The Furniture Practice Report: Spring / Summer Fairs 2022

THE FURNITURE PRACTICE REPORT SPRING/SUMMER FAIRS 2022

Above: Lyra Lounge Chair, Fogia, Photography by Fogia Cover: Jello, Marco Compardo, Photography by Matteo Bianchessi

Spring/Summer Fairs 2022

THE FURNITURE PRACTICE REPORT

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THREE DESIGN EVENTS 4

INTRODUCTION

“A tour d’horizon of the design themes and directions of the moment.”

The design industry has bounced back from an unprecedented period of challenges this year. The spring/summer fairs have always been an exciting prospect in our calendars, and this year they served an especially important role in bringing the design community back together and encouraging the industry to look ahead.

How should design adapt to today's significantly altered landscape, and how can designers and furniture brands help to overcome the present challenges we face — and really make a difference?

As we all emerged from the havoc wreaked by the Covid pandemic, there was a palpable sense of enthusiasm amongst exhibitors and attendees alike. Of course, the design fairs not only provide an opportunity for creatives to come together, network and feel part of the design industry as a whole; in providing a platform for brands to showcase their carefully curated designs to an international audience, they serve as a tour d’horizon of the design themes and directions of the moment.

In this report, we focus on three core design events running across May and June 2022: Trends & Traditions in Copenhagen, Milan Design Week, and finally, 3 Days of Design.

Across all three fairs, there was a strong sense of a call to action. A fitting choice in the spirit of the industry’s coming together, the theme of Trends & Traditions, ‘Engaging People’, laid emphasis on design solutions to

foster human connection and performance, particularly within the workplace. In keeping with the ever-growing global focus on climate change, sustainability took a mainstage throughout, especially at Milan Design Week whose chosen theme ‘Between Space and Time’ encompassed a narrative of climate-urgency. Finally, 3 Days of Design’s ‘Remember to Play’ celebrated imaginative design to stimulate creativity.

But how did manufacturers and designers around the world respond to these themes and what will their lasting impact be on the industry?

In our Exhibition Highlights, we provide a digest of each fair, garnering further insight from important voices in the industry and selecting our favourite exhibition and product moments.

Looking forward, we set out five Key Trends to know now, composed from our insights and observations across all three fairs and accompanied by more of our top furniture picks. Our chapter on Colour Direction provides a snapshot of the shades of the moment, perhaps providing you with inspiration to step outside your comfort zone… and finally, we collate new product launches to look out for in our Product Catalogue.

We hope you find this report as insightful as we found it a joy to write! We look forward to seeing you at the fairs next year.

INTRODUCTION

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SPRING/SUMMER FAIRS 2022 4 8 10

Introduction Themes TFP Voices

THE FAIRS

TFP TRENDS

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Trends & Traditions Engaging People

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Milan Design Week Between Space and Time

80 94 108 122 136

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3 Days of Design Remember to Play

Material Innovation Better Together Office Comforts Dreamy Escape Formed by Nature

Photography (left to right): Helle Mardahl; Kvadrat; Montana Furniture; Wendlebo

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CONTENTS

COLOUR DIRECTION

PRODUCT CATALOGUE

150 154 158 162

168 174 188 194 202

Vivid Orange Earthy Pastels Cobalt Blue Lilac and Lavender

CONTENTS

Soft Seating Chairs Tables Outdoor Storage & Lighting

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SPRING/SUMMER FAIRS 2022

THEMES TRENDS & TRADITIONS Engaging People Hosted within the city’s old train workshop, exhibitors and speakers at Trends & Traditions were asked to consider how interior and furniture design can help form connections between people and their present environment, stimulating levels of focus, energy and wellbeing. In a world of neverending change and distraction, and particularly considering the levels of disengagement some have experienced over the past two years, this theme was strikingly relevant.

