As part of New York’s Design Week, several countries will get an opportunity to showcase some of their best designs of recent years. But apart from the usual suspects such as Norway and Spain, at WantedDesign, the Manhattan Ikon Arts Foundation will be presenting a selection of work by emerging Croatian designers.

Croatia doesn’t often get a place in the design world spotlight, but a new generation of designer entrepreneurs is eager to change the status quo. Faced with a conservative business sector and an underdeveloped design market these designers are taking the entire design process into their own hands, working on design, manufacturing and distribution in order to bring their products to life.

The designers draw from traditional techniques and folklore as well as a midcentury modernism, giving them all a contemporary twist. But more than anything, what these designers set out to convey is a sense of playfulness. For those who can't experience these designs at the design-oriented Hotel Lone in Rovinj, Croatia or in the many design stores popping up around the country, a trip to WantedDesign will be a great way to introduce the great design currently being produced in Croatia.

Presented by Ikon Arts Foundation, the Croatian exhibition will include work by designers Grupa, Numen / For Use, Roman Vlahović, Svjetlana Despot and others.