Dr. Günter Scheipermeier, nobilia-Werke, Verl
My hope for January 2011 in Cologne is that the theme of kitchens can be re-established at the trade fair and reinvigorated with new life through the collaboration between Koelnmesse and the leading companies in the industry. Various things must happen if this is to succeed: Firstly, a number of the leading kitchen furniture makers must become enthusiastic about this trade fair; secondly, the electric appliances industry must be brought on board; and thirdly, foreign visitors, specifically a large number of foreign trade visitors and also foreign exhibitors must be attracted. Those are the aims. They can be achieved if Koelnmesse, on the one hand, and the major players in the industry, on the other hand, can get in step on this.

Jochen Kuhlmann, RWK Einbauküchen, Enger
We, too, are interested in establishing a leading international trade fair in Germany so that we can communicate our “made in Germany” label internationally over the long term. The marketing association Küchenmeile A30 has accepted this task and is dedicated to working for and with its member companies to establish this trade fair through an integrative approach in collaboration with our other industry participants. What does this mean in concrete terms? We hope to establish an international industry event in Germany in the medium term, preferably in association with the imm, but only when it reliably meets our requirements in respect to visitor structures and professionalism, internationalism and sustainability.

Heinz-Erwin Ellersiek, Ballerina Küchen, Rödinghausen
What is unbelievably important to us as an A30 kitchen furniture maker is that the electric appliances industry, the accessories industry, worktop and sink manufacturers, etc. are also present at the kitchen trade fair that has just been announced, and that these companies also exhibit so that we cover the complete range. Classic kitchen studios or classic kitchen dealers would like to have a complete offer, which they would then find there. They would have a trade fair platform in Cologne where furniture is already being exhibited and that has entirely different aspirations and is an entirely different draw than if the furniture were not there.

Ernst Martin Schaible, Der Kreis, Leonberg
We raised this topic because it is important to the specialist shops that there is a good trade fair for the consumer. After all, ultimately it is the consumer who decides where his or her money is spent-not the dealer. And the consumer will be presented with wonderful things, things that really whet the appetite and make the consumer say, “I need that! I would like to have that. I want to have those beautiful furnishings. Or I would like to celebrate a nice meal with these kitchen appliances or cook with friends.” And where can this be accomplished? At a joint trade fair where all the things that this product demands are displayed.

Edgar Inhofer, Möbel Inhofer, Senden
The Cologne trade fair is very important for Möbel Inhofer, Europe’s largest furniture showroom, and for Interni by Inhofer, the place for designer furniture. This is where we get the ideas that help us bring consumers into our stores with new ideas throughout the year. Here is where we meet all of our important partners in the industry, the trade and the associations. They are all here. So please, take part and help to make the concept for 2011 even broader than that for 2010.

Frank Hüther, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Die Moderne Küche e.V., Mannheim
The AMK (The Modern Kitchen Working Group) has represented the interests of the kitchen industry for over 50 years. We have always said that the majority of the AMK member companies-and these are leading manufacturers of kitchen furniture, built-in appliances and accessories, and leading kitchen trade cooperatives-are interested in an international leading fair for kitchens in Germany, with Cologne being the predestined location for it. Together we can reach this goal with LivingKitchen 2011. I personally am convinced that LivingKitchen can be a success. Our sincerest wish for the trade visitors, exhibitors and trade fair organizers is that the efforts of the past months pay off. All the best for LivingKitchen 2011!

The show will have three Public Days and bring together national and international exhibitors from the entire kitchen industry. Even now, one year before the event, numerous leading companies have registered to take part. The complete list can be viewed at www.livingkitchen-cologne.com.

Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse, commented on this extremely pleasing booking status at a press conference in Cologne: “What makes us strong is our solidarity with the industry, the retail sector and the associations. The common ground between us isn’t just restricted to our goals, it extends to our approach for achieving those goals as well.”

The international kitchen fair is to stage the world of kitchens in its entirety. For in the kitchen, furniture, appliances and elements such as lighting merge into a complete spatial experience and become one with the architecture. By showing not just kitchen furniture and fitted appliances but sinks, tap fittings, sophisticated kitchen worktops and kitchen accessories, lighting and kitchen-related services as well, LivingKitchen® will be a consistent reflection of this trend and provide a convincing demonstration of what the sector is capable of.

