AMMAN — For several years,
IKEA has been working
with social entrepreneurs to create a better everyday life through long-term
job opportunities and livelihood for vulnerable groups. For the coming
collection, IKEA reached out to local designers in Jordan, Thailand and India,
and together with social enterprises created LOKALT — a modern take on
traditional handicraft inspired by local traditions.
اضافة اعلان
According to a statement from IKEA, LOKALT is the result of
a collaboration with contemporary local designers from Amman, Delhi, Bangkok
and IKEA in-house designers. It is a vibrant collection of handmade textiles
and ceramics where local traditions meet traditional handicraft, produced by
social entrepreneurs in Jordan, Thailand and India. Every cushion cover, rug,
basket and bowl create equality, inclusion and livelihoods in regions where
it’s most needed.
“LOKALT is a collection with modern and expressive take on
traditional handicraft. It’s full of quirky details that tell stories from the
places where the products are actually made. The ceramics are giving a tribute
to the Thai way to serve food, there are glimpses of everyday life in Amman in
the home textiles and expressive shapes inspired by the Indian heritage in
cushion cover and rugs,” says Maria O’Brian, Creative leader at IKEA Range&
Supply.
The designers of LOKALT are the design duo Ploypan
Theerachai in India and Decha Archjananun based in Bangkok, Tania Haddad from
Amman, and IKEA in-house designer Akanksha Deo who is based in Delhi.
The social businesses partners contributing to the LOKALT
collection are
Jordan River Foundation in Jordan, Doi Tung in Thailand,
Industree in India and Diamond carpets female weavers in India, according to
the statement.
“Social enterprises around livelihoods are actually quite
rare, but those are the ones that need to be scaled. We have to engage with big
business, otherwise we are not able to see scale. We need the power of big
business behind us and that’s why the relationship with IKEA is crucial,” says
Neelam Chhiber, Managing Trustee, Industree Craft Foundation, India
“The collaboration focuses on mutual learning and building
on each other’s strengths. It’s about co-creating unique, affordable,
handcrafted products and merging IKEA design and local techniques,” the
statement said.
With the IKEA Social Entrepreneur initiative, IKEA has
developed products with artisans since 2013. Today so far, over 30 000 jobs
have been created for artisans and small farm holders – and the journey
continues, according to the statement.
LOKALT will be launched in 294 stores on 25 IKEA markets in
June 2021.
Read more
Business stories
.jpg)
.jpg)
