There are IKEA: Signed things that changed our homes
Yesterday news came from Sweden: at the age of ninety-one, IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad died, a man whose company changed the furniture industry. Little is known about Kamprad: he openly admired the anti-Semite Per Engdalem, founded the company at the age of seventeen and later became one of the richest people in the world; while continuing to live exponentially modestly. It is thanks to IKEA far from Sweden that the very minimalist Scandinavian design was recognized and loved. Designers of the company have made beautiful affordable - the names of furniture brands are already inventing memes, and you can find things in interiors all over the world: from hospitals and offices to restaurants and ordinary apartments.
1963 - Furniture supermarket
In the early 60s, Kamprad decided to sell furniture on the principle of self-service, based on American supermarkets. In 1963, Kungens Kurva, the first IKEA store of this kind, opened in Stockholm; during the day several tens of thousands of people visited him. It was there that Kamprad guessed to let buyers into the warehouse, so that they would look for things on their own, otherwise the space could not withstand the influx of people. Since then, all IKEA points are arranged according to the principle of “take it all yourself” - this way is faster and more convenient.
1956 - Levbakken and Flatback
This mid-century modern coffee table model is more than fifty years old - in 1956, the current Levbakken was simply called “Levet”, which literally means “leaf”. It is thanks to him that the company made a real furniture revolution by inventing a flatback, that is, packing in a special flat manner. After designer Gillis Lundgren was indignant at the cost of transportation (it’s written in the company's manifesto - “we don’t like to transport air”), he suggested that the legs be unscrewed. Thus was born one of the fundamental concepts of the company: to invent furniture that is comfortable not only in everyday life, but also during transportation.
1978 - Poeng armchair and anti-stress
Poeng is one of the most famous chairs in the history of industrial design - and certainly the most popular in IKEA. A Japanese man, Noboru Nakamura, invented it, perhaps inspired by the base of the 406 Alvar Aalto’s chair; here, however, soft upholstery, not belts. Since the model was released in the 70s, the company has sold more than thirty million of these seats - for comparison, they would be enough to rest all Canadians. Nakamura wanted to make a rocking chair, which could move slightly under the weight of a person, for which he chose flexible bent plywood. He himself says that moving back and forth helps to relieve stress - for this he invented this thing.
1979 - Billy shelving and economy
According to the New York Times, every ten seconds in the world, the Billy rack is sold in the world - it's easy to guess that at such a pace it has long become the hottest product of the brand. He invented it all the same Gillis Lundgren, responsible for flat packaging. Why the shelf has conquered buyers, it is clear: the thing is going as a designer, so that you can constantly buy new “cubes” for it - and turning a wall, say, into a home library is easy. The Bloomberg edition even came up with the Bloomberg Billy Bookcase Index, an analogue of the Big Mac index, which allows you to compare prices from different countries. Following the "Billy" in the race is "Expedit" or its updated version of "Callax" - when the company announced the redesign of the rack with square cells, panic naturally began on the Internet.
1979 - Lakk table and honeycombs
It would seem that it could be easier - a square table with rectangular legs. But even if someone made such furniture before, it was the IKEA model that broke sales records: “Luck” along with “Poeng” and “Billy” are among the top three most popular things of the brand, and the craftsmen constantly invent new “hacks” with its participation. Behind a rustic shape and a sleek finish lies a cunning design trick: inside the table top there are special “honeycombs” that make it durable, but light. Invented a table, according to legend, the supplier of doors.
1996 - The Fractal Bag
Sometimes it seems that the “Fractal” blue-yellow shopping bags have always been with us - although in fact they only appeared in the nineties. They withstand up to twenty-five kilograms of weight and thousands of trips to the store (and all this is less than fifty rubles!) - They say that when IKEA first appeared in Russia, the first buyers did not want to part with them and took them home (not surprisingly). Fracta regularly inspires designers - from Balenciaga, who made her leather copy, to Colette and Hay, who reinterpreted the classic colors.
2012 - LED and Recycling
Saving resources for IKEA is not only a loud advertising move, but also an obligation, the implementation of which it monitors. So, a conscientious company has long abandoned conventional lamps and completely switched to LED lights - offices and shops also work on LEDs. The advantages of LEDs in their durability and efficiency: they use 85% less electricity than incandescent lamps, and can serve up to twenty years. The company plans to completely switch to renewable electricity and by 2020 produce as much electricity as it consumes in the course of work. In addition to everything, IKEA and the eponymous charitable foundation pledge to invest up to a billion euros in measures to combat climate change. There are other environmental initiatives: in December, the company launched a project for the processing of linen in Russia, and even earlier - a collection of used batteries.
2015 - Wireless Charging
I am tired of messing around with the wires to everyone - I have long wanted to enter a bright future and charge phones "wi-fay." IKEA, as usual, keeps its nose on the wind, so three years ago, at the annual Mobile World Congress exhibition, it showed a solution to the problem - furniture with built-in chargers; the company was the first among mass-market colleagues to take this step. Charging uses the popular QI standard and works on the principle of magnetic induction; even if you do not understand what it means, the main thing that is worth remembering is that it fits many devices. The tables, lamps and bedside tables, of course, must be connected to the outlet - but then you can simply put the phone in the place indicated by the plus and forget about everything.
2015 - Toys based on children's drawings
For many, the toys are almost the main reason to look into IKEA: surely you have a touching pig or broccoli at home, and the red heart-cushion "Famnig Yert" (which, by the way, was a woman) is strongly associated with the beginning of the IKEA era in Russia. But, perhaps, the best project of the store associated with toys - this is a collection based on children's drawings. In addition to the touching curvature, they also like the fact that all the proceeds from their sale go to charity - projects that help children around the world.
2019 - Sofa from space
IKEA will be the first to invent furniture based on NASA developments. A key component of the brand's DNA has always been a love of ergonomics, and who, if not space technicians, knows all about compactness. "In flight, life in a small space is a reality. Therefore, IKEA will use the discoveries of NASA scientists and engineers and apply them to create objects for living at home here on Earth," explains Ikea, creative director of IKEA. What items will be included in the collection is not yet known, but they should go on sale next year.
Photo:IKEA (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)