DesignInspire 2020 Showcases Design for Good

Curated under the theme Design for Good, this year’s DesignInspire exhibition spans design disciplines to showcase beautiful furniture and materials from across the globe, including new projects from a roster of international studios

Sebastian Herkner’s Metropol collection for lighting brand Rakumba

This year DesignInspire brings together design brands from Japan, Australia, Italy, Korea, China and more in a virtual exhibition showcasing home decor, furniture, building materials, bespoke gifts and more.

Alongside the exhibition will be a showcase of award-winning projects by a roster of international creative studios. Among these is Japanese brand HIRATA TILE. As a supplier of ceramic materials, HIRATA has worked with architects and major construction companies on historic architectural projects over more than 50 years. Building on this experience, the brand has launched three tile brands and one wet area fixture brand, and with their expertise working with tiles from development to application, HIRATA’s team continues to be a valuable partner to the Japanese construction industry.

Iconic Polish interior and piano designer Józef Chierowski designed the most popular piece of Polish Mid-Century furniture — the 200-190 chair for furniture brand 366 Concept. Thanks to its minimalist design and lightweight wooden construction, it was an instant success and could soon be found in almost every office, cafe and restaurant in the country. The chair was manufactured for over two decades, but despite its success, the masterpiece never received recognition outside of Poland. Now, Hong Kong-based KLIP Lifestyle is changing that and continuing Chierowski’s legacy by bringing this icon to a wider audience.

Rakumba is proud to be Australia’s oldest international lighting brand, and combines its heritage and global DNA to produce authentic collections that are both cosmopolitan and uniquely Australian. The pieces in Rakumba’s collections carry stories forged by the people and the hands that have had a part in making them. The brand’s mission of ‘making beauty’ and its relentless pursuit of perfection pushes the designers beyond the expected to explore the full potential of lighting.

As a child, Hong Kong artist Sharon O W Yeung was obsessed with the colour violet — and painted every object in her bedroom in various shades of the hue. Yeung will present a set of two concrete and resin pieces titled Dreamy, a work that explores her thought process during that time, and the resin work Water Splashes. Both pieces are available from Yeung’s concrete brand Shabibi Sheep Workshop.

Wood furniture and joinery manufacturer SOUIGIKOU specialises in the kumiko woodworking technique and produces traditional and contemporary sliding doors using other Japanese techniques.

DesignInspire will run online from 3–9 December. Visit the virtual design fair now to begin exploring the international showcase of creativity.