Light works: SFF 2018
Text by Stockholm Furniture Fair
Stockholm, Sweden
23.01.18
Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair kicks off on February 6-10 2018. Visitors from all over the world will come to the fair and to see the latest trends in furniture and lighting and more than 80 design events will also be held throughout the entire city as part of Stockholm Design Week.
Every year, Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair draws approximately 40,000 visitors of which around 10,000 are foreign buyers, architects, designers and journalists from more than 60 countries. About 700 companies, including 300 international, set up exhibitions in Stockholmsmässan’s 70,000 sqm. Around 80 percent of the exhibiting companies come from Scandinavia.
Here are some highlights for 2018:
Guest of Honour 2018 – Paola Navone.
Every year, Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair invites a highly acclaimed international designer or design studio to create an installation in the entrance hall. This time the assignment has gone to the Italian architect, product designer, decorator and artistic director Paola Navone.
Design Bar 2018: Ratatouille Arena
New for this year is that Design Bar, which combines an exhibition with a top-class restaurant, has been moved to Victoria Hall and integrated with Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks. Together, they will form a completely new area for conversations, food and meetings. Designer Luca Nichetto created the framing and the concept, Ratatouille Arena, and chef Lina Ahlin from Agrikultur in Stockholm created the menu.
Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks
The fair’s forum for knowledge and discussions within the area of design and architecture hosts influential guests such as Paola Navone, Piet Hein Eek, India Mahdavi, Penda and Assemble. This year’s theme is Visionary Thinking. An extra day has been added to Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks, and its program now covers five days. An up-to-date program is available at www.stockholmfurniturefair.com.
Trend Exhibition 2018/19: EN-AW 6082
This year’s trend exhibition has been created by Christian Halleröd design, which designed store interiors for Acne Studios and Byredo, among others. The exhibition investigates themes such as real, fake and craftsmanship and is a collaboration with the Materials Library.
PANORAMA – aiming for democratic architecture
This exhibition highlights how architecture can contribute to democracy, and at the same time aims to stimulate discussion around this important topic. It’s a collaboration between SF&LF, the Swedish Association of Architects and the architecture-art-design collective MYCKET. Along with the exhibition you can listen to a panel discussion called “Aiming for democratic architecture”, a part of the fair’s seminar program, right here on stage.
Greenhouse
To highlight the significance of Greenhouse, the fair’s area for unestablished designers, has been as a meeting place, the designer Nick Ross has been given the job of creating an exhibition, called Prologue. Another addition this year is the “Best Performance” award – a distinction awarded by the Greenhouse Jury. This year, there are 31 stands with independent designers and 32 design colleges from 13 different countries at Greenhouse.
Editors’ Choice Award
SF&LF’s award – Editor’s Choice - will be handed out for the third year. The jury consists of editors-in-chief from several of Europe’s most important design forums. The award covers three categories: Rising Star, Best Stand and Best Product. The 2018 jury consists of Marcus Fairs, Dezeen; Adeline Seidel, Stylepark; Costas Voyatzis, Yatzer & Donatella Bollani, DOMUS.
Design Pop Up Store
Many visitors like the possibility of being able to purchase design objects at the fair. Pop Up Store will be run this year by stylist Soraya Forsberg and Lisa Karlsson, who runs the store, uMe. The store is open when the fair is open.
Opening Hours: Tuesday - Friday 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. The public is also welcome on Saturday, February 10.
Updated information about the events arranged in Stockholm during Week 6 can be found at www.stockholmdesignweek.com.