NORDIC g in Liv ISSUE NO.7 | OCTOBER 2016
Back from London
When writing this, I’m just back in Sweden after what was our most exciting week in a very long time. We did an exhibition and Popup Store at London Design Fair, our first ever event abroad, and we were just overwhelmed by the warm welcome we got from the Brits. If you missed our reports on Instagram, just click forward to page 12 to get a glimpse of what we were up to. After a long and warm September, we are now getting ourselves in the mood for autumn. I’m personally looking forward to cuddling up in a sofa with candlelight, a cup of tea and a good book. A few new cushion covers or posters fits well with that, so we rounded up our favourite picks from our designers for you. This season is also all about organising so we are also giving you our best tips on stylish storage. Thank you for reading, following and supporting us! We wish you happy reading, and a glorious autumn season.
Maria Richardsson Founder and CEO of Nordic Design Collective Ps. As always, we love to hear your what you think about our work! Tell us through social media or send us an e-mail. We want to hear it all - the good, the bad and the ugly.
CONTENT The well-organized hallway
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Presenting: Kally & Briger Trend: Stylish Storage London Calling!
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Meet the designer: Future Days 19 Trend: Autumn Textiles
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Trend: Autumn Posters
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Presenting: E.Leijon
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A day in the life of: By May
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Nordic Living is a magazine created by Nordic Design Collective, all rights reserved. www.nordicdesigncollective.com | info@nordicdesigncollective.com
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THE WELL-ORGANIZED HALLWAY Styling and photo: Maria Richardsson
The hallway is the first to welcome you in your home and important for giving you and your guests a nice feeling for your place. The best way is to organise it so that there is a proper place for everything instead of it all just ending up in piles everywhere.
Shelf for tablet by Non Fiction, Laptop bag by By Bremmer, Sapphire Side Table by Future Days, The Book Bag by By Bremmer, Lume Coat Stand by BE Design, Check Hanger by Palmgren Artdirection, Blue Navy ď ” Babe Beanie/Mittens Set by Kally & Birger.
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Presenting
KALLY & BIRGER The designer behind Kally & Birger Knitwear has been knitting for as long as she can remember so it’s not strange that knitting has come to be her career. Her knitwear is clean, simple and stylish and will lift any outfit giving you a unique and personal style. Read more about her inspiring story below.
Tell us about your background! I have been knitting as long as I can remember and always have had a love for creating with my hands. My mom thought me everything she can and she is professional when it comes to knitting! At first when I was just a kid the pieces I made was hardly wearable but with practice it got better. Turning my hobby into a business was much later and more of a coincidence than a planned thing. People liked what I did and I understood that I could actually sell this! I went into a cloth store and simple asked if they would like to sell my knitwear and they did. And from there on it has just continued to sell! What’s the story behind your brand? The idea of making beanies started one cold winter when I could not find a hat in any of the stores around that I actually looked good in. So I had to make one my self! The name of my brand is my grandparents first names. I just wanted to always have them with me somehow since they have been important people in my life so when I had to pick a name for my brand it was a natural choice.
What inspires you to create? The pleasure of actually see people wearing and buying my creations! I get so happy when I see people on the street wearing my knitwear that I made with my own hands that I have a smile on my lips the rest of the day. For me also a big inspiration is to be able to actually do what I want, I love everything of being a entrepreneur! What made you decide to start your own company, and what do you like most about it? I like everything of having my own company. Its makes me feel free, its creative and it challenge you every day! I didn’t think about it so much before I started. It was just the way it had to be, if you want to sell your products you need your own company.
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Trend
STYLISH STORAGE Every item should have its own special place. Give it a stylish storage and it will make it easier to keep your home tidy and stylish!
From top left: Corner shelf in walnut by ByWood, Shelf for book by Non Fiction, Deer shelf by BE Design, Sapphire Slowdive by Future Days, Porcelain Bowl by Camilla Brøyn, Rest Key Holder magnetic by Yndlingsting, String Felt Organizer by Skandinavious by Louise Vilmar. Right: Shelf På G and På J, by GochJdesign.