Elmar Duffner, President of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (Verband der Deutschen Möbelindustrie, VDM), also emphasised this aim during the press conference: “We, the Association of the German Furniture Industry, are absolutely certain that the kitchen will be restored to its former glory here in Cologne – and that this glory will rub off on the entire furniture sector. LivingKitchen® has what it takes to become the best and most important platform of its kind.” Hans Strothoff, President of the Federal Association of Kitchen, Furniture and Furnishing Retailers (Bundesverband des Deutschen Möbel-, Küchen- und Einrichtungsfachhandels, BVDM), emphasised German kitchen and furniture retailers’ support for the fair, stating that “Kitchens belong in Cologne. A Cologne furniture fair without kitchens is like a World Cup without Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil and France.” Strothoff too is certain that the fair will be a complete success and that the entire sector – both in Germany and abroad – will benefit from the event.

LivingKitchen® is intended as a lifestyle event with equal appeal for professional circles, amateur cooks, gourmets, technology fans and interior design lovers. That is also why the fair will have three Public Days: it is particularly important for consumers to experience the show as an event. The trade fair is conceived as a glamorous, exciting lifestyle happening under the motto “A passion for kitchens”. As well as a big show stage in the atrium, event islands in Hall 5 and a large central area in Hall 4 have been designated for the entertainment programme. On the days the fair is open to the public, there will be non-stop entertainment and infotainment. The plans include cooking shows, kitchen concerts large and small, kitchen cinema, exhibitions, a kids’ kitchen and various opportunities to benefit from expert advice. The event will be accompanied by a supporting programme in the city. “As a result, Cologne won’t just be the design capital of Europe during the third week of January 2011, it will be the gourmet capital as well,” says Böse.

Last but not least, LivingKitchen® has set itself the goal of generating impetus for kitchen sales and thus new business as well. In Germany alone, half of all kitchens are still more than 15 years old, some of them even older than 20. At the same time, the fair is to foster opportunities for the targeted expansion of export activities. One keyword in this context is the contract business, which is playing an increasingly important role in the kitchen segment too.

In order to achieve all these goals, LivingKitchen® is counting on a broad and ongoing media presence. Press meetings, worldwide press conferences and a wide-ranging image campaign will broadcast the LivingKitchen® messages from Cologne to the world.

“The exhibitors have used their innovativeness to brave the crisis and been rewarded by doing good business,” says Koelnmesse’s CEO Gerald Böse. “Cologne is the business forum for the industry,” concludes the head of the trade fair company. The positive mood that prevailed in the halls for the entire duration of the fair was also emphasised by Dirk-Uwe Klaas: “This was by far the most successful furniture show for years. In the midst of the crisis, trade visitors and end consumers alike have given us impressive confirmation that the imm cologne has regained its former strength,” says the chief executive of the Association of the German Furniture Industry (Verband der Deutschen Möbelindustrie, VDM). As announced last Friday, Koelnmesse and the VDM as non-material sponsor of the imm cologne have extended their contract long-term to continue this successful collaboration beyond the scope of the imm cologne 2010.

The conditions under which the imm cologne 2010 took place could hardly have been better. The number of exhibitors grew by around one percent to 1,053 companies, with an impressive seven percent increase in the number of domestic firms taking part. Foreign companies accounted for 58 percent of exhibitors, the providers came from 51 countries. “That makes the imm cologne one of the few consumer goods shows in the world that has managed to remain extremely stable in spite of the trend,” says Gerald Böse.

This pleasing result is also reflected in the number of visitors. In contrast to last year, the number of trade visitors from abroad increased again (+ 5.7 percent). The show reported particularly pleasing figures for North America (+ 23 percent) and Eastern Europe (+ 18 percent), two regions of vital importance for the export trade. Strong gains were also achieved in Asia and South America. The number of trade visitors from within Germany remained stable after a strong increase in the previous year. “I see this result as proof that the various activities we have undertaken to attract national and international visitors, such as our VIP packages, have been successful,” says Udo Traeger, head of Koelnmesse’s Furniture, Interior Design and Textiles division.