The workplace was a fittingly prominent subtheme: in this report, The Furniture Practice’s Head of Workplace, Ed Hoban, presents our key takes from the fair and delves into the topic of co-creation in discussion with Zoe Humphries, Experience Director at Global Commercial Real Estate Firm Cushman & Wakefield.

P14 +Halle, P22

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THEMES

3 DAYS OF DESIGN Remember to Play We were delighted to be back in Copenhagen for 3 Days of Design, rounding off the fair season with their fun and optimistic theme, ‘Remember to Play’. This year, the fair’s visual theme was created by furniture, interior and architectural designer Luca Nichetto. Whilst discussing the thinking behind his lively visual concept, Nichetto emphasised how important play is to creativity and design. This sentiment was echoed by Signe Byrdal Terenziani, 3 Days of Design’s Managing Director: “Play is important at crucial moments, as well as creative ones. Which perhaps makes play more relevant now than ever. Even in uncertain times, play can re-connect you with others and help you find joy in the everyday.”

Lee Broom, Milan Design Week, P42

MILAN DESIGN WEEK Between Space and Time Milan Design Week’s theme, ‘Between Space & Time’, grew from a combination of observations over the course of the pandemic as well as dialogue with brands and designers. It was most fundamentally inspired by the COP26 programme manifesto: we don’t have much time to think about our space and only by planning every action in a conscious way can we think about the future. With a core focus on sustainability, the theme also left room for exploration of human interface and connection to nature, comfort, and hybrid living.

Associate Director of The Furniture Practice and Head of TFP North, Jennifer Dunn, puts forward our personal highlights from 3 Days of Design in our final fair overview, which includes an interview with Oliver Scott, Associate Director at Vitra UK. P71

The Furniture Practice’s Director of Sustainability, Matt Davies, introduces our breakdown of the week in the design capital.

In an interview with Wickie Meier Engström, Director and Partner of circular textile company Kvadrat Really, Matt finds out more about an innovative direction towards sustainability in the industry.

P32 Vipp Garage, 3 Days of Design, P73

THEMES

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SPRING/SUMMER FAIRS 2022

TFP VOICES

Ed Hoban

Matt Davies

Jennifer Dunn

Ed has worked in the furniture industry for over ten years across Australia and the UK, with a focus on workplace projects. He has now been part of the The Furniture Practice team for over six years. In his role as Associate Director and Head of Workplace, Ed runs major workplace consultancy projects, collaborating with clients and designers to create workspaces where employees thrive.

Following over 20 years of experience in the contract furniture industry, Matt has taken the reins as Director of Sustainability at The Furniture Practice, where he is driving improvements in the sustainability performance of furniture procurement and looking to effect systemic change across the industry. As well as leading the way on The Furniture Practice’s path to being carbon neutral by 2030, Matt is working closely with manufacturers, clients and designers to limit the climate impact of furniture projects.

Jennifer has worked in the furniture industry ever since completing her degree at the University of Liverpool. She has been with The Furniture Practice for six years and now heads up TFP’s Northern office in Manchester as Associate Director. Jennifer collaborates with design studios and clients to deliver projects across workplace, co-working, hospitality and build-to-rent sectors. As well as managing the Manchester team, Jennifer’s work is focussed on expanding The Furniture Practice’s operations in the industry.

Ed is seeing significant changes in workplace design as well as the design process itself, which is becoming increasingly collaborative with specifications being developed alongside employees.

Opposite: Veil Square Pendant, Ladies & Gentleman Studio Photography: Ariake

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Use of innovative materials was a key development Matt looked forward to seeing at the fairs this year, the circular economy being a core focus in the industry’s efforts to make projects more sustainable.

TFP VOICES

Ahead of the fairs this year, Jennifer predicted a much more interactive, immersive approach to exhibitors’ displays, with more transparency as to the creative and supply-chain processes behind designing and manufacturing furniture.

TFP VOICES

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1.

THE FAIRS

Discover our highlights from Trends & Traditions, Milan Design Week and 3 Days of Design, as our three TFP voices explore the most memorable design moments from brands old and new.

