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Fourth Design Miami Garners Record Attendance

Over 60 international museum groups attended, while galleries brought designers including Maarten Baas, Arik Levy, David Adjaye, and Max Lamb.

Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 1/7/2009 12:00:00 AM

Design Miami 2008
Image courtesy of James Harris Photography.

The fourth time has proven the charm for Design Miami, as a record 22,000 attendees descended on southern Florida from December 3 through 6 for the annual design fair counterpart to Art Basel Miami Beach.

Despite an increasingly gloomy economic outlook, the fair's attendance grew by 10 percent--as it has every year since its launch in 2004. Over 60 international museum groups attended, while participating galleries attracted designers including Maarten Baas, Arik Levy, David Adjaye, Max Lamb, Ted Noten, David Wisemen, Alexander Pelikan, Wouter Scheublin, and Pieke Bergmans.

Design Miami 2008
Image courtesy of James Harris Photography.

The fair was not without its share of celebrities, with boldface names like Marcel Wanders, Faye Dunaway, Bruce Weber, David Lynch, Darren Starr, and Calvin Klein making appearances at the temporary structure by Aranda/Lasch in Miami's Design District that was the center of activities.

Design Miami 2008
Image courtesy of James Harris Photography.

Kaikai Kiki, which sold twelve of Takashi Murakami's Flower Balls (including three large models at $120,000 each), and the Al-Sabah Art & Design Collection, with sales accumulating to $190,000, were among the show's biggest earners. Sibling designers, Fernando and Humberto Campana, took home the fair's 2008 Designer of the Year award.