Meet the designer

When you enter a blickfang event regardless if it`s Vienna, Stuttgart or Zurich, the first impression is of the many young and stylish visitors casually strolling past the even more stylishly dressed retailers. You may also notice young woman deep in conversation over an extremely fragile looking piece of fine jewelry or the elderly gentleman trying out a one of a kind bar chair. Music is in the air and as always, the lounge is well visited and exclusively outfitted with furniture and fixtures from companies like Fritz Hansen. This is definitely a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the trade show. You may also want to check out the tattooed barkeeper, he`ll probably have a grand fruit and veggie cocktail on hand if you need one.

Atmosphere however is not design. The real blickfang experience happens out where the designers have their booths. Here is where the action is on presentation, you`ll find furniture, interior accessories, fashion, jewelry and more.

It`s true, a visit to the blickfang is the opportunity to meet the person behind the material, the thinker, the creator, the father of the article if you wish. Since these designers have all been selected by a jury you can be sure of the authenticity and quality of the product. So take a closer look, it’s an enjoyment. And surprise! The designers are actually happy for your feedback, so communication is preferred. This is where design gets personal.

The variety of designs is vast. On one hand are for instance brose~fogale, a start up from London. Joscha Brose and Matteo Fogale are soccer buddies who decided to pass up a chance to play for the likes of Tom Dixon and Barber Osgerby in order to work on their own creations. Together they´ve developed a line of accessories, furniture and mirrors. „ We wanted a simple, flexible and to the point solution“, says Matteo, “we wanted our products to appear as an App, reduced to the essentials."

The designer Alex Valder on the other hand has a 10 year plan. His goal is to expand from designer to include production and distribution. His product line includes the stool series „Boekkle.“ At first the seat cushion seems to be too small and fragile to be practical - the blickfang is however not a museum, you can really feel and touch every item that’s on display. That’s how the product proves to be not only practical but also surprisingly comfortable.

Just three steps away you`ll find the young and up and coming furniture label „Rejon“ out of Potsdam. It`s not unusual for designers to share booths since this is a tight community and they are familiar with each other’s work.

Not all designers have a background in the field, some are self taught or come from other professions. Nicole Komitov from Vienna whose „milk“ label has left an impression for instance. She was first introduced to fashion by her nanny where she learned as a kid that with a little creativity and talent you can easily top what`s available on the mass market. These days Nicole makes a living bringing that creativity to life. Sometimes rough, other times silky smooth, but always with a little help from a crew of Bulgarian seamstresses.

The same goes for Jonas Schroeder, the creative mind behind „Joval“ whose academic roots are to be found in business administration. With a precise plan and a little help from the blickfang design workshop in Boisbuchet, he set out with the goal of becoming a part of the design scene. Through blickfang, Schroeder received assistance for his creation and business plan from Sebastian Wrong who is currently serving as the blickfang curator of the year.

And now we will turn our attention to a part of the blickfang that is out of the view of the general public. We are talking about the transfer of ideas and concepts that take place within the design scene. „Curator of the Year“ and the „blickfang design workshops“ are ingredients in the success story of blickfang. During the last 22 years Dieter Hofmann founder and initiator along with CEO Jennifer Reaves have developed contacts with the international design scene. With help of the American designer Stephen Burks grew the idea for the curator of the year, a sort of eye in the sky, who has a critical panoramic view of the development of the next trade show. From this position new ideas and concepts can be put forward for considerations.

Sebastian Wrong for instance hadn’t heard of the blickfang trade show, but was quickly intrigued by the concept. “blickfang being a fair for the handmade, local and individual, is a good reflection to our current development in design production and consuming.” And he’s not the only one who feels like that. On every blickfang, a jury is searching for the two most talented designers and honors them with two „MINI design awards” which grant 1500 Euro each. Supporting the curator of the year is a jury of well known design experts such as Percy Thonet, Rossana Orlandi, Jörg Boner or Nils Holger Moorman who are donating their time and ideas complimentary.

In summary the blickfang is basically a shopping event. However it is more, it`s an event where discovery, wellbeing and yes even surprise accompany the experience. Other design festivals or weeks may have more professional designers on hand, but nowhere else do you get the chance to take home not only a business card but also a piece of new design, presented by the creator personally. This is where the blickfang earns the title „design“.

So go and convince yourself in Munich (21 | 22 | 23 February), Stuttgart (14 | 15 | 16 March), Basel (09 | 10 | 11 May), Vienna (17 | 18 | 19 October), Copenhagen (14 | 15 | 16 November), Zurich (21 | 22 | 23 November) or Hamburg (28 | 29 | 30 November)!

....