Bokk by Nedre Foss is a rather unusual bronze sculpture, as you can use it to pop open a beer or a soda bottle. Sigve Knutson’s hand-carved furrows make the unique bottle opener’s surface come alive.
NORWEGIAN NEDRE FOSS was founded in 2015, based on the idea of creating products that will last for a lifetime, or even longer—all of its products are designed to endure use and admiration for at least a hundred years. Torbjørn Anderssen and Espen Voll from Nedre Foss contacted Norwegian designer Sigve Knutson after his Milan exhibition in 2017. The collaboration resulted in the bronze bottle opener Bokk. It has a timeless spirit that fits the company’s design philosophy perfectly.
Sigve Knutson graduated from Dutch Design Academy Eindhoven in 2016. His style is dominated by an intuitive touch, craftmanship as well as the connection to ancient production methods and materials. Knutson is familiar with bronze from before, as he has implemented some of his previous projects at a bronze foundry in Eindhoven. Knutson says that this time, he started the design process with the production method—the shape and function of the object were decided only once the creation process was already happening.
“I knew that I wanted to make something that would be considered a playful or happy object.”
“I knew that I wanted to make something that would be considered a playful or happy object and a bottle opener is in my mind something that I associate with those moods. So I basically carved and drew out different shapes in plaster and on paper until I had something I was happy with,” Knutson says.
In Norwegian, ’bokk’ means a dark and strong lager beer, and the same words can be used to characterize Bokk’s aesthetics. The bottle opener is cast in bronze, and Knutson is especially pleased with the material’s slowly aging beauty and weight, which makes the object rather heavy for its size. Knutson’s touch is quite concretely present in the final piece: Bokk is cast in a mold he carved by hand. The surface of the mold looks like it was sketched with a pencil.
“It reminds me of a drawing made up with dashes and strokes rather than a continuous outline. People see lots of different things in it, often they see bark or other three textures and surfaces.”
Knutson says he is delighted by both the production process and the final result. The small, yet powerful bronze object decorates the designer’s home and studio, and he guesses it might find its way to his close friends’ and family's homes during upcoming birthdays and other celebrations. Bokk is an excellent gift idea for those who enjoy drinks, sculptures and distinguishable modern design.
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Text: Nora Uotila Images: Nedre Foss