2019 marks the ninth edition of
WantedDesign Manhattan and the sixth
edition of WantedDesign Brooklyn. When
on the edge of a decade you really want
to make sure your event is going to have
an impact on the industry and this is why
WantedDesign founders Claire Pijoulat and
Odile Hainaut have focused on a leading
message for this year’s event, with the
notion of Conscious Design.
“We try as much as possible to encourage
our exhibitors to present projects that
could contribute to build a more sustainable
environment,” they tell darc. “There will
be a few at WantedDesign Manhattan - in
particular the ‘Wanted Interiors Future
of Bathroom 2025’, with the American
Standard and Pratt Students project and
there’s certainly lots of interesting projects
from design schools in Brooklyn. As well as
this, as show organisers we have created a
strict zero waste policy, it worked well last
year and we reduced our waste by 50%. We
want to do even more in 2019.”
Also new for 2019, is an honoree guest for
the IC Design Festival - Humberto Campana.
The Campana brothers are celebrating
the 35th anniversary of their studio and
10th anniversary of the Instituto Campana.
“We are really thrilled to have Humberto
Campana involved - he will be part of a
ceramic workshop with Central Saint Martins
at Industry City and will participate in
conversation during the event,” say Pijoulat
and Hainaut. “The Campana brothers are
definitely inspiring and a model for their
human centric approach.
“We will also be welcoming a considerable
amount of design schools at WantedDesign
Brooklyn, with no less than 30 schools
from all over the world. China, El Salvador,
Poland, France, USA, UK, Mexico and
Columbia to name just a few... We have
so many countries represented that it
creates a unique opportunity for younger
designers to start building their professional
network through the design school workshop
and the design school exhibition. Over
at WantedDesign Manhattan we will also
include a new group of exhibitors under the
group title ‘Egypt’.”
WantedDesign has always been a pioneer
in bringing a very diverse sample of the
international design scene to NYC and has
found amazing partners to do so with. This
year Mexico, Colombia and Argentina will
return as group exhibits.
“Mexico Territorio Creativo, curated by
Design Week Mexico, features eleven
national talents and one university project,”
the show organisers tell darc. “Mexico
Territorio Creativo is an organisation that
brings together and promotes creative
production in Mexico, under the mission of
shared and empowered design.”
MXTC brings to WantedDesign the
most representative of contemporary
design culture, which reflects the new
creative panorama under the premises of
sustainability, cultural identity, eco-design,
simplicity and style.
“Alongside this, once again Medellin Design
Week presents its May Day Exhibition to
showcase Colombian contemporary design,
unique pieces, crafts and furniture to the
WantedDesign audience,” the founders
continue. “This exhibition brings together
different studios of product design, art,
and pieces for interior design in different
techniques and materials - some traditional,
others experimental.
“At WantedDesign Brooklyn we will have an
exhibition coming from Argentina - Saber
Hacer, curated by Luján Cambariere.
Showing that in the south of the world, the
lack of major industries or technologies
can be transformed into a big tool of
social inclusion, retrieving techniques and
materials.”
Commenting on the important role SouthAmerican brands have to play in the
WantedDesign format, Pijoulat and Hainaut
continue: “Each country is different, and
has a different design approach. But all of
them offer a subtle blend of tradition and
contemporary touch. You can tell they have
very vivid crafts that designers know how
to use to create sophisticated objects and
pieces of furniture that are very far away
from any local folklore. Latin countries
develop a design language that is very
original with high-end manufacturing, and
can relate to the US market very easily.
“We have a strong trend in the USA for the
revival of the maker movement - designers
are also manufacturers and entrepreneurs
and do not rely on brands to create and
distribute their products as they would in
Europe for instance. This business model was
developed to respond to the specific need
from US interior designers and architects
to source local high-end unique and custom
made products.
“It seems that the Latin American designers
work in a pretty similar way, they're
independent studios and create collections
of products with lots of know how. But,
with different natural resources, materials
and design culture, they all have very
different design languages and typologies of
products.”
WantedDesign may well be the only platform
that has built strong relationships with
these studios based in Latin America over
the years. It is part of the organisation’s
mission to bring together the international
design community, to trigger dialogues and
conversations that will benefit designers in
terms of sales, but also in terms of processes
and best practice. To see what the two
events have to offer you can visit Brooklyn
from 16-20 May and Manhattan from 18-21
May, to register, visit:
http://www.wanteddesignnyc.comPromoting Design Relationships
As one of the premier design events held in New York each May, for 2019, WantedDesign will
concentrate on conscious design, while bringing the design worlds of both North and South
America to the forefront of visitors' attention.109