With the early morning rain bringing much needed respite from the tremendously hot weather we’ve been experiencing of late, indesignlive.asia started its SiD journey bright and early at the Foundry, Artemide/Million Lighting, Boffi and Moroso showrooms, all close neighbours along Purvis Street.

Foundry captured our attention immediately with its all-white Loppa lamp installation. Specially for SiD, design collective :phunk had created an imaginative version of Florian Hauswirth’s new envelope-inspired lighting design for Foundry, subtly inscribing “Light my Fire” lyrics by The Doors on the lampshade.

Apart from Loppa, on show were other pieces from Foundry’s latest 2011 collection, just off the Milan fair.

We then popped into the Artemide/Million Lighting showroom for a look at some brilliant lights, testing Zaha Hadid’s Genesy floor lamp and checking out the latest collections on display – all the while enjoying the fresh fruits on trays.

Entering Boffi’s new showroom was an immediate transition from day into night! The space was transformed for the event into a ’Cold Room’ with black walls, smoke, red laser lights and models in masquerade creating an atmosphere of mystery and drama, all the better to highlight the one star product on display – Piero Lissoni’s kitchen for Duemilaotto.

At its first international showing following the Milan fair, curious visitors took turns running their hands across the kitchen’s 200-300 year-old pine table derived from antique beams from Italy. Likewise, everyone’s gaze couldn’t help but turn upwards to the handmade tile hood by Italian ’artisan’ company Domenico Mori, exclusive to Boffi.

By contrast, Moroso’s new flagship showroom was characteristically colourful and flamboyant with wall projections and coverings featuring new Moroso graphics that utilised well-loved designs from the brand to create scenes and buildings. Sounds of rockets launching and children’s laughter, along with a red bar and delicious food from Garibaldi all added to the convivial atmosphere.

Specially for the event, Moroso also presented a Singapore version of the Binta chair hand-stitched in traditional fabrics sourced from around the island.

A few streets down at Raffles Hotel Arcade, Chan Hampe Galleries, in partnership with Australia’s Spiro Grace Art Rooms, presented a unique platform for cross-cultural exchange with leading Australian and Singaporean practitioners showing one-off and limited edition works that challenge the notions of art and design.

Over at Niven Road, BW and Infinity’s range of commercial office and hospitality furniture, as well as high-quality architectural finishes stood out; visitors also had the chance to win a trip to Orgatec 2012 and an Apple iPad.

Then there was the undeniable buzz surrounding BW and Infinity’s collaborative project with HASSELL and LASALLE College of the Arts, which cleverly played on sculpture and light to project human silhouettes on Orangebox furniture upholstered in INSTYLE fabric.

Further up at Steelcase in Old School, those with artistic thumbs were given the opportunity to paint a public wall mural and design their own Think© Art Chair, while those without could still view past creative versions of the chair or test out the new Lexicon and Manifesto systems on display!

Photography by Yong Sze Yuen Kelvin