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Favorites from the Stockholm Furniture Fair 2013

I was really excited about coming back to the Stockholm Furniture Fair, having enjoyed it so much last year. Having exhibited for the first time at Greenhouse in 2004, Nendo founder Oki Sato was invited back as the guest of honor. He created a bright white installation inspired by snow capped mountains.

Volki

Scandinavia is well-known for its woollen products, and I loved these Icelandic wool rugs from Volki – perfect for the snowy weather outside.

Note Design Studio for Zilenzio

These fabulous lollipop shaped sound screens are by Note Design Studio for Zilenzio. Sound reduction products are big business in Sweden – apparently due to the echoey modernist architecture.

Northern Lighting

Perhaps my favorite product from the whole show was this Bake Me A Cake light by Morten and Jonas for Nothern Lighting, inspired by the classic cartoon ruse of baking a file into a cake to help prisoners escape. It is made by inmates of a Norwegian prison near Bergen, as part of a project which aims create a high quality products within Norwegian prisons while providing meaningful activities to build confidence and challenge the mindsets and behaviors of the inmates.

Montana

The Montana shelving system is based the universal paper system (A0, A1, A2 etc), making it incredibly office-friendly. It can be arranged into over 1billion different configurations, making it incredibly flexible. And in this case, it’s bright yellow, making it incredibly cheerful. What more could you want for your workspace?

Johanson Design

I love the trend for bold primary colors, especially when teamed with understated neutrals. These chairs from Johanson Design are a perfect example.

Ire

Emerald Green might be Pantone’s color of 2013, but Monaco Blue, one of the other colors in their Spring color report was definitely more in evidence in Stockholm. I loved this sofa from Ire – not only for its color, but also for its delicate midcentury-inspired legs.

Horreds

More soundproofing innovation in the form of Mute from Horreds; soundproof booths (with an optional roofs) that can be arranged to form different privacy zones in offices.

Hoof table Samuel Wilkinson &Tradition

The man behind Plumen, Samuel Wilkinson designed this Hoof table for the Copenhagen-based &tradition. Inspired by painted wooden chairs where the feet are left unpainted to prevent chips, he has reversed this process and painted the table legs before “sharpening” the paint off, in the same way as a horse’s hoof is prepared before it is shod.

Hello Communication

Architect Gert Wingårdh and Finnish illustrator Kustaa Saksi created this incredible installation made from sheets of A4 paper suspended in an arc, to house Hello! – Anatomy of Communication; a series of events around the theme of communication in design.

Hay

Hay can always be relied upon to serve up some fabulous colors and patterns – I loved these wooden rulers – almost enough to make math seem like fun!

David design

2012’s color of the year, Tangerine Tango, was still around and one of my favorite examples was this huge chair from David Design – it looked especially fabulous against the grey background.

Curve by Nendo for Berga

And finally, it wouldn’t seem right to conclude without another mention of the guest of honor – this is Curve by Nendo for Berga – and the tiles are Claesson Koivisto Rune.

With thanks to the Swedish Institute and the Embassy of Sweden in London for inviting me on the Stockholm Design Week press trip. 

Katie Treggiden is a purpose-driven journalist, author and, podcaster championing a circular approach to design – because Planet Earth needs better stories. She is also the founder and director of Making Design Circular, a program and membership community for designer-makers who want to join the circular economy. With 20 years' experience in the creative industries, she regularly contributes to publications such as The Guardian, Crafts Magazine and Monocle24 – as well as being Editor at Large for Design Milk. She is currently exploring the question ‘can craft save the world?’ through an emerging body of work that includes her fifth book, Wasted: When Trash Becomes Treasure (Ludion, 2020), and a podcast, Circular with Katie Treggiden.