From the 16th to the 19th of October 2019 the most important event of the year, namely Design Living Tendency, the exhibition of furniture, lighting, décor and home textiles, was held in the International Exhibition Centre, Livoberezhna metro station, Kyiv.
Organizer of the exhibition is Kyiv International Contract Fair that has been developing B2B exhibition platform since 1994 and is highly recognized by the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI).
In comparison with Kiev International Furniture Forum KIFF, which is held in spring and is a truly furniture event, autumn exhibition Design Living Tendency is more multifaceted as it covers a lot of directions. It is a platform where comprehensive interior solutions are presented. That is why, not only furniture is demonstrated at the exhibition, but also home textile (the only professional exposition of interior textile in Ukraine), window décor and lighting. Designers and architects are the target audience of the exhibition.
“This year the exhibition occupied the area of 15,000 sq. m. It covered 2 exhibition halls where more than 300 brands were presented. The first exhibition hall demonstrated the exposition of furniture, lighting, décor and interior solutions, while the second one was fully dedicated to home textile and window décor. In the end, we reached our goals: to show designers and architects the novelties of interior market and to introduce manufacturers to architects and designers who need collaboration with factories to realize their projects.”
Yana Cherniavska, Director of the interior exhibition Design Living Tendency
The exhibition showed current market profile and demonstrated quantitative and qualitative growth:
- exhibition area: 15,000 sq. m;
- more than 300 Ukrainian and foreign brands;
- more than 16,000 professional visitors from all Ukrainian regions and international buyers;
- more than 80 specialized events for professionals of the industry.
There were a plenty of interesting solutions in the sphere of furniture technologies, technical innovations integrated in interior as well as famous design projects. The above-mentioned information proves once again that Ukrainian design is worth taking the rightful place in the sector of world object and interior design.
Thus, the visitors were greatly interested in office transformers by Module Pro and an office capsule by Comfort Zone, stylish minimalism of bedrooms and living rooms by Zegen, eco furniture by Work Wood and Ywood, dozens of new models of lamps and lighting systems by such brands as: Mantra, Kolarz, PikArt, TK Lighting, Maytony, Chops, Artem Ronsky, Nowodvorski, Jung, etc.; sun protection systems by Sunny, American classics Ashley by Shliakhetni Mebli TM, multifunctional armchairs by Comfort Place, eco swings by Infancy, plenty of furnishing variants for hotels, restaurants and cafes by Sandalyeci and Tivoli, loft with the use of aged wood by Solovero, etc.
Good feedback from clients and efficiency of the exhibition were also stated by the participants:
“It is already the 6th or the 7th exhibition for us. Being experienced participants, we are interested in it, first of all, because it reflects optimism of business environment. Everyone looks for new solutions and new ways for development. And we help them and show new ideas in order to move together in one direction.”
Serhii Dotsenko, official representative of FGV in Ukraine
“We presented a new range of awnings, including automatic ones. Now the company is intensively developing in the external sun protection direction. The exhibition is an informative event for us and especially for dealers. As a matter of fact we work all over Ukraine, not all the dealers have an opportunity to visit our show-room. The exhibition offers a chance to show novelties, meet old friends, communicate and even to surprise.”
Serhii Belikov, Head of automatic direction of SUNNY TM
“Such events as the exhibition broaden the horizons substantially. A lot of clients came to us and we renewed our acquaintance. There were also people who had been eager to meet us long time before, but the favourable moment appeared only now. And, of course, we got new clients.”
Serhii Kostenko, Director of Interior Fabrics
“It is the second exhibition we take part in. At spring exhibition we presented only an armchair and now our stand has grown a bit in size. In spring we are planning to make our stand bigger again and add some beds, chests of drawers and some models of a bedroom group. The exhibition is dynamic, there are not so many our direct furniture competitors and that is why my colleague and I sometimes do not manage to speak to all visitors of our stand. Maybe we will have to take some more helpers next time. A lot of representatives of salons have come to us and we are signing contracts with them. They will become our dealers.”
Vitalii Yaroslavtsev, Director of Arbre furniture factory
“Our company takes part in exhibitions not only in Ukraine. We are actively developing ourselves and entering foreign markets. We have extremely positive impression of the exhibition. There are a great number of visitors, plenty of clients and a lot of designers. We can see that many salons are being constantly opened. The dynamics is great!”