An excellent fair
Satisfied exhibitors, good business and countless innovations combined to create an extremely good atmosphere. “This year’s imm cologne exuded a sense of optimism. The customers were in a cheerful, relaxed mood. And the fair itself is on a very good course – starting with the compactly planned and very full Hall 11, the great new pure village format for smaller providers, all the way to the new opening times from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.,” concludes Leo Lübke, CEO of interlübke and COR Sitzmöbel. “All in all, thanks to the short distances, the central location of the exhibition centre and the good organisation, the imm cologne is the working fair for professionals” adds Lübke. Exhibitors were delighted at the rush of visitors and well-filled stands too. The good international response also contributed to the excellent mood, as did the strong order intake. “We’re very satisfied with the frequency of the purchasing associations at our stand. We were able to take a lot of orders and got the impression there’s been an increase in the number of international visitors. On top of that, we’re expecting very good post-fair business,” says Giovanni Rossi, marketing consultant at Maronese International. All in all, around 95 percent of exhibitors were satisfied with the imm cologne, more than 80 percent are already saying they’ll be coming back to Cologne.

Satisfied visitors
It wasn’t only the exhibitors who were thoroughly pleased with the event. Visitors were more than satisfied with the imm cologne as well. According to the visitor survey, around 80 percent were very satisfied or satisfied with how they had achieved their goals. As a result of this consistently positive assessment of the event, more than 80 percent of the visitors questioned would like to attend the imm cologne again in 2011.

pure village
With pure village, the imm cologne implemented a totally new exhibition concept that brought together heterogeneous product categories relating to all aspects of interior lifestyle. Renowned design brands from the furniture, fabrics, lighting and bathroom segments presented both exclusive individual design items and entire concepts for creative interiors. Right from the first day of the fair, the good visitor levels at pure village helped create an extremely positive atmosphere. “I’m delighted that pure village, which was developed by Dutch designer Dick Spierenburg, met with such a good response right from the start. The good results show that the time was ripe for a modern trade fair format like this. Together, we managed to create an atmosphere that inspired the visitors,” says a pleased Udo Traeger.

The kitchen returns to Cologne in 2011
Parallel to the imm cologne, the cathedral city will be playing host to the LivingKitchen® fair for the first time next year. The international kitchen trade fair will take place as an independent event every two years. It will have three Public Days and aims to bring together renowned national and international exhibitors from the entire kitchen industry. LivingKitchen® won’t just be showcasing kitchen furniture and fitted appliances but sinks, fittings, kitchen worktops and accessories, lighting and kitchen-related services as well. A year before the fair opens its doors, around 30 leading companies have already registered to take part.

Trends
- The megacolour white for upholstery fabrics and storage furniture surfaces, with e.g. aubergine shades for dignified accentuation. New additions this year: covering fabrics in matt black and blue.
- Large-format dining tables and dining room armchairs you can sit on comfortably for a long time.
- Adjustable upholstered furniture with lots of additional functions
- Dark wood, preferably combined with glass and stainless steel
- LED lighting technology in cabinets and shelving units
- The “kitchen – dining room – living area” as a spatial unit, now joined by private spa oases in which the bedroom and bathroom merge into a single unit.
- Greenline furniture.

The next imm cologne will take place from 18th – 23rd January 2011.

The imm cologne in figures:
1,053 companies from 51 countries took part in the imm cologne 2010. That includes 408 exhibitors and 31 additionally represented companies from Germany as well as 586 exhibitors and 28 additionally represented companies from abroad. Foreign companies accounted for 58% of exhibitors.*

* All figures are calculated according to the guidelines of the Society for the Voluntary Control of Fair and Exhibition Statistics (Gesellschaft zur Freiwilligen Kontrolle von Messe- und Ausstellungszahlen, FKM).

And yet the construction noise doesn’t bother a single resident; nor does the traffic have to be diverted. Because Pure Village, the township that will be built here in just a few weeks, will be constructed in the middle of Cologne Exhibition Centre, beneath the roof of Hall 3. Which explains why no doors will be hung and the big windows will remain unglazed – nobody is planning to move in permanently. On the other hand, there’s no need for visitors to this idyllic spot to do without a street café, ample entertainment, the services of a “doctor” or childcare facilities. Pure Village is the artificial but far from virtual venue where the design-savvy world will be gathering from 19th to 24th January 2010.

