we always try to buck the trend here, and in 2003 we decided that we had had enough of white wine design parties that permeated our industry whenever a new chair came out. we wanted to do something meaningful for people and for ourselves; we decided to get political. we created a movement against what we perceived to be growing elitism in design because we found, surprisingly, that most people couldn't afford $10K sofas designed by people with unpronounceable names. we always felt that design was meant to be lived, not merely looked at. so we printed buttons, flyers and bumper stickers in an international campaign that started in milan and spread as far as frankfurt by way of miami, all the while preparing the great rally in new york city's chelsea where delegates would speak in favor of democratizing design for all. on the way, we picked up generous sponsors who allowed us to make an even greater impact: mini cooper lent a motorcade with roofs painted in the mayflower campaign colors, bombay sapphire let us wrap hundreds of their blue bottle with pink ribbon, and designers came flocking to present pieces and prototypes that did not belong anywhere else. such designers as yves béhar, timorous beasties and jason miller among many talented others came together to present ideas that fit the ideal of designing for use and freedom. the event was consciousness-raising as well as booty-shaking with the help of the mayflower funk orchestra. we were very lucky to have made an impact that year and if you look hard enough through the streets of milan and new york, you might still see a mayflower sticker or two peeking from under the current political posters...