Join us for two inspiring panel discussions partnered with GLUE Amsterdam and SOLIDIFIED, tailored for designers who dream of pursuing independent work. Our engaging talks, moderated by FRAME, will provide invaluable insights on what it takes to make that dream a reality. We'll be talking with established designers who have successfully ventured into independent work.

Prepare to learn from their experiences, engage with the panelists, and connect with like-minded peers over drinks afterwards. Don't miss out on this opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and inspiration for your potential journey as an independent designer. Attendees will walk away with a complimentary copy of FRAME magazine. 

Both panels will be moderated by FRAME's Head of Digital, Lauren Grace Morris.

Details:

Date: Wednesday, 17 April
Time: From 15:00 – 17:00

Location: Exhibition space SOLIDIFIED | Isola Design District, Via Carlo Farini 35, 20159 Milan

RSVP here: solidified@thedots.nl

Panel 1: Solidifying Success

It takes more than just creative talent to solidify yourself in today’s ever-changing – and ever more challenging – design industry. To gain a firm foothold, it’s essential to have business sense – especially since the role of the designer has extended beyond conception to being involved in every step of a product’s journey, from production to distribution and promotion. In setting up an independent practice, what are the main challenges? How do you develop your own aesthetic while responding to market desires? How do you assess risks? How do you balance the economic viability of your practice with your creative ambitions? How do you design objects that address the consumer’s needs and their concerns? In other words, how do you ensure relevance? And when material is your main vocabulary, how do you navigate issues surrounding sustainability and supply chains? Sharing an entrepreneurial spirit, the exhibitors of the self-funded show SOLIDIFIED share their insights in a fuelling talk. 

Panelists:

• Rick Tegelaar
• Jesse Visser
• Umut Yamac
• Aleksandra Gaca

Panel 2: Crafting Collectibles

Most creative professions are fluid by nature, and it’s often on the fringes of different disciplines that true experimentation takes place. Designers, too, can choose to move freely between gallery work and industry or architect commissions. What are the benefits of working between disciplines? And if your designs lean more in the art direction, is it possible, or desirable, to maintain your own aesthetic language? What makes a design collectible? What values does it need beyond the functional? And how do you successfully present and market collectable design? FRAME sits down with the panelists take stock. 

Panelists:

• Rive Roshan
• Form Editions 
• Liv Vaisberg

Exhibition: SOLIDIFIED / origin and purpose

Matter can be in three states: solid, liquid and gas. The objects we use around us, that we live in and with, are usually made of solids. SOLIDIFIED exhibition celebrates real solidified materials. In the world that is rapidly transforming and becoming more digitalised, more elusive and unpredictable, SOLIDIFIED wants to celebrate 'realness' in order to offer a 'hold’.

The exhibition features objects and products where the materialisation and production method (the craft) are essential. Items that offer a counterbalance to a fleeting world. Tangible products that respond to and excite the senses. Innovative works with new inventions and applications not only leave the visitor amazed but also give the work meaning; meaningful manifestations.