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It seemed that many Scandinavian producers had turned to foreign designers to create a buzz at the Stockholm Furniture Fair this year. Italian Luca Nichetto continued his collaboration with Offecct, while Benjamin Hubert, from Britain, produced lights for both Örsjö and Zero. French designer Inga Sempé’s wooden chair Österlen for Gärsnäs [03] received a lot of attention and it was just as lithe and minimal as expected, without sacrificing any of the comfort. The bent wooden frame is slightly irregular to give that hand-made feel and the backrest support is just a simple bar. Greenhouse was the most fertile ground for spotting new talent. Swedish Lina Nordqvist graduated from Beckmans School of Design a few years ago and we wrote about her Family chairs back then (Icon 070). This year she presented two stools in birch, resembling chess pawns [04]. They were made from one solid piece of wood and lacquered in black. The Minima et Maxima project was a real stand-out. Here, students from the Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland, had been given the task of producing a chair from one block of wood in just 40 hours. The results were incredibly beautiful, showing a diversity of design, but all with a minimalist sensibility – the one pictured [02] is by Kosuke Matsuda. As usual, there were a number of events going on all around the city, from Form Us With Love’s exhibition in a converted church to Thomas Bernstrand’s open studio. Svenskt Tenn, the soon-to-be 100-year-old interiors brand, had relocated to a cinema while its old premises were being refurbished. Here, the Greta pendant lamps [01] by design trio Whatswhat looked impressive. They are completely flexible, with a drawstring that changes the shape and direction of the light. Many visitors nominated an exhibition of work by 20 young, international designers as the best of the week. Set in the 19th-century Biological Museum, contemporary design pieces such as Staffan Holm’s clover-shaped stools and Emma Marga Blanche pleated lamps were exhibited in a vast diorama representing the flora and fauna of different Swedish landscapes [05]. It was definitely an experience.
credit Whatswhat [01]
credit Kosuke Matsuda [02]
credit Inga Sempe [03]
credit Lina Nordqvist [04] |
Image Emma Marga Blanche [05]
Words Johanna Agerman Ross |
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