Livintwist’s Most Popular Piece was Born in Lockdown
The Flo daybed was made to bring you joy.
“The audience loved it so much. They were checking it out and snapping photos, taking in the experience of the Livintwist leisure lifestyle,” said Livintwist founder Jacky Cheung (JC) on the hype around one of its latest collections, the Flo, at Design Dome 2022. Shaped like a blooming lotus flower, the distinctive daybed’s bright and peaceful appearance reflects a serene and beautiful scenery, inviting everyone in its presence for an outdoor nap or chillout session.
And such positive and welcoming energy was indeed the intention behind the creation. Sketching the Flo during the first wave of COVID-19 in the middle of a lockdown, according to JC, designer Claudio Bonicco hoped to create something that could bring people joy and happiness and, at the same time, express his desire to connect with nature and the outside world. “Life is more fun when you know how to enjoy it,” shared JC. “It’s important to have fun and to be able to share what you have with the ones you love.”
Moving forward, he teased new products in development and collaboration with local designers, which will take the Hong Kong-based brand beyond the silicone roping technique for which it’s widely known. And while still figuring out its steps in the mainland region, the Hong Kong-based brand is clear on what we need to know in the meantime: that it’s going to add “that little bit of extra fun and energy into our lives.”
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Q&A
If you could share one thing that's most interesting about any of the products here, what would it be?
“We’ve got two collections here. One is Flo and the other one is Scala. I think Flo is a little bit more iconic, in a way. During its development, which was when COVID started, our designer was stuck at home and couldn’t go anywhere. He’s got four kids, and they did trials, just by drawing some simple lines on a piece of paper. And that’s how Flo was created, basically. I guess, when COVID just started, everybody was really stressed. So our designer really wanted to create something that could bring joy and happiness into people’s lives.
The whole point of us really trying to promote the concept of Livintwist is that we believe that luxury is how we are going to spend our time. I think it is important to have fun; and also to be able to share what you have with the ones you love and care (about). Other than that, we’re not able to travel. So we need something that can bring a little bit more happiness into our everyday life. This is the whole concept of Livintwist; just giving that little bit of extra fun and energy into our lives.”
What's the demographic you're trying to reach through the exhibition?
“We’re just trying to get more exposure. First of all, we are trying to build up a brand recognition in China because we’re kind of new here, and we have done quite a bit in Europe. This is our second year building the brand in China, and we realized that it’s not so easy because the outdoor furniture market is a bit “messy” in a way. That’s why we are trying to understand what the problems are, and also how to fix the problems. Right now, we are not doing any marketing, just branding. Hopefully in the next two or three years we are ready to transfer from branding to marketing. We’re just trying to show our concept and hoping that people here are going to like it and understand what we’re trying to do. This is the main goal, I guess.”
So, what's next for Livintwist? Any new project, new products that you're going to bring to Shenzhen and Southern China?
“People recognize Livintwist because of the material and the weaving. But actually, we just haven’t got the luck to actually meet with a collection that is made by wood or other materials. We’re actually working on it. But we don’t want to be recognized as just weaving. Because as a brand, we’re trying to be a little bit more diverse in a way. And hopefully, in the next two or three years, we can have mixed concepts and materials, for people to understand that Livintwist is not just about just about rope and weaving.”
Will you be using the same silicone roping technique for the new products?
“People recognize Livintwist because of the material, the weaving, and all that. But actually, we just haven’t got the luck to actually meet with a collection that is made by wood or other materials. We’re working on it. But we don’t want to be recognized as just weaving. Because as a brand, we’re trying to be a little bit more diverse in a way. And hopefully in the next two or three years, we can have mixed concepts, mixed materials, for people to understand that Livintwist not just about just about rope and weaving.”