By Liu Meng

Furniture that is aesthetic pleasing, artistic and practical is on display at Pep Design’s Fun Design exhibition in Beijing.

A boy sits on a whale sofa.

Liu Feng and Sun Wentao, the people behind Pep Design are showcasing their interpretation of how furniture should be.

“I want people to feel that they can play games with their furniture,” art director Liu Feng explained.

Animals and nature form the inspiration behind Liu’s creations. Pep Design’s “kidult” sofas take the form of a whale, hippo, dog and horse, producing zoo-like surroundings.

Liu said that since the exhibition opened a young boy visits almost three times a day to lie and play on the whale sofa.

Liu’s cloudland sofa series draws its inspiration from nature. With soft, smooth lines and subtle colors, the collection is aimed at producing a powerful visual effect of relaxation.

Creative manager Sun Wentao said that most of his inspiration comes from the memories of his childhood.

His work “Spray” is a small artificial hill made of sponge, “Bamboo” is a metal ikebana vase shaped like the plant.

“The artificial hill and bamboo all come from images of the ancient Chinese poetry I recited in my childhood,” Sun said.

“Using modern materials to give voice to traditional symbols is the core of my designs.”

Liu said that despite the exhibition’s success, the production of original designs in China is difficult due to the lack of a well-developed industrial chain.

“There is a process behind original design; material development, brand promotion and product distribution. The success of original brands is mostly due to a mature industrial chain.”

Fun Design is being held at the Maison Mode Center on Dawang Lu, southeast Beijing and runs until July 31.

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source :     http://news.alibaba.com