To say that the capital company “NOOM” is an independent Ukrainian design brand with an export orientation is an understatement. It is super export-oriented, as 95 percent of its production is sold abroad. In fact, this circumstance saved the company from significant economic and business difficulties and losses suffered by some colleagues in the furniture association due to the war. However, the Russian aggression also affected it, as explained by the co-owner of the company, Katerina Sokolova, with its ominous wing: the production branch that the company had in the beleaguered city of Kharkiv had to be relocated to Lutsk.

Overall, the war had a much broader and deeper impact on the creative team of “NOOM” than the challenges faced by all domestic manufacturers. Significant shifts occurred in the philosophical and aesthetic thinking of the team. The past year became a year of not only difficult upheavals but also a year of rethinking design in accordance with the philosophical postulate of the genius Skovoroda, which states that simplicity is essential. From this, as a result of a brainstorming session, the corresponding collection of furniture called “Puriosity” was born, reflecting those feelings that were present in the team as a counterbalance to the war. Pure design is clear and perfect. Clean form, color, and function are combined in one interesting composition.

The exhibition consists of various items (such as the Gropius chair, Brandt and El Lighting coffee tables, and Suprematic vases), each with its own history and concept. Overall, the formal idea of this collection is based on the principles of modernism and suprematism, invented by the Ukrainian artist Kazimir Malevich, in order to eliminate everything excessive and unnecessary.

The “Puriosity” exhibition has already been successfully showcased at several international exhibitions, including the Milan Design Week 2022. Everywhere, the designers of “NOOM” and their leader and inspiration, Katerina Sokolova, aimed to convey their belief that functionalism and conciseness, the combination of design, art, and objects formed by the composition of simple geometric forms, remain relevant. The objects from “NOOM” bring a simple and understandable aesthetic that is especially needed in any space.

Equally creative is the furniture composition created by the company for participation in last year’s Barcelona Design Week. Tell me more about it.

– This is an example of how product design can metaphorically wear military attire. The “hero” of our show was the same Gropius chair, but with a different design – military. It was dressed in camouflage netting. By combining the design of a chair that was developed in peacetime with attributes of wartime, we sought to draw attention to the plight in which Ukraine finds itself.

The netting that covers the Gropius chair is woven in an original technique developed by volunteers from the VinnSolard center in Vinnytsia. Since the beginning of the war, all sports and fishing nets in the city had been bought up, so a local resident taught people how to weave them by hand. We brought this woven netting from Vinnytsia and in Kyiv, we attached fabric patches left over from our production to the base, which has over 4000 knots.

Thanks to its remarkable export potential, “NOOM” was able to reach pre-war production levels by the autumn of last year, something that many furniture manufacturers have unfortunately not been able to achieve yet. The only caution the company gave its customers at the beginning of the war was that delivery times specified in contracts might be delayed for objective reasons.

It is not appropriate to celebrate the dreadful past year for Ukraine, but it turned out to be surprisingly fruitful for the company “NOOM“. They participated in a record number of exhibitions as exhibitors and significantly expanded their export geography.