What you didn’t know about IKEA
You may think that you have IKEA all figured out but it turns out there’s more to the Swedish juggernaut than meatballs and ‘Billy’ bookcases. Our editor-in-chief Claire headed to IKEA HQ for an access-all-areas tour
January is here, which means households the world over are making plans to start fresh, get organised and never go back to old bad habits. It also means an inordinate number of trips to IKEA, a colossus at the forefront of helping the world find the perfect container/sofa/drawer divider, albeit through a meandering one-way path. So with that in mind, it seemed like a good time to share some of the things you might not know about one of Sweden’s largest exports.
A trip to IKEA HQ in Älmhult was an eye-opener, even for me, someone who’s been lucky enough to work closely with IKEA over the years. I mean it’s that company that somehow makes cheap flat-pack simple, right? I’ve always been fascinated by a company that’s able to reinvent itself without changing its core values, and after a couple of days immersed in the little town that is pretty much the epicentre of the business, I learnt a lot.
HERE ARE 5 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT THE HOME OF THE ALLEN KEY
1 IT WANTS TO KNOW HOW WE ALL LIVE The Democratic Design program is at the core of the IKEA business, and that’s why I was there. It kicks off with annual research that tries to properly understand what consumers now want. In doing this, IKEA has become a really interesting tracker of changing home trends – including the habits of the people who live in them. For example, in the most recent survey of more than 12,000 people in 12 countries, 42 per cent of people said they felt more at home outside their place of residence… What does that even mean? Regardless, the business takes those details and uses them to inform the five democratic design principles that all new products must clear: form, function, quality, sustainability and low price.
On top of the million interesting stats about how homes are changing, I learn about exciting new collaborations, including one with Tom Dixon and another with Hay. While Tom was a little vague about the process and the eventual collaborative range – it now looks as if it’ll be a seating collection – Mette and Rolf Hay were excited about working with IKEA, especially the redesign of the iconic blue-and-yellow bag. Yep, they’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and, to be honest, so have I. It’s pretty great to get a proper look behind the scenes of this epic business that prides itself on price, based on ‘not shipping air’ (part of the flat-pack philosophy is minimising the amount of air in a package, since it adds to the overall cost of the product) and being harder on its own designs than any consumer could ever be.
2 IT MAKES HOMES!
The IKEA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Swedish behemoth and it’s doing some cool stuff. My favourite concept was the ‘What is home if you don’t have one?’ project, targeting the refugee crisis. According to the foundation, in many cases, refugees are given a four-man tent, not made for extreme weather conditions, which costs approximately US$600 to make and lasts six to eight months on average. The tents require families to sleep in extremely close quarters, and do not replicate a home experience.
The Foundation has created a ‘home unit’ made of galvanised steel and polyolefin panels, which costs approximately US$1250 to create, lasts three years but, most importantly, gives families the chance to feel safe and live with dignity. The freestanding structure has a lockable front door, solar-powered light, is standing height, can be divided with fabric curtains to create privacy, and protects against weather conditions.
3 IT HAS ITS VERY OWN MUSEUM
The IKEA Museum is built on the site of the very first IKEA store in Älmhult, which was opened in 1958 by founder Ingvar Kamprad (who sold all manner of necessities including matches, pencils and pens in his tiny Swedish village before creating the iconic furniture brand). The museum is a tribute to the ‘IK’ element of IKEA, as well as the changing face of homes. With full-size room sets highlighting each of the decades the brand has been around, each space exactly replicates your memories of the time. Lots of bold colour in the ’80s, awkward use of wrought-iron framework and pattern in the ’90s – but even better, the very first flat-pack shelving unit that looks more like a beautiful piece of mid-century Scandi design. You might not make a special trip to Älmhult just for the museum, but if you’re in the area, design nerds will enjoy a pit stop.
4 YOU CAN STAY IN A STORE
Almost… There’s an IKEA hotel. Complete with allen keys for door handles and all the meatballs you can eat, the hotel feels like you’ve set up shop in one of the living areas in your nearest store.
5 THE CATALOGUE IS A MAJOR PRODUCTION
The studio where that doorstop catalogue is created is epic – and not just from my skewed media perspective. There were 70 different versions created for the 2017 lookbook, which is fine-tuned for each market right down to the kind of light found in each location (hot and strong for Australia), as well as the view you’d find outside – think fir trees in Canada and snow-capped mountains in Japan.
At any one time, there are builders installing and un-installing light fittings and putting together furniture to shoot, and even they seem to get frustrated occasionally – phew! Claire travelled to Älmhult as guest of IKEA. Visit ikea.com.au.