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LONDON CALLING Last week, in late September, London Design Fair opened and went together with 11 of our designers to host our first ever UK exhbition and Popup Store. The show was open for four days, and we had a crazy hectic time and lots of fun. Everyone loved our exhibition and the great products from our designers, which made us really happy.
In total, we had products from 11 different designers in the exhibition and almost all of them actually joined us in London. It was such great time to hang out with all of them. We wanted the exhibition to tell our story, about Nordic Design Collective, why we do the things we do and showcase how well the products from the different
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designers fit together, so one part of the exhibition is a mix of everyones work. In the house structure that hosted our Popup Shop, all designers had their own designated area to show more of their collections. All in all, we had a great show and left London very tired but with big smiles on our faces.
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For the opening night, we invited Swedish soul artist Cecilia Stalin to play – and it was really amazing! The crowd seem to love it just as much as we did.
During the weekend, we also hosted a Supertalk about the life of Nordic designers, some inspirations and thoughts. It went very well, and our designers did a great job sharing their stories.
The Popup Store was busy busy all the time and the products were literally flying off the shelves! We were all overwhelmed by the interest in Nordic design.
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Meet the designer FUTURE DAYS
“FORM ALWAYS COMES FIRST” For designer Kim Walltin, the interest of design and music has always had a big part in his life. A great deal of inspiration comes from the postmodernistic New Wave period in the 80ies, and his first collection was born during long nights listening to old radio programs from that period. Text and photo: Maria Richardsson
He grew up in Höganäs in the south of Sweden, in a working class home. “My parents were very interested in art, we had a lot of quirky things and modern art at home and often visited the art museum Louisiana outside of Copenhagen” Kim tells us. “I think my mother has been very important for me, she was great at drawing and painting. She never worked with it professionally, but really encouraged me”.
Music has always been a big inspiration to Kim. After school he was in a band, and when they got a record deal they all moved to Stockholm. “We had a bit of success and won some awards, but things didn’t really take off. After struggling for a few years, during which I also studied music production, I finally felt it was enough and moved back to Skåne again” he says.
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After studying Product Design and Development in Malmö, he started working at Tetra Pak and ended up in the design department working with packaging design. “I’ve always had an interest in math and construction, alongside my creative side, so the engineering part of my studies really suited me well. I think it is very valuable to have that perspective on design, and know how to adapt a design to make it fit production easier”. During his time as a packaging designer, he started to think about having his own products and this is where the paper vases and sculptures were born. “For me, I tend to think in three dimensions. Paper is great to do prototypes in, but the idea from the beginning was to do the products in metal or plastic. But they turned out really great in paper, so I decided to keep them like that. For me, form always comes first
and then I choose what material to use to get the effect I’m looking for. We actually had that discussion in my office the other day, and a few of the other designers are quite opposite, they start with interesting materials and let that decide what kind of product to create. That would never work for me, the form, shapes and lines are too important to me”. Now it’s almost 1,5 year ago since Kim decided to quit his job and pursuit his own design career. He shares an office in Malmö with a few other designers, and has got off to a really good start. He already showed his pieces at Stockholm Furniture Fair, Formex and Clerkenwell Design Week in London. Late this summer he also did a solo exhibition at Designgalleriet in Stockholm and has new exciting plans for next year. “Yes, I was invited to do an exhibition in collaboration with Crooked Concept in February. I have a few ideas already and it will be bigger objects like a few pieces of furniture as well as new accessories” Kim tells us smiling. I’m sure it will be as interesting and spectacular as his current work, and as we leave him in his office he goes back to folding sculptures from his current collection, ready for delivery.
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Trend
AUTUMN TEXTILES As it is getting darker and colder, this is the perfect time to cozy up with soft textiles in darker colours. The trend for this autumn calls for shades like aubergine, brown, orange, and navy.
