ddp design fair

Sogroup seems like a unique name.Sogroup provides a sustainable culture in the neighborhood and an artistic experience in the form of a space. It is currently running two brands in Mangwon-dong, a gallery called so,one and a cocktail bar called so,far and is curating various cultural and art projects. The brand to be showcased at this 2022 DDP Design Fair is our third brand so,tong. Under the slogan, “artwork also need home,” so,tong is selling, operating and curating products, spaces and training courses related to the storage of works, and aims to address the problem of storing works of young artists. How did the brand start? Is there an interesting story behind the origin of the brand?It all started when I just wanted to share a space with an artist friend of mine and rented a 13-square meter space to use it as a gallery and meeting space. A year later, I had to decide on whether or not to keep renting the space, which led me to start my own business. I was well aware of the needs of the artists I’ve met while running the gallery, and I wanted to address the demands from the perspective of the neighborhood. I was convinced that creating five spaces which could address the needs and concerns of artists, including a gallery in the neighborhood, would also be an opportunity to build a connection with local residents. In 2021, I opened a cocktail bar to bring in a certain amount of revenue and started to sell artworks. This year, in 2022, I established a neighborhood art storage called so,tong to solve the problem of storing large-scale artworks. Perhaps most notable is the turtle in the brand’s logo.A lot of people are curious about so,tong’s logo, a turtle holding a rack with a city skyline in the background. I got the idea from a turtle, which carries the shell on its back throughout its entire life, just as art cannot be separated from the artist. However, an artwork is not as hard as the turtle shell, so it gets easily damaged and stays far away from the artist because of the rent for storage. That’s why I created a space called so,tong to store artworks in central Seoul and create a neighborhood art storage, while also serving as an incubator for young creatives. This allows artists to communicate through exhibitions that are held for a short period of time, but also maintain sustainable communication through the storage of their works over a long period of time. Could you tell us about your latest product or a new product you are working on?I made a furniture piece to store artworks as a mockup. The size is approximately a shelf based on the size of No. 40 canvas. Three racks fit perfectly in the space, so it can store artworks on six sides. I added an acrylic sheet on top of the storage rack to keep out dust and put things on top of it. As I said earlier, I first made a mockup, but I wanted to develop it a bit further. So, I improved the quality and started to make a product targeted toward interior designs, collectors and galleries. The material is mainly made of stainless steel, but recently, I am planning to launch a product with rubber rollers made by ourselves. The furniture piece called “art storage rack” will be developed into a customizable product through further R&D. Besides the steel-wire mesh, it can be customized to each customer’s individual needs. Oh, and one thing I would like to share with you is that part of the sales will be used to create a neighborhood art storage and related services. Our ultimate goal is to solve the problem of storing works of young artists by providing space for storage. What recent trends do you find to be most interesting?The Korean art market has doubled over the past two years and is expected to reach 1 trillion won in value. Some people are critical of the market growth resulting from various factors such as purchases made by millennials and Gen Zers, diversification of purchase methods and reselling profits, however, it should be noted that other businesses (packaging, transportation, storage, platform, etc.) are growing together with the art market. In particular, I believe the storage business has grown along with the urban warehouse market. I think storage services for personal belongings are gradually gaining ground. They are finally starting to be recognized by more people, so if these services become part of our everyday lives, art storage services will be also available in central Seoul. What are the things to look out for in Sogroup’s Launching Pavilion at the DDP Design Fair? Could you also explain the concept of the exhibition?so,tong has a goal to build an interesting community with members who make up the art ecosystem through art storage services, so if you visit the Launching Pavilion, you will have the opportunity to see our app along with our product (art storage rack) as well as our space (neighborhood art storage). I am also planning to take applications for our neighborhood art storage. Please come and take a look slowly according to the slogan, and we look forward to your engagement and feedback. In fact, many people are still not familiar with the concept of storing various artworks from different artists in a space. What are you most looking forward to through your participation in this DDP Design Fair?During this fair, I am planning to launch and sell the “artwork storage rack”, which was first unveiled as a prototype, for the first time. I thought it was the perfect timing, I liked the idea that our product is going to be exhibited and put on display for 7 days. Of course, we are also looking forward to selling our product. However, what I hope more is that the DDP Design Fair serves as a catalyst for our Sogroup's activities. By 2025, five spaces (for exhibition, sales, storage, studio and accommodation) will be established in the neighborhood to create a “horizontal residency” and carry out various cultural or art exchange projects with the local community. It would be great if we could meet other businesses or companies to promote our activities and work closely together through the DDP.