JTH students exhibit at Stockholm Furniture Fair

25 students studying Product Development with Furniture Design at the School of Engineering, Jönköping University (JU), exhibit at the Stockholm Furniture Fair at Stockholmsmässan on 7-11 February. The students' furniture will then be used at the Trakt Forest Hotel designed by Gert Wingårdh in Holsbybrunn outside Vetlanda.

"Stockholm Furniture Fair is something you just have to attend as a furniture student and the furniture our students have made is fantastic", says Victor Strandgren, program manager for the Product Development with Furniture Design programme.

The 25 final-year students are exhibiting four sets of armchairs and coffee tables at Stockholmsmässan, which they have worked on since the end of October. The furniture is mainly made of wood such as elm, oak, ash and birch, all of which are found in the Jönköping region.

Axel Svensson is one of the students participating in the Stockholm Furniture Fair. He says that the manufacturing process has gone as expected and that they worked through all the problems that came up towards the end.

Meeting people who share their passion

"You have got used to the furniture now and are becoming increasingly proud of it. It will be fun to show them off and feel that you are part of the context at the furniture fair, says Axel Svensson.

Like his classmate Ida Fokine, he thinks seeing others at the fair interact with their furniture will be cool. They look forward to meeting people who share their passion and getting inspired by their role models in the industry.

"Highlight of the year"

Students from the Product Development with Furniture design programme usually participate in Stockholm Furniture Fair. Still, they have not done so for the past two years due to the corona pandemic. Victor Strandgren says that a hundred decisions are made every day the weeks before the fair and that problems are solved as if on an assembly line. He thinks that the fast pace creates a positive and solution-focused climate. He emphasizes that many former Product Development with Furniture Design programme students now work with developing furniture and that the Stockholm Furniture Fair is the highlight of the year for product developers and designers of furniture.

"It means a lot to our students to exhibit their own furniture where the entire industry is gathered and all big news in the industry is released", he says.

"A great opportunity for our students"

After the fair, the students' furniture will replace the current armchairs and coffee tables, which were also made by Product Development with Furniture Design students, in the forest suites of the Trakt Forest Hotel.

“This is a great opportunity for our students. Last year was the first time we did such a sharp course project, and the furniture has received a very good response from both the hotel owners and their guests. It is not easy to design and manufacture a piece of furniture that is stylish, comfortable and physically holds together under load. It places high demands on safety, ergonomics and aesthetics, says Victor Strandgren.