From top left: cushion covers Flores velvet by Nadja Wedin Design, Kompisarna by Anna Grundberg, Peacock by Cajsa Wessberg, Kägla by Anette Jakobsson, Topsia Navy Grey by Aderelles, Wanderlust Orange by Sabina Wroblewski Gustrin Left: Viskadalen soft plaid in cotton by Patternplan.
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Trend
AUTUMN POSTERS The trend is clear - darker shades are in fashion right now and it goes well with the season. Paint your walls in a darker shade of grey or navy to really make your posters pop, and go with strong and darker motifs to enhance that autumn feeling.
From top left: Ravens I by Anna Handell Montage, Autumn Leaves by LO Art Design, Autumn by Airpixels, Bird Among Flowers by Adelina Lirius, Air by Wallmark Formstudio, Into The Wild Grey by Carolina Grรถnholm Illustration, Three Grumpy Owls by Majali Design & Illustration.
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From top left: Ocra by Patternplan, Le Square La Lueur by Puldefranck, Brushwood by Jeanett Silwärn - Digitart, Meeting I by Anna Handell Montage, Autumn Owl by LO Art Design, In Between by LO Art Design, Wavebreak by Airpixels, The King by LO Art Design, Genesis by Stefan Isaksson Photography, Treesome by Havsglas Sverige.
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Presenting
E.LEIJON Emelie Leijon is the golf pro turned designer. After leaving the pro tour she decided to follow her childhood dream to work with her hands and express her creativity. Her new brand is inspired by Nordic nature, and is beautifully adapted to both textile and ceramics.
Tell us about your background. I am a Swedish designer, born and raised in Småland, in the south of Sweden, but currently lives and works in Stockholm. For as long as I can remember, I have always searched for ways to work with my hands and express my creativity in different ways. I have also always loved sports and when I grow up I played booth badminton and golf. After I finished highschool I turned into a golfpro and played professional for 7 years, booth on Swedish tour and the European tour. When I quiet my golf career I knew that I wanted to do something creative so I started to study art, and then further into Graphic Design at Berghs School of Communication. For the past three years I’ve worked as a graphic/digital designer in Stockholm. What’s the story behind your brand? Since I love pattern design and the idea of designing physical products, I have for the past 3 years dreamed of start my own brand with my own designs. So I was very excited when I finally launched my first collection and open up my webshop this summer. I really love
having my own brand, its suits me very good since I am (as an old athlete) very structured, dedicated, focused and completive. I also love to be my own boss and to work for myself. What inspires you to create? I have always loved spending time in the nature, and it’s always the place I go to whenever I need inspiration or just balance in my life. And to me, the most beautiful and interesting shapes and expressions have their roots and beginnings in nature. That is why I am so inspired by our Nordic flowers and trees. My first collection Nordic Stories first started with ceramics, where I wanted to focus on the contrast between the fragile, intricate leaves and hard, clean ceramics. I am very happy that the ceramic collection later developed into fabrics, pillows and trays.
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A day in the life of
BY MAY Every Thursday, one of our designers are in charge of our Instagram. One of them is the designer duo By May, who brought us along behind the scenes for a normal working day. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM
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08.10: Goodmorning! Morning starts with slow breakfast then off to the studio. Hope you all have a nice start of the day.
09.46: Here we are. Johanna Örn and Maria Bergström. Together we are By May. May and spring is our favourite time of year.
10.55: A fun part of our work is to create nice stillebens and art walls with our own prints and products.
11.56: We work with all the stages in the designprocess. This is a functional placemat made of food grade silicone.
14.12: A sunny corner in our studio lunchroom.
15.20: Most of our work is done in front of a computer, but when we finally get the chance to work with our hands its great.
15.24: Cutting shapes, structures, collage, geometric shapes, we love!
17.32: Stilleben Window Film creates privacy in your home and still lets the light in.
Check out the work of By May in our store!
17.56: Dinnertime. Love the greens. Especially the edible ones. Thanks for following us today!
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