You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
BE#16<br />
BRUSSELS FURNITURE FAIR, 7 – 10 NOVEMBER <strong>2021</strong><br />
01 Foreword<br />
02 An Appeal for the Planet / a report from Milan and Paris<br />
11 The interior (r)evolution<br />
16 Hybrid Working<br />
20 Out of Love: for NATURE<br />
42 WHITE, a fresh start<br />
48 Out of Love: for FAMILY & FRI<strong>EN</strong>DS<br />
64 Out of Love: for MY HOUSE<br />
86 Out of Love: for THE SMART CONSUMER<br />
92 Orange, Cognac & Brandy<br />
Lieven Van den Heede<br />
Welcome back!<br />
BRUSSELS FURNITURE FAIR<br />
Can we look forward to a rosy future?<br />
Colophon Content<br />
2 1<br />
HORT<strong>EN</strong>SIA CHAIR: ANDRÉS REISINGER<br />
Using CGI (computer-generated imagery)<br />
Reisinger created a digital image of a chair<br />
upholstered with pink petals. When he posted<br />
it on Instagram, it soon went viral – and some<br />
orders even came in. As a result, he decided<br />
to work out whether he could actually make the<br />
chair. With his team, he developed a series of<br />
laser-cut polyester modules. Each module is<br />
shaped like a hortensia petal. He subsequently<br />
covered the chair upholstery with thousands<br />
of these modules. In this way, a digital object<br />
became a functional piece of furniture.<br />
Producer: Andrés Reisinger & textile designer<br />
Júlia Esqué<br />
Foreword<br />
→ Text: Lieven Van den Heede<br />
Welome, welcome, welcome, from the bottom of our hearts! It feels so good<br />
to be able to say that again after almost two years. It will be absolutely brilliant<br />
to see you again.<br />
We’ve never looked forward to a fair with quite the same heady enthusiasm as<br />
we’re feeling this year. There’s no doubt about it: we’ve missed one another! The<br />
past period has shown us how essential the fair is for our sector. Buying and<br />
selling furniture calls for real-life, personal contact. It’s not something you can<br />
do hastily online. It’s a sensory, emotional and social event. It’s all about personto-person<br />
contact, and physical contact with the pieces on offer. Furniture is<br />
something that you need to see, feel, try out. It’s a question of ‘love at first sight’.<br />
This is an important lesson that Covid-19 has taught us. We have all experienced<br />
how important interiors have become to the consumer. Who could ever have<br />
dreamt it? Suddenly interiors were centre stage again. Something that we have<br />
to work hard at every day in normal circumstances is now happening of its own<br />
accord. Turnovers are sky high! Unfortunately the euphoria was tempered by raw<br />
materials shortages, prolonged delivery times and constantly changing price calculations.<br />
We have all seen how enterprising our <strong>Be</strong>lgian manufacturers are.<br />
Time and time again, they’ve found solutions in response to consumer demand.<br />
They’re offering a wealth of options for creating cosy places on the sofa and<br />
cosy corners in the living space. These respond to the need for a sheltered, intimate<br />
cocoon. The same trend has inspired the additional focus on free-standing<br />
cabinets and multifunctional shelving units. Using these as room dividers also<br />
help to separate living and working functions, which is absolutely essential for<br />
work-life balance. They present pieces with a backstory, an intriguing or surprising<br />
detail to explain, look at and pass on. Interiors are now ‘top-of-mind’ with<br />
consumers. Let’s hold on to that moment!<br />
We’re looking forward to SEEING you all again! See you in Brussels!<br />
Photo: Lieven Van den Heede