Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair in early years, Stockholm, Sweden

The Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, the world’s foremost venue for Scandinavian design.The Stockholm Furniture Fair showcases the latest trends and innovative new products in design, and acts as a melting pot for buyers, architects, designers, press and influencers from around the world. New Nordic, Old Nordic, Soft Nordic, and Nordic Minimalism were all given floor space at the biggest event celebrating Scandinavian design, a furniture show that represents Scandinavian craftsmanship.

The fair with a focus on both home and public environments, has a reputation as one of the most interesting design fairs in the world. It has the most comprehensive selection of furniture, office furnishings, lighting, design objects, textiles and other interior furnishing for both homes and public spaces. The fair also hosts Greenhouse, an excellent exhibit area for design students and independent designers.

The fair offers a fantastic opportunity to soak up the Nordic trends influencing the design scene both locally and globally at this very moment. All major Scandinavian brands are represented, with its uncompromisingly Scandinavian, and you see work here you won’t see at any other design fair in the world.

Visitors from all over the world come to Stockholmsmässan to see the latest trends in furniture and lighting, find the most comprehensive selection of Scandinavian furniture, office furnishings, design, textiles, lighting and other interior furnishings for both homes and public spaces. The show’s maintained high standard, that it has a concentration of profiled companies in a manageable format, personal appeal and proximity to the designers. To meet up with like-minded and get inspired by the latest in Scandinavian design, with easy access to both designers and decision makers, get an overview of all that’s new and upcoming within the field of Scandinavian furniture and lighting design.

Stockholmsmässan, which is Scandinavia’s largest exhibition and congress center, organized its first furniture fair in 1951. Since then the fair has grown into what is generally considered as one of the two top-notch furniture fairs in Europe. Today the fair attracts around 40,000 visitors from more than 60 countries and over 1,100 media representatives every year, and around 750 companies exhibit their furniture, lighting and textile products. The largest exhibitor nations, apart from Sweden, are Denmark, Finland and Norway, and usually around 80 percent of all exhibitors come from Scandinavia.

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair is the world’s leading event for Scandinavian furniture and lighting design. Domestic and international visitors find the most comprehensive selection of Scandinavian furniture, office furnishings, design, textiles, lighting and other interior furnishings for both homes and public spaces.The fair’s exhibitions feature a lot of wood and visitors was able to listen to lectures by internationally acclaimed designers and architects.

During Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, Stockholmsmässan’s 70,000 square meters are full to bursting point with the latest innovations within interior design and lighting for both homes and public spaces. New products, new materials, new knowledge, new trends, new business, new contacts and new environmental and technological solutions are displayed in a both informative and inspirational manner. The exhibitions are of the highest rate and the seminar program is extensive. The first days of the fair are restricted to professional visitors while the concluding Saturday also is open to the general public.

The fair is full to bursting point with the latest innovations within interior design and lighting for both homes and public spaces. New products, new materials, new knowledge, new trends and new environmental and technological solutions are displayed in a both informative and inspirational manner.

One of the highlights at the fair is the Guest of Honour, a highly respected international designer or design group who is asked to create an installation in the fair’s entrance hall. Other highlights are the Greenhouse section, where new talents are given the chance to show their prototypes and meet manufacturers from the furniture industry, and the Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks, the Fair’s forum for knowledge and discussions concerning design.

The Design Bar, which is a mix between an exhibition and a top-class restaurant, forms a common area together with Stockholm Design & Architecture Talks. The Design Bar is located at the end of Cedar Hall in a new knowledge area that also includes the stage for the trade show’s seminar program, Stockholm Design Talks, and Materialbiblioteket’s exhibition.

The same week as Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, Stockholm Design Week also takes place, presenting hunreds high-profile design events at various venues around the city. This makes Stockholm a must-place to be for purchasers, architects, designers and journalists in February. The Stockholm Design Week has developed into a melting pot where just about everyone in anyway connected to or interested in Scandinavian design meet and thrive, bringing home new impulses, contacts and inspiration.

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 2013
The 62nd Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair took place on 5-9 February, 2013. 729 exhibitors from 31 countries came together under Stockholmsmässan’s roof to showcase innovations in furniture, lighting and textiles for homes and public spaces. Every corner of the exhibition space was filled with exciting design and we’re delighted to see how the interest in Scandinavian design goes from strength to strength.

31,150 buyers, architects, designers and journalists came to Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, which filled Stockholmsmässan’s four halls and occupied almost 40,000 square meters. Among the 729 exhibitors, 300 were companies from outside Sweden. The largest exhibitor nations besides Sweden are Denmark (87 exhibitors) and Norway (37 exhibitors) closely followed by Finland (32 exhibitors). The fair also had many new and returning exhibitors, including Givarps and G.A.D from Sweden, Talgø from Norway, Artek and One Nordic Furniture Company from Finland, One Collection from Denmark, Bene from Austria and KFF Design from Germany.

Guest of Honor 10 Years: The internationally acclaimed founder of Japanese design studio Nendo, Oki Sato, honored us with his presence. His guest lounge in the Entrance Hall provided a creativity that left no one unmoved.

