I think the time has come to think and act differently. We really must think differently.
To illustrate, I helped with the groundwork of a development project that started slowly four years ago. It reached the pinnacle of its success in Toronto at the largest furniture show in Canada.
In a way, it was the initiative of the regional CEGEP of Lanaudière in Terrebonne, where they have an industrial design department. They came to see me to tell me that, first of all, it was time to reposition Quebec, but eventually and ideally, it was time to reposition all of Canada with respect to our approach to design and our activities.
Two colleagues, who are industrial designers and researchers, and I created what we called the reference guide to Quebec furniture to try to find a new way to approach this fuzzy picture of furniture manufacturers in Quebec. We did that because the furniture industry is very important in Canada. Those who have withstood the Asian wave of production are searching inside themselves a little, calling themselves into question and wondering how they will stand out and what they will do. They are constantly in survival mode. They must go in a different direction.
We thought that we really needed to believe in the power of design in order to stand out and we have gone back to our roots and our traditions over the years. First, we persuaded seven manufacturers.