The concept – the entire world of interior design
The rural-sounding name stands for the international furnishing and interior design fair imm cologne’s new presentation format, which visitors will find in Hall 3.2 from 19th to 24th January 2010. With Pure Village, Koelnmesse has created a location for design and interior visions. Pure Village is different: rather than depicting huge brand universes hidden behind high walls, it presents the best ideas and visions of both major players and smaller labels in the intimacy of its village-like setting. That makes it easier for people to get better acquainted. And that’s the whole point: lots of impressions, lots of different approaches, lots of discussions, lots of fruitful communication between neighbours – both between various areas of the home and between products that would otherwise have a hard time finding common ground. All of it surrounded by conspiratorial architecture that fosters relationships and provides welcome islands of calm.

Pure Village clusters the trends in product and interior design and shows the public design items and furnishing ideas in the setting of its unusual, coordinated exhibition architecture. Sophisticated ideas and product solutions from all the segments relevant to interior design will be presented together in a compact space. The latest developments in furniture design will be “next-door neighbours” with classics, experimental design, home textiles, wallpapers, carpets, lighting and accessories. Architects and designers, bathroom planners and interior designers, lighting designers and retailers will find Pure Village is the ideal projection surface for current trends in interior design.

The architecture – everything just around the corner
With the modular, dynamic architecture designed by exhibition creator Dick Spierenburg, Pure Village gives interior design a new and attractive platform at the heart of the Cologne furnishing fair. “Halls normally have a rectangular layout plan,” says Spierenburg. “Every exhibitor has his own space and has his own stand built. Pure Village is totally different. Instead of running parallel to one another, the paths lead to a centre – a central square where there’s lots going on.” The staggered arrangement and alternating heights of the individual modules are reminiscent of an urban street scene. Last but not least, the “houses” (including the colour scheme) will be tailored to exhibitors’ requirements – and will then be ready for immediate occupancy.

The flexibility of the Pure Village format means it not only provides an appropriate setting for unconventional brand and product scenographies but for presentations by other Cologne-based organisers too: the “villagers” at the imm cologne will include both the Design Post and KAP Forum along with their exhibitors. Companies attracted from further afield include Vorwerk, Deltalight, Authentics, Burgbad and Dornbracht. The imm cologne’s integrative concept has obviously struck a chord with the furnishing and interior design industry: the village was completely booked out in next to no time.

Village life – plenty to see, talk about and drink
A live webcam (www.purevillage.de) will allow the virtual traveller to stay in touch with the goings-on and see what the village has to offer. He won’t be disappointed. The stage will host various lectures and moderated panel discussions with entrepreneurs, designers and interior designers on topics such as sustainability and responsible resource management. The Pure Village infrastructure leaves nothing to be desired: as well as a nursery with qualified staff, a doctor will be on duty too: architects network and imm cologne partner RoomDoctor will be providing free interior design consultations. Acute room disorders will be analysed, patients’ aspirations and problems assessed and a preliminary course of treatment prescribed. Home visits can also be arranged if desired.

And if the occasional architect should tire of the Pure Village skyline, he can always take one of the various bilingual architecture and urban development tours that are available. As well as bus trips to the highlights of Cologne’s two thousand years of architectural history, there are guided tours focusing on the reconstruction of the 1950s or architecture and lighting design. Information about the tours, all other events and Pure Village itself is available at “The Square” information counter. Finally, “The Club” lounge at the centre of Pure Village provides an opportunity for visitors to relax over a coffee and discuss the latest furnishing trends before setting off to seek inspiration from the ideas of young designers in the D³ Design talents show on the next floor down or switching to Hall 11 to explore the brand worlds in the Pure segment.

Trend analysis – “New Classics” versus “Trickery”
But not, of course, until they have seen the rest of the highlights Pure Village has to offer. Like the special exhibition “New Classics” that interior design magazine Schöner Wohnen will be staging at the imm cologne to celebrate its 50th anniversary – complete with fluttering flags and exhibits that invite visitors to sit down and enjoy them. Or the installation by designers Johanna Grawunder and Cecilie Manz, who will be interpreting the Interior Trends 2010 in four double cubes. The “Discipline”, “Comfort Zone”, “Rehab” and “Trickery” scenographies will pick up on the trend analysis and predictions of the imm cologne Trendboard, the international panel that this year included the American and Danish designers in its line-up.

