Livintwist: A Breath of Fresh Air in High-End Outdoor Décor
The Hong Kong-based furniture line is pushing boundaries to reach its goals, one bold twist at a time.
Livintwist – Manhattan
Livintwist was born as a fusion of two brands in 2017, but it soon found its authentic voice and personality.
The next-generation brand didn’t need much time to garner international recognition—especially after its debut at several international design exhibitions, including Milan’s Fuorisalone and New York’s ICFF. Introducing its vibrant furniture pieces and breakthrough self-developed silicon rope material, Livintwist quickly gained a reputation as a breath of fresh air in high-end furniture and outdoor décor.
With its distributors now spreading across the world, Livintwist truly is on the fast track to reaching all corners of the global map. “We have established authorized dealers in almost every European country as well as the Middle East, US, Australia, Malaysia, and many more,” says founder Jacky Cheung in an interview with Design Dome.
Livintwist – Manhattan
Livintwist was born as a fusion of two brands in 2017, but it soon found its authentic voice and personality.
The next-generation brand didn’t need much time to garner international recognition—especially after its debut at several international design exhibitions, including Milan’s Fuorisalone and New York’s ICFF. Introducing its vibrant furniture pieces and breakthrough self-developed silicon rope material, Livintwist quickly gained a reputation as a breath of fresh air in high-end furniture and outdoor décor.
With its distributors now spreading across the world, Livintwist truly is on the fast track to reaching all corners of the global map. “We have established authorized dealers in almost every European country as well as the Middle East, US, Australia, Malaysia, and many more,” says founder Jacky Cheung in an interview with Design Dome.
It was the Manhattan, according to Cheung, that kicked off Livintwist’s independent journey. Assembled individually, each with its own unique color profile, the bold dining table collection is an ode to the grand city. Distinct from anything on the market today, “it encapsulates the hyper-modern urban lifestyle, embodies the energy and creativity of a modern metropolis, and perfectly reflects the iconic ‘histogram’ skyline of New York City,” he explains.
Since then, Livintwist has constantly strived to balance a multitude of cultures and inspirations through a continuous research and integration process. As its designs continue to evolve, each collection holds high importance and stays connected with the brand’s identity and vision—one that encompasses simplicity, vibrant colors, and high-quality materials—and the Livintwist catalogue reflects just that.
Atop the aesthetic and practical qualities, the catalogue embodies Livintwist’s efforts toward environmental responsibility. With the goal of putting sustainability at the core, the brand’s innovative nature takes it beyond the use of recyclable materials and into experimenting with technology to leverage recycled sources.
“A very important passion for us is to understand how sustainability might affect our production process and how our products can eventually be reused or recycled at the end of their lifecycle,” shares Cheung. “We are working on a few projects with qualified suppliers on other materials that can serve our sustainability goals.”
Livintwist – Manhattan
It was the Manhattan, according to Cheung, that kicked off Livintwist’s independent journey. Assembled individually, each with its own unique color profile, the bold dining table collection is an ode to the grand city. Distinct from anything on the market today, “it encapsulates the hyper-modern urban lifestyle, embodies the energy and creativity of a modern metropolis, and perfectly reflects the iconic ‘histogram’ skyline of New York City,” he explains.
Since then, Livintwist has constantly strived to balance a multitude of cultures and inspirations through a continuous research and integration process. As its designs continue to evolve, each collection holds high importance and stays connected with the brand’s identity and vision—one that encompasses simplicity, vibrant colors, and high-quality materials—and the Livintwist catalogue reflects just that.
Livintwist – Manhattan
Atop the aesthetic and practical qualities, the catalogue embodies Livintwist’s efforts toward environmental responsibility. With the goal of putting sustainability at the core, the brand’s innovative nature takes it beyond the use of recyclable materials and into experimenting with technology to leverage recycled sources.
“A very important passion for us is to understand how sustainability might affect our production process and how our products can eventually be reused or recycled at the end of their lifecycle,” shares Cheung. “We are working on a few projects with qualified suppliers on other materials that can serve our sustainability goals.”
We are a young brand, but we're willing to push the boundaries and limits of the industry, to study and research, to keep improving on every aspect until we achieve our mission in full.
Ongoing and Upcoming Projects
Livintwist will feature two of its new collections, the Scala and the Flo, during Shenzhen’s 2022 Design Dome exhibition. “Both of them explore color and rope weaving as a production technique. While the Scala has a more classical approach, the Flo is directly inspired by the magical world of flowers,” offers Cheung.
Some of Livintwist’s other projects this year involve exciting collaborations with talented Chinese designers. Having just wrapped up its work with Shi Tianyi for Material_S, an avant-garde project focusing on materials exploration, the brand is currently working with Frank Chou and Jinghua Zeng on products underway for an anticipated launch next year.
“It was delightful working with Shi Tianyi. She’s such a talent, and I think she has the potential to become one of the greats,” shares Cheung. “[Chou and Zeng] have great personal vision as well as originality, and we really look forward to the creations in 2023.”
Livintwist will feature two of its new collections, the Scala and the Flo, during Shenzhen’s 2022 Design Dome exhibition. “Both of them explore color and rope weaving as a production technique. While the Scala has a more classical approach, the Flo is directly inspired by the magical world of flowers,” offers Cheung.
Some of Livintwist’s other projects this year involve exciting collaborations with talented Chinese designers. Having just wrapped up its work with Shi Tianyi for Material_S, an avant-garde project focusing on materials exploration, the brand is currently working with Frank Chou and Jinghua Zeng on products underway for an anticipated launch next year.
