for #MyBespokeHomeChallenge 2022

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 12 October 2022 – Announced at Decorex Cape Town in June this year, with a focus on channelling and testing the unique design perspective of South African youth – Samsung has revealed the top four (4) candidates for its sought-after, ultimate home challenge: the #MyBespokeChallenge.

The four (4) interior designers that have been selected for this year’s #MyBespokeChallenge – will compete by conceiving and building their own BESPOKE Home “Space” using the BESPOKE colour range as the hero in their space, allowing them to showcase their unique, local design styles and talent. These incredible, young creators are now challenged to create a local design concept based on a BESPOKE colour, and showcase their own BESPOKE space, from a kitchen, living area, study – transforming any home space with the highly-customised BESPOKE Refrigerator range.

What sets a Samsung BESPOKE refrigerator apart is its customisable and interchangeable front panel design, modularity that allows you to choose and add the optimal storage configurations to suit your needs, and a sleek, modern look that fits seamlessly into any kitchen. The top four (4) candidates were selected through a rigorous entry process and were narrowed down from 11 young, up-and-coming designers.

Ecstatic about being chosen, see below what the #MyBespokeChallenge 2022 finalists representing their provinces, had to say about their opportunity to participate in this exciting challenge:

• Keneilwe Mothoa – owner of Neimil (Gauteng) – focuses on interior decorating, fashion and the love of art. Design language – loves telling African stories and integrating these into every design to make it functional for any person living in a home.

Inspired by African heritage and culture and marrying this with modern and western inspirations. Her designs are based on African research and focus on the history for the future. Keneilwe’s designs are from the heart – they are based on what she feels is right. However, she also understands – just like Samsung – that every person consumes products/spaces differently and uses them in their own specific way. She designs for both functionality and aesthetics, capturing all the senses: touch and feel to name a few.

• Zwelibanzi Nzuza (Kwa-Zulu Natal) – Final year design student that entered the competition to showcase and communicate his creative vision.

He sees this challenge as a great opportunity to meet and learn from other young, up-and-coming designers. Also, he believes it is a privilege to be critiqued and guided by design judges that he respects in South Africa. His design philosophy is based on vision, inspiration and a leap of faith. He is very adventurous in his designs and often looks at results that inspire people beyond the norm. What sets him apart is his willingness to explore, expand himself in every project and produce something fresh at all times.

• Maresa Maartens (Gauteng) – Honour’s Degree Design student who started understanding the true meaning of art during her journey through studying. Inspired by a quote from designer and architect, Adrian Cohen:

“Designers have a unique ability to interpret reality with the capacity to look at problems in different ways and present solutions.” Maresa is convinced that design can contribute to driving innovation, create value and develop workable solutions to tough social issues and sees the BESPOKE challenge as an opportunity to do just that. She is adamant that when designing, it is important to create rooms that feel like sanctuaries, where people can find ease of use, comfort, durability and low maintenance. She believes in design solutions and spaces that make users want to slow down and those that make them feel good mentally and physically.

• Mbali Maseko (Gauteng) – Inspired by the diversity and richness of Africa through multiple cultures. South Africa – the Rainbow Nation with 11 official languages – each with its own textiles and patterns. She believes in the importance of representing all of this in a global scale.

She is proud to be part of a young generation that is fearless, bold through social media and collaborations with big brands. Design manifesto – is personal, distinctive and unique to each individual hence the phrase: “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” and her design preference is minimalistic with a touch of personality. For Mbali, a BESPOKE home should be personal to whoever is using or living in it. Mbali believes that going forward design should be minimalistic with a touch of Africa. She would like to add a touch of Africa to any beautiful, personal and BESPOKE home.

The entry process for the challenge was driven from social media and encouraged interested interior decorators to enter by providing an image of each designer, a two-to-four minute video on why they should be considered for the challenge as well as a mood boards reflecting their interpretation of a #BESPOKE Home. The young designers have the privilege of being mentored by influencer and media personality, Jo-Ann Strauss and #MyBespokeChallenge 2021 Winner, Cassandra Twala as part of their unique journey of designing and creating kitchen/living spaces that reflect Samsung’s vision for customised and connected homes.