The trend phenomena point in totally different directions. Whilst some are more eager than ever to retreat to their “Comfort Zone” and seek consolation in a cosy atmosphere, more progressive spirits are renouncing the decorative entirely and trying to purge themselves of anything unnecessary with minimalistic interiors. Traditionalists are disciplining themselves to stick to tried and tested forms, whereas more playful individuals are using forms and alienation to take experimental design to extremes and expose the design culture as a “cunning” box of tricks in which nothing is what it initially seems. Anybody looking for a fitting souvenir of Pure Village can buy the accompanying Trend Book at the Pure Village information desk.

Further information:
www.purevillage.net

Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs will interview figures including Benjamin Hubert, Philippe Malouin, Gam Fratesi and Tomás Alonso, all of whom have exhibited at [D3] Design Talents in the past.

Established designers including Tomoko Azumi, James Irvine and Erik Degenhardt will also feature. All interviews will be filmed and broadcasted on www.dezeen.com after the show.

Dezeentalks at [D3] Design Talents will take place at 12.30 each day from Tuesday 19 to Friday 22 January in the lounge area of the D3 Design Talents Hall. We hope to see you there!

Venue: D3 Lounge, Hall 3.1, Stand B 030/E 049 imm cologne

Tuesday 19 January

12.30 James Irvine
12.45 Tomás Alonso
13.00 Tomoko Azumi

Wednesday 20 January

12.30 Philippe Malouin
12.45 Erik Degenhardt
13.00 [D3] Design Talents winners

Thursday 21 January

12.30 Marco Dessi
12.45 Gabrielle Amman
13.00 Gam Fratesi (Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi)

Friday 22 January

12.30 Benjamin Hubert
12.45 Kai Linke
13.00 Reinhard Dienes

Once again in 2010 the imm cologne will publish the “hit guide”, a special offer for the member of the international press. In its handy pocket size and with lots of color illustrations and short product descriptions, it provides an overview of all the big and small highlights at the fair.

The guide is compiled and selected by the “hit scouts” who based their selection on all the new products and innovations registered by the exhibitors in the run-up to the event.

For journalists: the hit guide will be available as print version.

hit guide 2010 – feel free to download it now!
You can download the latest hit guide here (pdf-file, 4 MB):
hit guide 2010, Part 1
hit guide 2010, Part 2

imm cologne is the central meeting place for suppliers and decision-makers from all the world’s important markets. Find out what customers will be demanding in 2010 at the year’s first furnishing fair.

Home trends at the beginning of 2010: At home indoors and out. (photo: Flötotto; Regalsystem 355)

Homing is experiencing a boom. Despite or perhaps precisely because of the financial crisis, people are quite happy to spend their time at home, where they have the freedom to design their surroundings however they like and are master of all they survey.

Living means spending an average of 340 days a year in one and the same place: home. People are spending substantial amounts of time in their eat-in kitchens, home cinemas and private spas. On top of that, the latest interior design and furniture trends promise to bring new impetus and a new sense of fun to the way we furnish, design and live in our homes. And the individualisation trend that has been holding its own for years continues unbroken.

As a result, people are attaching growing importance to original, perhaps even unique furnishings – not only in their indoor living space, but in the way they design their garden, balcony or terrace as well. The last season saw above-average investments in this segment. And – especially if predictions of a sunny 2010 prove true – it seems more than likely that sales of garden furniture will continue to grow.

For all the diversity, there are always certain items of furniture or accessories that are particularly popular and others that people find it easier to part from. The following list by Ursula Geismann (Association of German Furniture Industries) shows some of the latest developments:

What’s on its way out?

- Small dining tables
- 1-2-3-seater suites without any functions
- Dark rustic kitchens
- Smooth covering fabrics for upholstered furniture
- Bulky furniture

What’s here to stay?

- The megacolour white for upholstery coverings and storage furniture surfaces
- Wall units with flat screen TVs and long sideboards, highboards and lowboards
- The “kitchen – dining – living area” as a spatial unit
- Aubergine shades for a dignified splash of colour
- Furniture that looks good from the back too and can be placed in the middle of the room
- Adjustable upholstered furniture
- Walk-in wardrobes
- Rococo ornaments as patterns, e.g. as woven covering- fabrics with a velvet-like surface and relief character
- Cross Design as a lifestyle guarantee: furniture by Joop!, Esprit & Co.
- Furniture classics as a timeless value
- Bioethanol fireplaces
- Themed children’s rooms with e.g. a “Princess” or “Pirate” motif

What’s on its way in?

