The Taiwanese Crafts Equation
During Maison&Objet 2022, the Taiwanese Crafts and Design Pavilion will present a curated selection of industrial products reflecting the ever-changing lifestyle in a disordered era.
The Taiwan Crafts and Design pavilion, which has always been a crowd-puller, is returning to the 2022 Maison&Objet in the SIGNATURE sector in Hall 7. With the name “The Taiwanese Crafts Equation” echoing the “Meta sensible” theme of the event, it will bring the aesthetic and functional crafts and the entrepreneurial spirit of Taiwan to the international stage.
Back to Where It All Began, Making Crafts a Carrier of Happiness
The Taiwan Crafts and Design pavilion hopes to deliver hopeful messages of “the co-construction of substance and virtuality” and “the coexistence of life and nature.” The exhibits are selected through an open call, including 17 Brands/Creators, 4 Creations of Domestic Timber, and centering around Sustainability.
The marketing planning of the exhibition is directed by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture and the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute (NTCRI).
I was honoured to be asked to co-curate this selection together with Chang Jen Chi, Director of NTCRI. We both settle on the theme in the hope of allowing Taiwan's craft industry to engage with the world more deeply. From the selection of exhibits to the spatial design of the pavilion, every detail is inspired by and closely connected with “meta.” Viewers will be guided by a clean-lined and warm-feeling wooden grille to enter the pavilion and feast on Taiwan’s contemporary craft arts.
Chang Jen Chi and I made the selection based on the potential of sustainability. Many of the candidate works are made using carbon-reducing and sustainable materials, such as domestically-grown Taiwania, Japanese cedar, bamboo, paper mulberry, bulrush, as well as recycled bottom mud from Sun Moon Lake, marble from Hualien, denim, metal, and even the ground-breaking reusable soft cement.
The exhibition is further livened up by various pieces of modern wood furniture, including two works made by Chaiwood with leather and wood, and a few “domestic timber and bamboo” works that have been actively promoted by NTCRI in recent years, which include tables and chairs, benches, and screens, made with Taiwan-grown Chinaberry, Taiwan Acacia, Taiwania, Luanta-fir, and more.
To increase the efficiency of transaction execution, the exhibition not only works with M&O’s online platform MOM but also collaborates with the leading e-commerce platform Pinkoi. Pinkoi, along with its international business platform “Pinkoi for Business,” focuses on the needs for cross-border trade and features a one-stop service that addresses the pain points both the sellers and buyers face. Pinkoi has set up a special section on its website for the brands exhibited in the Taiwan Crafts and Design pavilion and seeks to stimulate purchasing through a shipping discount promotion. During the promotion period from August to November this year, all customers who place orders can enjoy a shipping discount for each order, up to $150 USD.
‘The Taiwanese Design Equation’: September 8 - 12, 2022 - Maison&Object - Galerie Signature, Hall 7 - Booth A31, Paris Nord Villepinte.
