The Furniture Industry Association of Bento Gonçalves (Sindmóveis) and The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brazil) promote the Raiz Project, an initiative that aims to highlight the talent of Brazilian furniture designers in the international market via targeted actions.

Targeting North America for the third consecutive year, professionals will participate in the 30th edition of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Considered the main showcase of the furniture industry in the United States, the fair will take place from May 20-23 in New York. 

This year, 12 design studios will individually display their most creative product concepts. They are; Faro Design, Guto Indio da Costa, Jader Almeida, Marta Manente, NDT Design, Noemi Saga Atelier, Paulo Alves, Plataforma 4, Reboh Design, Sérgio Matos, Studio Poli and Wagner Archella.  The Consulate General of Brazil in New York supports the participation of the project in the fair.

The Raiz Project board of directors will evaluate the ability of each designer to meet the demands of the American consumer, and provide individual and personalized service to professionals that wish to develop their business in the U.S.

Regarding market expansion the Raiz Project seeks opportunity on two fronts; promotion of designers to insert them into the chain of licensing and distribution, and the search for niche markets through product and process innovation. This enables the negotiation of special projects and the assignment of patents and exportation opportunities to signed furniture in a partnership between designer and industry.

Currently, around 40 design studios are part of the project, which is always open to new additions.

ICFF has approximately 700 exhibitors and hosts more than 30 thousand visitors, including interior designers, architects, retailers, trade representatives, distributors, facility managers, developers, manufacturers, corporate and retail designers and visual merchandising professionals. Brazilian design will be represented with outdoor and indoor furniture and decor. With access to an extended range of materials and processes, and vast historical and aesthetic influences, the work of the Brazilian design community shapes and reflects the richness of Brazilian culture. The high profile pieces utilize sustainable materials such as recycled aluminum, reforestation wood, fibers, natural dyes and raw material for low impact on the environment.

Since the beginning of 2017 and after an investment of $500,000, the project has played a leading role in the national and international trade shows of the sector. In Europe, besides the traditional Milan Design Week, a traveling exhibition took place in the Brazilian embassies in Rome, Paris and Stockholm. In the American market and its surroundings ? besides ICFF ? Raiz Project designers launched a pop–up showroom in Miami, and networked with international industry professionals at the High Point trade show in North Carolina. In Brazil, actions started during High Design Home & Expo with the coming of entrepreneurs, importers and journalists interested in the Brazilian aesthetic and business promotion. 

Just this year, the Raiz Project oversaw the attendance of 70 international buyers at Movelsul Brasil, the biggest furniture trade show of Latin America, and promoted the exhibition “Brazilian sitting” during FuoriSalone in Milan. In this exhibition, the great melting pot that is Brazil and the resulting culture, with various origins, are translated into items that explore Brazilian ways of sitting - in celebration, work, religious or resting contexts. It provided a panorama that displayed the historical importance of the sitting position for Brazil through the eyes of Ethel Leon, a journalist and Design History professor. At FuoriSalone, a number of Raiz Project designers went solo, newly empowered to launch their unique brands in the Italian capital of design.

About the Raiz Project

Raiz Project was created in 2012, as an extension of Projeto Orchestra Brasil (created in 2006), a partnership with The Furniture Industry Association of Bento Gonçalves (Sindmóveis) and The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brazil), aimed at the internationalization of the supply chain of the Brazilian furniture industry.

Raiz Project was inserted in 2014, as the result of the Design Challenge, an initiative developed through out last year with the studios, with the intent to generate experience in the creation of products from an American point of view.  The brand expresses the sum of cultures that feeds the national creativity.

From actions directed to conquer the international market, Raiz Project intensifies its positioning strategies of the sector in foreign markets; enhances the use of contacts and business intelligence reports for designers; promotes greater sharing of information and experiences between companies; guides the advancement of promotion and entry of furniture designers in the market with all the support they need and from the segmentation of the group according to its level of internationalization.

Raiz Project – ICFF 2018

http://www.raizproject.com/

When: From 20 to 23 of May.

Sundays, from 10am to 5pm; Monday and Tuesday, from 10am to 6pm; Wednesday, from 10am to 4pm.

Where: Javits Center, New York. 

655 W. 34th St. (11th Avenue at 38th Street)

https://www.facebook.com/raizprojectoficial/

@raizproject