Swedish design in pine for the Chinese market at the Stockholm Furniture Fair

#DesigninPine is a unique collaborative project between the industry body Swedish Wood, Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies (Malmstens), Linköping University and two Chinese furniture manufacturers.

At the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair on 7-11 February, the students involved will be presenting their examples of innovative Swedish design in pine for young Chinese people, in the form of nine prototypes manufactured in China.

The aim of the project #DesigninPine is to use Swedish design to support the export of Swedish sawn timber. The project is also about promoting Swedish pine as a natural and renewable material from sustainable forestry – a material that is perfect for furniture production in a world with such a strong focus on a sustainable society.

The ease of use and visual look of pine makes it ideal for forward-looking design which, combined with the sustainability aspect, is a key factor in raising the status of Swedish coniferous wood, both in Sweden and in export markets such as China, says Charlotte Dedye Apelgren, Director of Interior and Design at Swedish Wood.

Over a few intense weeks in autumn 2016, the third-year students in furniture design at Malmstens worked to design furniture for the Chinese market, using Swedish pine. The project has also involved the Chinese furniture companies Huari Furniture and Fujian Dushi Homelife Group. They provided knowledge of the young Chinese target group and the market and about industrial furniture manufacture, as well as producing the prototypes.

Despite the geographical distance, the project has involved close collaboration, with discussions on materials, surface treatments, sketches and plans enabling the furniture manufacturers to produce the prototypes that will be unveiled for the first time at the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair.

Malmstens has long had an ambition to enable the students to work on design assignments in an international arena. This collaboration with Swedish Wood has now made that a reality. In the project #DesigninPine, the students have had to tackle new parameters such as East meets West and the cultural and social differences that entails, as well as adapting their designs for large-scale industrial furniture manufacture, explains Leó Jóhannsson, lecturer in furniture design at Malmstens.

The furniture project #DesigninPine will be displayed on the Malmstens stand VH01:46 in the Greenhouse during the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, 7-11 February 2017.

* For further information: www.swedishwood.com

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