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Having its inception in 2011, the prestigious trade show, Wanted Design NYC was co-founded by Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat. Wanted Design is a platform dedicated to promoting design, opening a creative dialogue in between industry professionals from all around the world. This year’s edition occurred from May 17-23 and brought together over 12000 enthusiasts to celebrate this particular and exceptional art form. Throughout this article, you will be able to see some of the exhibition spaces of the esteemed event.

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The dynamic duo created this creative satellite fair with a purpose of giving visibility to American designers who, until then, many were to be scarce or seen as uninspiring outside of the United States, being the main attraction French and Italian artists. According to Hainaut and Pijoulat, “we realise then that we knew from all of the American designers, many that we are friends with, they were frustrated because there was no visibility for them outside of the USA”. The Co-founders design to reach and round up support and connections, either from small or larger organisations, in order to create this enticing and much-need design week venue, so designers could finally share their knowledge and projects.

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Through the years, the event has gained a very esteemed status amongst renowned and international designers alike. The intention of the co-founders was never to be conceived a large platform in size, but a conscious and well-thought-out tradeshow that keeps improving as time goes by. While the fair has suffered many changes, the foundations will always be there. Wanted Design indulges in conversations, programmes and workshops not only for design schools but also for young designers and larger brands. This mix defines the essence of Wanted Design.  The platform has two destinations, one Manhattan which focuses mainly on product and design, and one in Brooklyn, in Sunset Park that is far more cultural and thinking about the future, in addition to being a different approach in terms of context and content.

One of the main highlights of this year’s edition was the American Design Honors, which was created three years ago. Studio Gorm was the recipient of the programme with their spectacular exhibition “Furnishing Utopia”. The Studio was created in 2007 by John Arndt and Wonhee Jeong-Arndt.

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With the American Design Honors, Bernhardt Design, the TransAtlantic Creative Exchange and Wanted Desing, the purpose lies in bringing industry professionals to showcase and converse about their products and materials, while also promoting exceptional American design internationally and giving the support these talented designers need to reach a wider audience.

In regards to the future, the co-founders disclosed that, “We made the decision of not growing our company in the sense of becoming this big thing with tons of employees, so what we want to do is keep doing what we are doing, just keep improving and doing better and finding new ideas to do it maybe a little different, but the foundations are really there, it is a matter keep doing what we do”. Growing their international network and moving more towards retails is also envisionments for the future.

Related Article: Transatlantic Creative Exchange Returns to Wanted Design in Brooklyn

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“The main focus when we continue to bring what is the most exciting things in the US and having dialogue with international brands and designers.” This becomes quite evident with the TransAtlanic Creative Exchange which consists of matching American designers with French manufacturers and French designers with American manufacturers in unique collaborations that would possibly never have taken place without this platform, and also with the Toronto OffSite Festival and the “Outside the Box” initiative that solidify the North American map in regards to design and forward thinking.

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Source: Wanted Design NYC