Olena Talapa, General director of The Best by T-Style
Quite a lot of projects were realized at the exhibition for the first time:
Stand of Epicentr K chain of stores (Furniture centre by Epicentr K). Modern affordable furniture in trendy colours of the season was presented at the stand. Large-scale joint marketing campaign preceded the event and became an interesting experience both for Epicentr K and the exhibition.
“Furniture Centre is developing retail sales of all furniture starting from living rooms to kitchens. This year we have decided to cooperate with Design Living Tendency exhibition. As a result, we have managed to present a part of Furniture Centre at the exhibition. For the first time, we have gone outside the bounds of Epicentr K and brought our whole identity here. We have very good results.”
Oleksandr Lukianchenko, Head of furniture department of Epicentr K
TEXTILE TREND ZONE is a place where for the first time in Ukraine fashionable colours, prints, textures and accessories were not presented out of the context. They were integrated in key themes of the season: game, escape from reality, autonomy, alluring oasis, nostalgia as well as a separate smart direction. At TEXTILE TREND ZONE the organizers managed to show how these themes can be implemented in interior, by means of fabrics, accessories and home textile.
Organizers: Textile Hub; Kyiv International Contract Fair, Ltd.
Participants: Eustergerling Interieur, Couture Décor (Christian Lacroix, Creation Baumann, Designers Guild), Interior Fabrics and Plush
“Entire exhibition halls, decorated with conceptual creativity and conveying messages which embody the main themes of the season are the common practice at the leading world textile exhibitions. We borrowed the main themes from Heim Textile held in Frankfurt. They have already existed in Ukrainian textile community and that is why the reaction of the audience was quite positive. It was the first experience and I consider the appearance of TEXTILE TREND ZONE at the exhibition to be our common big victory.”
Iryna Sosnytska, Founder of Textile Hub
“The visitors who came to TEXTILE TREND ZONE said that it was the most beautiful and the brightest stand. It was noted especially by those who had been at world exhibitions. They understand the nature and importance of the trend zone. All these themes demonstrate the concerns of the mankind.”
Olha Shtokalo, Official representative of Eustergerling Interieur in Ukraine
“It is undoubtedly true that trends may differ. In this very case we really repeated the themes that were presented in Frankfurt. We understand some of them pretty well but some of them not so much. To my mind, such theme, as escape from reality, with its metalized fabrics is still not very popular in Ukraine because people are somehow afraid of it. But as for classics and art deco, they suit the taste of the Ukrainian consumer. The situation is the same with autonomy – people turn to nature in Ukraine. I wish people understood the importance of textile at home since it is the one that creates cozy atmosphere. Of course being a trendsetter implies investment in future and extra work, but I am motivated by the progress. It is not so interesting to remain stable as to develop something. I understand that Ukraine has great potential for it.”
Alina Kyshynets, Owner of Couture Décor
All-Ukrainian Design Textile Forum was held already for the second time but for the first time at the exhibition. The conference brought together several hundreds of participants. All of them: the owners and employees of textile salons, designers and decorators not only gained useful knowledge at the forum but established new contacts as well, discovered textile trends and product novelties, demonstrated at Home & Interior Textile exposition. The forum covered 3 global themes, such as: textile trends and tendencies, effective partnership and HoReCa, reputation and sales. A lively panel discussion on fruitful cooperation between interior designers, decorators and owners of textile salons took place at the event. Such architects and designers, as: Olena Fatieieva, Oleksandr Smaha, Valerii Sukhytskyi, Viktoriia Taran, Viktoriia Burbyha and others participated in it.
Organizers: Textile Hub; Kyiv International Contract Fair, Ltd.
“We had full house for all three days of the forum. I can see that the topics we have chosen reflected “pains” of the audience to the fullest extent. It means that the companies’ owners who came to the forum received answers to their questions. We held the forum for the second time and saw that our regular clients became friends, established contacts with new and interesting suppliers and for us this fact indicates that we really help develop business.”
Ivanna Yevsieieva, Business coach, Founder of Auspex Academy
The mission of Design Living Tendency lies in support of Ukrainian high-quality design and manufacturers. That is why several conceptual projects which have already become traditional were realized at the exposition.
