The country has a thriving, impressive interior design industry.
While politicians and pundits around the world commemorate the one year anniversary of Russia’s latest, most brutal invasion of Ukraine today, no one expected the country to still be standing even a month later when tanks and planes advanced on Kyiv in the early hours of February 24, 2022. We’ve watched the war from afar in horror, especially the punishing attacks on civilians and their water, gas and electricity infrastructure.
Separated by an ocean and frequently less focused on European matters, many Americans have been surprised (and inspired) by the Ukrainians’ grit, ingenuity, military strength, unity and resilience. They might also be surprised by another aspect of Ukraine, as I was, despite writing about interior design for 17 years.
The country has a thriving, impressive interior design industry. While its troops fiercely battle the Russian military, Ukraine’s cabinetry, textile, furniture and other building products manufacturers are in a friendly battle for American builders’ and designers’ purchasing power. They are getting American support on this front too.U.S. Presence
One of the latest forays in their commercial campaign was establishing a Ukrainian Pavilion at Las Vegas Market, where specifiers from around the United States gather to see the latest interior design offerings twice a year. The Las Vegas pavilion participants, 15 small and medium-sized design products manufacturers, were selected by the Competitive Economy Program (CEP) for Ukraine within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an independent federal agency, in cooperation with Ukraine’s Export Promotion Office (EPO).
Iryna Mykulych, EPO’s representative to the pavilion, was bullish on her first visit to the event. “In comparison with European markets, the U.S. shows stronger resistance to recession,” she shared in a follow up note. She also saw strong potential in the residential market’s existing interest in European style adapted to American preferences. “Ukrainian manufacturers have European designs and heritage at more affordable prices,” she pointed out. Buyers at market were quite interested in that proposition.
