“The Hover Eco Bench is both a luxurious piece of furniture and a unique piece of design with a sustainable history,” says Kristoffer Kjær. “The vertically positioned lamellae which form the seat of the bench, all originate from old Dutch colony houses in Indonesia. They are cut from century-old teak trunks that have been sawn up and treated with oil. The old teak wood has a glow and a character in the growth ring which makes the piece of furniture something quite exceptional.”
Bythreads is a new startup from the land of Denmark. Initially started as a design firm back in 2004, Bythreads has now grown into a product development outfit. The design duo “creates minimalist design laptop bags, with a clean conscience” which means that they put products on the market which they will stand by for better or worse. Luckily for us all, Bythreads collection of bags and sleeves offer great takes on laptop portability. Beautiful and classic.
More looks at the Bythreads Journal, Shoulder Cases, at www.bythreads.com
Responsible Nordic design The first fall launch from Muuto is a storage basket with the name Restore. It is made of polymer felt from recycled plastic bottles, and allows you to store your things without burdening the environment or your conscience. The basket is designed by Finnish designer Mika Tolvanen who explains how he came up with the design: “My idea was to design a basket that could be used for a lot of purposes – something that stores anything from magazines and newspapers to toys and firewood. Also, a lot of thought has gone into the use of polymer felt. The responsible material choice combined with the basket’s soft shape give Restore an expression that is both warm and welcoming.”
Restore is available in light grey, dark grey, blue, green and purple. Width 35cm, length 48 cm, height 23 cm.
In shops in November.
New colours for popular lamp The Mhy lamp from MUUTO is designed by Norway Says and with the introduction of a red and a grey version, the popular lamp is now available in no less than seven colours. Norway Says on the design: “Mhy combines an elegant and discreet appearance with a personal expression that is inspired by literature from our childhood. With its elegant and light design, Mhy is a great choice for your kitchen, dining table, hall or any other room, where you want to add a stylish element”
Mhy is now available in black, white, yellow, green, purple, red and grey. New colours will be in stores in October.
MUUTO is an innovative Scandinavian design company that joins forces with the leading contemporary Scandinavian designers to create original products with new perspectives. The result is design objects that are enjoyed across the world, representing the best of Scandinavian design today.
Link: www.muuto.com.
Before going on a trip to Denmark, it’s a good idea not just to prepare your suitcase and itinerary but also to learn a bit about Danish culture. Here are some of the most popular Denmark local customs so you’ll know how to act properly while enjoying your stay there.
One of the Denmark local customs you should know is how to greet other people in Denmark. Danes use first names so make sure you introduce yourself by your first name when asked and refer to others in the same way. Also, rather than giving someone a peck on the cheek, simply shake his or her hand, since kisses on the cheek are often reserved for couples and relatives. (more…)
Just heard in the radio in my car about earthquake in Sweden and northern Denmark, one of first google hits pointed to this article:
An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the Richter scale hit southern Sweden early on Tuesday, the Seismological Institute at Uppsala University said, but no damage was immediately reported.
The quake, which hit at 6:20 am (1620 AEDT), had its epicentre 59 kilometres southeast of Sweden’s third-largest city Malmoe, the institute said.
Media reports indicated the shock was felt throughout southern Sweden and northern Denmark, including the Danish capital Copenhagen, as buildings and homes shook but no damage was reported.
Earthquakes of this magnitude are rare in Scandinavia.
Read more on brisbanetimes
Goodmorning, a Danish strategic design firm recently developed stylish phones for a Belgium tele-company called TopCom.
Here shown the Butler 500 cordless DECT phone and the Butler 920 Skype phone.
The Butler 500 is a much simplified DECT phone for Topcom. Designed to be simple in expression and simple in use, the Butler 500 can be placed in its charger vertically or horizontally. The back of the phone houses a back-lit screen – to offer the information that matters. The keys use a touch-sensitive membrane but are graphically divided with fine lines “engraved” in the surface. In a world of over-styled and over-cluttered DECT phones, block offers a refreshingly simple phone which still has a strong presence.
The Butler 920 phone for Topcom is pure ”ear candy”. Designed as a high volume and relatively cheap Skype (VOIP) phone, the Butler 920 should be available in a range of bright, candy colours. The top half of the phone houses the screen within a case of clear plastic. The Butler 920 offers a fun and simple companion to your computer.
The Butler 500+ or “Partner phone” for Topcom is so-called because, unlike conventional DECT phones, it forms a strong partnership with its charging base. When sitting on its base, the partner phone creates an attractive whole, with an embedded screen which shows you just the information you need. A small scoop in the handset both helps to locate the navigation keys and makes it easier to pick the phone from its base. The base holds the handset in place with a magnet so that the partner phone can be placed horizontally or mounted on a wall.
(Goodmorning Technology is a strategic design firm, placed in Copenhagen Denmark. With 15 people working within the fields of product, graphic, digitaldesign, architecture, strategy, business, communication and ethnology they develop and design innovative solutions in a complex world)
Link: Goodmorning
Hot news for collectors and others whom are interested in design: a remarkable auction with a selection of unique installations and products made in the exclusive material, DuPont ™ Corian ®. Among the designers are greats such as Ron Arad, Zaha Hadid and Sottsass Associati.
The auction takes place Dec. 18 at the Pierre Bergé & Associés in Brussels, one of the main galleries for design, and of course they accept bids from Finland.
All items are exclusive originals and are created for various exhibitions and fairs. There is everything from art objects from Sottsass, to futuristic kitchen design by Zaha Hadid, which shows that DuPont ™ Corian ® is a material which is extremely versatile and easy to work with.
The idea behind YayArt is to make art available for everybody! In their statement on the site they wrote that they want art out of the dusty museums and out to real people.
“Imagine art without the snob! Art without the obscene prices and buying barriers. Art from upcoming artists, that are refreshing, new and still alive!”
Link: http://www.yayart.com/
H is for Home recently posted about Lundtofte:
The Danish company Lundtofte produced high quality, stainless steel pieces - predominantly kitchen & dining wares, but also some decorative household objects.
More info on H is for Home
Image: Mad John
Terri Mapes from About.com recently wrote an article about celebrating Labour Day in Scandinavian Countries:
Labour Day in Scandinavia (also called May Day) takes place on May 1 every year, following Walpurgis Night on April 30. Labour Day in Scandinavia is a celebrated public holiday - and quite visible. Visitors can see lots of festivities, parades, and other celebrations every year on the first of May in Scandinavia when locals celebrate Labour Day. You’ll find special events in every city on this day.
Read more on About.com: Scandinavia Travel
I can add that in Finland there is a holiday called “Vappu”, it’s mostly dedicated to persons graduated to some high school level, and whole Suomi selebrating this day with special for this day Sima (light alcoholic beverage) Tippaleipä (some kind of cake similar to Funnel cake), donuts and potato salad. People wearing white student caps everywhere and funny masks on parties.
Next Page »
Powered by Hot Snow
