FILD: the first Ukranian Company on the Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair

Last February 2017 Kyiv-based design studio FILD took part in a big design fair n Stockholm. A co-owner of the company Kateryna Vakhrameyeva told to Prostir 86 why they decided to start from that particular exhibition and how difficult it was to arrange everything.

Choosing the destination

Last several years we explored different international design exhibitions. We did not make serious statistic analysis, just trusted our intuition. We attended iSaloni in Milan, Maison & Objet in Paris, we had negotiations with organizers of 100% Design London. The Exhibition in Milan impressed us with a huge amount of companies and varieties of styles. It seems to be a big party for designers but it is really difficult for a little brand to attract some attention in Milan. I did not understand the exhibition in Paris, probably I chose the wrong time to visit it.

In 2015 we came to Stockholm furniture & light fair for the first time and understood that it was it! There we found the atmosphere and the context where we needed to present. First of all, about 90% of all exhibitors work in recognizable stylistics. It is like someone picks ideal design according to my taste. The second important thing is the general friendly atmosphere of simple communication. Sometimes you can meet decoration by one company in another company’s stand. When I asked them about the reason, the answer was simple: because it fits well. You don’t feel tough competition and all the pressure of the industry.

They work the exact way that we want: create a business, arrange management and design ideas.

Despite the stereotype about cold north people, we have met friendly and sympathetic attitude in Stockholm. On the last day of work on our stand, we met colleagues who shared their tools, their experience and showed us how their sofa looks from the inside.

Why it is worth to go to the exhibition

It was the very first exhibition experience for FILD. We knew beforehand it was impossible to reach big effect from the first try. There is the rule of three times – you have to repeat the same step tree times to get what you want. We are going to go to Stockholm next year and the year after next. Nevertheless, we managed to get some valuable contacts and even have a few orders from two retailers. I guess we impressed them with our prices. Actually, there were a lot of remarks about such a high quality for good prices. Ukrainian manufacturers are competitive on this.

The local Scandinavian market is not really wide and it is covered with local companies, but there are a lot of retailers from all over the word in Stockholm furniture & light fair. They are looking for pure lines and Scandinavian style.

We have a strong understanding that we have to work and not to expect immediate success. It does not work this way. Working process for me is as valuable as the result.