The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) has launched ‘REMAKE’, its maiden design collaboration with five Indian furniture designers. The project challenges the leading designer-makers to each select three pieces from their existing furniture range and to remake those using American hardwoods. This is the first design collaboration by AHEC involving Indian designers and it builds on prior initiatives, which have aimed at “creatively” promoting American hardwoods involving the likes of Zaha Hadid, David Adjaye, Matteo Thun, Sou Fujimoto, Norman Foster, and Paul Smith amongst others, AHEC said in a press release.
“Running an effective American hardwood promotion programme in India sometimes presents challenges due to the size of the market and the unorganised nature of much of the trade and industry. However, despite not being able to travel to India since the beginning of the year, AHEC has been able to remotely launch this exciting new project with five furniture manufacturers,” Roderick Wiles, AHEC regional director said. He added that the wealth of legally-harvested and sustainably-managed hardwoods that the United States has to offer is of increasing interest to India’s furniture manufacturers, as they seek to explore new materials, look for long-term alternatives to traditional furniture hardwoods and also widen their appeal to their intended markets, be they in India itself or overseas, he added.
“We are very excited, not only by the calibre of the designers involved in this project, but also by the fabulous pieces that we look forward to seeing in these versatile, yet less well-known American hardwood species. REMAKE will explore how these designers champion a beautiful and sustainable material – American hardwood – in a market that holds tremendous potential. Whilst we do not currently have any plans to hold a physical exhibition of the finished pieces from this project, we are certainly exploring suitable opportunities in the next 6-12 months. Looking ahead, we hope that this collaboration will inspire the next generation of furniture designers and help the Indian market discover the untapped potential of the US. hardwoods,” Wiles also added.
