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Together with Zandra Rhodes, the British pattern and textile designer, IKEA is exploring how Zandra’s vibrant style and bold patterns can be designed in a home context. The result will be KARISMATISK, a collection of 26 unique and expressive pieces, which will be available at IKEA stores from September 2021. Today IKEA is revealing the first product from the collection, KARISMATISK carrier bag, inspired by the iconic FRAKTA bag and representing recognisable Zandra’s style. Using patterns and colour is an easy and affordable way to make a change or to express your personality at home. They can visually change the size of a room, affect the atmosphere, add fun, energy or even drama to your space. At IKEA we are curious to deep dive into the power of patterns and colour to transform space. And who better to do this together with than the bold and creative fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, who has been a notorious figurehead of the UK fashion industry for five decades?Together with Zandra, IKEA decided to explore how Zandra’s vibrant style and bold patterns can be designed in a home context. The result will be KARISMATISK, a collection of 26 unique and expressive pieces for those bravely mixing and matching colours and patterns and those still working up the courage to go full-pattern. The collection will be available at IKEA stores from September 2021.Zandra’s world of patterns and colour and the values she lives her life by inspired the IKEA team, who encouraged Zandra to be true to her very functional, thrifty, repurpose habits. Together with Zandra Rhodes, IKEA uses the five dimensions of Democratic design – form, function, quality, sustainability at an affordable price – to create expressive and functional pieces to be enjoyed and appreciated outside the context of commercial fashion. This exploration led to a deeper understanding of patterns and colour as powerful expressions of skill, personality, local culture, as well as their profound effects on people and spaces.“It is wonderful being able to go all out with both patterns and colours. Zandra is phenomenal at this, this simmering stew of bold patterns and bright colours that cooks up to something tantalising and beautiful. I want, like, all of it! I am impressed by the open and inviting way in which ideas and concepts are explored in this collaboration. It is a super democratic way of working, where all ideas are welcome, says Paulin Machado, IKEA in-house designer.“The IKEA team really get the Zandra Rhodes aesthetic, and because of this we just bounce off one another. The design process has been organic and genuine, and this is seen throughout the whole collection”, says Zandra Rhodes.The first product from the collection is KARISMATISK carrier bag, which is Zandra’s take on FRAKTA, the iconic blue IKEA bag. Like in all the products in the coming collection, fashion and function go hand in hand in it. This multifunctional bag is made from 80% recycled polyester, and has a bold and playful design with colour pop of pink adding an extra Zandra accent.“The FRAKTA bag is IKEA! The bag could not be left out of the KARISMATISK collection and I was so excited to have my take on one of the most famous and identifiable IKEA products,” says Zandra Rhodes.For more information visit: about.ikea.com/newsroom.

IKEA teams up with Republic of Gamers (ROG) to develop a new range of affordable gaming furniture and accessories to bring the gaming experience at home to a new level. The range consisting of about 30 products will be launched first in China in February 2021, and from October 2021 it will be available in other IKEA markets. Around one-fourth of global population (2.5 billion) are gamers[1], yet the needs of gaming lovers in terms of home furnishing have been so far overlooked. With the rapid growth of gaming market across the world and fast growing number of people playing, IKEA is curious about how home furnishing could improve gaming experience and life around it. Last year, teaming up with UNYQ and Area Academy, IKEA has started to explore the world of gaming, and now the company takes the next steps into it.Together with a new collaborating partner, Republic of Gamers, IKEA will launch the first series of products designed specifically for the gamers to bring the comfort of gaming experience to a new level.Republic of Gamers (ROG) is one of the leading brands in gaming industry, designing high quality, innovative hardware and gear for gamers. By teaming up with ROG, IKEA wants to combine home furnishing knowledge with ROG’s expertise in creating exceptional gaming experience. Together, we set out to help the many gamers (and their families) welcome gaming home through developing the new range of affordable and ergonomic gaming furniture & accessories, designed to increase performance while also blend in beautifully to homes.The new gaming range is developed in IKEA Product Development Centre in China, Shanghai. As a starting point for the product development process, IKEA and ROG designers and engineers had several workshops together with professional gamers and gaming lovers in Shanghai to explore home furnishing needs of gamers and identify the list of functions needed to secure a high quality gaming experience at home.Ewa Rychert, Global Business Leader of Workspace, says: “There are a lot of existing conventions about gaming which are often stereotypical or negative, for example, all the games are built on violence, gaming is asocial and it is predominantly a men’s activity. In fact, figures[2] show that gaming is among the most truly cross-demographic activities, and it can improve an individual's mental health and general well-being. It’s a source of relaxation, independence, fun; through gaming, people develop skills within problem solving, teamwork and communication. Playing games also provides a new way of connecting with others which has become even more important recently to feel connected remotely. We hope that the new gaming range will help to embrace and enable the benefits of gaming in life at home. ””ROG is thrilled to be partnering with IKEA to create the ultimate gaming lifestyle for gamers. Gamers have always dreamed of the perfect gaming space that is both comfortably functional and enables full immersion in games. With years of experience delivering innovative gaming solutions to gamers, ROG has a strong understanding of the gaming community. Together with IKEA as an expert in home furnishing, we envision that this collaboration will create synergies that empower gamers to build the gaming space they have always imagined in the comfort of their own homes,” says Kris Huang, General Manager of ASUS Gaming Gear and Accessory Business Unit. [1] NEWZOO GLOBAL GAMES MARKET REPORT 2020[2] ESA ESSENTIAL FACTS 2020; Male and Female Gamers: How Their Similarities and Differences Shape the Games Market, Newzoo Report 2017

