Editorial

A three-year pause has proved the ideal chance for reinvention, and Stockholm Furniture Fair has seized that opportunity, with a slew of fresh initiatives and even a streamlined name.

Whether it was sustainability, references to nature or even a little healthy hit of maximalism, a sheer diversity of surface choices was the defining feature of this year’s Surface Design Show.

Made from a mineral mined as early as the 7th millennium BC, then employed as an indicator of wealth and status in Renaissance art, Ultramarine was once valued higher than gold.

As spa-like themes lose their novelty, bathrooms look to the bold, colourful and optimistic energy of the 70s, or embrace an inner goddess aesthetic for a bit of unapologetic, cinematic glamour.

You’d think nobody would want to embrace a snake motif, what with the unavoidable association with original sin. But in spite, or maybe because of, their dark side, the allure of all things serpentine persists.

Playing a pivotal role in the development of future tech, minerals may replace oil as a resource. Reports on vulnerabilities in global supply chains already exacerbated by conflict and climate change, and the crucial role of the consumer in rejecting mineral mining exploitation.

As the world moves on from the pandemic aesthetics and ventures out once more, Swedish designers are acutely aware of the importance of reinvention. Stockholm Design Week report.

Back after a significant gap of four years, Germany’s biggest office and contract show Orgatec was a chance to see if the recent seismic shifts in work have filtered through to office design.

Despite celebrating its 20th anniversary, 2022’s edition of London Design Festival was a somewhat subdued event, with the effects of the pandemic and current economic uncertainty continuing to be felt.