With a sleek undulating grilled front colored in bold combination of red, bronze, and black, the ultra short throw projector from Nomvdic gives off the impression that the company’s industrial design team might have imagined the Bugatti Chiron owner or found inspiration from the architecture of Zaha Hadid.

Behind its front colonnade of red slats hides a pair of 25 watt speakers engineered by Harmon Kardon to work with DTS HD and Dolby Audio, with the sides dedicated to ventilation – an important necessity for a RGB triple laser outputting up to 2,500 ANSI lumens of brightness. Those speakers will do fine if you want to keep your setup to a minimum, but considering the cinematic experience, one is likely seeking to invest in a projector. It’s best to pair the laser TV with at least a sizable soundbar, if not additional surround sound and subwoofer for full immersion.

True to its ultra short throw moniker, the Nomvdic is designed to project a picture anywhere between 65 to 150 inches, inviting a diversity of placement without the necessity of dedicating a wall solely to a television, whether it is set across a console/table top or even suspended upside-down mounted onto the ceiling.

The projector takes into account that sometimes children or pets may venture too close to the projector’s immensely bright and possibly eye damaging output. The intelligent eye-protection system is designed to automatically turn off the light source when someone nears the projector.

AI often gets a bad wrap these days, but in the case of Nomvdic P2000UST-RGB, the technology operates as a wholly beneficial feature, allowing for the projector to automatically optimize its projected output across less than perfect surfaces or screens. This includes the AI system tweaking the four corners and fine tuning output to correct for other warping conditions.

Even if you don’t do a single thing except switch the projector’s output to TV or Movie mode, you’ll enjoy an excellent image, especially when paired with a projection screen with surface optimized for optimal contrast.

“But what about the picture,” you ask? The 4K UHD picture out of the box is vivid and especially bright. Compared to the LG CineBeam, the Nomvdic requires an additional inch or so of distance from the wall to produce the same size image, but does so with a noticeably brighter output despite its specs trailing those listed of its LG counterpart. Content taking advantage of its HDR10/HLG support is especially captivating, if a wee bit oversaturated. Like any projector the Nomvdic performs best after a bit of tweaking to optimize the picture specific to your room’s walls and windows, alongside what you like to watch. The unit allows for calibration using a full feature color management system alongside individual color, tint, and brightness adjustments. Connected to an AppleTV and Amazon FireStick during testing, 4K HDR content delivered a particularly immersive viewing experience.

Nomvdic’s UST projector is equipped with three HDMI ports, including one dedicated to HDMI eARC, the hardware and software connectivity standard that allows for different components to work together using a single remote. Two USB ports allow for the connection of streaming stick devices like the Amazon Firestick as a source, with additional ports dedicated to wired connectivity via LAN and S/PDF and audio out for further home theater setup options.

At $2,899, the Nomvdic P2000UST-RGB is priced aggressively in an increasingly competitive field of other next generation projectors, which continue to bring ever larger pictures into our living rooms. The bold design may be divisive, but nobody can claim the Laser TV falls short in making an impression in output nor its industrial design. It wants to be seen as much as watched.

For information visit nomvdic.io.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

Growing up in the country meadows of Belgrade, Serbia, while cultivating greenhouses on her family’s farm laid a solid foundation for artist Misha Milovanovich’s enduring connection with plants, animals, and nature. Her grandmother, the village shaman, shared her knowledge of plant medicine, healing, and connecting with the land through old Slavic mythology and beliefs. Now living in London, Milovanovich works across several mediums, from sculpture to painting, and digital art while pulling from these lived experiences, learned techniques, jokes, and memories.

Milovanovich knew she was meant to become a creative maker at age 10, when struck with a passion for filmmaking. Cinema’s power to transport audiences to different times and worlds captivated her and brought a realization that she, along with her friends, could do the same thing.

“The birthplace of my creativity lies in the heart of Kinoteka in Belgrade, a cinematic haven that ignited my love for storytelling and the magic of the silver screen,” Milovanovich reminisced. “This was the place when I was growing up in Belgrade that the avant-garde gathered.”

The artist’s latest anthropomorphic sculptures include these influences, as well as reverence for the styles of Miro, Picasso, David Smith, Louise Bourgeois, and Noguchi. The six pieces made their debut in the Sensory Synergy exhibition last year, Misha’s first show at Mucciaccia Gallery, curated by Catherine Loewe. Each sculpture pulls from cubism, surrealism, humor, and references to the natural world. Another theme that runs through her work – one of tension held between order and chaos, rational structure, and spontaneity – can be felt throughout.

