Walking the fine line between minimal scale, maximum comfort, and stunning design has created some of the most desirable shoes… and chairs. The two actually share amazing similarities. Pushing the limits to balance these three key ingredients has long been the secret recipe of Italian designers, and if you look at the history of both chairs and shoes, they are rich with Italian flavor. The idea for the furniture company Loewenstein took shape in the small town of Udine, Italy, home of some of the most talented chair developers in the world, and this award-winning manufacturer has maintained these relationships to this day. To pay tribute to their roots, Loewenstein has launched the I Love Loewenstein Best Installation Competition. If you are one of the five fortunati, you will experience la dolce vita during an eight-night excursion to Italy, which includes a visit to the Milan International Furniture Fair. Is your mouth watering yet” It should be.

Loewenstein savors its own secret recipe for success and history of Italian influence. In fact, the very basis on which Hank Loewenstein founded the company was bringing Italian chair designs to the U.S. market at a great value. As the company has evolved, however, it has since broadened its horizons to focus on not just Italian design, but world-class design from all over the world.

Loewenstein’s product portfolio is generally geared towards the hospitality market, but their products show up in many different applications. Known for seating, Loewenstein offers 22 different lounge collections and 27 seating collections with a mix of materials and matching barstools for nearly every collection. Their most recent lounge introduction, Stryde (pictured below left), designed by Michael Wolk, won this year’s Neocon People’s Choice Award and the IIDA Hospitality Design Award of Excellence. Loewenstein’s recent resurgence in the table market features a very cool new material, Vinterio (pictured below right), which gives natural veneer a completely new and modern feel.

[Just so you know with whom you are dealing, Loewenstein is an OFS Brands company. OFS Brands is the parent company for OFS, First Office, Carolina, Loewenstein, and Styline Logistics, which all work to together to create complete furniture and logistics solutions.]

Loewenstein has shown you theirs, and now they want you to show them yours. As part of the I LOVE LOEWENSTEIN Best Installation Competition, designers are asked to plan and submit their most stunning Loewenstein installations. The talents behind the top five (5) installation photos, which will be selected by an outside panel of judges, will win an all expenses paid, eight-night jaunt in Italy. Submissions will be judged on the aesthetic impact of the project, the timeless quality of the project, and the effectiveness of the solution to the client’s needs based on the entry’s design concept brief.

But let’s move on to what you really want to hear about: The Trip. As you sit in front of your computer (or phone, as the case may be), just close your eyes and imagine that YOU are one of the five winners enjoying this once in a lifetime experience…

Your journey starts in Lago Di Como (pictured below left) with stunning lake view accommodations at the luxurious Relais Villa Vittoria. Nestled in the valleys of the Swiss Alps, Lago Di Como is the vacation home to many celebrities including Brad Pitt, Madonna, and George Clooney. From there, you and your fellow fortunate designers head to Milan for the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (otherwise known as the Milan International Furniture Fair) to see some of Europe’s most innovative furniture concepts in the kitchen and commercial design world.

The next stop is Venice where you and rest of the pampered group stay at the Ca’Sagredo Hotel, tour the ancient, aquatic city and visit Costantini Pietro, one of Loewenstein’s closest Italian partners and manufacturer of Loewenstein’s signature Karma collection of seating and lounge pieces. After Venice, you head to Florence and Rome with accommodations at the famous Lungarno and Senato (pictured above right) hotels. You will tour the breathtaking cities, visit local wineries, and indulge yourself in shopping and fine dining.

Unfortunately, it’s time to wake up now, but if you want this Italian fantasy to become your personal reality, then visit I LOVE LOEWENSTEIN to get more details on the competition and to find out how you can become one of the fortunate few to savor this amazing experience. Capisca”

P.S. While you’re surfing the Web, go ahead and become a fan of Loewenstein on Facebook. You just might meet your future traveling companions there…