Journey of FIND – Design Fair Asia
With just over 10 weeks to go till the inaugural edition of FIND – Design Fair Asia (Furniture, Interiors and Design), there has been much anticipation and hype surrounding the fair. Beyond Asia, FIND – Design Fair Asia has stretched horizons to grow its influence among designers, architects, writers, and highly sought-after practitioners in the design world. Recently, FIND tastemakers travelled to Salone del Mobile, the annual furniture fair held in Milan, Italy, and Fuori Salone to further the connectivity and collaboration between the East and the West. There, tastemaker and key opinion leader Yoko Choy, the Co-Chair of Content engaged in meaningful conversations with Tony Chambers, the Chair of Content and FIND – Insiders Dara Huang, Luca Nichetto and Tom Dixon. The creative leaders conversed on topics such as how FIND – Design Fair Asia will create a platform for the design community to come together, its future hopes for the global design scene and their excitement about coming to Singapore. FIND will also be staging “The Italian Design Future Capsule”, designed by Stefano Boeri, following the success of Supersalone at Salone del Mobile in 2021.
Connecting with the Global Design Community
Opinion leaders have lauded FIND for the collaboration it would inspire between creative talents hailing from both the East and the West. With creative convergence central to the success of FIND – Design Fair Asia, Yoko Choy said that «Together with Tony Chambers, the Chair of Content, we are going to initiate conversations with some of the world’s leading professionals to stir up public discussions about how we can construct better lives and we aim to provide memorable moments in celebration of design and togetherness.» FIND – Insiders have also expressed their enthusiasm towards working together with brands and members of the design community to create stellar works.
During a tour of his show, TWENTY, at Palazzo Serbelloni with Tony Chambers, Tom Dixon expressed his gratitude having worked with legendary designers like Castiglioni, Mari and Sottsass and his excitement towards the collaborative stage that FIND has to offer for the blend of Eastern and Western influences in future designs.
Beyond designers and architects, the wider design community includes key members of the press. With Editor-in-Chief, Gilda Bojardi as a FIND Insider, FIND – Design Fair Asia is in a strong partnership with Italian design title Interni. As such, Interni created a press room for media enquiries during Fuori Salone.
Showcasing The Future of Design
FIND – Design Fair Asia presents a stage for exploring future design opportunities and this is highlighted by the six holistic pillars of content: Sustainable Development, Post-Pandemic Hospitality, Biophilic Design Movement, The Future of Wellness, Designing The Metaverse, and Creativity, Commerce and Communication.
With sustainability being at the forefront of most discussions these days, Tom spoke on having Sustainable Development as one of the pillars of content at FIND. Referring to his Cork collection, “Cork is an amazing regenerative material, a material which is actually strangely carbon positive.” Tom’s Accretion chair was also on display at Palazzo Serbelloni. Gesturing to it, he said, “This is an interesting object because it has been ‘grown’ underwater.’ Tom’s studio currently is ‘growing’ three Accretion chairs in the waters of the Bahamas in the hopes of capturing carbon and re-generating disappearing corals. As electricity passes through the metal structure of the chair, calcium carbonate accumulates and allows corals to regenerate three times faster than they would normally. On his hopes to expand this design technique, he mentioned, “And really, when we’re talking about Singapore, maybe Singapore is the next obvious place to do this regeneration project.»
Speaking of how the pandemic has altered the design scene, Dara Huang called for the need for greater inclusivity whereby wellness – one of the content pillars at FIND play an increasingly vital role in architecture. Dara believes that «Wellness can be seen from the micro whereby you are looking at things like the tint of your light. There are those things we can
change with our own setting, such as making our bed every morning, decluttering and little things we have learned over the lockdown. Then there’s the macro, which is like the orientation of the sun, natural ventilation and design having an impact in the way people live and breathe. There’s a huge new work-life balance going on.”
On the metaverse that blew up over the course of the pandemic, Dara highlighted their growth in prominence and the reasoning behind having Designing The Metaverse as a content pillar. “We go from quite a tangible design aspect such as furniture and buildings to then a whole metaworld that really opened up over the lockdown. And I’m not saying that the metaworld is the solution but I think that if we do not insert ourselves into it and make the best that it can be, then it’s a missed opportunity for designers.”
With futuristic and novel designs on the rise, Luca Nichetto, the esteemed multi-disciplinary designer said the following on combining history and contemporary making together in his craftsmanship. «The idea of building bridges is also building a community – the stronger and more connected we are, the more cool things we can do. I hope that it’s the beginning of a new chapter.»