Theatre of Design represents products installation of 12 Ukrainian object and interior designers and studios. As a matter of fact the topic of the Theatre of Design was “Way of Ideas” this year, each participant focused not on the object itself but on ideas and insights which had led to its creation. Each designer showed the source of his/her inspiration, the message he/she wanted to convey to the audience and the symbols laid in the idea. Ukrainian designers, namely Ivanka Borodina, Mykhailo Samoriz, Davyd Berezhniak, Diana Kulyk, Natalia Filonenko and Valerii Kuznietsov took part in the installation and showed the items which they had recently presented at Maison & Objet and Paris Design Week. Besides, Viktoriia Volosevych, Inna Zimina, Drenys Sokolov, Anna Manako, Kassone Furniture studio, Hiya Miminoshvili and ONE PATTERN project were among the participants of the installation as well.
Organizers: Kyiv International Contract Fair, Ltd.; Prima Interior
Partners: Kassone Furniture studio; ReQuiet
Authors of the concept: ONE PATTERN (Vozianov & Manako Design)
“Every year my birthday is at the time of the exhibition. And I am very happy that new year of my life coincides with the birth of ideas all of us create at the Theatre of Design.”
Iryna Prima, Organizer of the Theatre of Design, Editor-in-chief of Prima Interior magazine
“I am always pleased when somebody starts such projects. An interesting idea is implemented in the project: to show how the product was created step-by-step. For example, our Barbaleta sound panel: first there was sound and then the sound was combined with soundproof panel textures and a butterfly’s wing textures, as they somehow resemble each other… And it led us to bionic forms, i.e. an insect’s eye and a butterfly’s wing. This is how we have got our Barbaleta. Each object has its own way and it is quite interesting. But the main idea is that designers should understand what they do and be able to speak about it clearly.”
Valerii Kuznietsov, Decorkuznetsov studio, participant of the Theatre of Design
“We were invited to become supervisors of the Theatre of Design project after we had realized the project on the borderline between fashion and object design at Milan design week. We chose 12 Ukrainian object designers. But we wanted to show not only objects but also the way that led to creation of these objects. This is how the concept “Way of ideas” appeared. We asked participants to attach drawings, photos, sketches and description, how the project was created, what the idea was and what the way was, to each project. And we think it is the most interesting thing. I think that it was interesting to visit the Theatre of Design for both experienced and young designers and not only. As a matter of fact all things are used in interior, it was also useful for everyone who is interested in interior and pays attention to it.”
Fedir Vozianov, VOZIANOV, ONE PATTERN, supervisor of the Theatre of Design
“I am an object designer who works in 2 countries: Ukraine and Italy. I implement the experience of both countries in my projects. The concept of the Theatre of Design is the story of the way the idea goes through, and not only the idea but also its author. It is transformation that happens to us, when we make a project. The aim is to tell one’s story honestly. Why is it important? Each idea has its own stages, such as inception, development, etc. We start with an image. We look for ideas and inspiration. We make style, seek a form, then we create a project and only afterwards a product. But it is only one of the possible variants. That is the power of our project, since we unite everyone. But each participant has an opportunity to tell his/her own story.”
Anna Manako, Manako Design, supervisor of the Theatre of Design
Export Promotion Zone and Export Conference “Export UA: Furniture Focus”
Nowadays export is one of key interests of the Ukrainian manufacturer, and the organizer of the exhibition always pays much attention to making educational and informative events for exporters, arranges coming of international buyers to the exhibition and develops special buyers programs for visiting of international exhibitions. At Export Promotion Zone there were the samples of export products by Ukrainian manufacturers, and during Export Conference the speakers were telling the participants about successful cases of Ukrainian companies which entered international markets. Besides, they were sharing the secrets of export logistics, customs clearance and speaking about the state programs of export support.
Organizers: European Furniture Cluster in Ukraine; Kyiv International Contract Fair, Ltd.
“We organized these events in order to convey the importance of entering foreign markets to the manufacturers and provide practical recommendations about the ways to choose, the products to offer and how to avoid mistakes.”
