The future unveiled for Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair and Formex

There is huge interest in meeting up and doing business in the interior design world. After almost two years with no fairs, Stockholmsmässan is now opening up again and looks forward to welcoming international and national visitors to an inspiring meeting place with a real buzz about it.

"During the pandemic, we've listened and spoken to many of our customers: exhibitors, visitors and partners, before beginning to develop and refresh our fairs. We are clear about the importance of maintaining a constant presence and keeping things current 365 days a year. We are therefore investing heavily in our fairs and in other physical and digital activities that will take place alongside and in between the fairs. A prime example of this is Stockholm Design Week in February, which will run in parallel with Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, and an additional Stockholm Design Week in August to coincide with Formex. Over both these weeks, the focus will be on design in the worlds of furniture, fashion, food and music," explains Chicie Lindgren, Business Area Manager Stockholm Design Events at Stockholmsmässan. "We are also extremely pleased to have Hanna Nova Beatrice strengthening the team as the new Project Area Manager for Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair."

Formex
This week, when we usually hold Formex, we instead have Formex Talks, an interactive platform offering inspiring digital studio programs with guests such as Isabelle McAllister, Frida Ramstedt, Maria Soxbo, Stefan Nilsson and color expert Karl-Johan Bertilsson. As a complement to Formex Talks, new products are also being presented on the website formex.se.

Ahead of the 2022 events, the content is being overhauled and work is under way to create a rewarding experience- and activity-based meeting place – interactively, emotionally and sensorially. And of course the focus will be on exhibitors and visitors meeting again, doing business and having all their senses stimulated.

Formex Talks will remain digital and over the year knowledge will also be in the spotlight with the new Formex Academy, a series of digital lectures with a focus on trends, consumer behavior, sustainability and other subjects of interest to the industry.

There is a vision that at some point you will be able to control a virtual Formex visitor and experience the whole fair remotely, wherever you are in the world, and it may also be that Formex pops up around Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia, in physical or digital form. The future exhibition experience is going to be digiphysical and all year round.

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair
When Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair opens its doors in February, visitors will encounter an experience-driven fair with a stronger focus than ever on Scandinavian design. The common thread will be a deep dive into the relationship between humanity and the designed living environment, with Scandinavian architecture, innovation, sustainability, design and lifestyle feeding into every part of the event.

"We are digging beneath the Scandinavian surface, examining the concept of Scandinavian design from all angles," says Sanna Gebeyehu, Concept & Product Owner. "There is more to uncover, going beyond blonde woods and functional homes! What does Scandinavian lifestyle mean in the modern age, under these post-Covid conditions?"

Multidisciplinary creator and fashion guru Martin Bergström has the task of creating a large experience-driven installation in the fair's Entrance Hall.
"Martin's poetic narratives, with their often dramatic expression, are exactly what we wanted for this exhibition, which takes its inspiration from the Scandinavian lifestyle," says Sanna Gebeyehu.

Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks will dig deeper and be refreshed. The new curator of the program is Konrad Olsson, editor-in-chief of Scandinavian Mind. The majority of the talks will still be digital in 2022 in order to optimize uptake by an international audience.

Another main feature is an inspirational and informative exhibition showcasing the very latest in design, architecture, sustainability and innovations from the Nordic countries, created by one of the hottest architectural practices right now.

Hanna Nova Beatrice – Project Area Manager for Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair
Journalist and editor-in-chief Hanna Nova Beatrice will be drawing on all her knowledge of the interior design industry, not to mention her international experience, as she project manages Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair. She has previously been editor-in-chief and run big magazine titles such as Residence, My Residence, Form and Plaza Interiör. Last year she founded and launched the international interiors title The New Era Magazine, published independently. She will continue to oversee the magazine as Creative Director but will quit the day-to-day editorial work. She takes up her new post on ‪October 4.

The Formex Design Talents winner is Fanny Schönenberg
Design Talents is the section of Formex for new talent, where independent designers and design teams get to present their products to buyers, partners, manufacturers and the media. The jury awarded the prize to Fanny Schönenberg because "the winner of Formex Design Talents Best in Show 2021 has an original aesthetic expression that manifests in a range of materials with confidence and an eye for experimentation – all recycled in new series. We want to see more!”. Fanny works in an expressive and painterly way in materials such as ceramic, watercolors, textiles and oils. For more information about Fanny and her work, visit www.atelierschonenberg.se. For information on everyone who took part, see all the Design Talents for August 2021 (formex.se).