Highlights from Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 2013

The 62nd Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair – the world’s largest meeting place for Scandinavian furniture and lighting design – took place on 5-9 February. 729 exhibitors from 31 countries came together under Stockholmsmässan’s roof to showcase innovations in furniture, lighting and textiles for homes and public spaces.

31,150 buyers, architects, designers and journalists came to Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, which filled Stockholmsmässan’s four halls and occupied almost 40,000 square meters. Among the 729 exhibitors, 300 were companies from outside Sweden. The largest exhibitor nations besides Sweden are Denmark (87 exhibitors) and Norway (37 exhibitors) closely followed by Finland (32 exhibitors). The fair also had many new and returning exhibitors, including Givarps and G.A.D from Sweden, Talgø from Norway, Artek and One Nordic Furniture Company from Finland, One Collection from Denmark, Bene from Austria and KFF Design from Germany.

“Once again, we filled every last corner of Stockholmsmässan’s gigantic exhibition space with exciting design and we’re delighted to see how the interest in Scandinavian design goes from strength to strength,” comments Cecilia Nyberg, Event Manager for Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair.

“In many ways it’s been a challenging year for the industry, with certain segments managing better than others. Furniture for public spaces and offices has done well in 2012 and the future feels exciting. New ways of looking at how we furnish the office environment and create activity-based, space-efficient and functional workplaces are providing many new opportunities,” notes Cecilia Ask Engström, Head of Industry Development and Project Manager for Furniture at TMF, the Swedish Federation of Wood and Furniture.

Stockholm Design Week ran in parallel with Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair and featured a number of design events at different locations around the city. The idea behind expanding the fair into an entire design week has been to strengthen Stockholm as the Capital of Scandinavia and a hub for Scandinavian design, while attracting more visitors to the fair.

“To continue creating energy and a dynamic design week, we launched a unique exhibition – Glass Elephant – in association with ABB. Products by some of Sweden’s most exciting designers were on display in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities’ Skeppsholmen Caverns and new impressions came to life in the borderland between industrial design, arts and crafts, and performance,” reports Cecilia Nyberg, Event Manager of Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair and Stockholm Design Week.

To find out more, please visit www.stockholmfurniturefair.com or contact:
Cecilia Nyberg, Event Manager of Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, tel +46 8 749 4386, cecilia.nyberg@stockholmsmassan.se
Ida Mlowe, Press Officer, +46 70 789 44 13, ida.mlowe@stockholmsmassan.se

Some of the Fair’s highlights 2013:

Guest of Honor 10 Years: The internationally acclaimed founder of Japanese design studio Nendo, Oki Sato, honored us with his presence. His guest lounge in the Entrance Hall provided a creativity that left no one unmoved.

The Design Bar - a charmingly lit retreat. Internationally acclaimed Norwegian designer Daniel Rybakken installed his amazing artificial daylight.

Greenhouse – a hall filled with the work of promising independent designers hoping to be discovered. Just as this year’s Guest of Honor Oki Sato did ten years ago! The exhibition was designed as a Baroque garden this year, courtesy of Note Design Studio.

Glass Elephant – Stockholm Design Week’s new profile exhibition. A poetic design installation focusing on design, form and art in glass. A creative partnership between Stockholmsmässan and ABB Robotics, which was on show in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities’ Skeppsholmen Caverns.

Trend exhibitions – for Home and Public Spaces. The designer and TV personality Jan Rundgren illustrated current trends for the peace and quiet of homes and busy public spaces.

Hello! – Anatomy of Communication
A dynamic concept exhibition about communication’s role in the organization of the workplace, today and tomorrow. Talkshow and stand created by architect Gert Wingårdh and illustrator Kustaa Saksi.

Color and material trends – The exhibition analyzed the concept of Scandinavian design and took visitors into the future.

Contract Market & Home – new for this year! Architects have been furnishing our offices and our homes with the same furniture for a long time now. Certain items of furniture are just as suited to trendy homes as newly renovated offices.

Guest exhibitions:

Designboom Mart – For the fifth time Designboom Mart brought along around forty talented international designers to Stockholm.

Möbelriket showed the inspirational installation DIALOG, created by design strategist Erik Mohlin. Wood was in the spotlight this year.

Architonic – has been providing architects, designers, researchers, manufacturers and retailers with constantly updated and relevant product information for more than ten years.

KHVC, The Crafts Center – represents more than 800 active professional craft artists from all over Sweden. Ten of them showcased exciting examples of spatial design for both homes and public spaces.

Out of the Woods – An exhibition of 12 chairs/seats made of American hardwood, designed by students at The Royal College of Art i London.

Möbelfakta – a comprehensive reference and labeling system for furniture, synonymous with professionalism and quality down to the smallest detail.

Studio Re:design – In its studio in Borås, Studio Re:design uses leftover textiles to develop prototypes.

Vodunuvo – Canadian designer Patty Johnson presented a new collection of products inspired by the hardships, struggles and survival of one of the world’s most ancient religions.