The judging panel for this year’s #MyBespokeChallenge includes some South African heavy weights in the design space: Anita Bloom, the Creative Director at Decorex Africa. The Samsung BESPOKE Home Challenge is hosted by JoAnn Strauss and can be viewed online on www.samsung.com/za/ Ts & Cs apply.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 07 June 2022 – Over the past 2 years, as the central axis of life has shifted towards the home, the concept of spending time at home has changed significantly. Accordingly, home appliances have also evolved from being just mere products to being true companions in our everyday lifestyle and routines. When their design is based on consumers’ own needs, the experience is enhanced even more. This is why we are scaling up the Bespoke offering to invite more consumers to be a part of the Bespoke Home experience.

With the introduction of the Bespoke concept in 2019, Samsung’s Digital Appliances business ushered in a whole new era of customised home appliances that go beyond the conventional paradigms that previously prevailed in the industry. Instead of merely focusing on technology and functionality, the Bespoke philosophy also incorporates customers’ various needs, tastes and lifestyles into the product – pushing the industry to evolve to the next level. Following the positive responses we received after last year’s inaugural Bespoke Home event, this year we will further build on our design legacy and bring even more value to consumers through our home appliance products.

Behind the Vision of Bespoke Home 2022

At Bespoke Home 2021, we unveiled a Bespoke vision and line-up that let users enjoy the Bespoke home experience throughout their entire house. Since then, Bespoke appliances have become available in 50 markets around the world and nearly 2 million Bespoke refrigerators have been sold worldwide since their launch – while two of every three Samsung refrigerators sold in Korea was a Bespoke model.

The developments in 2021 has led to the evolution of our Bespoke Home vision for 2022, which can be summarised in three key elements: Expansion of Space, Expansion of Experience and Expansion of Time. These three transformative ideas are at the core of the 2022 Bespoke Home experience, one that is set to help you enjoy your home life in ways that go beyond conventional home appliance experiences.

Creating Customised Spaces Through a Diverse Line-up

The Bespoke design ethos prioritises helping users create personalised homes that truly reflect their tastes and aesthetics, to the end of providing evolved home life experiences.

As we expand the possibilities of these experiences, our Expansion of Space vision will see Bespoke appliances become available in over 20 product categories throughout the home. The goal of this is to provide more flexible and convenient home solutions that can meet our users’ changing needs anywhere within the home. In addition to offering users all-new products and upgraded functions, the Bespoke Home 2022 line-up also offers a vast array of colour and design options, so users can have new and different ways to express their evolving tastes, as well as have more options for home decoration. Furthermore, we are introducing a new tier of kitchen appliances to the Bespoke family, the Infinite Line, for premium appliance experiences that provide timeless value and are able to match the way you personally operate within your kitchen.

Connectivity at the Core of Every Innovation

The type of experiences that consumers expect from their home appliances has changed over time. The second aspect of our Bespoke Home 2022 vision, the Expansion of Experience, refers not only to the expansion of capabilities coming to Bespoke 2022 products, but also to the type of convenient, smart and connected home experiences users can enjoy thanks to the introduction of SmartThings Home Life.

SmartThings Home Life offers centralised control over Bespoke appliances through six SmartThings services key to daily household management: Cooking, Energy, Clothing Care, Pet Care, Air Care and Home Care. Consumers can utilise the service based on their passion points and interests across their various Samsung devices, including smartphones, tablets and Family Hub refrigerators. SmartThings Home Life has been designed to maximise the synergy between appliances when going about everyday tasks, and the launch date for this integrated service is set to be unveiled at the Bespoke Home 2022 event. Ultimately, we at Samsung hope to empower users everywhere to be able to focus less on daily household tasks and more on living each moment more fully.

Sustainable Product Experiences and Eco-Conscious Activities

Lastly, the Expansion of Time is a part of our vision that relates to “everyday sustainability” that Samsung introduced at CES 2022. We are making efforts to put sustainability at the heart of everything we do and building sustainability and eco-conscious innovation into every aspect of the product lifecycle – from production and delivery to product use and disposal – so our consumers can live more sustainable everyday lives through their experiences with Bespoke products.

