The light gray daybed with magazine support "Pulse" signed by Noidoi design studio drew our attention when we walked in the Greenhouse pavilion of the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2014.
Interview with Cosmin Cioroiu
Why Norway?
The Romanian name quickly took us to the booth where we met one of the two founders of the Norwegian studio, the Romanian designer Cosmin Cioroiu.
In an attempt to see how hard it is for a young designer to enter the Scandinavian market, we looked for Noidoi and talked about their designs that are now in production and about to be launched on the market.
Interview with Cosmin Cioroiu
Why Norway?
After finishing our studies in Copenhagen at the The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts School of Design, we both had a common dream to start our own design studio.
After living in Denmark for several years we created a professional network within Scandinavia. That was very important for us when starting up Noidoi. Our studio is situated now North of Oslo close to the Olympic city Lillehammer. This is where Kathrine, the second part of Noidoi is from.
Which are the biggest challenges for a young designer in Scandinavia ?
Scandinavia has a long tradition within product and furniture design, making it a very competitive market for designers. The level of work is therefore very high.
No matter where you are in the world, I think it can be hard for a new graduate designer to enter the design market. It takes some time, a lot of commitment and a bit of luck to create a reputation and get noticed by the design community.
For us the biggest challenge as a newly established design studio, is to hold on to our common dream, Noidoi. In the beginning there is a lot of upfront investment from us, both financially and time wise, but we believe that it will eventually come back to us.
How is this effort compared to Romania?
It is a bit difficult for us to compare it. We guess it requires the same amount of dedication and hard work.
What collaborations did you have by now?
We are still new on the market and our products are due to enter the market this year. We started Noidoi one year ago.
Somehow, we’ve been lucky to have our products chosen and produced by different Scandinavian furniture and product manufactures.
At what events do you participate?
Last year our designs where chosen to be part of the 100% Norway exhibition at Tent London. It’s been great for us to be there. We received great press coverage for our designs and a good response from the public.
This year our design “On the Edge” has been selected to be part of an international exhibition called ″Indoor″, curated by the Royal Danish Academy, School of Design. The exhibition will travel first to Salone Satelite in Milano, London, Honk Kong and Stockholm. It is very important for Noidoi to participate at these events and be part of the international design community. It is where we find our further collaborators.
Do you have any collaborations with the Romanian market?
Unfortunately, at this moment we do not have any collaborations with the Romanian market. We hope this will change in the future.
Which are your most successful products?
Our products are due to enter the market during 2015. So far we received good reviews from the international press, manufactures and the large public.
Last year, our design “WalkON” has been awarded first prize by the Norwegian Design Council in the competition “Unge Talenter”.
Where do you produce them ?
At this moment Noidoi is not involved in production, but in the future we would like to be able to have our own small production. We love to work within different materials.
We have chosen to start the studio by collaborating first with established furniture and product manufacturers. The companies we are collaborating at this moment have a long tradition within product development. As a newly established design studio we think this is very important.
What are your personal aspirations for the Scanidinavian design ″arena″ - where and how would you like it to evolve?
We hope there will be a greater emphasize on the long lasting, timeless, aspect of the design products.
