Christian Halleröd

In a few weeks, the 2018 edition of Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair and Stockholm Design Week takes place, from February 6–10, with Italian designer Paula Navone named as this year’s guest of honour. As per usual, it will be jam-packed with the best of the best when it comes to Scandinavian design. Christian Halleröd is responsible for this year’s trend exhibition. He is the name behind several much-talked-about store interiors, such as Acne Studios and Byredo.

This year’s theme calls attention to the emerging challenges that designers and consumers face, as genuine materials are becoming scarce and have to be replaced by “fake” versions. This trend coincides with a growing interest in real materials, such as wood, metal, glass and leather, as well as handicrafts made from these materials. The trend expo also illuminates the growing importance of providing consumers with evocative retail experiences, given the increasingly online nature of retail. Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair follows the likes of Milan, Paris and other international exhibitions, where an increasing number of participants put more emphasis on events at their store or office locations, beyond the confinement of a trade fair booth.

Greenhouse is the section at Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair where up-and-coming designers and design schools show their prototypes to future partners, producers and customers. Many of today’s leading designers have had their breakthrough here, and a significant number have seen their prototypes go into production thanks to Greenhouse. The space will be reinvented for 2018 and located in Hall C of the fair.

Another recurring attraction at the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair is the Design Bar, which will also be found at a new location this year. The latest iteration is designed by Italy’s Luca Nichetto, who in collaboration with Lina Ahlin, chef at Agrikultur restaurant in Stockholm, link and fuse exhibition, world-class cuisine and architecture into a vibrant area.

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, Feb 6-10, Stockholmsmässan