International buyers highlighted the quality and commercial vision of Uruguayan furniture design

With the objective of internationalizing national furniture design, 20 Uruguayan studios participated in a new business round organized by Uruguay XXI together with the Uruguayan Chamber of Design (CDU). International companies visited the capital between Wednesday 4 and Tuesday 10 December.

The national companies and designers of the sector participated in an ideal instance for the expansion of their products and services. In this opportunity were present representatives of important international companies such as Muma, Estar Moveis, Punto Mobile, Italian Design Brands and the communication agency Olhares.

After participating in the business tables and visiting different showrows of Uruguayan brands, visitors were asked about their impressions of the national design. They highlighted the technique, the originality and the marked commercial and logistic vision of the market.

The administrative director of Punto Mobile's furniture factory, Felipe Delazzeri, highlighted that "there is a very strong design school in Uruguay that created good professionals". He also pointed out that working with these designers has always been satisfactory "because their work is already prepared for the market".

The founding partner and curator of MUMA, Matheus Ximénes, said that Uruguayan design has great strengths. "I highlight its commercial and product vision," he said. He also highlighted the fact that the brands have a logistical perspective of the market. "The way to produce and try to make a product viable without it being for an absurd value also seemed very interesting to me," he added.

In addition, Otavio Nazareth, partner and editor of Olhares, a communications agency specializing in design, art and architecture, expressed his pleasure with the experience, which allowed him to understand the production of design in Uruguay. "It makes me very happy to know that many provide service and are present in the Brazilian market with their projects (...) They have a very great understanding of industrial processes," he said.

The editor and journalist at Olhares News, Regina Galvão, expressed her satisfaction with the Uruguayan proposal since, from her perspective, it is about "a contemporary design, but also with an artistic aspect", in which she observed a diversity of materials. On the other hand, the incorporation of artisan techniques typical of the country produced a special interest.

"In a world so globalized and with so many equal references, it is always interesting to be able to print a little of one's own culture," said the journalist about the Uruguayan work.

"As the industry here is incipient, contact with Brazil is very necessary. The studios are determined to get this market, they are professionals by the way they present and develop their projects," she said.

Galvão paid special attention to the work carried out by the designers of Lateral, Santiago Pittamiglio and Mauro Cammá, in the creation of a series of rugs with a strong visual value, inspired by the lagoons of eastern Uruguay. The rugs are made with materials typical of this area such as thistle and for its production the designers studied the techniques used by local artisans. Lateral has been selected by international awards such as Salao Design and has won the Ibero-American Clap award in 2017.

"We are inspired by the lagoons because we have a special contact and an affective bond with the coast. We wanted to take all that which is lived there and pass it on to a line of products that combine a look at the landscape, the artisan knowledge of production and the materials that exist in the area," said Mauro Cammá.

This initiative gives continuity to the effort of the agency of promotion of investments, exports and image country, Uruguay XXI, to promote the internationalization of the creative industries and, within them, to prioritize the national design.

The furniture sector in the country

The furniture sector in Uruguay is in a moment of growth, product of the creativity of its national talent that seeks to conquer foreign markets. This year, Uruguayan designers stood out in Europe with novel and high level products.

The furniture created in the country is characterized by its simplicity and, at the same time, by the marked elegance of the products that led this constantly expanding industry to win international awards such as the Salão Design Award from São Paulo, the Design Award from Italy and the Good Design from the United States.

Learn more about the actions of Uruguayan designers around the world:

Creative Industries

Uruguay at London Design Fair