Innovations at the product development stage help us reduce waste and achieve a continuous increase of our waste recycling rates. The reduction of paper manuals and the use of eco-packaging at the delivery phase allows users to repurpose their recycled package materials. In the product use phase, our energy-saving technologies such as the Digital Inverter Compressor for refrigerators and the EcoBubble technology for washing machines reduce energy consumption by 67% ^[1]and 53% ^[2] respectively. Our expanded SmartThings Energy service also helps users enjoy more eco-conscious product usage.

Furthermore, we are excited to announce that we are offering extended warranties in major markets^[3] for certain core appliance components. We understand that the longer a product lasts, the less often it needs to be replaced, so we plan to continue developing appliances that are as aesthetically beautiful as they are reliable and durable in order to make sustainability a key part of the everyday Bespoke user experience. Going beyond 2022, Samsung will continue to make efforts to achieve its sustainability vision and goals. At Samsung, we consider home appliances to be not just vital parts of our homes, but also of our daily lives and routines. As a leading global appliance brand, Samsung will continue to develop its products, services and innovations to provide users with customisable designs and functionalities, expansion of possibilities within users’ lives and, above all, sustainable product experiences from start to finish. With the line-up set to be introduced at Bespoke Home 2022, we are taking the next step towards realising our sustainable vision for a connected Bespoke Home that caters to each user’s lifestyle, needs and goals.

We look forward to seeing how you can expand the possibilities for your home life with Bespoke Home this year.

by JaeSeung Lee

President & Head of Digital Appliances Business, Samsung Electronics

Bespoke appliances at the event by expanding the limits of what is possible

with Bespoke at home

Samsung has announced the return of Bespoke Home 2022, the second annual global showcase highlighting the latest in Samsung’s innovative home appliances. This year’s event will revolve around three key themes related to expansion – of space, experience and time. Samsung will highlight how Bespoke is furthering its global reach and surpassing the boundaries of the kitchen, how life experiences are being expanded through convenience and flexibility and how Bespoke is extending the lifecycle of appliances allowing customers to enjoy Bespoke products for longer.

“At Bespoke Home 2021, we unveiled home appliances that offered customers personalisation through customisation, flexible functionality and connected living,” said Kanghyup Lee, Head of Sales & Marketing Team of the Digital Appliances Business at Samsung Electronics. “This year, we are excited to showcase how Bespoke is expanding to offer consumers new experiences in and out of the kitchen, even more connected convenience and our efforts towards sustainability.”

Expansion of Space

Bespoke is expanding from within the walls of the home to the world, soon making Bespoke appliances available in more than 50 countries. Adding to that, Samsung will extend its Bespoke product line-up to the entire home with various product categories equipped with upgraded functions and new colour options. At its core, Bespoke’s evolving designs are meant to inspire consumers to create personalised homes that truly reflect their diverse tastes and aesthetics, no matter where their home may be. With the Expansion of Space ethos, Bespoke is bringing that vision to life.

Expansion of Experience

As connected experiences at home have shifted from novelty to everyday interactions, Bespoke is simplifying the connected home by bringing six smart home services together – Cooking, Energy, Clothing Care, Pet Care, Air Care and Home Care. Along with this, an updated Family Hub service coupled with enhanced AI is seamlessly bringing automated convenience into the lives of users.

Expansion of Time

Following the expansion of space and experience, Samsung is creating sustainable solutions for products throughout their entire lifecycle, from product design to disposal. Join Samsung at the exhibition booth at EuroCucina in Milan at Fiera Milano, Rho in Italy to learn more about everything new for Bespoke Home this year. You can also find out more about the Bespoke Home Media Day event set for June 7 at 16:00. The Bespoke Home Media Day 2022 event will be streamed on Samsung’s global YouTube channel, Samsung Newsroom and Samsung.com.

For more information, please visit Samsung.com and Samsung Newsroom.