Russian strikes have not stopped Ukrainian design. This year’s ukrainian design week, formally the Ukrainian Design and Innovation Week, went ahead in Kyiv, and its founders have named the exhibitors who kept making furniture and lighting through the war.
Ukrainian makers keep working through danger, and photographers have documented that same spirit far from the front lines. Photographers Find Ukrainian Resilience in Icelandic Glaciers offers a quieter look at endurance, worth a click for its striking imagery.
Anatolii and Kateryna Roskovshenko, who run the event, put the working conditions bluntly. “The reality of operating in Ukraine remains extremely challenging,” they told Dezeen.
Operating under bombardment
Ukraine has faced constant Russian bombardment for more than four years. Recent months have been especially deadly for civilians, according to Human rights group Amnesty International.
Manufacturers feel the strain in daily work. The Roskovshenkos cited air raid alerts, power cuts, disrupted logistics, rising costs and damaged production sites as routine problems. Several major Ukrainian furniture makers have had factories and warehouses hit by Russian strikes.
Businesses often change schedules at short notice. Some have scaled back, and others have paused projects altogether.
A week that adapted
The event ran in Kyiv from 5 to 11 October. Its flagship Design Hall brought together 200 Ukrainian brands working across interiors, furniture, decor, lighting and product design. Thousands of visitors attended.
The ukrainian design week joined the international community of World Design Weeks in 2023. Organizers reshaped the programme to keep people safe. During the event, attacks on Kyiv interrupted electricity and water supplies.
Several planned events were cancelled for security reasons. Some furniture brands could not take part after earlier attacks on their facilities. The ukrainian design week team moved Design Hall entirely indoors and rebuilt the schedule around that change.
“Yet the commitment of the design community remains strong,” the couple said. Thousands of people visited Design Hall, and hundreds of designers, manufacturers and creative professionals used the week to swap ideas and make contacts.
Why ukrainian design week matters now
The founders say brands are testing new materials, rethinking production and finding new ways to reach buyers. Collaboration now shapes how the industry works, they added.
New Ukrainian labels continue to launch, even as established firms struggle. The founders called this the most encouraging sign. Over seven seasons of ukrainian design week, they have watched brands grow more confident in their identity and more willing to find niches of their own.
The founders’ picks follow.
Juniper
Juniper blends traditional Carpathian craftsmanship with contemporary design. It works with natural materials, including sheep’s wool and wood. For a collaboration with KredoBank, the brand made four wall panels inspired by Ukraine’s landscapes. Handmade techniques and natural textures carry the character of those places into modern interiors.
Kint x Gushka
Gushka is a studio that weaves woollen pieces by hand on traditional looms. Its wool comes from sheep that graze freely on the Carpathian slopes. Kint is a Kyiv-based furniture and object design brand that makes original pieces for homes and commercial spaces.
The two studios began their first collaboration in 2024. The result is a limited-edition series of armchairs that reworks Kint’s signature design in Carpathian wool. Each chair comes in one of two finishes. Stranded has hand-applied wool strands layered over a smooth base. Brushed is hand-combed and woven with a smooth technique, which gives it a softer feel.
Hand-woven wool and traditional looms are central to several exhibitors’ work, and the craft tradition behind them has a parallel in floor coverings. Rug Designs Blending Historical Craft With Modern Techniques shows how old methods can shape contemporary interiors.
KosKa
KosKa works with biomass made from recycled paper. Founder Kateryna Kostevych shapes every object by hand. Her practice tests sustainable materials and balances tactile surfaces with contemporary form and function.
The featured objects are Trypillian Bull, a new take on ancient Trypillian ceramic figurines, and two lamps, Hat and Bright Eye.
Tiini
Tiini makes lighting, furniture and accessories where tradition meets modern design. The brand gives new life to authentic crafts. It uses the qualities of each material and how that material interacts with light.
Venko
Venko is a design and production workshop founded in 2014 in Radyvyliv. It makes three-dimensional wooden wall panels and decorative pieces. The workshop focuses on texture and the expressive qualities of natural wood.
Yalanzhi Objects
Yuliia and Yevhen Melnychenko founded Yalanzhi Objects in 2019. The brand treats light as an artistic medium that shapes a space, sets its rhythm and creates an emotional focal point.
Many pieces use Zemletsvit, the brand’s own biocomposite. It has earthy tones, tactile surfaces and a clearly handmade quality. The studio combines contemporary design language, sculptural forms and a close connection to Ukrainian culture.
Taken together, the exhibitors show where Ukrainian design is heading. Makers are working with local wool, wood, recycled paper and biocomposites. They do it while rebuilding production around air raids and power cuts.
Source: dezeen.com
Frequently asked questions
When and where did the Ukrainian Design and Innovation Week take place?
The event ran in Kyiv from 5 to 11 October. Organizers describe it as formally the Ukrainian Design and Innovation Week, also known as ukrainian design week.
How many brands exhibited at the Design Hall during the week?
The flagship Design Hall brought together 200 Ukrainian brands working across interiors, furniture, decor, lighting and product design. Thousands of visitors attended.
How did organizers adjust the design week because of security risks?
The team moved the Design Hall entirely indoors and rebuilt the schedule around that change. Several planned events were cancelled for security reasons, and some furniture brands could not take part after earlier attacks on their facilities.
What daily problems do Ukrainian furniture manufacturers face during the war?
Manufacturers cite air raid alerts, power cuts, disrupted logistics, rising costs and damaged production sites as routine problems. Several major Ukrainian furniture makers have had factories and warehouses hit by Russian strikes.
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