12 Mar 2010
Interviews - 21.08.2009
The first Australian 'designboom mart' was staged at the Powerhouse Museum in August, as part of Sydney Design 08. Designboom co-founder Birgit Lohmann explains how the marts bring design to the people.
Tell us about designboom
Designboom.com has been online since 1999 and currently has 1.5 million readers, from 156 countries. Designboom is considered the most popular and influential independent publication for key contemporary issues and critique of all aspects of art and design, especially those topics which enrich the dialogue between creative professionals, industry and society. Based in Milan, designboom is a free resource that offers snapshot reports from major international design shows, architecture and art exhibitions; interviews and portraits of the protagonists in the contemporary creative scene; and design history and in-depth information on the creators of design classics. Designboom also promotes upcoming talent with 4-5 international design competitions annually. Offline, designboom curates talent shows and design exhibitions.
Where do you see designboom situated in the global design scene?
We are designers, not journalists. We talk about our experience in the design field and about everything that influences the work of designers today. Designboom stimulates a global discussion. It is a sort of a virtual meeting point, comparable to the fin-de-siecle literature 'salons' in Paris.
What are designboom marts?
The designboom mart is a non-profit cultural event. The mart was first conceived in 2000 by designboom founders Birgit Lohmann and Massimo Mini, and took 5 years of planning and intense promotion before the first one was staged in New York city. At that time, people thought design was something elitist and therefore had to be shown exclusively in a museum context. The idea of a bazaar-like environment, with designers offering and promoting their own creations to not necessarily 'design-conscious' visitors, was seen as unacceptable. We needed a big organization to make our dream real and finally won the support of Kara Tobin from ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York.
The first mart took place in May 2005 in NYC and was followed by designboom mart Tokyo in october 2005. Our first mart won the ICFF editor's awards for best booth and was a big success for everybody. The organisers of the fair were happy because it was a cultural talent show that attracted alot of interaction. The designers were happy because they made business contacts, received feedback on their work, and for the first time, they could afford to participate in a large-scale trade fair.
In these curated events, designers have the opportunity to meet with customers, manufacturers, distributors, press, and museum curators, to discuss their work. Visitors have the opportunity to meet designers personally, ask questions and purchase good design. Most designs are one-off small series, available only for the duration of the mart itself. In addition, participants often become friends and exchange ideas with one another.
Designboom marts have travelled the world. The sydney mart was the 10th edition of its kind.
Tell us a little about the designboom mart team
All designboom collaborators love to do the market! Each of us does at least two marts a year. It is a sort of ongoing experiment; people meet, socialize and learn from each other. Head of the team is Anita Hackethal, designboom's event manager. She is the nanny of all young designers and helps out where possible.
During Sydney Design 08 Birgit Lohmann also presented this talk, considering the question: 'Does originality still exist?'. Lohmann describes many of the shortlisted international entries in 'designboom' design competitions, as well as how 'designboom' strives to maintain its independence and integrity.
Visit designboom.com to see the full history of marts, photos and participating designers.
designboom
TAGS
+ Design market
+ Designboom mart
+ Sydney Design 08
Designboom.com has been online since 1999 and currently has 1.5 million readers, from 156 countries. Designboom is considered the most popular and influential independent publication for key contemporary issues and critique of all aspects of art and design, especially those topics which enrich the dialogue between creative professionals, industry and society. Based in Milan, designboom is a free resource that offers snapshot reports from major international design shows, architecture and art exhibitions; interviews and portraits of the protagonists in the contemporary creative scene; and design history and in-depth information on the creators of design classics. Designboom also promotes upcoming talent with 4-5 international design competitions annually. Offline, designboom curates talent shows and design exhibitions.
Where do you see designboom situated in the global design scene?
We are designers, not journalists. We talk about our experience in the design field and about everything that influences the work of designers today. Designboom stimulates a global discussion. It is a sort of a virtual meeting point, comparable to the fin-de-siecle literature 'salons' in Paris.
What are designboom marts?
The designboom mart is a non-profit cultural event. The mart was first conceived in 2000 by designboom founders Birgit Lohmann and Massimo Mini, and took 5 years of planning and intense promotion before the first one was staged in New York city. At that time, people thought design was something elitist and therefore had to be shown exclusively in a museum context. The idea of a bazaar-like environment, with designers offering and promoting their own creations to not necessarily 'design-conscious' visitors, was seen as unacceptable. We needed a big organization to make our dream real and finally won the support of Kara Tobin from ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York.
The first mart took place in May 2005 in NYC and was followed by designboom mart Tokyo in october 2005. Our first mart won the ICFF editor's awards for best booth and was a big success for everybody. The organisers of the fair were happy because it was a cultural talent show that attracted alot of interaction. The designers were happy because they made business contacts, received feedback on their work, and for the first time, they could afford to participate in a large-scale trade fair.
In these curated events, designers have the opportunity to meet with customers, manufacturers, distributors, press, and museum curators, to discuss their work. Visitors have the opportunity to meet designers personally, ask questions and purchase good design. Most designs are one-off small series, available only for the duration of the mart itself. In addition, participants often become friends and exchange ideas with one another.
Designboom marts have travelled the world. The sydney mart was the 10th edition of its kind.
Tell us a little about the designboom mart team
All designboom collaborators love to do the market! Each of us does at least two marts a year. It is a sort of ongoing experiment; people meet, socialize and learn from each other. Head of the team is Anita Hackethal, designboom's event manager. She is the nanny of all young designers and helps out where possible.
During Sydney Design 08 Birgit Lohmann also presented this talk, considering the question: 'Does originality still exist?'. Lohmann describes many of the shortlisted international entries in 'designboom' design competitions, as well as how 'designboom' strives to maintain its independence and integrity.
Visit designboom.com to see the full history of marts, photos and participating designers.
designboomTAGS
+ Design market
+ Designboom mart
+ Sydney Design 08