“It was delightful working with Shi Tianyi. She’s such a talent, and I think she has the potential to become one of the greats,” shares Cheung. “[Chou and Zeng] have great personal vision as well as originality, and we really look forward to the creations in 2023.”
What was the vision behind establishing Livintwist in 2017?
LIVINTWIST was formed by the fusion of two different brands created in 2017: Artiture and Twist. Artiture represented the combination of art and furniture, and this was exactly the idea behind the brand, to conceive furniture as pieces of art. At the same time, Twist had a different mission: bringing a new and unconventional point of view to the outdoor furniture market with vibrant creations and dynamic designs.
Through meticulous exploration, experimentation, and dedication, we arrived at a desire to combine the two approaches into a single unique vision, encompassing simplicity, vibrant colors, and high-quality materials.
We are a young brand, but we are willing to push the boundaries and limits of the industry, to study and research, to keep improving on every aspect until we achieve our mission in full.
To how many countries has Livintwist expanded since then, and what would you consider the biggest milestones?
We have established authorized dealers in almost every European country as well as the Middle East, US, Australia, Malaysia, and many more.
Our inaugural participation at Fuorisalone 2022 marks a major milestone for our company and validates our ambition to be a truly international brand and company.
Livintwist released numerous unique and distinctive collections within the past five years. Which one do you feel most captures the brand’s spirit, and which one do you feel is the most important?
We believe each collection has something deeply connected with our identity and vision in design and lifestyle.
We believe design is a continuous process of research and integration across a multitude of cultures and inspirations. Our collections are constantly evolving, striving to find a good balance within those sources.
If I had to choose one item out of our collections, I would probably select the Manhattan dining table. It encapsulates the hyper-modern urban lifestyle, embodies the energy and creativity of a modern metropolis, and perfectly reflects the iconic “histogram” skyline of New York City. It is also different from anything else on the market and—most importantly—the one that started our journey as an independent brand. Further, the Manhattan piece is unique, assembled individually with its own distinct color profile, configured to reflect the diversity of a vibrant city and its residents.
Could you share more about the silicon roping material used for the Livintwist products, as well as the creative process behind it? What distinguishes the material from conventional silicone products?
It took us two years to develop and refine our weatherproof silicon rope before we patented our formula. Traditionally, silicon is a common material used in many industries, but furniture isn’t one of them because problems of color fade and gradual erosion. It took us multiple attempts to get it to the right durability while maintaining its warm and soft tactile texture.
Who are Livintwist's designers in terms of characteristics or personality? What are the qualities that the brand looks for in a designer?
Livintwist looks for open-minded creative minds who love combining different ideas, cultural backgrounds, techniques, materials. We see the creative process as a place where ideas become not just new inanimate products but living pieces that add wonder to the lifestyle of people.
Livintwist mentions being inspired by its customers' passion, spirit, and joy—things that many of us might have had to dig deeper to find during the past years. While the pandemic has no doubt affected business operations around the world, has it in any way influenced Livintwist's creative work?
The pandemic has influenced all our lives and the way we look at the world we live in. It has not been something that simply affected business. It pushed ourselves to look deeply into ourselves and to ask again a few very important questions: who we are, where we want to go and—above all—what are the most important things in our lives.
In this, we believe the most important element in our life now is time. Quality time. Time we spend with the people we love the most: friends, family. Time we usually have to spend at work and fulfilling our duties.
Livintwist wants to make every moment special, upgrading outdoor stages such as terraces and gardens into special scenarios.
As a brand on a journey toward putting sustainability at its core, would you mind sharing the steps Livintwist has taken and its plans to get there?
A very important passion for us is to understand is how sustainability might affect our production process and how our products can be eventually reused or recycled at the end of their lifecycle. We started with silicon, and we are working on a few projects with qualified suppliers on other materials that can serve our sustainability goals.
We're thrilled to have Livintwist at Design Dome this year! Which collections are going to feature at the exhibition? Will you be carrying a specific theme?
We will present two new collections next [July] at Design Dome: Scala and Flo. Both explore color and rope weaving as production technique. While Scala has a more classical approach, Flo is directly inspired the magical world of flowers.
Livintwist is currently collaborating with Chinese designer Shi Tianyi for Design Dome's Material_S project. What made Livintwist decide to participate in the project?
It’s an honor to participate in the Material_S project. It gives us the opportunity to explore areas we haven’t been able to connect to in the past.
How has the collaboration been for the brand? Could you tell us about the project and its progress so far?
We have completed everything ahead of schedule. It was delightful working with Shi Tianyi, she’s such a talent and I think she has the potential to become one of the greats. She has deep understanding of design philosophy, language and work extremely effectively and systematically. The dedication in her is rarely seen. We look forward to working with her in many other levels.
What does Livintwist have in store for its consumers in China this year? Any new collection, new project, or collaboration with more Chinese designers?
We are launching our brand-new collection Flo for Chinese market for the first time. We hope to bring the concept of nature to people’s gardens and terraces.
We are also collaborating with other talented Chinese designers besides Shi Tianyi, for example Frank Chou & Jinghua Zeng, who we are working with on products for 2023. These designers have great personal vision as well as originality, and we really look forward to the creations in 2023.
Follow the LIVINTWIST WeChat official account and channel to learn more about the brand, and make sure to visit Livintwist at Design Dome, July 25-28, 2022, at the Shenzhen International Exhibition and Convention Center (H15B01). Livintwist’s collaboration with Shi Tianyi will be displayed at the Material_S booth (H15C33).
Tickets to Design Dome can be purchased here.