This is Part 2 of a tour around the showrooms and exhibitions held during NYCxDesign 2025. First are a few stops around lower Manhattan followed by a trio of showroom visits during the Friday night NOMAD night out.

Photos and Text: Dave Pinter

Kasthall Showroom

Swedish rug maker Kasthall is on a revival mission. The 136 year old company has a new public facing showroom in Soho. Kasthall fell into a pattern of offering high quality rugs in bland colorways. New CEO Mirkku Kullberg is changing that, she formerly successfully rebooted Finnish furniture brand Artek. Anemon is the first new product under her direction, a floral pattern reproduced from a watercolor painting mined from the Kasthall archives.

Souvenir

Back for a second consecutive year, Souvenir is an exhibition of NYC-themed collectibles and mementos created by veteran and young designers. Contained within the exhibition of objects created by 72 designers were trash bag candles, model kits, a pigeon grille and one-of-a-kind sculptures created from scrap metal found on NYC streets.

Songs of a Decoy

This blink and you’ll miss it show was only open a couple days in a subterranean antiques shop in Chinatown. Songs of a Decoy featured the work of five independent designers, each with their own distinct aesthetic. The work in the show straddled the line of collectible design and functional art.

Poltrona Frau / Cappellini Showroom NOMAD

Part of the Big Italy/NYCxDesign night out, Poltrona Frau staged the US debut of a new collection, The Five Seasons. Pieces included an armchair and trunk bar covered in leather printed with butterflies and newspaper clippings. The expansive lower level included a outdoor furniture framed by a low cut ceiling bulkhead.

Giorgetti meets Maserati

Adding to the automotive related events held during NYCxDesign was the US debut of a new furniture collection by Italian brand Giorgetti partnering with Maserati. The full collection of about a half dozen pieces were scattered around the showroom. Most prominent was the speed form-shaped sofa wrapped in a silver metallic leather. A special edition Maserati Grecale Giorgetti Edition includes an interior developed in collaboration with the furniture maker. It sadly wasn’t there for the event.

Dudd Dot

Blu Dot teamed up with Philadelphia-based gallery and collective Dudd Haus to present Dudd Dot, an exhibition marking the 20 year anniversary of the Strut table, one of Blu Dot’s earliest products. 21 works were commissioned to creatively interpret “Strut” as either a noun or verb as a unique object. Consistent with previous JONALDDUDD shows, the objects and ideas vary wildly from a space rock landing craft table light to a delicate circular fruit bowl.