The nun known as Madre Carmen is the first female saint from Venezuela. Carmen Elena Rendiles Martínez was born in 1903, in Caracas, Venezuela. Born to an affluent family of French background, she studied art as a teenager. At 23, she joined a French religious order, the Servants of the Eucharist, and dedicated her life to the Church five years later. She died in Caracas, from influenza, in 1977.

The natural makeup of Dubai’s Creek has been a vital regional hub for East and West trade for centuries. And today it continues to be a nerve centre for the exchange of ideas, and culture, too at the Dubai Design Week, which runs until November 9th. Here global creativity converges with local heritage to shape a city’s evolving identity.How does a city known for hosting the world’s tallest building reconnect with its roots, often hidden behind glass and steel in a growing metropolis? At the Desi...

When speaking about the design of Azimut Yachts’ new headquarters in Avigliana, Michele De Lucchi began with an unexpected yet fitting analogy: comparing a company to a human body.'A person is an organism made up of different elements, such as the heart and lungs, and just like a human being, a company is made up of essential parts that must be nourished in order to function. It also has an identity,' De Lucchi explains. The comparison encapsulates why De Lucchi and his team at AMDL Circle were...

With bold experiments and distinctive styles, contemporary glass artists are redefining what Venetian glass can be today.Legend has it that glass was first discovered in what is now modern-day Syria, but it was in Murano that the craft truly flourished. There, innovation and competition were shrouded in secrecy; what happened in Murano was meant to stay in Murano.At the ninth edition of Venice Glass Week, however, it’s clear that while some traditions remain, others are rapidly evolving. “Histor...

Sometimes, little fragments do offer a clearer view of the bigger picture. At Lake Como Design Festival 2025 – which ran 14-21 September, and was themed ‘Fragments’ – that perspective reflected the state of contemporary design itself, where tested ideas are being reimagined through material innovation. Perhaps Como’s history as a centre of rationalist architecture isn’t just a legacy of the past, but a living influence. It quietly shaped the work on show, revealing recurring themes of adaptabili...

Milan has long been Italy’s style and financial capital. But since Brexit and increased tax on non-doms in the UK — and the re-arrival of Trump in the US — it now has almost as many UHNW (ultra-high-net-worth) residents as London and Paris, according to Henley & Partners’ 2025 World’s Wealthiest Cities Report. Estimated to be home to 17 billionaires and 115,000 millionaires, with numbers fast rising, the city is having to adapt to meet the influx, the latest being a new private members’ club. T...

Natural materials like sandstone and marble elegantly play a role in rooting this courtyard home in Pune, India. Together they deliver a considered, minimalist look where different design details and textures reveal themselves as the sun moves across the sky, choreographing a dance of light and shadows. Named after the Hindi word for a latticed privacy screen, Jali House by Studio VDGA is indeed an ode to the transformative power of light with nature becoming a key protagonist around which the f...

From fashion to food, Ifeoluwa Adedeji spotlights 12 environmental innovations transforming the way we live, work and care for the planet Global issues require multi-pronged approaches and collaboration to drive truly transformational change. From the materials we build with to the clothes we wear and the way we produce food, regeneration is becoming a guiding principle. With contributions from Springwise and This Way Next, we explore the practices and innovations that are helping us improve agr...

During the renovation the team had to make the most out of every inch of space of the home and overhaul the outdated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing system to successfully create a truly refined finish.Establishing privacy between the staff quarters was an important element of the design consideration, Studio Urjowan Interiors installed a frosted Rimadesio pivot door, which creates a division between the main living room and dining zone from that of the staff area. Cleverly concealed storag...

Remember display cabinets? Those off-limits enclosed shelves that displayed treasured possessions for all to see? Perhaps there was one in your grandma or auntie’s home, and to touch something before you were of the proper age invited strict reprimand. Jerusalem-based Palestinian glass artist Lameice Abu Aker is all-too-familiar with this experience. In fact, her grandmother’s home and the warm memories of family gatherings have inspired her collections of swirling, candy-coloured domestic objec...

The dining room overlooking the garden: 'Brooklyn is now both peaceful and hip, gentrified yet still energised'“Brooklyn in the 1980s was dicey,” recalls Italian jewellery designer Ippolita Rostagno, now a confirmed Park Slope resident. Perhaps especially so for a trained sculptor who grew up in the Tuscan hills just outside Florence, and whose childhood influences included horse-riding and her mother’s love of Renaissance art.When Rostagno first moved to the US in 1982, she lived in Los Angeles...

‘If I could choose just one piece from the room, it would probably be the table,’ says LA-based interior designer Brigette Romanek, referring to the dining room in a striking 19th-century apartment in Palazzo Donizetti, Milan. She’s one of six designers chosen to style ‘L’Appartamento’, the annual Milan Design Week showcase of Artemest, the online destination for Italian design and craftsmanship.The piece she’s talking about is ‘L’Armando’, a two-piece travertine table with soft, rounded corners...

This article is part of our Design special report previewing Milan Design Week.Lani Adeoye is a globe-straddler.The designer moves between teaching design at her alma mater, Parsons School of Design in New York City, and managing projects at her company, Studio-Lani, in her hometown, Lagos, Nigeria.This week, Ms. Adeoye, 35, will be somewhere in the middle, having curated “Craft West Africa,” an exhibition at SaloneSatellite, the annual showcase of emerging designers at the Salone del Mobile fai...

Designer David Dolcini would be a certified carpenter in Japan, where, as he explains, ‘They say you're not a real carpenter until you can build your own tools.’ This philosophy underscores the handcrafted nature of his latest series, a direct result of the time he spent in 2020 honing his skills as a craftsman. ‘In Europe, Covid started with patient one in Codogno, which is where I’m from,’ says the Politecnico di Milano graduate. ‘It was the first time that I had no meetings and couldn’t trave...

In the early noughties, Gabriele Salvatori was still enduring a long commute between Tuscany, where Salvatori, the family business was launched, and Milan where the opportunities for growth lay. He was looking for a pied-à-terre and also a showroom for the company, which specialises in stone for interiors. When he saw the first-floor space he was initially hesitant because of the cramped entryway. “I called Piero Lissoni for advice and he said, ‘Are you mad? Take it, you can make it beautiful.’”...

The Rezzonico chandelier is the consequence of competition and perhaps a healthy dose of envy. Italian glass master Giuseppe Briati wanted to create something that would refocus the world’s attention back on Murano; away from the Bohemia Crystal pieces taking Europe by storm in the 18th century. He crafted a new symbol for Murano glass, and the resulting elaborate multi-branch and tiered chandelier promptly became a resplendent fixture within homes of nobility. Admired for the detail achieved through multi-layered processes, Briati’s artistry re-ignited the demand for the island’s glass production. These iconic chandeliers or “ciocche” (bouquets) have made a lasting impression on the world.