DENFAIR Melbourne 2019 has drawn to a close after three days, which saw over 8,000 architects, interior designers and design lovers through the doors of the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre to experience the best of local and international design, alongside DENFAIR’s largest-ever activation program.
The theme of DENFAIR 2019 was LIFEWORK, a reflection on the growing integration of personal and professional life. In response to this, a highlight of DENFAIR was #futurework by FUTURESPACE, a dedicated workspace that showcased furniture solutions designed to create innovative work spaces.
Over the past five years that DENFAIR has been running it has marked a key date for the Australian design industry to launch new products and collections. This year was no exception, with Coco Flip, Ross Didier, Tait and many other brands and designers using day one of DENFAIR as an opportunity to launch new products to trade. The Local Project also used the event to launch the Volume 01 of The Local Project magazine, marking an exciting first foray into print media.
The activation program was the largest-ever produced by DENFAIR, including the Living Bar by Adam Cornish and Junglefy, the double-storey Lounge by Spacecube, the Wallpaper Chalet Restaurant, the Communl Cafe by PHG Bricks and the Axolotl Easle Project, a presentation of the 2018 Good Design Awards.
The Speaker Space was designed by Arthur Koutoulas using Joyce Foam products, providing an inspiring space for the series of conversations curated by DENFAIR’s Sandra Tan. Local and international speakers included directors of Zaha Hadid Design, Woody Yeo and Maha Kutay; the Artichoke Food Culture session with IF Architecture, DesignOffice and Luchetti Krelle; and the Design Anthology Made in Asia session featuring Bespoke Studio, Reddie Furniture and One Design Office.
Emerging designers were also represented at DENFAIR 2019 with Front Centre. The dedicated space supported by the Design Institute of Australia helps to provide a pathway for emerging designers working in collaboration with Craft ACT, Craft Vic, JamFactory and Workshopped together with the Australian Design Centre, to exhibit their work. This year, Maikiko Ruijin was awarded the winning entry, receiving a DENFAIR stand at the 2020 exhibition.