OPPOSITE: KVADRAT, MILAN DESIGN WEEK PHOTOGRAPHY BY KVADRAT 12

THE FAIRS

THE FAIRS

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TREN TRADIT Case, Wendlebo Photography: Wendlebo

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THE FAIRS

NDS & TIONS TRENDS & TRADITIONS

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+Halle Showroom Photography: +Halle

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THE FAIRS

At just seven years old, Trends & Traditions is a relative newcomer on the design fair circuit, but it has quickly become one of the most unmissable events of the year for TFP. This year, workplace design was front and centre.

INTRODUCTION BY ED HOBAN, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND HEAD OF WORKPLACE

Engaging people TRENDS & TRADITIONS

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Covid catalysed an evolution in the way we work. Remote or hybrid working has become widely accepted across many sectors and our concept of the office has changed dramatically: rather than a space for independent work, it is now a destination for coming together and connecting with colleagues.

Workplace design, as a result, is seeing an emphasis on flexibility and the curation of collaborative spaces, which must also provide for individual focus. This was evidenced at Trends & Traditions with their chosen theme, ‘Engaging People’, where exhibitors and speakers explored how we can mobilise design to engage people in today’s overstimulating, distracting world.

Talks focussed on work-life balance, engagement in the workplace and sustainability, as speakers addressed how we can encourage consumers and producers to embrace new, greener materials. An emphasis on wellbeing and mental health was set from the start, with a talk by philosopher Morten Nødgaard Albæk on how to create a meaningful life. Across exhibitor stands, there was an emphasis on flexible furniture built for collaboration, comfort and adaptability.

Creative, organic forms abounded, with Verpan’s snakelike Cloverleaf sofa and Welle lounge chair serving as an especially 18

fun example, together with +Halle’s modular Summit sofa system with its bold and original form. There were multiple displays of furniture built for focus and flexible use: the SUI desk chair, also designed for +Halle

by Raw Edges, incorporates a surrounding ledge that can be used for both rest and work, whilst Wendelbo’s new Case sofa, designed in collaboration with Sebastian Herkner, provides a cocoon for calm and concentration.

Multiple stands displayed the raw materials going into their products, placing emphasis on sustainable materiality and manufacture.

Mater’s Eternity Chair was shown to be made from industrial plastic waste and discarded coffee beans, whilst Sheworks Atelier uses waste material from the textile industry in order to create their beautiful pieces, handmade by immigrant and refugee women. Normann Copenhagen’s small but mighty Bit Stools, made from 100% recycled household plastic also stood out with their bright, pixelated combinations of colours.

THE FAIRS

Holmris B8 × Labofa, Trends & Traditions

Food Garden, Trends & Traditions

Material Innovation, Trends & Traditions

Food Garden, Trends & Traditions

“Our interior and workplace design, now, must engage and inspire as well as provide optimum comfort flexibility and ease of use.”

TRENDS & TRADITIONS

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SUI Deskchair, +Halle

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THE FAIRS

Our industry knows how important design is to our everyday lives: the spaces we inhabit, the objects we use and with which we choose to surround ourselves have a direct impact on how we feel, think and behave. Furthermore, their production impacts the wellbeing of our planet. The products shown at Trends & Traditions highlighted that interior and

“The spaces we inhabit, the objects we use and with which we choose to surround ourselves have a direct impact on how we feel, think and behave.”

workplace design, now, must engage and inspire as well as provide optimum comfort, flexibility and ease of use, in order to fulfil its function for the modern user — and the modern worker. Here, we present our highlights from the one-day fair, showcasing brands that we felt stood out for their original and innovative approach.