Liubov Suknenko, founder of European Furniture Cluster in Ukraine
Mass Market Objective Design Contest (MMOD). On October 19, the contest announced more than a year ago reached its festive final stage. The aim of the contest was to create design products for a wide range of consumers, which would not only stand out with ergonomics, functionality and the optimal price/quality ratio, but also after going through the full production cycle could be put into mass production and sold in retail chains. Taking the results of the contest into account, it is safe to say that the future has won, or rather, the theme of childhood. Mariia Borysova received the first place for her modular bed “Nest”; Inna Zimina got the second place for a children bed “Dream” and Stefan Brenn won the third prize for two items at the same time: an armchair and a lamp. The winners received prize money. Besides, license agreements, providing the right to receive royalty from each sold unit, will be concluded with them in future. Kyiv International Contract Fair, Ltd. awarded the winner, Mariia Borysova, with a special prize: she was granted a certificate for an exhibition stand at the upcoming KIFF 2020 exhibition.
Organizers: MebelOk company; Kyiv International Contract Fair, Ltd.
“Dear wide range of customers, meet 15 new pieces of furniture and lighting, which the world has never seen yet! They are original, functional, beautiful and affordable, since creative designers have worked on each item, as well as experts, dealing with proper materials supply, professional manufacturers and now retailers, real connoisseurs of their field, will get down to work! We express our sincere gratitude to everyone, who supported the initiative, who confided their ideas, who provided financial support and who will promote design objects in mass market in future.”
Oksana Donska, organizer of the contest, co-owner of MebelOk
For all 4 days of the exhibition, the lecture zone of the Theatre of Design has been working practically non-stop. Outstanding foreign designers, architects and manufacturers, such as: Nicola Gibertini (Italy, GG Architetti), Fabio Pesce (Italy, LaDiva), Solmaz Fooladi (Ukraine-Iran, Persian Primavera), Damir Usenov and Artem Sokolov (Kazakhstan, Lenz Architects), Bartosz Krefft (Serge Ferrari, Italy), Valeria Saber (Poland, Primavera) hold lectures and workshops there. The audience showed the same interest while listening to their long-time favourites, namely famous Ukrainian designers and architects, such as: Olena Fatieieva, Olha Terefieieva, Kseniia Latii, Oleksii Kolerovyi, Inna Zimina, Olena Bozhenko, Anna Klovak, Anna Manako, Fedir Vozianov, Khrystyna Stavska and others.
“It is always a pleasure for us to come to you. On the one hand, Ukrainian market resembles the market of our country. So, there is a lot of things we could learn from one another. It is a perfect opportunity for experience exchange. The exhibition is of high quality. We have also a similar exhibition called KazBuild but there is a difference between them. In Ukraine modern trends prevail, while in our country people are more accustomed to neoclassics. As for Ukraine, people like minimalism and loft. We have already planned meetings with partners from Ukraine because the connection between our design communities is really vivid. I think that the next development stage will be several successful projects implemented here.”
Damir Usenov, Artem Sokolov, architects, Kazakhstan, Lenz Architects
“I have come from Italy. There is also one of the largest furniture exhibitions in our country, in Milan. Some of the companies represented here, take part in our exhibition as well. Your Ukrainian exhibition is important for us, architects from Western Europe. Based on what I have seen here, I can say that it is also an important event for Ukraine, bringing together all the companies working in this sector here, at one platform. I really like what I have seen.”
Nicola Gibertini, architect, Italy, GG Architetti
“My lecture lasted for 1 hour and 20 minutes. At first, there were approximately 50 people but the number of people was only growing during the presentation. So, I hope that everything was fine and the audience liked the information I wanted to convey. I am already for the third time in Ukraine and I like the exhibition very much.”
Fabio Pesce, designer, Italy, LaDiva
Kyiv International Contract Fair, Ltd., the organizer of Design Living Tendency, represented by Volodymyr Ivanov, Chairman of the Board, Yana Cherniavska, Director of furniture and interior exhibitions, and the entire team of the exhibition express their gratitude to the partners for their support and proactive attitude towards the development of the Ukrainian national manufacturer and improvement of the Ukrainian design recognition in the world.
Partners of the exposition and business program:
Prima Interior
One Pattern (Vozianov & Manako Design)
Epicentr K chain of stores
Türkel Fuarcılık A.Ş
Textile Hub
DHC Media – Décor Home Creation
EDS – European Design School
MebelOk
Royal Design
European Furniture Cluster in Ukraine
Media partners:
Mebelnoe Delo (Furniture Business)
ID Interior
HIS – Home Ideas Supply
House and Interior
Le Classique
Dim Ideй (House of Ideas)
Magazine “Ceramics. Style & Fashion”
World of projects
Bizera
Home Interior