But there’s yet another element that adds to her artistic style – psychology. Misha spends a lot of her time observing society and its view toward desire, lust, and body image. “Delving into the unspoken realm of human behavior opens doors to a deeper understanding of individuals and situations, presenting a valuable tool for navigating the complexities of human interaction and psychology,” she shared. “Harnessing this talent enables me to read between the lines of body language, gestures, and expressions, uncovering subtle nuances that often go unnoticed.”

Today, Misha Milovanovich is popping in for Friday Five!

1. Mother

A pivotal figure in my journey to where I am today is undoubtedly my mother, a master craftswoman and seamstress. Growing up during a period of economic constraints, particularly the challenges of communism, acquiring nice things was a rarity. In response to this limitation, my mother and I embarked on a collaborative journey into creativity. Her expertise in the art of sewing became a catalyst for our shared endeavors. Together, we not only crafted clothes but also cultivated a profound bond through our creative collaborations. My mother’s resilience, skill, and unwavering support have not only shaped my appreciation for craftsmanship but have also been instrumental in fostering a sense of creativity and resourcefulness that extends far beyond the realm of fabric and thread.

2. Amarcord by Federico Fellini

The first piece of art that left a lasting impression on me was the movie Amarcord by Federico Fellini. This captivating film transported me into a world of vivid imagery, unforgettable characters, costumes, faces, interesting locations, human pathos, and emotions. Fellini’s masterful storytelling, combined with his unique visual style, created an indelible impact on my artistic sensibilities. Amarcord ignited my passion for cinema and the power of storytelling, leaving me with a deep appreciation for the ability of art to evoke deep emotions and connect with audiences on a profound level.

3. Gabor Maté

Gabor Maté stands out as my favorite psychologist, seamlessly intertwining his profound insights with my own innate passion for understanding the intricacies of human behavior. Just as I unravel the unspoken nuances by interpreting body language and non-verbal cues, Maté delves into the depths of human psychology with a compassionate and holistic approach. Maté’s work, marked by his extensive knowledge in addiction, trauma, and the mind-body connection, resonates deeply with my own exploration of the psychological landscape. His ability to uncover the roots of human struggles and his emphasis on the significance of early life experiences align with my belief in the interconnectedness of emotions, behaviors, and past traumas.

4. Desk

When inspiration strikes and ideas flood my mind, my preferred method of recording and organizing them involves quick expressive drawings, which I later use for creation of detailed maps. I translate my thoughts into visual representations, sketching out concepts, and connections. This visual mapping not only captures the essence of each idea but also serves as a roadmap guiding me toward the final project. Through this visual process, I can see the interplay of elements, identify potential challenges, and visualize the progression from concept to completion. It not only helps in clarifying my thoughts but also provides a tangible and structured overview, ensuring that the creative journey is both coherent and comprehensive.

At the age of six, I embarked on a four-year adventure fueled by determination and curiosity, all to acquire my most treasured possession – a book on the legendary Leonardo da Vinci. It was exhibited at the book fair in Belgrade and it is a beautifully illustrated book of about 600 pages. In the pages of Leonardo Da Vinci: The Complete Paintings and Drawings, I discovered the extraordinary life and contributions of a polymath who transcended the boundaries of art and science. The biography, with its engaging narrative and thorough research, became a portal to da Vinci’s world, revealing the genius behind the canvases and the brilliance that revolutionized anatomy, engineering, and more. What makes this possession truly special is the story behind its acquisition. Four years of diligent saving transformed the book into a symbol of my commitment to education and the arts.

Work by Misha Milovanovich:

PACHAMAMA by Misha Milovanovich, 2023 London, Fiberglass resin, cellulose paint, and aluminum leaf
Unique Sculpture

PUTIPUTI by Misha Milovanovich, 2023, London, Fibreglass gilded in aluminum and silver leaf

Sculpture 03 by Misha Milovanovich, 2023, London, Resin, cellulose paint, and Brazilian slate plinth

Sculpture 06 by Misha Milovanovich, 2023, London, Resin, cellulose paint, and Brazilian slate plinth

This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!

Kelly Beall is Director of Branded Content at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based writer and designer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, from Fashion Plates to MoMA and far beyond. When not searching out the visual arts, she’s likely sharing her favorite finds with others. Kelly can also be found tracking down new music, teaching herself to play the ukulele, or on the couch with her three pets – Bebe, Rainey, and Remy. Find her @designcrush on social.