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Helsinki Design Week and Habitare join forces as creators of the future – aiming to offer one strong platform for design industry.

Helsinki Design Week and Habitare are joining forces and starting an extensive and long-term collaboration. The aim is to strengthen the design industry and to promote a dialogue between designers and companies in order to accelerate the growth and internationalisation of the industry. Helsinki Design Week will be held from 6 to 15 September 2024 and Habitare will be held from 11 to 15 September 2024. The starting point for the collaboration beginning this year is to strengthen and support the design industry and its actors, by providing one commercially strong platform for encounters and interaction between professionals and companies in the industry.

“When two strong players join forces, there are more opportunities to strengthen the design industry and promote the growth and internationalisation of its actors. Challenging times have shown that through extensive and strong collaboration within the industry, we are able to create growth and interest in the entire industry”, say Kari Korkman, founder and owner of Helsinki Design Week, and Tanja Pasila, business manager at Habitare.

Habitare as a trade fair and Helsinki Design Week as a city festival are among the largest design events in the Nordic countries and a perfect complementary match. In the autumn of 2024, Habitare will be one of the three main venues of Helsinki Design Week. Other main venues will be the historic bank building at Paasivuorenkatu 3 in Hakaniemi, and Marsio, the meeting place of Aalto University in Otaniemi, which will open in September.

In the Showrooms Habitare x Helsinki Design Week joint event companies will showcase their products and services to industry professionals and the general public in their exhibition spaces. The showrooms will host events under the concept Art Goes Showroom Habitare x Helsinki Design Week.  The collaboration also shows in a co-produced programme. The first part of the discussions around the Habitare theme of Layers and the Helsinki Design Week theme of Underneath will be held at Habitare’s themed exhibition on 11 September 2024, and the second part will be held at Paasivuorenkatu 3 on 12 September 2024.

The success of the Finnish design industry linked to the success of all Finnish companies

The success of the design industry is about more than the success of individual companies. Design in its various forms – from product design to architecture, service design and branding – matters to all companies. When the design industry thrives, Finnish companies thrive.

“The success of Finnish design has a wide impact that extends beyond the furniture and interior design sector to the demand for all Finnish products and services. Helsinki Design Week and Habitare join forces as makers of the future, to promote a dialogue between designers and manufacturing companies, to facilitate their access to international markets, and to share new success stories”, says Kari Korkman.

Founded by Korkman in 2005, Helsinki Design Week is the largest design and architecture festival in the Nordic countries, which, every year, presents the city from new perspectives. Held since 1970, Habitare is the largest furniture, design and interior decoration event in the Nordic countries.

“Both the design industry and the event industry are undergoing considerable changes, also internationally. By joining forces, we can offer more pull factors for international target groups. At the same time, we improve Finland’s international appeal and strengthen Helsinki’s role as a design city, as we enable new success stories through creative encounters”, says Tanja Pasila.