This summer, IKEA Museum (yes, there’s an IKEA Museum…it’s incredible) brought its textile exhibition “Magical Patterns” from its home in Sweden to Edinburgh’s renowned Dovecot Studios.
With 180 designs on display, the exhibition highlights how many artists and designers have been involved with IKEA’s pattern work over the years and the iconic designs that many people will still have in their homes, or which are etched into our memories.
And this provided us with the perfect opportunity to talk about IKEA’s design credentials, the creative processes that go on behind the items nearly everyone has in their homes and, overall, position IKEA as a design-forward, innovative brand. Something we know very well but others can need reminding of.
So, we went all in on quality messaging at the launch.
We hosted a media and influencer event which brought all the different pattern designs to the fore and truly immersed attendees in the looks all the way from the décor to the napkins.
Attendees were treated to a discursive panel event featuring Edinburgh-based designers and the curators of the exhibition from the IKEA Museum discussing the importance of pattern in interior design, the longevity and circularity of different pattern styles, pattern trends, and – of course – a chance for our spokesperson to share the detail of how IKEA approaches pattern design and production.
Designed to have an exclusive feel, we hosted 16 influencers and media at the event, resulting in reams and reams of live social sharing direct from the event, and a broad range of coverage from listings to drive consumer visitation on the likes of Time Out and The Times, to deeper dive pieces on IKEA pattern design with BBC and Wallpaper*, achieving a whopping 75 million reach.
Couldn’t end this without a shameless plug: The exhibition is open until January 2026, so do check it out if you’re up in Scotland between now and then!
