As part of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the EU since July 2017, the Association of Estonian Designers opens the exhibition “Size Doesn’t Matter” in London. The traveling exhibition, which has been exhibited in Brussels, Tallinn, Vienna, Stockholm and Caen since 2014, showcases the best works of current Estonian designers and is curated by the president of the Association of Estonian Designers Ilona Gurjanova. In this blog post, Ms. Gurjanova talks about what Estonian design is, what developments and issues there are currently in the Estonian design landscape and how she sees the future of product design.
Estonian design = Nordic design?
Ilona Gurjanova believes that Estonian design has now developed its own face: «The Nordic design language is in our blood, so to speak, but I also think we have become more self-confident when it comes to design. Sometimes we smile at Finnish design, which is so perfect that it becomes boring. Finns look at us with envy because we have a fresh touch, we are artistically imperfect and we look sexy.»
Foreign experts believe that Estonian design is strongly linked to Nordic nature. According to an American author who wrote a book on Estonian design entitled “Forests and the Sea”, this was supposed to be the title. Because all the Estonian designers he interviewed about the book mentioned walking or picking mushrooms in the forest as their favorite pastime. «This is perhaps what we don’t realize: we are a natural people and it is a characteristic feature of our products that they use many natural materials. More and more often they are made from production waste. Closeness to nature is obviously one of the characteristics of Estonian design.»
Design as Business
Today in Estonia there are many small and large brands, most of which have one or two employees. They themselves are responsible for all processes: designing a product, finding manufacturers, negotiating costs with them, marketing the finished product… «But we also have examples like the leather accessories manufacturer Stella Soomlais, which employed 14 people in four years. When we talk about how big companies should hire more designers for the development of their products, then it is very one-sided. Small designer labels are the real pillars of the creative economy,» says Gurjanova. He points out that they commission manufacturers to produce on their own initiative. However, small design companies are not perceived as businesses and have difficulty receiving financial support. «Our politicians and people are enthusiastic about Estonian start-ups like Skype, Transferwise or Taxify, but even small brands are actually start-ups. We often forget this. In England, for example, the turnover generated by creatives has grown by 10% in recent years! A million people have been employed in this sector and we are still discussing how we could welcome more designers into large companies. Would we rather not support designers who have founded their own small companies?»
As with other start-ups, the biggest problem for design start-ups in Estonia is finding an investor or manufacturer. Difficulties arise when more orders arrive than you can produce. Another problem in the production issue is the fact that many designers order raw materials from other EU countries to ensure quality. This makes the products expensive and highlights the shortcomings of the Estonian industry.
According to Gurjanova, Design House Stockholm has developed the perfect model for healthy development of the creative industry: buy the product license from the designer, find a manufacturer and look for retailers, market the products himself, and the designer can focus on developing his next products. The Association of Estonian Designers is also looking for foreign companies that, under certain conditions, will license Estonian design products or want to distribute them. “I asked local designers how much time they spend on creative work in percentage terms, it’s only about 20-30% of their working time, which is actually a shame.”
Far from mass production
Increasing production is not the goal of all designers in Estonia: for many, design is a lifestyle and they don’t want to go big. «We have many designers who have more orders than they can process. They consciously avoid mass production by doing everything themselves,» explains Gurjanova. He believes the world is increasingly moving away from mass production towards customized products. “There is no need for large supplies, people are starting to get used to longer waiting times.” If it is a good product, made in close collaboration with the customer, who can individually choose the color, etc., then the customer is willing to wait for his order. «Estonian Kaspar Paas produces shoes for a company in England and has also worked for celebrities such as Prince Charles and Tom Cruise. They bring him their old shoes, for example grandfather’s heirlooms, where some stitches need to be replaced. And they wait patiently for six months for these shoes,» Gurjanova gives an example.
Finally, the president of the Association of Estonian Designers would like to see a place for design policy in the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs again. «Design lies on the border between economy and culture: we have a person in charge at the Ministry of Culture, but not at the Ministry of Economy. But design can also significantly advance the economy. After all, it is good that the main customer of our local design is the public sector.
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