- Dining armchairs that you can sit on comfortably for a long time
- Garden furniture that looks like living room furniture
- Outdoor kitchens and showers
- Lounge chairs for chilling
- Private spa oases where the bedroom and bathroom merge into a single unit
- Large-format dining tables
- Blue covering fabrics
- Dark wood, preferably in combination with glass and stainless steel
- Feminine forms: organically designed upholstered furniture
- High-gloss and handleless kitchens
- Gold for accentuation on e.g. little cupboards, chair frames or decorative cushions
- Greenline furniture
- LED lighting technology in cupboards and shelving

Design lives from a constant stream of new ideas. And sometimes from the reinvention of old ones. What’s crucial is a constant change of perspectives that questions what has already been achieved, penetrates beyond established aesthetics and ventures to suggest new approaches. Experimental design thus fulfils an important function for the entire discipline – by ensuring continuous input.

The works of young designers are like a fountain of youth for the professional league. They take a self-confident approach to new technologies and are more than willing to improvise if it means turning their ideas into prototypes. And yet young designers are increasingly on their own: jobs for graduates are even rarer than commissions.

Both, they fear, will be in even shorter supply as a result of the financial crisis. That’s why many designers have come to terms with the idea of turning their product ideas into reality single-handedly, either as spectacular one-offs or in small editions. This has led to the development of an aesthetic language that is less indebted to industrial considerations and even less inclined to compromise. Humorous, unconventional, flamboyant, ambitious, visionary and sometimes just ingeniously simple – that is the face of young design today.

Creative fireworks in Cologne
That benefits platforms like D3 Design talents and its international newcomer competition, the D3 Contest. The exhibition at the international furniture and interior design fair imm cologne sparkles with creativity and has established itself as a talent forum and creative powerhouse that is highly regarded by the industry and design scene alike.

Six years ago, Koelnmesse and the German Design Council were looking for a format that would be just as compatible with the designers’ situation as it was with the public’s interests. They succeeded: the curated exhibition in Hall 3.1 is meanwhile one of the imm cologne’s most popular attractions. Experimental design rubs shoulders with the market-driven offerings of the furniture industry, rough prototypes are juxtaposed with the perfect sleekness of exclusive brands.

A spark of anarchy in a commercial, meticulously organised world. For American architect and art designer Johanna Grawunder, it is this contrast between the commercial and the experimental that makes the imm cologne so attractive. “In the last two years in which I’ve sat on the jury of the D3 Contest, the presentation has been extremely good, really amazing, and shown an incredible amount of talent,” says Johanna Grawunder. “On the one hand you’ve got a professional selection of commercial design, and on the other a strong area of purely experimental design. And the two complement each other wonderfully because there’s nothing standing between them. Both sides can learn a lot from each other. It’s an elegant, intense reduction of what happens in the design world, like the essence of a good sauce.”

Only the best get to show what they can do
Koelnmesse holds the competition every year in connection with the imm cologne. This year 521 young designers from 43 countries took part, submitting a total of 649 ideas. The best 29 works will be shown at the imm cologne 2010.

The curation ensures that the objects shown and the way they are presented meet the contest’s high quality standard. All students and graduates who qualified less than three years ago are eligible to enter their prototypes. The D3 Contest aims to give young designers a forum where they can present their ideas for the furniture, lighting, home textiles and accessories of the future to an international public.

What makes this talent show so special is not just its competitive character but the unusual generosity of its organisers. Only those who manage to convince the selection panel are allowed to exhibit their ideas. But once this hurdle has been cleared, Koelnmesse invites the winning designers to take part in the exhibition with no ifs and buts. “We support the participants by making sure the presentation of their prototypes doesn’t end up being a financial burden,” explains Rüdiger Sprave, who organises the exhibition for Koelnmesse along with Natalie Köhler from the German Design Council.

Those hoping to qualify for the competition can submit their entries free of charge – and Koelnmesse organises and finances transport, travel and accommodation for the lucky few who get to exhibit their designs. The concept has proven its worth – a verdict also shared by Munich designer Stefan Diez: “I really like the Design talents show at the imm cologne. It’s great that the Cologne fair has it curated and doesn’t just set up one design shop after the other as they’re increasingly fond of doing in Milan. It’s so confusing and usually a real disappointment as far as the presentation is concerned – so much so that I didn’t even go and look at it this year.”