The interior design and furniture fair held in Stockholm in early February gathered the trendsetters of Nordic design under the same roof. The Finnish Design Shop team was there to check out the favorite brands’ new products for the spring – view our list of the most interesting designs!
&Tradition
&Tradition’s stand brought echoes from the turn of the century; the Danish brand’s new collection includes many pieces of furniture designed by Hvidt & Mølgaard in the 1950s, some of which have now entered production for the very first time. Our favorites included the cozy reading corner made up of the Boomerang armchair and the Tripod floor lamp as well as the table setting made up of the Drop Leaf table and Drawn paper cord chairs.
Artek
What stood out at Artek’s impressive section was the Rope chair designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec that resembles a line drawing more than a solid shape. This chair made of steel and pliable rope was finely displayed as part of an installation by the Swedish architect Shideh Shaygan where new chairs had been placed around dining tables and also hung from the ceiling. Artek’s new Tupla clothes stand is also the work of the Bouroullec brothers.
Böja
In the large Greenhouse area intended for schools and young designers, we fell in love with a new brand called Böja. We were impressed not only by the timeless look of the furniture that fits the Nordic style, but also the brand’s desire to produce it in an environment-friendly and ethical way. The furniture is made of rattan, which is an ecological material: rattan grows mainly in the jungles of Indonesia and renews quickly. For its debut at the fair, Böja had brought a mirror, a stool and a beautiful table with a glass cover. (Image: Motiv Foto)
Fatboy
At the fair, Fatboy introduced the Miasun beach tent that is available in many shades and patterns named after various holiday resorts. The screen can be conveniently folded into a package and is easy to transport to the beach and on holiday trips, and they promise that setting it up only takes one minute.
Ferm Living
Ferm Living’s stand turned out to be one of the favorites of the Design Stories editors. Colored in natural, muted hues, the space had been built to resemble a home with different rooms. We were particularly fascinated by the new Plant Boxes that had been placed on the “terrace” as well as the lounge chairs whose seat resembles wool and has been made of recycled plastic bottles. We were also charmed by the fun Vuelta lamp, which we predict will become the favorite of many interior designers.
Fogia
At its stand, the Swedish Fogia introduced the Hood chair designed by TAF Studio whose specialty is a seat that hangs on a metal frame without supports. Despite its ostensible simplicity, the chair has demanded persistence and good problem-solving skills from both the designers and the manufacturer; after five years of development work, the chair is finally ready for production.
Kartell
The Italian Kartell is determined to find new materials to replace plastic. In Stockholm, the brand introduced an innovative version of the popular Componibili storage unit that is made of compostable bio-plastic. The raw material for it is leftover agricultural produce that is transformed using bacteria into high-quality bio-plastic whose surface is exactly like plastic. Componibili Bio is available in four beautiful pastel shades.
Made by Choice
Made by Choice brought almost 20 new products to the fair! Things that particularly caught our attention were Matti Klenell’s Laulu chair and cabinet that play with perforated surfaces and the cheerfully colorful Beebee and Plize boxes designed by Hanna Anonen. The playful furniture at their stand also pleased the organizers, as two of them, Klenell’s Laulu cabinet and a chair designed by Thomas Sandell for the Goma restaurant were nominated for the Born Classic award jointly awarded by the furniture fair and Bukowskis.
• All Made by Choice products >
Mattiazzi
The stand of Mattiazzi, founded in 1979, displayed high-quality wooden chairs designed by the likes of Konstantin Grcic, Foster & Partners and Jasper Morrison. The furniture by this Italian brand will become available through Finnish Design Shop during the spring.
Maze Interiör
At the colorful stand of Maze that is known for its Pythagoras shelf system, our attention was caught by a coffee table called The Cube that can also be used as a storage unit and a seat. This small table designed by Lotta de Visscher is available in four shades: natural white, dark brown, olive and rust.
Muoto2
In Stockholm, Muoto2, celebrating its tenth anniversary, introduced the Hide lamp designed by Laura Väre, who was chosen as the young designer of the year in Finland. For the hanging lamp and floor lamp, one can choose between two lengths of fringes, 30 cm and 60 cm. The black Hide lamp is manufactured in collaboration with Finnish producers.
Nikari
Nikari’s serene stand again stood out favorably at the fair this year. The Storia stool by the company’s founder, master carpenter Kari Virtanen, is their new product for the spring. This streamlined stool is made in three heights from ash or oak. Another thing we loved at their stand was the solid wood Basic dining table by Jenni Roininen whose joints and rounded end looked strikingly good.
Normann Copenhagen
Normann Copenhagen is expanding its Hyg furniture collection with a chair and a bar stool. We were very fond of the rotating Hyg chair that is suitable for office meeting rooms, perhaps also as a seat for a home office. Another fun new product was the Nift series, whose brushes of three different sizes can be used flexibly for textile maintenance and cleaning. The Hyg and Nift collections were designed by Simon Legald.
• All Normann Copenhagen products >
Sibast Furniture
Sibast is known for Helge Sibast’s classic furniture, which was also on display in Stockholm. The new products of this Danish brand are the Xlibris wall shelves and desk designed by the artist Kasper Eistrup.
String Furniture
The novelty color of the String Pocket in metal, glowing neon reddish orange, instantly stood out from String’s inspiring and otherwise tranquil-colored stand. String shelf modules can be combined and used flexibly, which was again excellently demonstrated. Besides the String Pockets, on display was also a beige set of shelves that covered the entire wall. All parts of the shelf series are now available in beige, and they looked fresh also when combined with white String parts. The dark brown side panels are also new for this spring.
Studio Jonas Lutz
Memorable things in the Greenhouse area included the playful Elbow lamp by Jonas Lutz whose shape might remind one of a macaroni. The shade of the Elbow lamp sheds light in two directions; also on display was a floor lamp.
Warm Nordic
The Danish Warm Nordic introduced several fascinating classics designed in the 1950s. Things that have re-entered production include the Dwell sofa and armchair designed by Hans Olsen in 1956. The sofa can seat two people, and it looked exceptionally elegant upholstered with white bouclé fabric. The 1950s was represented at the fair also at other stands in furniture design and human-sized scale as well as sustainable choices of materials.
Some of the new products presented at the fair will be available at Finnish Design Shop later this spring.
Text: Emmi Ratilainen and Mikko Vaija Images: Manufacturers