Singapore — a design hub
With FIND – Design Fair Asia, Singapore stands to establish itself as a veritable design hub. With works of both talented emerging designers and established famous designers on display, coupled with talks by people of legendary stature in the design world, Singapore has the potential to cement its strong growing and vibrant design scene.
In her conversation with Tony Chambers, Yoko said «I think for a long period in Asia, we did not have a design hub. In Europe, you have Salone del Mobile in Milan and then you have something in London and Paris, but we never really had a significant international event in Asia to promote local talent and to connect the international world to the Asian creative world. Due to the pandemic, the connections between the two parts of the world have diminished in the past few years so it is very important to have a chance for everyone to meet again and talk, exchange, and showcase their creativity.»
Shedding light on how the pandemic altered the design landscape, Tony Chambers was full of appreciation and praise for FIND in enabling the gathering of creative minds. “Creativity does not happen on Zoom. Creativity happens in face-to-face conversations. I have been going to Singapore for many years, and I love it as an incredibly energetic city state. I see it as a place that is a real hot bed of creative talent.”
It is with great joy and excitement that the FIND — Insiders are looking forward to coming to Singapore. Tom noted that «It’s great to see a city in full experimentation and trying to live differently, especially so when it is an amazing compact island in a tropical setting. It’s always interesting to be at the first fair in a place that has such new energy. I’ll be keen to see the emerging Asian brands which are becoming increasingly strong.»
The Italian Design Future Capsule
Following their successful design of Supersalone, the special edition which took place in 2021 at Salone del Mobile Milano, Stefano Boeri Interiors will collaborate with FIND to design a unique area titled «The Italian Design Future Capsule». This special showcase will celebrate creativity, craftsmanship and design thinking from Italy.
Stefano Boeri is an architect and an urban planner whose works range from the design of architecture and urban visions to product design with a focus on the geopolitical and environmental implications of urban phenomena.
«The Italian Design Future Capsule» that is set to be a cornerstone at FIND will house up to 50 key Italian exhibiting brands and will provide a perfect fusion of Italian design and creativity.
Some of the prestigious Italian brands which will be exhibiting include Agglotech, Aina Kari, Ernestomeda, Italian Texstyle, Nahoor Limelight, Ovo, Tabu and Terzani. The architects Stefano Boeri and Giorgio Donà, co-founders of the multidisciplinary studio Stefano Boeri Interiors, and their team have designed a space which showcases the new products and creations launched by companies and emerging talents. Special attention has been given to innovation, environmental impact, creativity, cultural exchange, and digital experiences in the design of the pavilion.
The layout of the space will consist of multiple sets, designed for the specific goods and categories, and will allow each brand to articulate its own identity and showcase products on vertical walls and on horizontal surfaces, both of which will be modular. This fluid and dynamic exhibition set-up will allow visitors to navigate freely inside a huge archive of creativity, excellence and savoir faire.
The display in the pavilion will be cross-pollinated and categorised by themed areas and itineraries devised by Stefano Boeri Interiors: arenas for talks on knowledge sharing and deepening, dedicated lounges for commercial and business meetings, areas reserved for young students at design schools and for special exhibitions, food courts and socialising and
relaxation. This results in a different way of conceiving the exhibition space, allowing it to become a place with multiple opportunities for interface and, simultaneously, an invitation to stop, think and feel.
This curated set of features enable networking combined with a series of talks while insights from major Italian architects and designers complete the experience at this special showcase and capsule. Gilda Bojardi, editor of Interni magazine, will also be conducting a series of masterclasses at the capsule.
ABOUT FIND – DESIGN FAIR ASIA
In partnership together with Fiera Milano, dmg events will bring together the largest carefully selected collection of interior brands, key opinion leaders, designers and content from across the globe at the inaugural FIND – Design Fair Asia. The fair is to be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore from 22nd to 24th September 2022. Occupying 10,000 square metres, it is expected to draw more than 500 international exhibiting brands as well as physical and virtual attendees. Visitors, including architects, interior designers, retailers, agents and design savvy consumers from across Asia, are invited to draw inspiration, network and trade at this new 3-day event located in Singapore. It will be a premium, thoughtfully- produced event, offering trend setting design and a glimpse into the future. Exhibiting brands will be able to leverage this global coverage fully to ensure leadership positioning and visibility.
Website: https://www.designfairasia.com/
LinkedIn: FIND – Design Fair Asia
