Shaping change courageously - Talents at Ambiente 2023

How can we stylishly shape society, life and consumption? The Ambiente Talents 2023 seek and find their answers to the challenges of future-oriented product design that retains its value. Through innovative ideas and unbiased perspectives, they set new accents.

"Design makes an important contribution to solving the great challenges of our time. Intelligent and at the same time emotional design with a sense of purpose and a message - long-lasting and recyclable - is more important than ever. With our Talents programme, selected designers have the chance to present their individual approaches on a prominent platform in the direct competitive environment, to send messages and to network internationally," says Julia Uherek, Vice President Consumer Goods Fairs.

Interior Design: Sustainable, smart & soulful

Thinking lifestyles and consumption in a new way while proving to be courageous: A total of 22 participants will present themselves with strong conceptual approaches and market-ready product ideas in the Living Area (Hall 3.1) of Talents 2023. The primarily environmentally conscious approaches of the international design talents also promote new solutions for interior concepts - more sustainable, more functional and also more emotional.

Design and nature in their purest combination: The collection "Fluktuation" by the German designer Felicithas Arndt consists of unique pieces that are freely formed by hand from stoneware and porcelain and finished with a surface structure. The individual objects are both works of art and utilitarian objects, blurring the line between art and design object. "Their use reminds us of our connection to nature - that everything we use comes from nature. Natural material is taken from nature by human hands and transformed into something that looks natural again. Humans are the transforming force here and are again at the centre of this creative process, although nature and its structures are themselves represented," says the young designer.

Kim André Lange shows mindful, experiential design with the SurfBench project, an interactive waiting bench. Three quarters of life consists of waiting, for example in public waiting areas - places where people experience time. With the aim of making everyday life more pleasant, the designer from southern Germany created the interactive piece of furniture for waiting rooms. The bench consists of movable wood and steel elements that change their shape into a kind of dynamic wave through active interaction. A sensory experience that engages our minds and educates us about physics along the way. Through visual, sensory experience and modern usability, Kim André Lange wants to achieve pleasure. With his work, he raises awareness of the beauty of our planet and is convinced that sustainability is an integral part of design.

Technology and intuition - mechanical and intuitive design: a duality whose interplay awakens emotions and opens the eye to the possibilities of colours, materials, forms and functions. In "The Light Charmer", designer Amy Lewis uses the qualities of combined materials with the help of the Japanese weaving technique Kumihimo. The freedom of hand weaving allows for the creation of truly unique pieces: Through specific selection of colour, texture and composition, materials are transformed into individual design objects. Light is used as a further design element of the art of weaving - and thus brings lightness, clarity and movement into rooms. Amy Lewis' Japanese roots enable her to combine British values with Japanese ones and to tell stories that interweave past, present and future. The contemporary interpretation of traditional textile crafts opens up ways to reuse materials. 

Tableware & Accessories: Pioneering work with radical materials

Back to nature - this also seems to be the overarching theme of this year's Talents in Hall 12.1. A total of 10 participants will present 2023 Tableware & Accessories treasures, which, through new and rediscovered materials as well as familiar elements in new contexts, broaden the view for the undiscovered

The project "Biophilia - Migration of Matter" is the result of the connection between nature, biodiversity, digital technology and the collaboration of two artists, Cindy Valdez and Nicholas Perillo. “Biophilia” is a collection of unique 3D-printed artefacts - a tribute to the infinite and indispensable diversity of living organisms on our planet. The Migration of Matter project is not only a series of objects to be admired and used, but above all reflects the intention of its designer: to raise awareness of the importance of biodiversity. "Times are changing and it is time to give our biodiversity the importance it deserves" is the message of Migration of Matter.

Inspired by the beauty and diversity of Finnish nature, especially the element water, designer and glassblower Saara Korppi from Finland creates handmade unique glass pieces that look interesting from every angle.
The playful 30s Cognac and wine glasses as well as the Wildwild Twist Bowl were made from recycled glass using old glassblowing techniques. The 30s Cognac Glass captivates with an intelligent design and allows light to reflect in a fascinating way in interaction with water. The name and the idea of the design mirrors the nuances of ageing and evokes the tradition of an improved quality of ageing cognac. The Wildwild Twist Bowl is three-dimensional - its unusual shape creates exciting light reflections. On the rim of the bowl are coloured air filigree, which set visible colour accents from the outside as well as from the inside. They sparkle like small diamonds in the sun and create shimmering plays of light and colour on the base.

Pei-An Lin researches the effects of global climate change on marine ecosystems and human society. The designer from Taiwan is particularly concerned with the question of how we can regenerate raw materials and live sustainably. With the REEF project, she presents a unique concept: the beauty in the asymmetry of natural objects that become decorative design objects. REEF imitates reefs in the sea - made of a collection of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Fish scales as remnants of aquaculture shape flower-like corals. Depending on the firing temperature, different shades of colour are produced. Pei-An uses local clay and biomineral in its ceramic production to represent the conscious moments of life.