To help protect the health and livelihoods of those affected by the pandemic, Inter IKEA Group initiated several initiatives during the spring. One initiative has been to use IKEAs supply chain infrastructure to produce personal protective equipment to secure a safe working environment for healthcare workers. The equipment has been delivered to local and global organizations to protect healthcare workers. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is one of the recipients.The Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact everyone. Around the world, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical care to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters, or exclusion from healthcare. Since the start of the pandemic, healthcare workers worldwide have struggled to find the personal protective equipment they need to protect their health. “Because of shortages of personal protective equipment during the spring, we reached out to IKEA since we had read that IKEA was repurposing some production lines at their suppliers. IKEA responded in a blink—literally after a few hours we started the collaboration,” explains Valentina Rosa, Deputy Director of Fundraising at MSF.Quality is one important factor for healthcare equipment. The requirements for the personal protective equipment, in this case, protective gowns, was set by specialists at MSF who were working closely together with the IKEA supplier to ensure the requested quality.  The protective gowns were produced by an IKEA supplier in Asia and have been delivered to MSF hubs in Europe for further distribution. Today, millions of protective gowns are being shipped to all of MSF’s mission countries to protect the healthcare workers in their daily work. “We have made a long-term promise, even now in this special situation, to stand by the many and we will continue to do our part to create a better everyday life for the many people. We are proud to have been given the opportunity to contribute to the important work that Médecins Sans Frontières healthcare workers are doing under these extraordinary circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Henrik Elm, Global Supply Chain Manager, IKEA Supply AG.  

[August 27, 2020] Today, IKEA of Sweden AB and the LEGO Group reveal the long-awaited outcome of their collaboration. The two brands have joined forces to create a playful storage solution called BYGGLEK. Consisting of a series of storage boxes with LEGO® studs and a special LEGO brick set, the new BYGGLEK collection aims to encourage play and infuse more fun into storage around the home. The BYGGLEK collection will start to be available in existing IKEA retail channels throughout Europe (except Russia) and North America from October 1. The global roll-out will happen in 2020. (Check online for local availability).With a strong belief that play makes both the home and the world a better place, IKEA of Sweden AB and the LEGO Group set out to remove barriers to play in daily life, whilst creating a practical yet playful experience that children and adults could enjoy together.Play is the most intuitive and powerful way for children to learn and grow. However, children and adults sometimes have different views when it comes to play and creativity at home. Where adults often have a need to create structure and organize, children see a stimulating and creative environment in which they naturally want to play, pause and then replay.*In tidying up and reorganizing children’s creative space during playtime, we not only disrupt their play but also their creative expression and growth. Therefore, we wanted to create a storage solution that itself offers a fun playful experience. As the BYGGLEK boxes are equipped with LEGO studs on the top and the front, kids can integrate the storage boxes as part of their LEGO builds. They can store their stories inside them, and proudly display their creations on top of them. “At IKEA, we always believe in the power of play. Play lets us explore, experiment, dream and discover.” said Andreas Fredriksson, designer at IKEA of Sweden, “Where adults often see mess, children see a stimulating creative environment, and BYGGLEK will help bridge the gap between these two views to ensure more creative play in homes around the world. Plus, the BYGGLEK collection match perfectly with other IKEA products, making it possible to have your children’s creativity becoming a nice and unique piece of decoration at home.”Speaking about the creative solution Rasmus Buch Løgstrup, designer at the LEGO Group said “BYGGLEK is more than boxes. It is storage and play intertwined. BYGGLEK provides families with a product range that helps create space for more play in their everyday - fuelling creativity, making it possible to have more fun together. It’s a possibility to play, display the cool creations and return to it to replay, remake, recreate or start over. BYGGLEK is all about endless possibilities, just like the LEGO System in Play.”The BYGGLEK range consists of 4 different products – one set of 3 small boxes, and two sets of bigger boxes and one set of LEGO bricks to kick-start the playful experience. BYGGLEK can be used with any existing and future LEGO elements, as the studs used on the lid and front are part of the LEGO system in play. The LEGO System in play enables children to build and rebuild their own stories and through this process develop essential 21st century skills – with BYGGLEK we hope to extend the LEGO play experience in providing fun creative storage solutions that are just as playable as they are functional.  * In the IKEA Play Report, IKEA asked children what they want and 47% of them said that they want more playtime with their parents. At the same time 90% of the asked parents believe play is essential to wellbeing and happiness, building on to the belief that play is important. In the LEGO Play Well Study 2020, parents recognise the importance of letting kids play, well the way kids play. With 8 in 10 admitting messy play makes children feel free and helps develop their creativity (85%). Yet, 1 in 2 parents worry about their child making a mess when playing and feel a compulsion to tidy up around their kids even while their child is still playing (51%). 9 in 10 children confirm this reality, saying their parents tell them to tidy up while they are still playing (90%).