Reporting by Temenouzhka Zaharieva. Milena Paleva and Irena Pamukova "Bent Stool"

CHERGA is a group of young Bulgarian designers working together with common goals, regardless of differences in temperament, way of working and style. During this year's Sofia Design Week they presented their latest products, prototypes, designs and concepts.

CHERGA is the Bulgarian word for rug, specifically the kind with horizontal stripes of different colors and widths. The name was chosen because it suits the nature and diversity of the Bulgarian people. The goals which members of the CHERGA have set are:

- building a professional working environment for designers of furniture products and interiors; - establishing a comprehensive vision of Bulgarian design through participation in competitions, exhibitions and cultural events; - involvement of institutions and businesses in Bulgaria to support the development and promotion of Bulgarian design; - establishing a formal organization of industrial designers in Bulgaria - a unified information system that allows easy communication between members, businesses, institutions and other organizations.

Elefante Stool by Naïf

The CHERGA >>fast forward exhibition showcases the work of 18 designers including:

A project by design team naïf—Irena Pamukova and Giacomo Baruzzi Vaj—is 1000 kilometers a virtual room between Sofia and Milano where you can 'meet' others to design, talk, create and dream. The products presented are used for furnishing of this room: "Elefante" stool, "Nero/Slancio" is a table which is half used for work and the other half is made to be more comfortable for serving and eating, "BUL_dog" is the dog that meets you at the door and a lamp to light the room made of fishing-net.

Nero/Slancio Table

Bul_dog

Architect Ivan Arnaudov with stools and bar stools made of plywood named "Moti" and a coatrack that resembles a pair of compasses which can be spread open wider, named "No. 3."

"No.3" Coatrack

Nikolai Mihailov presents a modular lighting "Wing" with LEDs and the different possibilities of composing it.

"Wing" LED Wall Sconce

Velichko Velikov with his chair "Lastika" which is part of the catalogue of LAGO, but a special version was produced for the exhibition in the colors of the Bulgarian flag. Velikov also showed some new designs of outdoor furniture; the "Banana" bar stool has two more possible functions: as a bench for two, and a modular shelf.

"Lastika"

"Banana" Modular Furniture

Milena Paleva and Irena Pamukova present the "List" stool made of a bent sheet of iron without any welding.

"List" Stool