Switch On Dal manodomestico all'elettrodomestico. From domestic tools before the electricity to contemporary electrical appliances

The exhibition Switch On Dal manodomestico all’elettrodomestico - on the occasion of Milan Design Week, in the heart of the Brera Design District, and concurrently with XXI International Exhibition of Triennale - will accompany visitors on a trip between past, present and future, telling the change of life styles through those objects – hand gear and electrical appliances - which have highly changed the concept of "revolution" in homes. This is a social and anthropological revolution, which in one hundred years of domestic economy in Italy - from the beginning of the twentieth century to our days - has changed the way of managing home environment thanks to the introduction of small tools ‘with and without tail’ and has changed the role of women inside and outside homes.

In the evocative spaces of the Biblioteca Umanistica dell’Incoronata, the exhibitionpresents objects that have been part, today and yesterday, of the everyday life of people. This represents a contemporary cutaway of the opportunities offered by technological innovation and design proposed for homes, but also their history from afar preceding even the discovery of electrical energy when many small inventions are introduced in the New World to help the work of housewives: this refers to hand appliances, the ancestors of modern household appliances.

In 1930 was presented La Casa Elettrica (Electric house) at the International Exhibition of Decorative and Industrial Arts in Monza, symbol of modernity with the introduction of household electrical appliances in every environment. From that moment and especially after the end of World War II, appliances entered in Italian homes, also thanks to the fundamental role played by commercials in promoting a new life style.

To prove this, the exhibition will present objects but also historical documents, advertising campaigns and magazines, to bear witness to social changes.

It will be displayed various kind of objects designed for different uses - to clean the house, to prepare food, cook it and store it... - accompanied by the history of big brands of then and now, from Alessi to Vorwerk Folletto and Bimby® and then Samsung including Elica. A unique opportunity for insiders and all the public, to be familiar with the fascinating story of these products, which is also a bit of the history of Italy and more, dating back to the first post-war period onwards.

Starting from historical pieces from Alessi Museum the exhibition offers an insight on the development of technologies that have seen protagonist the house in the last century: from nutcrackers by domestic coffee machine - for a certain period also marketed by FAEMA and LA CIMBALI, as Faemina, Baby FAEMA and Microcimbali on display – to get to Bimby® that, from device created to bring together the functions of mixing and baking, now it encompasses twelve different functions and is more and more interactive, thanks to the touch screen display; from the first vacuum cleaner of the 30s to the revolutionary window cleaner Folletto VG100. Iconic pieces, designed by great names of Italian design, as Anna G., corkscrew by Alessandro Mendini for Alessi or Pescecappa by Gaetano Pesce produced by Elica, dialog with items high performing and more and more connected, in every sense, to our daily life, such as the refrigerator Family Hub by Samsung or Snap, the air quality balancer developed by Elica to automatically improve the quality of air inside our homes.

The electrical appliances have thus allowed to "free" time to spend outside and if at home the coffee maker becomes a symbol of domestic break to be taken alone or with friends, outside bar becomes the place for excellence for relaxing and socializing, where the espresso machine is the star around which rotate people and stories. In the exhibition then, a corner is dedicated to the professional espresso coffee machine and thanks to the collaboration with MUMAC, Museum of coffee machine of Cimbali Group, can be admired exclusive models, like the iconic machine bar FAEMA E61 and La Cimbali Pitagora designed by F.lli Castiglioni and winner, only machine in the world, of the ADI golden Compass.

Finally, the exhibition ends with an area dedicated to children, and not only: mechanical toys and battery or power ones coming from Archivio Storico Faro, a historic collection from the 40s to the present day, made up of toys manufactured by the company itself and by many others, that evoke, in form and function, the elder domestic brothers.

As a result a question is raised: are hand appliances really disappeared?

Besides the exhibition, an interactive/digital space will be set up with lots of information, curiosities and anecdotes, to introduce the visitor to a deeper understanding of the exhibition.

A catalogue published by Scalpendi editore accompanies the exhibition.