Happenings - Zanotta SpA

Happenings
no.3/06 p.7
WORLD
XXI Century
design
Space Furniture, leader in the Australian
market, expresses a different voice
Aconversation with
Kevin Jarrett,
founder and
chairman of Space
Furniture showrooms,
between Sydney, Brisbane,
Singapore and London. The
one located in Sydney is the
most important design store
of the continent.
Q. How is going the
Australian furniture market
and how they appreciate
Italian design in your country?
A. In the last 5 years we have
seen growth of over 25% per
year. Design furniture has had
more exposure in the last 5
years and companies like
Space have done more to
promote design with the
invitations of many Italian
guests to Australia further
helping to promote the
market. This has also been
helped by architects designing
interiors for high end real
estate, houses and
apartments.
Q. Speaking about life style in
Australia, do you think there
will be an increasing attention
on design? And, what kind of
design? Modern or more
classic?
A. Lifestyle in Australia
revolves around the
contemporary, our climate is
mainly warm and promotes
outside living which has an
emphasis on modern interiors
rather than classic traditional
interiors.
Q. Do they know well Italian
“griffes” in design and fashion
in your cities? Or do they give
more importance to furniture
and materials quality?
A. We have seen an increase of
awareness in Italian lifestyle
products. Italian design of
fashion, furniture, interior
products is much more of a
way of life and people are
starting to appreciate the
value in good design. Where
we see, not so much of an
increase for e.g. is in the UK
where Italian furniture design
is quite low compared to the
population. Australians are
becoming more sophisticated
KEVIN JARRETT
1993 opens the first Space
Furniture in Sydney, that acts as
spring board for the best
interior design companies in
Australia and Asian South-East.
2001 three new showrooms
were open: in London, Brisbane
and Singapore. 2003 he
establishes the magazine More
Space, a prestigious stage for
the contemporary life-styles.
with Made in Italy products at
a higher level.
Q. You have a very interesting
magazine, More Space, what
are its target and aims?
A. My philosophy behind More
Space is to “create a
difference” - an edgy
communication which is more
about the design process than
the product. Any publisher can
produce another architectural
digest, Casa Vogue etc. We
don’t want to do that as More
Space is a philosophy on
communicating good design
in a different way. I would like
The interiors of the first showroom
opened by Jarrett in Sydney: 4000
square meters on six spectacular floors.