Voices of a nation
As in many other sectors, September is a back-to-school moment for the furniture industry. The restart is marked by design weeks in both the French and Finnish capitals, which are currently in full swing. The one in Paris runs until Saturday and includes the Maison&Objet trade fair, while Helsinki’s wraps up on Sunday and features the Habitare interior-design event as its major industry gathering point.
My arrival experiences at the two events were markedly different. After stepping off the Eurostar at Paris’s Gare du Nord – once you’ve moved through the tourist hordes and past the Five Guys – you’re greeted with a neoclassical beaux-arts façade, which is carefully detailed, with exceptional craftsmanship and attention to detail. The power of the human hand in shaping the built environment is evident here. Arriving at Helsinki Vantaa (see ‘In the Picture’ below) is a very different experience. You soar in over enormous quarries, a fjord, endless pine trees and rocky outcrops. The landscape is brutal but the landing (at least mine, on a sunny autumn day) is smooth. While both design weeks are a bellwether of the creative communities in their respective regions, you can glean a lot about the showcases from the culture that exists around them.
In Paris, the work on show is much like Gare du Nord’s intricate façade. It is considered and refined, and clearly made by artisans. Marion Stora’s Making Out collection, for example, includes a striking folding screen that features brass panels and enamelled copper made by a master ceramicist. Meanwhile, in Helsinki, an emphasis is placed on the region’s raw materiality, with firms such as Vaarnii producing brutalist pine furniture that celebrates the natural beauty of the timber. Heritage brands continue to push their limits too. Take Artek, which has released a new version of its Stool 60 in birch. Both firms are demonstrating their prowess as part of the display at Bar Unikko (see ‘The Project’ below).
While it’s great to find new talent at trade fairs – and there’s plenty on show – it’s also nice to be reminded of a country’s design strengths. Both showcases do just that. If you’re a designer or furniture producer, whether local or visiting, the fairs also serve as gentle nudges to look at what your region does best and to tap into that.
Nic Monisse is Monocle’s design editor. For more news and analysis, subscribe to Monocle today.
