Printsource review from Studio Kelkka

Today on the blog, we have a review of Printsource Trade Show in New York from Studio Kelkka. This Finnish design studio of ten designers specialising in surface pattern design, share a common goal – to make the world a happier, more patterned and colourful place!

As first time exhibitors at Printsource we found it exciting to fly overseas to New York and see what is going on in the surface design market in the US. Being a huge market compared to our small Finland (with a population of about 65% of NYC alone) we had no idea what kind of response to expect.

Image: Designed by Nina Aalto/Emma Hagman/Pinja Laine – IKEA archive

Studio Kelkka has exhibited at Heimtextil in Germany several times, so preparing for the exhibition was luckily quite simple since we already have a functional concept for the booth that works for us. All preparations went smoothly and all arrangements from the Printsource organisers were well planned and carried out precisely. So, it was easy for us just to set up our booth and welcome our clients.

Image: Designed by Nina Aalto/Emma Hagman/Pinja Laine/Linda Svarfvar/Susanna Hoikkala/Salla Tervonen – IKEA archive

Alongside the Finnish chocolate we gave out, our designs were well received by our customers. Although some found our designs perhaps a bit too colourful and whimsical, we found that our style stood out and we got a lot of positive feedback. Studio Kelkka designs are mainly for home textiles, but we also got many comments that our designs would work well on apparel. Who knows, after this feedback, maybe we will think about expanding our collection some day?

Image: Designed by Kirsi Sundell – IKEA archive

It was nice to see that many of the exhibitors knew each other well from earlier shows. Everybody was very helpful and we felt like there was no competition amongst the exhibitors. We got some really helpful and valuable advice from the other exhibitors, which we were very grateful for. Printsource is a two-day event and this time the first day was a very busy one, but the second day much quieter. Despite that, we got a lot of interesting and valuable contacts.

Image: Designed by Emma Hagman – IKEA archive

Looking back, we enjoyed every second of our trip immensely. Carrying everything with us as baggage on the plane seemed like madness at the time, but we would absolutely do it again!

Image: Designed by Emma Hagman – Hemtex archives

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Studio Kelkka is a Finnish design studio specialising in pattern and surface design. Kelkka is a group of ten designers with a common goal – to make the world a happier, more patterned and colourful place! Our designs have spread all around the world through numerous international companies: Carrefour (FRA), Hemtex (SWE), IKEA (SWE), Harlequin Fabrics and Wallcoverings (UK), Kawashima Orimono Selkon (JPN), Kinnamark (SWE), Nitori (JPN), Richloom Fabrics Group (USA), Sangetsu (JPN), Senshukai/ Belle Maison (JPN), Tamurakoma (JPN), TJX Companies (USA) and Wallunica (DE).