UMAGE is a Danish design company with a focus on creating durable furniture and lighting pieces. By combining aesthetics, simplicity and functionality and infusing it with thoughtful craftsmanship and environmental care, UMAGE’s focus is creating exquisite designs with a sustainable edge. The designs are flat-packed to optimise global logistics, minimise the carbon footprint and make the designs more accessible and affordable.
Interview with Caroline Nordholt, PR and Communications Coordinator at UMAGE.
Easy Engineering: A brief description of the company and its activities.
Caroline Nordholt: We are dedicated to being sensible frontrunners on environmental responsibility by providing timeless, lasting, and functional quality designs that are flexible, multifunctional and interchangeable.
The brand was established in 2008 by CEO Jacob Nannestad and Chief creative developer Søren Ravn Christensen. Today, UMAGE is present in over 1500 stores in more than 50 countries around the world.
E.E: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
C.N: Our main area is b2c sales. However, we’ve recently launched new designs that are perfect for the contract market as well.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
C.N: In the last year, we’ve expanded our furniture and lighting collection even further. Our latest news includes our 100% recycled textile Horizons, made from plastic waste – available for all our upholstered furniture pieces. Furthermore, we’ve expanded our lighting collection with portable lamps, wooden pendant lamps and mouth-blown glass lampshades.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
C.N: We offer a diverse selection of furniture and lighting designs to suit different needs, settings and homes. Our product range includes a collection of dining and lounge chairs, sofas, coffee and dining tables, as well as cabinets and other storage solutions. Our lighting collection features lampshades crafted from a variety of materials, such as oak, aluminium, and brass. We also offer an extensive selection of LED lamps, including ceiling lamps, portable lamps, pendant lamps, and table lamps.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
C.N: People are prioritizing time at home – a calm place to spend time with family and relax and rewind in a sometimes-hectic everyday life. We also see a trend in timeless designs made from durable materials that you can cherish for many years. To accommodate that, we are focused on not only creating designs that are made to last but also adding an interchangeable element to our designs, meaning that you can add new life to the design and your interior without having to buy an entirely new furniture piece, simply by changing the colours of the upholstery or the doors on your cabinet – saving the world resources.
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
C.N: In an effort to walk towards a more sustainable future, last year, we launched a brand-new line of fabric for our collection of upholstered furniture pieces – our Horizons fabric. The Horizons fabrics are 100% recycled and are recycled from plastic waste and reused for a new purpose in the design of furniture at UMAGE. The textiles are certified with Global Recycled Standard and STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®.