STOCKHOLM FURNITURE FAIR 2016

Designful and inspiring SFF 2016

The Stockholm Furniture Fair has been bringing together furniture manufacturers, designers, journalists, architects, decorators and admirers of Scandinavian design across the world for years now.

We, the Oot-Oot Studio team, also managed to take visit to the biggest Nordic design event. Straight from the ferry to the fair, the feeling is divine – great dose of inspiration, new materials, innovative design and fresh minds, it is almost indescribable.

Not some ordinary fair

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 2016 takes part together with Stockholm Design Week, which means that there are different events, seminars, workshops, lectures etc. going on across the city. The 70 000 square meters big area of the fair is divided into different sections; the 3 main halls, the Greenhouse, the Established, Design Bar and more. More than 700 different designers, design studios and manufacturers are gathered to share their products with visitors. 80% of the companies some from Scandinavian, which is why this is the most important Nordic design event in the world.

  

The blurry line between home and office

The main focus usually is on home furniture and lighting, but another big part of the fair includes the office furniture and products. The classic concept of an office has been changed; the home-offices, laptop-based working places, open offices etc. bring in many new and innovative solutions. It seems quite logical that the aim should be the same, whether you make home, office or home-office furniture. The keywords would be comfort, quality, functionality, user friendliness and visual pleasure. The String, Hay, Woud and Kinnarps had done it very well.

Something for the open offices

The open office culture asks for multifunctional furniture to the office spaces. Designer must take a wider and more innovative approuch when designing office funiture nowadays. The “think outside the box” has brought the boxes, kiosks and modularity to the offices. The Stockholm Furniture Fair offered some greate solution for that subject; the Horreds, Nomess, Abstracta, Lintex, Kinnarps and Framery caught our eyes and minds.

The young and fresh design schools

The Greenhouse, curated by Swedish design studio Form Us With Love, showed some real talent. The exhibitions from starting designers, small design brands and design schools had probably some of the freshest ideas and smacking concepts of the whole fair. Our own Estonian Tamma Design also was there and we enjoyed them a lot.

  

Blinded by the lights

This year, there were many lighting companies and designers included at the fair. Called the Northern Light Fair it was part of the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2016 concept to bring out the lighting together with the furniture. Pure forms and cool materials (wood, cork, ceramics etc.) added some real surprise moments. Check out Secto Design, Malmstens, Flos, Marset and Watt A Lamp to understand.

 

The story is everything

Together with the products one shows at the fair, the exhibition concept itself is extremely important. Many companies had managed to figure out consistent concept showing their values and philosofy together with the products. Whether the approach is minimalist or extreme, solution should speak to the customer, the viewer and represent the aesthetics of the brand.

 

   

  

   

Text and photos: Oot-Oot Studio