This article was published 13 years
100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Norway celebrated its 10th anniversary this year – making it just one year younger than the London Design Festival itself. Longstanding curators Henrietta Thompson (London) and Benedicte Sunde (Oslo) came up with the concept “10 x 10” and invited 10 rising stars to showcase their work alongside 10 established Norwegian designers.
With the themes of light and nature, there were a few things that particularly caught my eye (from left to right, top to bottom):
- Outside a huge Sun installation by Lisa Pacini and Christine Istad celebrated the light that is so important to Norwegian culture and design, due to the fact that parts of the country see no natural daylight for up to three months during the winter.
- I loved Lars Beller Fjetland’s top-heavy Cloche lamp inspired by a bluebell. Made from just three elements, its improbable form is made possible by the flexibility of the lightweight ash wood used for the ‘stem’.
- This frame is by Ida Noemi and Caroline Olsson, who met at 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Norway two years ago when they were both showing individually. Manufactured by Menu, Epaulette is their first collaboration. The simple combination of limited parts means it doesn’t require any screws, glue or fixings.
- The Bow stacking stool by the Strek Collective is the result of a collaboration with Fyresdal Tre, a Norwegian wood manufacturer. The design combines traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design processes.
- The Copper Mirror Series by Hunting & Narud is made of granite, steel and copper, celebrating Norway’s mining heritage and native materials.
- Sverre Uhnger‘s O lamp is inspired by his fascination with lathed wooden balls, and named for its circular shape.
- The tuck sofa by the same designer reveals its construction in the visible wooden frame, but is softened by the padding and textiles neatly ‘tucked’ around it.
- Finally, I loved the simple Scandi style and honesty of materials used in the Siska collection by Kristine Bjaadal. Kristine develops her designs through modelling instead of sketching, resulting in proportions that fit the hand perfectly.
Overall, a show fit for royalty, which is just as well, because the Queen of Norway flew over especially to see it!
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- out and about :: tent london
- out and about :: imprint
- out and about :: ldf13 at the v&a
- out and about :: god is in the detail
This article was published 13 years
