May 20, 2025
Tariffs, Trust, and the New Realities of Design
Above (L to R): Casey Baxter, Mischa Couvrette, Al Uszynski, and John Edelman
At ICFF, Juniper hosts cross-disciplinary dialogue on manufacturing, lighting and what comes next
At this week’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), where contemporary aesthetics and millimeter-perfect joints typically dominate the conversation, tariffs weren’t supposed to be on the agenda. But then again, few in the design world were expecting the trade landscape to shift so dramatically, or so fast.
On Sunday morning at New York’s Javits Center, Juniper — known for its sleek, precision-built architectural lighting — hosted a panel that struck a notably different tone from the aesthetic spectacle surrounding it. Titled Tariffs Unplugged: Design & Manufacturing in an Uncertain Economy, the discussion brought together manufacturers, designers, and industry commentators for a frank look at how unpredictable trade policy is reshaping the very foundation of creative business.
For a show that deliberately filters its audience — ICFF screens for working interior designers and architects, while pricing out the casually curious — this kind of nuts-and-bolts conversation stood out. But maybe it shouldn’t have.
The Unpredictability Premium
One of the central themes of the panel, moderated by Juniper president Shant Madjarian, was that tariffs don’t just raise costs. They corrode certainty.
Casey Baxter of HBF Textiles described how even vertically integrated American manufacturers have felt the pressure. “We assumed this was a China issue,” she said. “But suddenly Canada, the EU — key suppliers — were on the list. We weren’t ready for that.” The result, she explained, is a strange tension: goods are still made here, but with global parts. And those global parts now arrive with added fees, erratic lead times, and a new burden of explanation.
The cumulative effect is a kind of quiet exhaustion. Companies like HBF are trying to maintain price stability through minor surcharges. But explaining that to customers — especially when the materials haven’t changed — requires diplomacy and patience. “We’ve had to be incredibly transparent,” Baxter said. “It’s the only way to keep trust.”
Cross-Border Ties, and the Fragility of Familiar Routes
Mischa Couvrette, founder of Toronto-based Hollis + Morris, spoke with particular clarity about the risks of over-reliance on the U.S. market. For more than a decade, 80% of the company’s business has flowed south of the border. That relationship once felt stable. “Now,” he said, “it feels exposed.”
Couvrette’s comments underscored a broader theme of the panel: that globalization, once a convenience, now carries strategic risk. His firm is preparing for its first major push into Europe — a move driven less by expansionism than by necessity.
Canadian design firms, he noted, are also navigating a cultural pivot. “There’s real pride right now in buying Canadian,” he said. “But the irony is, we still depend deeply on American demand.” When policy becomes unpredictable, it doesn’t just affect logistics. It reshapes ambition.
Lighting’s Supply Chain Wake-Up Call
Our own Al Uszynski of Inside Lighting offered a wider lens, noting that uncertainty is now embedded in every corner of the lighting market — from commodity manufacturers to premium brands. In recent months, firms have issued multiple price hikes in response to shifting tariffs, often within weeks of each other — an unheard-of move in a typically seasonal industry.
Distributors, too, are feeling the pressure. Do they stockpile now in anticipation of further hikes? Or wait, and risk being priced out of inventory? Designers, meanwhile, are being quietly drafted into supply chain roles. “They’re managing freight timelines, material availability, and explaining delays to clients,” Uszynski said. “It’s a whole new skillset.”
And yet, the underlying contradiction persists. The market rewards cost control, even as it talks about sustainability and transparency. “Designers are expected to care about longevity,” said Madjarian. “But they’re often forced to specify based on lead time and budget.”
The Unspoken Cost of Sustainability
Several panelists returned to a shared frustration: the way sustainability initiatives — once seen as a point of differentiation — now risk being deprioritized in a cost-sensitive market.
John Edelman, CEO of Heller and former head of Design Within Reach, described investing heavily in recycled materials and sustainable processes, only to see those very investments become a handicap under the new tariff regime. “We wanted to do it right,” he said. “But when the cost goes up and budgets tighten, it gets harder to justify.”
The group didn’t offer easy answers. But there was an emerging consensus: that the business case for sustainability must be tied to product longevity and client education — not just ideals. And that in the absence of policy consistency, it’s up to companies to tell that story.
Lighting, Leadership, and a Different Kind of Panel
On Monday, Juniper hosted another, more design-focused event. In collaboration with the local New York sections of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), the company welcomed David Seok and Shoshanna Segal for a joint presentation titled Lighting Isn’t Later: Why It Belongs in Your First Sketch.
Above: David Seok and Shoshanna Segal
Segal, president of IESNYC, and Seok, president of IALD NY and studio leader at The Lighting Practice, offered a compelling case for involving lighting designers earlier in the creative process. Their argument wasn’t just about aesthetics — it was about unlocking flexibility, elevating technical integration, and helping interior designers and architects make better-informed choices from day one.
That ethos carried into a pre-arranged “speed dating” format, where design professionals rotated through brief, targeted conversations with NYC-based lighting designers. The format was deliberately low-key — more conversation starter than sales pitch — but it reflected a larger shift: the move toward integrated, trust-based collaboration across disciplines.
If the Sunday panel exposed the cracks in the current system, this Monday session suggested one possible way forward. Lighting, when treated as an afterthought, becomes reactive and constrained. When brought in early, it becomes strategic. The challenge, Segal and Seok implied, is shifting the culture — not just the contracts.
