ddp design fair

If you have any resolutions for yourself as a curator for your second year, what would they be?

While I was excited and nervous about my first time participating in 2022, this year I feel a strong sense of responsibility. It`s a pressure and a promise that comes naturally when you see that the suggestions, the opinions and disagreements from last year`s fair have been incorporated this year. In fact, I`m well aware that it`s difficult to actively listen to curators` opinions since the fair is organized by a public institution. However, I`m sure that if we improve the problems that arise over time with a long-term perspective, the fair will become a better, more impressive, and more influential fair in the future.

You`ve expressed a strong affinity for Mentoring Week throughout.

I wouldn`t say that I gave advice, but rather that I had short but in-depth conversations with the participants, ranging from product direction to packaging concerns to questions about processes that are difficult to implement. I was also surprised by an unexpected but very realistic question: what do you need to do to get into the final 60 teams that will have the opportunity to exhibit? I also gave realistic answers and asked the opposite question of whether the fair is really beneficial to them. It was a valuable time for me as well as the participants.

What does putting ESG into practice look like to you?

It`s hard to speak comprehensively about such a vast topic, but I`d like to talk about it from the perspective of someone who uses and consumes things rather than someone who makes them, especially when it comes to the environmental impact of things that are so easily thrown away. I think it`s time to "romanticize" the way we treat things, to think about how we can love them again and keep them around longer rather than throwing them away. Each of these small acts of romance will add up to a big act that will make a difference.

What advice would you give to someone preparing to participate in the fair?

I hope that with the increased focus on the fair, people will think more deeply about participating in it, because if you`re just satisfied with participating in one high-profile fair and getting one more line on your resume, and you don`t have a plan after the fair is over, it can be a waste of time. You have to think of the fair as one part of a long journey for what you do. You have to use it as a stepping stone, an opportunity to expand, and use it to build a long-lasting, sustainable business.

What is a valuable partnership?

Most people think of value first, but for me it`s the other way around, I think of partnership first. In order for partnership to be valuable, you have to create a win-win outcome, but partnership is also a battle. It`s important to try not to encroach on the other person`s turf, but also not to compromise, because there`s nothing more unsatisfying than compromise. There`s a moment when you`re bumping against each other and you`re balancing, and you`re naturally coming to an intersection.