NYC’s furnishing showroom hub of NOMAD is the focus of this collection. Friday night was jam packed with events across the city and required a well planned speed run to see the most. Included here are a photo exhibition at Bludot, a stop by long time pro-only material library Robin Reigi, Danish restoration and showroom Modernlink and a run through a trio of Italian design brands.
Photos and Text: Dave Pinter
Additional Text: Bludot
Field Trip – Bludot
Bludot commissioned photographer Galen Fletcher to create a series of work at locales around Minneapolis incorporating the Field lounge chair. Locations ranged from under a frozen waterfall to inside a Saarinen and Saarinen designed Lutheran church. The resulting photos are editorially slanted were compiled into a free zine given out during the week.
Full Description
Blu Dot, the award-winning furniture and accessories brand known for its playful modern designs, is pleased to present Field Trip at NYCxDESIGN 2026 – a photography exhibition celebrating the brand’s Minneapolis roots through one of its most beloved designs, the Field Lounge Chair. On view May 15 through May 23 at Blu Dot’s NoMad store, the installation pairs documentary photography with renowned Blu Dot products in a gallery-style setting.
Conceived as a visual love letter to the brand’s hometown, Field Trip captures the Field Lounge Chair across a series of distinctive locations throughout Minneapolis and the greater Twin Cities. Photographed in the depths of winter by Galen Fletcher, a protégé of Alec Soth, the series reflects the character of the city and its people: creative, resilient, and rich in personality.
The project paints a unique portrait of Minneapolis via a wide-ranging cross-section of destinations and subjects, from natural wonders and cultural institutions, to unique local businesses and quirky neighborhood venues. “We were thinking about the Field Chair as a character,” says Fletcher, “Maybe if you had gone to college together ten years ago and came back to town for a reunion these are some of the places it would want to take you. It’s not really a travel guide to the city, it’s more like a location playlist.” From the caves behind Minnehaha Falls, to breakfast at Al’s, to the iconic music venue First Avenue, Field Trip challenges viewers to see and appreciate design differently, viewing it outside of the typical context of residential and commercial interiors. “It’s so successful as a piece to have in your home or work to sit and relax, but when you start putting it in other places you find unexpected harmony or tension. It really makes you look at both the chair and the scenario in a different way.”
Within Blu Dot’s NoMad store, Field Trip comes to life in a dedicated gallery through an installation of large-scale photographic prints alongside the Field Lounge Chair in new colors and finishes, including a range of seven Maharam textiles. The prints will be sold on a first-come, first-serve basis (“at very reasonable Midwestern prices”) to support the Little Kitchen Food Shelf, a community aid network based in the same NE Minneapolis neighborhood as Blu Dot’s headquarters.
“Even though Minneapolis isn’t in the national headlines every day like it was a few months ago,” says Sam Grawe, Blu Dot’s chief creative officer, “for the families and communities that were affected by what happened here, it’s not something you just move on from. We care deeply about our neighbors and the Little Kitchen Food Shelf is doing great work to continue to help those in need.”
Robin Reigi
Those working in the architecture and interior design industries in NYC have likely visited Robin Reigi at one point or another. For me it has been a good decade+ since I stopped by the library known for offering the latest cool material trends. I saw lots of CNC carved wood, patterned veneers and one of the most Gotham looking fire escapes out the back window.
Modernlink
There are quite a lot of Manhattan design showrooms I’ve never been inside. Modernlink was nearly still one of them, but I arrived to their evening opening with fifteen minutes to spare. Focusing on 20th century Danish furniture and art, the interior space is divided in half. Upfront is the showroom portion with new and vintage pieces intermixed. The back is stacks of vintage pieces undergoing restoration adhering as close as possible to the original materials and finishes.
NOMAD Showrooms
It was a full sprint around NOMAD to check in with some Italian brands. First was an elevator trip up to Giorgetti’s penthouse showroom and roof deck. Last year saw the debut of a furniture collection with Maserati and many of those same pieces are dotted around the space. Some of the collection gets rather sci-fi but a lot of it is pretty approachable aesthetically.
From there is was on to a stop at Poltrona Frau and the cavernous basement. On the main level were pieces from the True Over Time collection that debuted in Milan a few weeks earlier, meant to be timeless pieces. A quick trip downstairs is always worth it to wander the rooms and check out Cappellini.
Finally Moroso hosted an ICFF welcome party, Shaping Soft Spaces. The ground floor included a few vignettes created for the week including the Cuadra Soft Edge sofa by Patricia Urquiola that also debuted at Milan 2026.
