When I left my job as a Communication strategist in 2015, there was a covert transformation taking place in the furniture and interior design world below the surface depicted in decor and architecture magazines I used to voraciously read. That transformation wasn’t about the latest style trends in a stagnated game but instead, it was about furniture leaving fancy and expensive showrooms to integrate the digital revolution. That meant furniture was being expansively showcased, discussed and visually shared on phenomena like Pinterest and Instagram while also beginning to be sold on e-commerces and apps through high-tech tools like online 3D product configurators. The maker and DIY movements were gaining popularity while the startup culture was blooming with a few adventurous tech enthusiasts in the U.S and Europe unveiling the joys and challenges of infusing one of the most archaic sectors — furniture — with their engineering knowledge. While “likes” flooded vintage-filtered framed pictures by anonymous people who desired to make their spaces more beautiful and true to their personalities, I was preparing myself to make a career shift from Communication to Interior Design. At the same time, my partner, who had experience in product development in the aviation industry, wanted to bring his knowledge of parametric design methodology closer to people's everyday lives through a more, let’s say, grounded business. Yet, he was fully aware that that ground was shaking as never before and as a guy used to turbulence, he felt comfortable with taking a role in an industry that was experiencing one of its most accentuated fluctuations and on the verge of adapting to new ways of developing in the market. So he convinced me that things would never be the same thanks to the technological advancement that allowed computer aided design (CAD) to become precisely produced pieces on digital machinery (CNC). Then, I’ve decided to deepen my career shift, when circumstances could favour it, by also becoming a furniture startup founder instead of an interior designer solely dedicated to bespoke orders. This is a very exciting and tortuous story that holds its interest mainly due to its relevance as part of major social, economic, cultural and technological shifts society has been experiencing in the last decade. But for now, I’m going to focus on some aspects of this big scope. The first is the consumers’ point of view. In 2015, two major platforms that had launched in 2010 — Pinterest, the global scrapbook, and Instagram, the simulated gallery for everyday people — were consolidating their first big phase. By then, they had reached such a massive audience that the way people perceived and consumed decoration was undergoing a definitive change. The immediate and inclusive character of social media allowed people to be increasingly impacted by all kinds of design, architecture and art references on a daily basis, enabling them to assemble their personal catalogues and more than that, shape their tastes, enrich their self-expression and learn how to name their preferences. This is what knowledge is all about and knowledge empowers people. In turn, such empowerment led curious amateurs, who were as far from the elitist interior design world as professionals used to be from choreographies to divulge their businesses before TikTok, to reinvent their spaces and many became influencers along the way. In a moment of recession, as always, creativity was ignited and new communities were created around a subject that used to be confined to state-of-the-art fairs and specialised magazines hooked on high luxury. Living well became a statement to the middle class in that year of 2015 while Pinterest’s revenue was more than five times as high as it was in 2014. In April 2015, Deloitte, the leading global provider of professional services firm, published a thorough article titled “The Future of Manufacturing — making things in a changed world” pointing out the growing customers’ demand for personalisation and customisation “as the line between consumer and creator continues to blur”. These lines were blurred along with the filters on social media and sharing sites. The article reported that one niche market experiencing a growing number of craftspeople and small manufacturers engaged in providing unique solutions was the tiny home movement, in which “consumers seek out products tailoured to their limited spaces, favouring the deliberately compact, multifunctional, and aesthetically bold”. Does it sound similar to Movendo’s concept? It’s no coincidence that these niche needs began to spread to urban areas due to the increase of shrinking homes, co-livings and different work dynamics in the subsequent years, helping to make customisation grow as an alternative to ready-made furniture more broadly. This takes me to quote Dominique Galmel, Industry Equipment Manufacturing Solutions Director of Dassault Systèmes: “Mass customisation is a global trend because the market demands it. This goes beyond addressing market segments and niches. It's about acknowledging that every customer is an individual market”. So, this must be a pretty big market, isn’t it? Read more about the turning point year 2015 represented for the furniture industry and consumers next week.