Eternity Chair, Mater

TRENDS & TRADITIONS

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+HALLE +Halle +Halle’s forward thinking approach to design bestows their furniture with a clear purpose and considered functionality, and their newly launched SUI desk chair by Raw Edges offers an original solution for productivity in public spaces. The chair, available in several colours, comprises a simple, circular swivel seat allowing 360˚ movement, and a surrounding wooden platform which can serve either as a desk or as a back rest. The dynamic design has been conceived specifically for the modern worker and workspace. Allowing fluctuation between work and play, focus and interaction, it gives the user control over how they engage with their work and their surroundings. Multiple chairs can also be placed together, creating a collaborative space which still allows for individual work.

Torno Chair, +Halle

Also for +Halle, Norwegian designers Snøhetta have conceived a multilevel seating system named Summit. Exploring themes of sharing and new ways of coming together, Summit’s structure is inspired by the free form of hillside landscapes combined with the stepped-architecture of amphitheatres and similar social spaces. Six interchangeable modules offer an infinite number of possibilities for Summit’s form, encouraging user collaboration in the design itself as well as providing an opportunity for shaping collaborative and social spaces.

Photography: +Halle

Summit, +Halle

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EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

Sui Desk Chair, +Halle

TRENDS & TRADITIONS

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VERPAN Verpan Verpan’s furniture never fails to delight, and their stand stood out for its fun, bold and unconventional lounge seating range in particular. The collection’s sculptural forms are quintessential of the brand’s experimental approach to furniture design, championed by their founder, Verner Panton.

Verpan’s beautifully formed Cloverleaf sofa, with its serpentine, undulating back-rest was shown in an appropriately seaweed-ish dark green. The Cloverleaf, designed by Panton in 1969, comes in both indoor and outdoor versions, its generous platform making it the perfect solution to group seating. Similarly to +Halle’s Summit, its modular structure also offers a variety of possible combinations, allowing even more room for flexibility and expression according to each user.

Easy Chair, Verpan

The brand’s Welle chairs were shown, another example of Verpan’s hallmark curvilinear designs which balance form and function. In single and two-seater versions, they offer an imaginative and unconventional form of lounge seating. A further show of unexpected, original aesthetics paired with practicality was their Barboy, an adaptable side-table and mobile storage unit, whose portable, cylindrical form separates into three compartments, making it ideal for office storage.

Photography: Verpan

Pantop Table Lamp, Verpan

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EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

Easy Sofa, Verpan

TRENDS & TRADITIONS

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HOLMRIS x PLANQ Holmris B8 Trends & Traditions was hosted by furniture specialists and sustainability advocates Holmris B8, who celebrated the spring season with a fun, festival-themed outdoor set-up which added to a lively, interactive atmosphere.

Their stand provided the ultimate in workspace-inspo, showcasing customisable desks with height adjustment and smart options such as chargers and pullout drawers.

One of the most interesting features was their display of sustainable table top options by Dutch design studio Planq.

Planq’s design mission is inspired by nature, championing a circular production technique using local resources. Their recycled denim composite, Rezign® Veneer, is manufactured by shredding waste textiles into fibres, which are then carded into a felt and combined with a biodegradable binder. The resulting veneer can be used with panelling or be manipulated into different forms through cutting, thermoforming or compression moulding.

The different textiles used produce veneers in an array of colours — from a rich indigo blue created by recycled stewardess clothing to a blue-ish white from waste white denim.

Holmris, 3 Days of Design

In Planq’s own collection, their unique veneer is paired with minimal steel or wooden frames for seating, also available with softer upholstery made from recycled leather or PET bottles.

Photography: Trends & Traditions, Planq

Rebel Chair, Planq

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EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS

Rezign® Veneer, Planq

Rezign® Veneer, Planq

TRENDS & TRADITIONS

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Photography: Lapalma

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INTERVIEW

The workplace design process is a chance for collaboration and co-creation. Here, ZOE HUMPHRIES, Workplace Experience Director at Cushman & Wakefield, talks to us about the opportunity for businesses to re-engage with their employees in order to discover exactly what they want out of their office experience.

INTERVIEW BY ED HOBAN

On cocreation in design ZOE HUMPHRIES

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