The Design Bar – a charmingly lit retreat. Internationally acclaimed Norwegian designer Daniel Rybakken installed his amazing artificial daylight.

Greenhouse – a hall filled with the work of promising independent designers hoping to be discovered. Just as this year’s Guest of Honor Oki Sato did ten years ago! The exhibition was designed as a Baroque garden this year, courtesy of Note Design Studio.

Glass Elephant – Stockholm Design Week’s new profile exhibition. A poetic design installation focusing on design, form and art in glass. A creative partnership between Stockholmsmässan and ABB Robotics, which was on show in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities’ Skeppsholmen Caverns.

Trend exhibitions – for Home and Public Spaces. The designer and TV personality Jan Rundgren illustrated current trends for the peace and quiet of homes and busy public spaces.

Hello! – Anatomy of Communication: A dynamic concept exhibition about communication’s role in the organization of the workplace, today and tomorrow. Talkshow and stand created by architect Gert Wingårdh and illustrator Kustaa Saksi.

Color and material trends – The exhibition analyzed the concept of Scandinavian design and took visitors into the future.

Contract Market & Home – new for this year! Architects have been furnishing our offices and our homes with the same furniture for a long time now. Certain items of furniture are just as suited to trendy homes as newly renovated offices.

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 2012
The 61st Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair took place on 7-11 February, 2012. 740 exhibitors from 31 countries came together under Stockholmsmässan to display the latest products within furniture, lighting and textiles for both the home and public environments. Stockholm Design Week takes place alongside Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, with a number of high-profile design events at various venues around the city. The aim in extending the exhibition to last a full week has been to further strengthen Stockholm’s role as the capital of Scandinavia, while also attracting more visitors to the exhibition itself.

Up to 40,000 buyers, architects, designers and journalists was attend Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, which fills Stockholmsmässan’s four halls to the rafters and takes up a total net stand area of almost 40,000 m2. This year there was 740 exhibitors, of which around 300 are foreign companies. The largest exhibitor nations, apart from Sweden, are Denmark with 84 exhibitors, then Finland with 33 companies on show, closely followed by Norway with 31 exhibitors. The event also have 170 new exhibiting companies, including Extremis, Belgium; Globe Zero 4 A/S, Denmark; BuzziSpace, Belgium; MacMaster, United Kingdom; J.Stangdell, Sweden; Skargaarden, Sweden.

Guest of Honour – the French industrial and product designer Inga Sempé, who has attracted a great deal of attention and praise for her design. At the fair she has chosen to create a cosy, comfortable and secluded environment, where visitors can take a moment to rest up and gather their thoughts.

Design Bar – provides a venue for socialising. For the eighth year in a row, Design Bar is being created by a Swedish designer or design group. This time the commission goes to designer Lina Nordqvist. The focus was meetings and the basic circle and square shapes.

Greenhouse – for the third year in a row, Jens Fager is behind the design of Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair’s hall for independent designers and design schools. This year he has taken his inspiration for the design of the hall from the interaction between furniture design and fashion, with a focus on the common factor of fabrics. The theme is Fabrics and Transparence.

Fusion Walk – since Stockholm Design Week and Stockholm Fashion Week are taking place at the same time, the fair, in collaboration with the Swedish Fashion Council, has invited some of the most promising fashion designers of the future. In Greenhouse, fashion and design come together in a joint Fusion Walk, which is a combined installation and catwalk.

Bar and textile exhibition – Beyond Couture put together by Fredrik Färg, invites the visitor to a textile fantasy landscape, where the boundaries are blurred. Furniture is no longer just furniture, it becomes a landscape of dressed-up animal shapes, ice and stone.

My Home is My Castle – trend expert Jan Rundgren highlights the latest trends within home furnishing and lighting in an inspirational exhibition filled with new products from the event’s exhibitors.

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 2011
The 60th Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair took place on 8-10 February, 2011. The fair celebrated its 60-year anniversary, to display the latest products within furniture, lighting and textiles for both the home and public environments. Stockholm Design Week takes place alongside Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, with a number of high-profile design events at various venues around the city.

Spotlights on – The light bar was a popular meeting point that could not be overlooked. About one hundred black suspended luminaires from various designers were hung here, crafting space from above, and bringing inspiration and illumination. One highlight that was brighter than all the others was the unique light sculpture “Dimension” by Swedish designer Alexander Lervik. The sculpture is on loan from Skandia, for whom it was commissioned. The 1,728 LED-illuminated heads symbolise the employees of Skandia. Overall, the sculpture creates a three-dimensional screen. All of the heads can be controlled individually, which creates exciting plays of light, a completely new technology from the Stockholm Lighting Company.

Design Bar – The Design Bar is a combination of exhibition space, bar and VIP lounge that is designed by a different Swedish designer each year. This year, it was designed by Katrin Greiling. An architect, industrial designer and photographer, Greiling was born in Germany and studied in Stockholm, where she now works. She created a landscape that conjured up images of primeval Europe while also allowing flashes of Oriental influence. Visitors were seduced into becoming part of this landscape and take part in the interplay of perceptions. The interior design dealt with private and public space in a manner that questioned our concept of seclusion as well as our interaction with place and status.