The sky is grey and drizzling. Steen Skaaning sits in his office at Vancouver’s INspiration Furniture on West 6th Avenue and excitedly tells a story: “Just three years ago, I was at a furniture expo in Milan.
I walked past an exhibit, and as I was walking away I was somehow drawn back. The colours, I noticed, were a bit crazy but felt really meaningful and real.” He’s talking about KARE, a brand established in 1981 in Munich, Germany. This June, as a result of his discovery at the Milan exhibit, Steen opened a KARE furniture store beneath INspiration — the first in Vancouver and second in North America (after Toronto). KARE has over 100 stores all over the world, spanning over 50 countries but mostly located in Europe.
“KARE’s furniture is colourful, extremely vibrant with an esoterically interesting feel. Its designs are modern and unconventional, bringing inspiration and creativity.
They have over 5,000 products and they revamp 1,500 of these each year. This style of furniture has never been seen before in Vancouver!” Steen, usually solemn and reserved, confesses that introducing KARE has awakened a hidden passion in him!
Standing in the KARE furniture store downstairs, one can truly appreciate how Steen feels. There are velvet sofas of gold, orange and sapphire blue; rustic yet uniquely stylish wood tables; art-like cabinets and side tables engraved with embossed patterns; plus animated and interesting décor pieces that are stylish, creative and full of joy. There is no bland or solemn furniture here! The space is divided into two showrooms featuring different styles. Furniture, lighting, décor, colours and the art on the walls are styled to look like photos from home design magazines, so that all you want is to bring everything home and place each piece in the exact same way. Best of all, KARE’s furniture comes at affordable prices.
天陰沉沉的，下著小雨。 Steen Skanning坐在他西6街Inspiration家具店的辦公室裡，興高采烈地講著故事：“那還是三年前，我在米蘭家具展，路過一個展台，我走過去了，然後又走回來，那些顏色有些瘋狂，但是感覺很有意思。”
他說的是Kare，一個1981年在德國慕尼黑創立的品牌。今年6月，Steen將Kare家具店開在了Inspiration的樓下，這是Kare在溫哥華的第一家店，也是繼多倫多之後在北美的第二家店。 Kare在全世界有100多家店，分佈於50多個國家，但主要在歐洲。
“KARE的家具色彩繽紛，非常活潑有趣，設計時尚，打破條條框框，給人帶來很多靈感和創意。他們的產品多達5000種，而且每年都會有1500種更新。這種風格的家具還從來沒在溫哥華見過呢！”Steen興奮地介紹，一向嚴肅持重的他說起Kare顯得激情澎湃。
站在樓下Kare家具店裡，就能切身體會到Steen的感受。金色、寶藍色、橘紅色的天鵝絨沙發，古樸而獨具設計感的木桌，雕刻著浮雕花紋有如藝術品的櫃子、邊桌，還有各種生動有趣的裝飾品，它們與那些色調沉悶、面目嚴肅的家具是那麼不同，充滿了格調，充滿了創意，更充滿了生活的樂趣！整個空間分成不同風格的展示間，家具、燈盞、裝飾品與牆壁的色彩以及牆上的藝術品都搭配得有如家居雜誌上的一幀精美照片，你只想一股腦地把它們搬回家，照著這個樣子佈置你的家。更讓人開心的是，Kare的價格走親民路線，每件東西都不貴。
This has added a new piece to the atlas of Steen’s furniture kingdom, attracting a younger generation that loves stylish pieces. Upstairs, INspiration Furniture continues its high-end, luxury style, dominated by Italian brands such as Natuzzi Italia and Cattelan Italia.
Natuzzi Italia was founded in 1959 in Taranto, Italy. Not only is it Italy’s biggest furniture manufacturer, it is also a world leader in leather sofas, sold in 123 countries across five continents. Every Natuzzi sofa is made in Italy, and they are known for their precise designs and harmonizing beauty. The quality is also superior — Natuzzi uses a modern quality-control facility that is fully automatic, dust-free, sound-proof, suspended and environmentally friendly, taking a full 135 steps before completion. Now, Natuzzi Italia’s products have expanded from its original living room furniture like sofas and armchairs to cover the entire home. Its dining room and bedroom collections are a result of its relentless pursuit of quality and an understanding of and passion for beauty and the arts. In INspiration’s 40,000-square-foot showroom, Natuzzi Italia’s furniture occupies 7,000 square feet.
這為Steen的家具王國版圖補充了新的一塊，將喜歡新潮設計的年輕人群吸引過來。而樓上Inspiration家具店則一直延續高檔奢華風格，意大利著名品牌在這裡佔了主流，比如Natuzzi Italia 和 Cattelan Italia。
Natuzzi Italia於1959年在意大利塔蘭托創立，不僅是意大利最大的家具製造商，還是全球皮革沙發的領導者，暢銷於全球五大洲123個國家。每一件Natuzzi沙發均產自意大利，以精準的設計、和諧舒適的美感見長，並且品質卓越——以全自動無塵、隔音、不落地、環保的現代化設備嚴密控製品質，是歷經135道流程才打造出的精品。現在，Natuzzi Italia的產品已經從最初的沙發、扶手椅等客廳家具覆蓋到了整個家居，其餐廳系列和臥室系列家具均沿襲了其對品質的極致追求以及對美和藝術的理解與熱愛。在Inspiration家具店4萬平方尺的展示廳裡，Natuzzi Italia的各類家具佔據了7000平方尺的空間。
Karin Bohn: